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Oil of Boldo leaves. Up to the present, little was known of 

 the chemical composition of oil of boldo leaves (Peumus Boldus Mol.) 1 ). 

 For this reason we quote here briefly the results obtained by us in 

 examining a distillate of our own. The physical constants of the 

 brown-yellow oil were: d^o 0,9567; «d -)- o°28 / ; n D2 Qo 1,47928; soluble 

 in 8 to 9 vol. 70 per cent, alcohol; acid no. 2,4; ester no. 11,2. It 

 distilled between 40 and 105 (30 mm. pressure). Its odour greatly 

 resembled that of Baltimore wormseed oil. The examination con- 

 firmed our surmise that the oil contained the body of the formula 

 C 10 H 16 O 2 which we isolated some time ago from American worm- 

 seed oil 2 ). By repeated fractional distillation we obtained a yellow 

 oil boiling at 74 to 76 (2 to 3 mm. pressure), diso 1,0013, which 

 possessed all the properties of the body C 10 H 16 O 2 , above all the 

 property of decomposing in an explosive manner, with evolution of 

 gas, when heat was applied. The low-boiling portions of the oil con- 

 sisted chiefly of p-cymene; they also contained cineol, and a 

 terpene boiling about 170 which, however, could not be identified 

 owing to its small quantity. We tested without result for phellandrene, 

 limonene, and sylvestrene. The cineol was identified in a fraction 

 of the b. p. 175 to 1 7 8°, by the iodol double compound of the 

 m. p. 119 to 120 . When heating the recrystallised compound with caustic 

 soda liquor, the unmistakable odour of cineol became noticeable. The 

 p-cymene was detected in an almost inactive fraction boiling after the 

 distillation over sodium at 175 to 17 6°, by means of oxidation with 

 permanganate into p - oxyisopropyl benzoic acid of the m. p. 154 to 

 1 5 6°. When boiled with concentrated hydrochloric acid, the latter 

 yielded p - isopropenyl benzoic acid of the m. p. 253 to 255 . In a 

 fraction of the b. p. 60 to 72 (3 mm. pressure) traces of a higher 

 fatty aldehyde were discovered; besides, the oil contains traces of 

 a phenol which in alcoholic solution with ferric chloride gives a dirty 

 green coloration. 



The above examination established that oil of boldo leaves con- 

 tains chiefly cymene, cineol (together about 30%), and the charac- 

 teristic constituent of oil of chenopodium of the formula C 10 H 16 O 2 

 (40 to 45°/ ). Up to the present we have found nothing in literature 

 to indicate that the oil had already been employed empirically as a 

 remedy against worms, like Baltimore wormseed oil. 



Cajeput Oil. The parcels of this oil received by us direct 

 from our source of supply in Buru, have given satisfaction in every 

 respect; the quality bears the stamp of expert distillation upon it, 



1 ) Comp. Gildemeister and Hoffmann, The Volatile Oils, p. 368. 



2 ) We are still engaged in the examination of this compound, and will return 

 in detail in our next Report on its remarkable behaviour. 



2* 



