— 3i — 



sensitive and requiring less care than A. Farnesiana, the latter needing 

 careful pruning every year in March, which is not at all necessary in 

 the case of the other plant. Both varieties like a light, sandy granite 

 soil, but they require a warm and sunny situation, protected against 

 the wind, especially the Mistral. The mode of cultivation differs, 

 A. Farnesiana being raised from seed, A. Cavenia from cuttings. In 

 both cases the planting takes place in March. As soon as the plants 

 have struck sufficient root, they are planted out, A. Farnesiana at 

 distances of from 2 to 2,5 m., A. Cavenia at from 5 to 6 m. Occa- 

 sionally, A. Cavenia is grafted upon A. Farnesiana. The plants demand 

 very little manure, and many farmers fertilise them only every other 

 year. The soil also requires little watering, but this must not be 

 onitted altogether. 



The cassie shrubs flower in the first summer after their planting- 

 out, but a full crop can only be looked for from the 5 th year onwards. 

 The flowering time of A. Farnesiana is from September until the end 

 of December, a medium -sized shrub producing during that time about 

 600 g. of flowers. A. Cavenia flowers considerably longer, that is to 

 say, until April or May, and its yield of flowers is frequently more 

 than double that of the quantity above mentioned. The Cavenia 

 flowers are frequently used to adulterate the others, which is all the 

 more easily done as they are difficult to distinguish from the flowers 

 of A. Farnesiana. We have given detailed information concerning both 

 oils in previous Reports 1 ). 



Chamomile Oil, Roman. H.J. Henderson 2 ) has observed from 

 authentic distillates of Anthemis nobilis that, contrary to what is 

 generally stated, the rotation does not lie between -\- 1 and -f-3 . 

 Three oils, distilled from dry flower heads, were inactive, while of 

 two oils obtained from the entire, green plant, one was inactive, 

 while the other had a dextrorotatory power of o° 30'. In the case 

 of the last two oils referred to the sap.no. was 283 and 297 respecti- 

 vely, while for the first-named three oils it was respectively 305, 307 

 and 317, that is to say, higher than has up to the present been 

 indicated for Roman chamomile oil (250 to 300). The acid number 

 of freshly distilled oils ranged up to 4, in the case of a four-year- 

 old oil it was 7,8. This old oil was also less soluble than the fresh 

 distillates, all of which gave a clear solution with 6 vol. of 70 per cent 

 alcohol. Henderson also questions Gildemeister's and Hoffmann's 

 statement that the Roman chamomile grows wild only in a few 

 districts of Western Europe 3 ). According to him the Roman chamo- 



2 ) Reports April 1901, 18; April 1903, 17; October 1903, 18; April 1904, 

 23; October 1904, 18; April 1907, 27. 



2 ) Pharmaceutical Journal 81 (1908), 683. 



,3 ) Gildemeister and Hoffmann, The Volatile Oils, p. 672. 



