— 57 — 



balsam, which was of a brown colour, with a greenish fluorescence, showed 

 the following characteristics : 011500,9633, « D — 37 30', »D20° 1,51236, 

 acid no. 7,8, ester no. 2,9. Even with absolute alcohol it only gives 

 a cloudy solution, from which flocculent separation takes place quickly. 

 When the sample was distilled by steam it yielded 69,9 °/ of a lemon- 

 yellow oil, possessing the following properties: di 5 o 0,9248, « D — 6i°48', 

 n D20° 1,50252, acid no. o, ester no. 1,6; soluble in 9 vols, and more 

 of 95 per cent, alcohol. At normal pressure (741 mm.) 86 °/ passed 

 over between 260 and 265 , and 6°/ between 265 and 269 . 



Oil from Helichrysum angustifolium Sweet. From 

 Hungary we received a sample of oil which showed almost similar 

 characteristics as did an oil from the same plant distilled by ourselves 

 and described by us at the time 1 ). It possessed the following con- 

 stants: d^o 0,9084, «r> -j-4° 25', n D20 o 1,47450, ester no. 134,0, soluble 

 in 6 to 7 vols, and more of 85 per cent, alcohol. The slight differ- 

 ences between this oil and that previously examined are possibly due 

 to differences in the state of maturity of the plant or in the method 

 of distillation. 



Oil of Illicium religiosum. Some time ago we had an opport- 

 unity of investigating Japanese star anise oil 2 ) distilled from the fruit 

 of Illicium religiosum Sieb., a drug which was formerly often used as 

 an adulterant of genuine star anise. The oil differs from oil of Chinese 

 star anise chiefly in the fact that, unlike the latter, it contains scarcely 

 any anethol, while its principal constituent is safrol of which Chinese 

 oil contains only traces. The Japanese oil, therefore, congeals in 

 the freezing mixture only at about — 18 , with separation of safrol. 

 When subjected to fractional distillation under 3,5 mm. pressure, also 

 a fraction containing cineol was obtained. With concentrated resorcinol 

 solution this fraction gave the characteristic cineol-resorcinol com- 

 bination. Another fraction appeared to contain linalool, but owing to the 

 smallness of the sample available the presence of this could not be 

 ascertained with certainty. The constants of the oil were as follows: 

 di5° 0,9848, cij) — o° 50', acid no. 1,8, ester no. 12,9, soluble in 5 to 

 6 vols, and more of 80 per cent, alcohol, paraffin being separated. 



Behaviour on fractionating (3,5 mm. pressure): — 



fraction. 



(?)• 



I. 



to 40 



«,6% 



« D + 6° 20' Cineol fraction. 



2. 



40 to 65 



8,o0/ 



«D -j- i° 14' Contains linalool 



3- 



65 to 79 



17,2% 



«d - 5° ' 



4- 

 5- 



79 to 83 

 83 to 90 



32,0% 

 4.6% 



/ \ Safrol fractions. 

 a D —3 30 J 



6. 



Residue 



1 6,6«/ 





*) Report October 1903, 76. 

 2 ) Report October 1902, 80. 



