- 76 - 



harvest was thereby increased by fully 200 tons. With regard to the prospects 

 of the harvest, it is generally accepted that the next crop, in view of the small 

 quantities planted out during the last few years, will not exceed a total of 

 500 tons. The future course of the prices will naturally depend in the first 

 place on the demand, but also on the manipulations of the speculators, of 

 whom one, who has made himself repeatedly conspicuous, has already informed 

 the proprietors that he shortly expected large orders and hoped to obtain good 

 prices. This, of course, may equally well be fact as fancy, but it is not 

 without its effect, where many are only too willing to ride the high horse, in 

 anticipation of the promised mountains of gold. It would be desirable, in every- 

 body's interest, and particularly in that of the consumers, if such manipulations 

 were repressed by suitable means. 



The crop in Verona has been small, and the prices have consequently 

 advanced considerably, but at the present quotations of 48 to 50 marks for 

 the so-called "mercantile'' quality, no desire to buy is apparent; on the contrary 

 so long as any of it is available buyers seem to be content with the old goods, 

 although in respect of quality and colour it leaves something to be desired. 



We have in our Reports repeatedly called attention to the fact 

 that the liquid orris oil introduced by us into commerce, which 

 is free from myristic acid, enjoys a large sale owing to its excellent 

 quality. Now, as often as we have worked up in our works orris 

 roots either into solid or liquid oil, we have observed that the oil, in 

 addition to the actual odoriferous principle irone, also must contain 

 still more volatile bodies which could only influence the characteristic 

 pleasant violet ' odour in a disagreeable manner. In consequence of 

 this we have now for about a year placed on the market both the 

 liquid and the solid orris oil free from the unpleasantly smelling con- 

 stituents. Now we were interested in the more detailed chemical 

 examination of these bodies. This examination has proved how well 

 we did in removing these constituents from the orris oil. 



Tiemann and Kriiger 1 ) were the first to examine orris oil ob- 

 tained by extraction from orris root. According to their statements, 

 the oil contains in addition to evil-smelling substances, esters of oleic 

 and myristic acids, which, however, are not important for the odour 

 of orris oil. They further claim to have detected the presence of 

 oleic acid aldehyde. But an experimental proof in support of this 

 assertion has never been supplied. 



Our examination dealt chiefly with the contituents of liquid orris 

 oil more readily volatile than irone, viz., the evil-smelling first runnings, 

 which are removed in the manufacture of our liquid orris oil. The 

 oil woiked up (about 100 g.) passed over between 40 and 92 (5 mm. 

 pressure). It had a golden-yellow colour, and a disagreeable basic 

 smell, reminding somewhat of skatol. After repeated fractionating 

 there were obtained as a first fraction, 8 g. of an oil of the b. p. 50 

 to 65 (13 mm. pressure) with the constants di 5 o 0,8693, «d4~9°4'- 



- 1 ) Berl. Berichte 26 (1893), 2675, 



