— n — 



Cyprian origanum oil. i. 04500,9624; a D -\-o°20 f ; phenol- 

 content 77°/ ; soluble in 2,5 to 3 and more vol. 70 per cent, alcohol. 

 2. 04500,9655; «d +o°; phenol-content about 7o°/ ; soluble in 2,4 

 and more vol. 70 per cent, alcohol. 



The oils had been sent to us for examination by the Scientific 

 Department of the Imperial Institute of London, which has 

 recently in its Reports 1 ) also published a note on the two oils. The 

 constants quoted there agree on the whole with those observed by 

 us, only the phenol - content has been found higher (82,5 °/ ) in 

 both cases. 



With regard to the mother-plant, the Imperial Institute has not 

 been able to ascertain anything, but a request has been made to send 

 on the respective plants so that their botanical names may still be 

 determined. Judging from the oil, it might be a question of Origanum 

 hirtum Lk., and O. Onites L. also occurring in Cyprus. 



A welcome addition to the above information is found in a 

 work of Saracomenos 2 ), who reports on the origanum oil industry 

 which is now since some years carried on in Cyprus. The plant used 

 as crude material, which Saracomenos describes in detail, grows 

 wild in the South- Western part of the island, and several specimens 

 have now been sent to the Imperial Institute for the purpose of 

 identification, as there exist differences of opinion on the species of 

 the plant, which is regarded either as Origanum hirtum, or as O. Onites. 

 Holmboe, who visited Cyprus on behalf of the University of 

 Christiania, looks upon the plant as O. dubium, a sub-species of 

 O. Maru L. 



The distillation of the plants commences in Cyprus in July or a 

 little earlier, when the seed is ripe, and continues until the middle 

 of December. In order to produce one "oke" oil (= 2 2 / 3 lbs. or 

 1 quart) 30 to 45 okes origanum herb are required. The oil distilled 

 from fresh plants has a dirty grey colour, whilst the oil obtained from 

 plants which had been stored for a month, has a dirty red colour, 

 which, however, the oil distilled from fresh plants also acquires in 

 course of time. 



According to analyses by Francis, Cyprian origanum oil consists 

 chiefly of a mixture of thymol, thymene, and cymene, whilst the phenols 

 of the oils examined by the Imperial Institute (London) and ourselves, 

 contrary to this, were found to be carvacrol. 



Saracomenos determined by gravimetric analysis the thymol- 

 content of the oils examined by Francis, and found in the dark 

 oil 79%' an d i n the bright oil 83% thymol. 



*) Bulletin of the Imperial Institute 4 (1906), 296. 

 2 ) Chemist and Druggist 70 (1907), 365. 



