— 54 — j 



0,415 p. c. essential oil of a bright amber colour, showing the following 

 constants: d 15 o 0,8739, « D + 29°52', acid v. 1,0, sap. v. 9,8, ester v. after 

 acet. 21,0, sol. in 4 vols. a. m. 90 p. c. alcohol. 



Delft grass oil. In our Report of April 1911 (p. 59), we gave some 

 particulars of the properties of delft grass oils which had been distilTed 

 by Jowitt at Bandarawela (Ceylon) and investigated more closely by 

 Samuel S. Pickles. The analytical figures have now also been published 

 in the Bulletin of the Imperial Institute [10 (1912), 30] in London. 



Dill Oil. A sufficient quantity is available of dill oil of the excellent 

 quality which we distil exclusively from European seed. Dill seed is 

 quoted this year at considerably higher prices than in 1911, and an 

 advance in the oil quotations is therefore probably only a question of time. 



Dutch Myrtle Oil. From the catkins of the Dutch Myrtle (Myrica 

 Gale, L, N. O. Myricacese), C. J. Enklaar 1 ) has distilled 0,4 to 0,6 p. c. 

 essential oil (di 5 o 0,899; « D — 5°36 r ). The lowest boiling fractions (b. p. 162 

 to 163° at 760 mm.; di 5 o 0,862; « D — 25°34') contained pinene; but whether 

 a- or /?-pinene, Enklaar was unable to distinguish. No nitrosochloride 

 was obtained; oxidation with potassium permanganate yielded an acid, 

 m. p. 102 to 103°, perhaps i-pinonic acid or contaminated Z-nopinic acid. 

 It would appear that the oil contains d-«-phellandrene (m. p. of the nitrite 

 112 to 113°). The presence of cineol was proved by Enklaar by the 

 preparation of the hydrobromide and the iodol-compound (m. p. 114°). 

 The highest-boiling fractions of Dutch Myrtle oil contain a sesquiterpene 

 (b. p. 150 to 152° [17 mm.]; 263 to 265° [760 mm.]; d 15 o 0,928; « D — 4°30'), 

 perhaps caryophyllene. Finally, the high-boiling portions contain a sparingly 

 soluble solid body which crystallises from alcohol in beautiful long needles 

 and possesses an agreeable odour of Dutch myrtle. 



The results of this examination show that the constitution of the oil 

 prepared from the catkins differs from that prepared from the leaves, 

 which latter was investigated last year by Pickles 2 ). 



Essential Oils, Sicilian and Calabrian. 



Our esteemed friend, Mr. Eduardo Jacob, of Messina, in his customary 

 obliging manner reports as follows: — 



In my spring-report I expressed the expectation that all the Sicilian 

 essential oils would experience an increase in value in the course of the 

 summer. With the exception of the case of bergamot oil, this expectation 



x ) Chem. WeekUad 9 (1912), No. 11. From a copy kindly sent to us. 

 2 ) Joum. chem. Soc. 99 (1911), 1764. Report April 1912, 60. 



