12 — 



defects mentioned may also be caused by oxidation, or polymerisation 

 processes. On the contrary, by the experiments 1 ) which we made at 

 the time and which we have also published, we have proved that 

 such changes render the anethOl more readily soluble, and for this 

 reason cannot be the cause of the separation. 



In a subsequent article in the Apotheker-Zeitung 2 ) which deals 

 with the same subject, the proposal is made to embody the anethol 

 in the elixir e succo liquiritiae by emulsifying with gum acacia, possibly 

 with the addition of a little Paraffinum liquidum, and also to keep 

 the liq. ammon. anis. in stock as an emulsion for the purpose of 

 dispensing. 



Oil of Backhousia citriodora. This oil which has already 

 been mentioned repeatedly in our Reports 3 ), has lately also been 

 examined by J. C. Umney and C. T. Bennett 4 ), who found the 

 following values: d^o 0,895 to 0,896; «p ± o° or very faintly to the 

 left; aldehyde-content (chiefly citral) 94 to 95%, determined by the 

 bisulphite method. The oil is soluble in 1 / 2 to 3 vol. 70 per cent, 

 alcohol, and distils almost entirely between 215 and 2 30° It is 

 practically free from terpenes, but appears to contain traces of other 

 bodies which impart to it its characteristic odour. The first io°/ 

 of the distillate had a penetrating odour like amyl ester, which the 

 authors propose to submit to a further study. The residue had a 

 high index of refraction pointing to the presence of traces of ses- 

 quiterpenes. 



An oil recently examined by us had the following constants: 

 dj.50 0,8996; «d i o°; soluble in about 9 vol. 60 percent, alcohol; alde- 

 hyde-content (determined with bisulphite) 96,5 to 97,o%; n p20° 1,48604. 



Basil Oil. Our earnest endeavours to do away with the 

 scarcity of this oil so highly valued by many perfumers have unfor- 

 tunately for the present remained without result, in so far as it was 

 not possible to discover either in France or Reunion any quantities 

 worth mentioning, and as our own cultivation only supplied some few 

 hundred grams which of course are of no account in view of the 

 numerous orders still to be executed. Next year we shall have suf- 

 ficient distillation material at our disposal to meet also larger requirements. 



*) Report October 1904, 10 and 42. • 



2 ) Apotheker Ztg. 21 (1906), 613. A few errors occurring in this article may 

 here be corrected: the sol. p. of pure anethol lies betwen 21 and 2 2°, that of 

 anise oil not at -\- 14 , but above -{- ij°; Russian anise oil is moreover mentioned 

 in a manner as if it were inferior to oils of other origin, whereas in reality Russian 

 anise oil is particularly valued. 



3 ) Bericht April 1888, 20 and Report April 1905, 83; comp. also Gilde- 

 meister and Hoffmann, The Volatile Oils, p. 538. 



4 ) Chemist and Druggist 68 (1906), 738. 



