NOVELTIKS. 1 1 1 



Novelties. 



Oil from "Wild" Cardamoms. "Wild" Cardamoms, originally derived from 

 Indo-China, of which the parent-plant was identified as Amomum globosum, Lour. 

 (N. O. Zingiber acece), when distilled yielded 4 p. c. of a colourless oil, which on exa- 

 mination was found to possess the following constants: djgo 0,9455, " D 43° 54', 

 "D20O 1,47141, acid v. 0,8, ester v. 128,4, insoluble in 10 vols. 70 p. c, soluble in 1 vol. 

 a. m. 80 p. c. alcohol. The constants of the oil show some similarity with those of the oil 

 from "Ceylon cardamom seeds" (Report October 1910, 32) but the oil differs materially 

 from the latter in respect of odour, in which particular it reminds rather of camphor 

 oil; for which reason it is useless as a cardamom oil proper. The pronounced odour 

 of camphor points to a considerable proportion of camphor, but as to this we were 

 unable to determine anything definite, as our sample consisted only of a few cc. of oil. 



Oil from Cherry stones. An oil which has recently been prepared by us from 

 cherry stones was of interest in so far as up to the present it was an unknown product. 

 For its preparation the stone was ground up with the shell, mashed up, and the paste, 

 after being left standing for several hours, distilled with steam. By this process we 

 obtained 0,016 p. c. of an oil possessing the following characters: d 150 1,0532, «d^-0 o , 

 n D 2oo 1,53888, sol. in 2,5 vols. a.m. 60 p. c. alcohol. The hydrocyanic-acid content 

 was 0,27 p. c. The oil was colourless to pale yellow and had an odour similar to that 

 of bitter almond oil, although clearly differentiated from the latter. 



Fennel Herb Oil. An oil distilled from fennel herb on the island of jersey was 

 sent to us some time ago for our opinion. The oil constituted a colourless liquid 

 with an odour of estragon and was soluble in 5 vols. a. m. of 80 p. c. alcohol, with 

 slight turbidity; di 5 o 0,9561 ; « D -f-16°40\ The oil only contains a very small proportion 

 of anethol, but, judging by its odour, methylchavicol is an important constituent. 



As we had at our disposal a sample of the raw material used for distilling, and 

 as, moreover, a supply of the fruit reached us afterwards, we were able to determine 

 the botanical origin of the oil. Its parent-plant was Fceniculum vulgare. Miller. 



Oil from the herb of Meum athamanticum. The herb of bald-money, Meum 

 athamanticum, jacq., an umbelliferous plant, which was collected in the neighbourhood 

 of St. Andreasberg, in the Hartz Mountains, yielded upon distillation 0,88 p. c. of a deep 

 reddish-brown oil with a celery-like odour. It was soluble in 3 vols, of 90 p. c. alcohol; 

 d 13 o 0,9053; n D20 o 1,50327; acid v. 8,8; ester v. 63,1. Owing to its dark colour it was 

 impossible to determine the rotation of the oil. White crystals separated out from it, 

 which at first melted between 83 and 84°, and, after being once crystallised from 

 alcohol, at 91°. They may perhaps represent guajol. As only a very small quantity 

 of the oil was at our disposal we have been unable to go further into this question. 



On oil from the root of bald-money, see Gildemeister and Hoffmann, The Volatile Oils. 

 1 st Ed. p. 568. 



