- 9 6 



Wormwood Oil {Oleum absinthii). Dark green 1 ); di 5 o 0,9252) 

 to °>955; soluble in 2 to 4 parts 80 per cent, alcohol 3 ). 



1 ) Wormwood oil often has a blue or brown colour. 



2 ) 0,900 would be more correct as lower limit of value. 



8 ) The dilute solution in 80 per cent, alcohol often shows opalescence or 

 cloudiness, as a matter of fact many oils do not make clear solutions. 



Chemical preparations and drugs. 



Ambergris. The fine quality continues as before in great 

 demand, and our stocks have meanwhile dwindled down considerably, 

 while we have not been able to make up for it by procuring a corre- 

 sponding quantity of equally good quality. To obtain this is to some 

 extent a matter of chance. 



Civet. Our well-assorted and large stock of pure original quality 

 is probably unparalleled. In our purchases we are extremely particular, 

 and the brisk demand which especially this important article enjoys 

 from the side of the perfumery trade, may be a sufficient guarantee 

 that our supplies meet the most subtile requirements. 



Coumarin. According to K. Fries and W. Klostermann 1 ) 

 the formation of coumarines from m-cresol passes off readily, whilst 

 v. Pechmann's method for producing coumarin from phenol, o-, and 

 p-cresol is not so easily accomplished. A work on this subject by 

 Chuit and Bolsing to which we have already referred in our last 

 Report 2 ) induces the first-named authors to publish now a preliminary 

 communication. From m-cresol they produced with malic acid, aceto- 

 acetic ester, and methyl aceto-acetic ester the following compounds 



I. II. III. 



O O O 





H.X 



CO 



CH 



HX 



CO 



CH 



H Q C 



CH 



CCH, 



CH CCH 3 CCH 3 



4-methyl coumarin 2, 4-dimethyl coumarin 1, 2, 4-trimethyl coumarin 



The trimethyl coumarin no longer possesses the typical coumarin 

 odour. With regard to the coumarin homologue produced by Schmidt 

 from m-homo-salicylic aldehyde according to Perkin's synthesis, the 

 authors arrived at the same conclusion as Chuit and Bolsing, 

 namely that the body obtained by Schmidt represented a mixture 



3 ) Berl. Berichte 39 (1906), 871. 

 2 ) Report April 1096, 87. 



