— 112 



a carbon atom combined in his opinion with four others. A simple 

 reference to this publication with its 16 new formulae, which may 

 almost be called an insult to all the scientists working in the domain 

 of the terpene chemistry, may suffice in this place. 



O. Thiele 1 ) discusses the possibility of producing essential oils 

 from drugs and blossoms in the German Pacific colonies, especially 

 in Samoa. So long as the crude material (of which particularly the 

 leaves on account of their bulk, and the blossoms on account of 

 their low keeping qualities, cannot stand a long transport) is not 

 distilled on the spot, it is only possible, in view of the heavy 

 expense, to export the most valuable material for the purpose of 

 working up. For this reason Thiele proposes to arrange a simple 

 portable distilling apparatus, or at least to improve for the blossoms 

 the process, already crudely worked by the natives, of binding the 

 aroma to cocoanut oil. The blossoms which come more particularly 

 under consideration for the perfume industry, are the ylang ylang 

 blossoms, whose mother-plant, Cananga odorata, is found in Samoa, 

 and is already utilised by the natives; further, the blossoms of pua 

 [Gardenia species), of the suni tree {Drymispermum Burnettiannm), 

 fala or fasa blossoms, fuemanogi and fuemaga {Oestrum species), mao 

 (Melochria odoratd) and others. 



Of drugs which keep better and stand a longer transport, Thiele 

 mentions the tuberous aromatic roots of rnumuta grass (a species of 

 Andropogon), the fruits of ifi-ifi (Parinarium laiirinum) and laga'ali 

 (Agleia edulis) , the resins of the ma'foa and ma'ali trees, the leaves 

 of togai (Acronychia), citrus species, and many others. 



In a meeting 2 ) of the "Societe Nationale d'Horticulture de 

 France" held on the 14 th February 1907, Etienne Petreano made 

 the bold assertion that the constituents scientifically detected in certain 

 natural blossom oils, such, for example, as methyl ester of anthranilic 

 acid, benzyl acetate, and geraniol, are not at all present in the natural 

 products in which they had been discovered. Thus, the treatise on 

 the presence of methyl anthranilate in oil of orange blossoms, was 

 only "a cleverly written publication, which had the appearance of 

 scientific truth''. But according to his own researches, orange blossom 

 oil did not contain methyl ester of anthranilic acid, nor rose oil any 

 trace of geraniol, or oil of jasmine blossoms any trace of benzyl acetate. 

 An oil of orange blossoms which contains methyl anthranilate would 

 therefore be adulterated. 



*) Chem. Ztg. 31 (1907), 629. 



2 ) Journal de la Soc. nat. d'Horticulture de France, February 1907. 



