116 Report of Schimmel § Co. April 1913. 



Heliotropin. We have considerably extended our manufacturing plant, and are 

 therefore at last in a position to supply the requirements to the fullest extent, after 

 having in the past been mostly in arrear with our output. Our heliotropin is dis- 

 tinguished by its exceptionally pure heliotrope-aroma from other brands, which often 

 have a certain chemical odour that forms an obstacle to their employment in better- 

 class perfumes. 



Linalyl Acetate. On p. 122 of our last Report we quoted a case showing that 

 certain firms occasionally supply very inferior products under the description of linalyl 

 acetate, and in the course of the last half-year we have several times had an oppor- 

 tunity of making the acquaintance of such "cheap" preparations, for it does not require 

 any special argument to establish the fact that one of the results of the high range 

 of prices of bergamot oil was an unusually brisk demand for linalyl acetate. Of nine 

 samples which were sent to our laboratory for our opinion not a single one really 

 answered the requirements; all contained besides linalyl acetate a varying proportion 

 of other esters (geranyl acetate, terpinyl acetate), a few also contained a little terpene. 

 These are all compounds which may occur as by-products in the course of manufac- 

 ture of the ester. In one instance the odour of the sample was rather that of geranyl 

 acetate than of linalyl acetate. Moreover, in a few of the samples the ester-content 

 was as low as 60 p. c, which alone would be sufficient to indicate inferiority. 



Fractional distillation affords the best means of judging the quality of linalyl acetate, 

 of the remaining constants only a very few are occasionally valuable. For instance: 

 the estimation of the ester value gives a general clue to the ester content, but of 

 course it does not indicate what proportion of that ester content is represented by 

 linalyl acetate. On the other hand, if fractional saponification reveals considerable 

 differences in value 1 ), it is fair to suspect the presence of terpinyl acetate, but these 

 constants are of no use if, with a normal ester content, linalyl acetate is accompanied 

 by a still larger proportion of geranyl acetate. Fractional distillation, however, as we 

 have again established, is invariably useful, because any esters which may be present 

 as contaminations in the linalyl acetate have higher b. p. than the last-named product 

 and can easily be detected if the fractionation is properly conducted. 80 p. c. linalyl 

 acetate which is free from these foreign esters, and which besides linalyl acetate 

 contains only linalool, does not boil above 99° at 11 mm. press. 



We again wish to point out that the preparation which is manufactured and brought 

 into commerce by us, consists exclusively of linalyl acetate and linalool, and contains 

 an average proportion of 80 p. c. of the former. A comparison of its odour with that 

 of cheaper commercial brands will suffice to convince any expert of the superiority 

 of our linalyl acetate, of which the price is much more nearly related to its true worth 

 than is the price of the "cheap" merchandise. 



Menthol. In accordance with' our custom we deal with this article under the 

 heading "Peppermint oil, Japanese," see p. 80. 



Peru Balsam. This important article has been maintained without alteration at 

 the former high prices, which will no doubt also continue to rule for the future, as 

 the supplies are only just equal to the requirements and there is no possibility of 



x ) In the case of a pure 80 p. c. linalyl acetate this difference may be as much as 5,8. On the carrying 

 out of the process of fractional saponification see Report October 1911, 116; October 1912, 122. 



