— 2 9 — 



supply of distillation material will be available from this source. Yet 

 at present it seems at least doubtful that the prices will return 

 to the former reasonable level, as certain speculators use every effort 

 to support the market. On the other hand, Russian coriander oil 

 of this year's distillation has already been offered from a reliable 

 source at 50 marks per kilo. As fairly large quantities of last year's 

 (and therefore more expensive) stocks appear still to be held, it is 

 probable that a similar quotation here is for the present out of the 

 question. From Moravia, coriander is also offered abundantly and in 

 good quality. The remunerative prices of 1905 appear to have in- 

 duced many farmers to apply themselves with particular energy to 

 the cultivation of coriander. 



Owing to its high price, coriander oil is frequently the subject of 

 adulteration; quite recently such a product was again submitted to 

 us for approval, which had the following properties: di 5 o 0,8752; 

 «d — j— 33° 29'; sap. no. 5,5; insoluble in 10 vol. 70 per cent, alcohol. 

 The high rotation and also the insolubility in 70 per cent, alcohol 

 characterise the oil at once as adulterated; probably several substances 

 had been added in this case, but we found it impossible to determine 

 their character, as the sample received by us was insufficient for the 

 purpose. For comparison we add here the properties of pure coriander 

 oil; di 5 o 0,870 to 0,885; a D-J-8° to -j- 13 ; sap. no. 4,0 to 23,0; 

 soluble in 2 to 3 and more vol. 70 per cent, alcohol. 



Elemi Oil. The last communication from A. Vesterberg 1 ) on 

 Manila elemi resin dates from 1891. In a publication 2 ) now before 

 us, the some author has detected in the resin a secondary alcohol 

 which perhaps for this reason excites greater interest, that it is the 

 first known di-valent resin alcohol. The bulk of the crystallising 

 substances of elemi resin, as is well known, consists of amyrin, but in 

 addition to this Baup 3 ) had already determined three other crystallising 

 substances, breine, breidine, and bryoi'dine. Vesterberg now believes 

 to have characterised the first. The melting point lies about 216 

 to 2 1 7 (not corr.), [a] D in alcoholic solution -|- 65,5°. Breine is a pro- 

 nounced divalent alcohol of the as yet doubtful formula C 30 H 48 (OH) 2 , 

 and yields with acetic anhydride a diacetyl derivative, from which 

 it can be regenerated by saponification with alcoholic potash. 



*) Berl. Berichte 24 (1891)^3834, 3836; ibidem 20 (1887), 1242; 23 

 (1890), 3186. 



2 ) Berl. Berichte 39 (1906), 2467. 



3 ) Jahresbericht fur Chemie 1851, 528. 



