— 59 — 



The discrepancies existing between our own and Pepin's observ- 

 ations are explainable by the fact that so far only few oils have 

 been examined, and that certain fluctuations of course also occur in 

 pure oils. A considerable quantity of experimental material and further 

 research into the whole question will be necessary before it becomes 

 possible to establish really authoritative constants for cade oil. The 

 marked difference between Pepin's record of the behaviour on boiling 

 and our own is due to the different manner in which the thermo- 

 meter was handled. While in the case of our investigations the whole 

 of the mercury column was exposed to the vapours, Pepin placed 

 his thermometer so that 230 was above the stopper. When operating 

 in this manner, we found the fraction passing over between 150 and 

 300 to be 6o°/ . 



Kobushi Oil. A kobushi oil examined by Y. As ah in a and 

 H. Nakamura 1 ), which had been distilled in the Japanese province 

 of Shizuoka from one year old twigs, showed in some respects consider- 

 able differences from the kobushi oils which had been examined so 

 far 2 ). This oil was bright yellow and had an odour reminding of citral. 

 d^o 0,892; « D -|~6 8'; acid no. 4,3; sap. no. 19,1; sap. no. after ace- 

 tylation 56,48, soluble in 1,4 vol. of 85 per cent, alcohol, further 

 addition of the solvent produced opalescence. It was found to possess 

 the following constituents: citral (6 to 7%, a-citryl-^-naphthocin- 

 chonic acid, m. p. 197 to 200 ), eugenol (benzoyl compound, 

 m. p. 69 ), cineol (cineol iodide, m. p. 112 to 113 , cineolic acid, 

 m. p. 1 95 ) and, as principal constituent, methylchavicol which yielded 

 homoanisic acid (m. p. 84 to 85 ) and anisic acid (m. p. 184 ) when 

 oxidised with permanganate of potash. According to the authors, 

 the oil may also contain pinene, because the fraction boiling between 

 150 and 160 yielded traces of a nitroso-chloride which could not 

 be more closely characterised on account of its scarcity. The authors 

 found the following acids: caprinic acid (silver salt, readily soluble in 

 hot water, 38,52 °/ Ag) and oleic acid (silver salt, insoluble in hot 

 water, soluble in hot alcohol, 27,54% Ag). It is worthy of note that 

 the oil examined by Asahina and Nakamura contained no anethol, 

 a substance of which the presence in kobushi oil has been proved 

 quite clearly by ourselves as well as by Charabot and Laloue. 

 We identified the anethol direct by its m. p. 22 to 23 . Asahina 

 and Nakamura employed for purposes of identification picric acid 

 among other substances, whereas according to Bruni and Tornani 3 ) 



*) According to the Journ. of the Pharm. Soc. of Japan, No. 322, Dec. 1908. 

 Tokyo. 



2 ) Report October 1903, 78; April 1908, 61. 



8 ) Compare the abstract in Chem. Zentralbl. 1904, II. 954. 



