— 127 — 



After being twice distilled in vacuo this mixture yielded 4O°/ of a 

 pale yellow, viscous acid, with an odour of oleic acid, which boiled 

 at 200 to 205 at 4 mm. The analytical figures of the acid and 

 its sodium salt gave the formula C 15 H 24 2 . Genvresse and Lang- 

 lois x ) had discovered in vetiver oil an acid C 15 H 24 4 and they 

 assigned the typical vetiver odour to the ester of this acid, containing 

 the alcohol known as vetivenol C 15 H 26 0, which they also isolated. 

 Bacon was unable to confirm this, because it was especially the neu- 

 tral oils remaining behind after saponification which, according to his 

 experiments, possessed a strong odour of vetiver. When these con- 

 stituents were fractionated, the odour was found to adhere to the 

 medium and higher fractions (b. p. 137 to 140 , and 140 to 145 , 

 12 to 15 mm.) and also to the semi-solid tarry residue, but not to 

 the fraction with the lowest b. p. (125 to 133 ). Another sample of 

 vetiver oil yielded on saponification considerable quantities of benzoic acid. 



Wild Cherry Bark Oil. As is well-known, the bark of the 

 American Wild Cherry [Prunus serotina Ehrh. ; Pr. virginiana Mill., 

 Rosaceae), when stirred up with water, yields an essential oil consisting 

 chiefly of prussic acid and benzaldehyde 2 ). Although the constitution 

 of the benzaldehyde points to the presence of a glucoside, attempts to 

 isolate such a combination had not been successful. The fact that 

 Herissey 3 ) obtained from a closely allied species, Prunus Padus L., 

 mandelic-nitrile glucoside (amygdo-nitrile glucoside), made it probable 

 that the same combination existed in Prunus serotina. F. B. Power and 

 C. W. Moore 4 ), have succeeded in proving that such is, in fact, the 

 case. These investigators have published the results of an examination 

 of the constituents of bark of Prunus serotina in which they state that 

 in that portion of the alcoholic extract of the bark which is soluble in 

 water, they have discovered the presence of 1-amygdonitrile gluco- 

 side (m. p. 145 to 147 from acetic ester, M D — 29,6°) although this 

 body, it is true, only occurs in very small proportions. They also ob- 

 tained tetraacetyl-1-amygdonitrile glucoside, which, recrystal- 

 lised from alcohol, melted at 136 to 13 7 ; [a] D — 24,0° (in acetic ester). 

 From the alcoholic extract they isolated by steam distillation, in addition 

 to a small portion of benzoic acid, an essential oil, but in such a 

 minute quantity that it was only possible to determine the b. p. ( 1 00 

 to 120 at 5 mm. press.). This oil had a pleasant aromatic odour, 

 which was, however, altogether different from that of benzaldehyde. 



*) Compt. rend. 135 (1902), 1059; Report April 1903, 76. 



2 ) Bericht April 1890, 48 ; Gildemeister and Hoffmann, The Volatile Oils, p. 444. 



3 ) Journ. de Pharm. et Chim. VI. 26 (1907), 194; Arch, der Pharm. 245 (1907), 

 475, 641; Report April 1908, 13. 



4 ) Journ. chem. Soc. 95 (1909), 243. 



