— 68 — 



cheap denaturating qualities, is no longer available in the same 

 quantities as before, and that for this reason more pure rosemary oil 

 is used for denaturating purposes. We have again secured a large 

 share of the output and are thus able to meet every demand; but 

 those interested in "cheap" rosemary oils, should apply to the firms 

 who make a particular specialty of the production of such qualities. 



E.J. Parry and C. T. Bennett 1 ) publish the result of examinations 

 with regard to the rotation of Spanish rosemary oil. As it had often 

 been observed that Spanish rosemary oils had a laevorotation , this 

 occurrence was attributed to adulteration. We also had, though only 

 in a few cases, observed 2 ) lsevorotation in oils from a reliable source, 

 and had already suggested the question, whether the requirement that the 

 first io°/ of the distillate must also be dextrorotatory, could be upheld 

 to its full extent, or whether a slight Isevorotation of the first io°/ might 

 be allowed, if the specific gravity were sufficiently high. Parry and 

 Bennett now have obtained from an authentic source samples of 

 rosemary, of which the herb was distilled in the laboratory of Wright, 

 Layman & Umney. The examinations of the oils produced showed 

 that rosemary oils of guaranteed purity may also be laevorotatory, 

 and that moreover a dextrorotatory oil may yield laevorotatory fractions. 

 In France the oil is always distilled from herb gathered after the 

 blossoming period (February, March) and dried for about 8 days in 

 the sun. In Spain, however, the distillation takes place all the year round, 

 and both fresh and dried herb are used there as the case may be, 

 which explains why the oils vary somewhat. In the dried state the 

 leaves are readily separated from the stalks by threshing, but in the 

 fresh condition this is impossible. The yield of oil from the fresh 

 herb fluctuates between 0,4 and 0,75%, that of the dried herb comes 

 to up to i°/ ; the last-named oil is also of better quality. The pro- 

 perties of three samples examined by the authors were: Spanish oil 

 from the leaves only: d 0,917; a D-|-5 3o'; ester-content (bornyl 

 acetate) 3,20 °/ ; total borneol 19,7 °/ ; « D of the first io°/ of the 

 distillate — i°. French oil (leaves and stalks): d 0,897; « D — 8° 30'; 

 ester-content (bornyl acetate) 3,0 °/ ; total borneol io,9°/ ; «d of the 

 first 10% of the distillate — i2°3o'. French oil (leaves): d 0,914; 

 a D — 3°; ester-content (bornyl acetate) 3,6 °/ ; total borneol i8,5°/ , 

 «d of the first io°/ of the distillate — io°. The results show there- 

 fore that the laevorotatory constituent (1-pinene) is represented in larger 

 quantity when the stalks are distilled along with the leaves, and that 

 the stalks contain less oil; and further, that oil obtained from care- 



x ) Chemist and Druggist 68 (1906), 671. 

 2 ) Report October 1904, 82. 



