— 34 — 



Methyl ethyl acetic acid appears to occur in champaca oil chiefly 

 as ester of methyl or ethyl alcohol, but up to the present it has not 

 yet been possible to detect these alcohols with certainty. 



It is not improbable that the other higher-boiling alcohols of the 

 oil (linalool and geraniol), are also present in champaca oil partly 

 combined with methyl ethyl acetic acid. It could further be established 

 that the acid also occurs in the oil in the free state, for on 

 extracting 250 g. oil with 5 per cent, caustic potash liquor there was 

 separated off, besides a small quantity of a still unknown phenol, 

 methyl ethyl acetic acid. 



Benzoic acid which had been detected in champaca oil on 

 previous occasions, was not found in the oil in question. 



The methyl ester of methyl ethyl acetic acid which has not yet 

 been described in literature, could readily be produced by esterification 

 of the synthetic acid with methyl alcohol and sulphuric acid. It boils 

 at 1 1 5 , and has a pleasant fruity odour like the ester-fraction isolated 

 from champaca oil. 



Oil of Cinnamomum pedunculatum. In our last Report 1 ) 

 we referred to a work by S. Keimazu and S. Asahina on the oil 

 from the bark of Cinnamomum pedunculatum Nees. We are now 

 in a position to give some information on the same oil based on 

 our own examinations. 



The sample sent to us from Japan by a business friend, had 

 a bright -yellow colour and the following constants: d^o 0,9316; 

 «p — 1 4 32'; not completely soluble in 10 vol. 70 per cent, alcohol; 

 soluble in 1,2 and more vol. 80 per cent, alcohol. The oil contains 

 about 6°/ phenols, which possess a cresol-like odour; the non-phenols 

 contain phellandrene, and probably linalool. 



Cinnamon Oil, Ceylon. In spite of the increase in our quotat- 

 ions, there was an extremely brisk demand for our distillate, which 

 in point of quality is unexcelled, and in several cases we were 

 unable to submit offers as our output could not keep pace with the 

 orders. The prices of the raw material, cinnamon chips, remain 

 firm without change, and lower offers were not considered. The 

 shipments from Colombo in the period from January 1 to August 5 

 were 1463 716 lbs. cinnamon chips, against 1333 190 lbs. during the 

 same period of 1906. It therefore appears that the export continues 

 moving in an upward direction. 



Citronella Oil. The prices of this important oil have now for 

 some months been moving slowly downwards, and at this moment 

 have already arrived at 1/5 per lb. cif. Whereas early in April the 



x ) Report April 1907, 28. 



