— 73 — 



which Lewinsohn suspects to be cadinene hydrochloride. The 

 sesquiterpene boils at 163 to 168 (12 mm. pressure); d2o° 0,926; 

 MD20 "4™ 22 >75°- Another sesquiterpene of the b. p. 151 to 154 

 (15 mm. pressure), d2io 0,911, Wd -f- 30,4°, could not be identified 

 at all. 



Myrtle Oil. The examinations made up to the present of the 

 low-boiling portions (from 158 to 160 ) of myrtle oil have only 

 shown the presence of pinene 1 ). The high optical rotation of the 

 fraction of the boiling point mentioned above gave rise to the belief 

 that in addition to pinene, it also contained camphene. For this 

 reason we have repeatedly fractionated the first runnings of French 

 myrtle oil, and have examined the fraction boiling from 158 to 160 

 ( a D-f-36°) in the usual manner (treatment with glacial acetic acid 

 and sulphuric acid) for camphene. The crystals obtained, repeatedly 

 recrystallised from petroleum ether, melted in one case at 203 to 204 , 

 in another at 205 . In neither case could the melting point be 

 raised. Both this fact and also the entirely borneol-like appearance 

 of the product obtained, supported the assumption that it was not a 

 case of pure isoborneol, but of a mixture of borneol and isoborneol. 

 Treatment of the body with dilute sulphuric acid with the application 

 of heat, unfortunately gave no positive result, and also pointed to a 

 mixture. It can therefore only be said that in the first runnings of 

 myrtle oil there is present, in addition to pinene, still another hydro- 

 carbon which behaves like camphene, and that the possibility does 

 not seem to be entirely excluded that a third hydrocarbon is also 

 mixed with the others, which may give rise to the formation of 

 borneol on treatment with glacial acetic acid and sulphuric acid. 



Neroli Oil. Reports on the position of the cultivations are for 

 the present favourable. On the whole, the trees have suffered but 

 little from the severe cold of the past winter, and as far as can be 

 judged up to the present, a good blossom harvest is anticipated. In 

 view of the high prices of last year, special care has been bestowed 

 on the trees, and if there are no further frosts, and the present 

 drought does not continue too long, the price of the blossoms will 

 doubtless drop to about 1 franc per kilo, i. e. half of that of 1906. 

 The prices of neroli oil will adjust themselves proportionately in the 

 course of the next few months. 



Oil of Cretian Origanum. We had recently an opportunity 

 of examining two origanum oils from Cyprus and also several origin- 

 ating from Syria, and they all corresponded to the common sort 

 known as oil of Cretian origanum. The properties may follow here. 



l ) Comp. Gildemeister and Hoffmann, The Volatile Oils, p. 507. 



