- 6 4 - 



distilled it, without, however, arriving at any definite result. Of acids, 

 acetic acid was detected. 



Mustard Oil. The methods for determining the content of 

 allylisothiocyanate in mustard oil have already induced various authors *) 

 to suggest modifications. Recently, C. Pleijel 2 ) has criticised the 

 directions given in the Swedish Pharmacopoeia (VIII), and he proposes 

 the following directions for testing, by which he has obtained, with a 

 considerable saving in time, values which agreed very well: 5 g. mustard 

 spirit (1 part mustard oil and 49 parts alcohol) are mixed with 50 cc. 

 y i0 n. silver nitrate solution and 2 cc. ammonia liquor in a well closed 

 standard flask of 1 00 cc. capacity. The flask with its contents is then 

 heated for 3 hours to a temperature of 45 to 50 , but is every half hour 

 shaken for half a minute. When the mixture has cooled, 5 cc. nitric 

 acid, 1 cc. iron alum solution, and so much water are added, that 

 the total volume amounts to 100 cc; it is then shaken, and filtered 

 through a dry filter. In 50 cc. of the filtrate the quantity of silver 

 solution which has not entered into reaction is then determined by 

 titration with 1 J 1Q n. ammonium rhodanide solution. 



Myrtle Oil. The alcohol myrtenol discovered some time ago 

 by v. So den and Elze 3 ) in myrtle oil, has been examined more in 

 detail by Semmler and Bartelt 4 ). In order to obtain it, the high- 

 boiling portions of myrtle oil were saponified and then fractionated, 

 and the alcohol isolated by means of the phthalic acid compound 

 (m. p. 114 to 1 1 5 ; Md -(- 21 $6' in 50 per cent, alcoholic solution). 

 It has the composition C 10 H 16 O, and possesses the following properties: 

 b. p. 1 02, 5 at 9 mm. pressure, 222 to 224 at atmospheric pressure; 

 d'20 0*9763; a D~|-45 45'; n D 1,49668; mol. refraction found 45,46, 

 calculated for C 10 H 16 O/~45,O4. From the molecular refraction the 

 authors conclude that myrtenol has a bicyclic character. A solid 

 phenyl urethane could not be obtained. When treating myrtenol with 

 sodium and amyl alcohol, it remained unchanged. By means of 

 phosphorus pentachloride the chloride C 10 H 15 CI was obtained (b. p. 90 

 at 12 mm. pressure; d2o° 1,015; <*d -f- 24 ; n p 1,49762; mol. refr. found 

 49,2, calculated for C 10 H 15 Cl/~~48,48), which on reduction with alcohol 

 and sodium yielded, besides myrtenol ethyl ether C 10 H 15 OC 2 H 5 

 (b. p. 80 to 85 at 10 mm. pressure; d 2 o<> 0,899; n r> 1 A7 2 5)y dextro- 

 rotatory pinene of the following properties: b. p. 155 to 15 8°; 

 d 2 o° 0,862; «d-J-28°; n D 1,4695; mol. refr. found 44,02, calculated 

 for C 10 H 16 /~~ 43,52. The identity with pinene could be proved 



*) Comp. Reports April 1904, 63; October 1904, 59; April 1906, 45. 



2 ) Farmac. Revy 1907, 204, ace. to Apotheker Ztg. 22 (1907), 521. 



3 ) Chem. Ztg. 29 (1905), 103 1; Report April 1906, 47. 



4 ) Berl. Berichte 40 (1907), 1363. 



