26 Report of Schimmel $ Co. April 1913. 



seed oil has left something to be desired, because it was difficult to persuade con- 

 sumers to pay the high figures demanded, and also because in artificial ambrette-musk, 

 which has lately been available at such low rates, ambrette seed oil has met with a 

 competitor of which the usefulness should not be underrated. 



Angelica Oil. As was to be expected, the result of the distillation of the root 

 of the 1912 crop can only be described as very moderate, and it follows that the high 

 quotations of last year will doubtless continue in force, although naturally, since new 

 oil is available, the market has weakened to some extent. It is said that last autumn 

 considerable new plantations have been laid down in Thuringia; hence the prospects 

 of the new crop are favourable, assuming of course that the young plants have come 

 well through the winter, of which no opinion can yet be formed. Our plantations at 

 Miltitz, which have not been exposed to severe cold, are in a satisfactory condition. 

 But as the residue of 1911 oil was very small, and as the total quantity available will 

 hardly carry us to the end of the year, it is most probable that the present prices will 

 be maintained until the end of the summer. We have distilled large quantities of root, 

 but nevertheless we have no considerable stock of oil left on hand at the present time. 



Angelica Seed Oil remains scarce and high in price. The few parcels of suitable 

 seed which have been offered were so dear that it was out of the question to use 

 them for distilling. 



From the collected first-runnings of several samples of the distillation-waters of 

 angelica we have caught and examined separately the fraction which passed over first. 

 It constituted a yellow liquid with a slightly acrid odour, and consisted principally of 

 a mixture of a large proportion of methyl and a little ethyl alcohol. We distilled the 

 liquid over phenyl hydrazine, in the course of which manipulation there passed over 

 a colourless body of which the odour had lost its acridity. From the distillation-residue 

 we isolated the osazone of diacetyl (m. p. 239 to 240°). We further identified the 

 the diacetyl from the formation of glyoxalin-silver when ammonia and silver nitrate 

 were added. The methyl alcohol was identified by the violet colour-reaction with 

 magenta-sulphurous acid after oxidation with permanganate 1 ) as well as by preparing 

 the benzoate (b. p. 199 to 202°; di 5 o 1,0894; ester v. 409, calc. 412) and the oxalate 

 (m. p. 54 to 55°). The ethyl alcohol also was identified from the benzoate; b. p. 213 

 to 213,5°, d 15 o 1,0576, ester v. 372,9 calc. 373,9. The ethyl alcohol which was obtained 

 by saponifying the ethyl benzoate with methyl alcoholic potash gave the iodoform 

 reaction. 



The fractions with highest b. p. contain furfurol (colour reaction with aniline acetate) 

 as well as a base with an odour of pyridine. 



As a result of this investigation we have therefore been able to establish the presence 

 in the distillation-water of angelica of methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, furfurol, diacetyl, 

 and of a base which has not been definitely identified. We do not regard it as impossible 

 that the ethyl alcohol is generated from the green parts of the plant during the storage 

 of the roots. 



Angostura Bark Oil. Very little is known with regard to the constants of 

 Angostura bark oil, because the oil is rarely distilled. This fact induces us to communi- 

 cate here the analytical figures of a distillate prepared by ourselves. A botanical 



*) Comp. Apotheker Ztg. 37 (1912), 430. 



