74 Report of Schimmel 8} Co. 1921. 





Notes on Scientific Research in the Domain of the 

 Terpenes and Essential Oils. 



General. 



D. Bernabe Dorronsoro has published an extensive memoir 1 ) on the essential oils 

 obtained from the Spanish Flora, The author discusses the chemical constituents of 

 the oils, explains the known physical and chemical methods of investigation and 

 describes finally the separate essential oils, giving details of his own results. 



The oil of turpentine forms an important export article of Spain. The company 

 Union resinera espanola controlled in the year 1910 54037 hectares of pine forests and 

 supplied in that year 4728 tons of oil of turpentine. As the oil of turpentine destined 

 for export is mainly obtained in the north of Spain, from Finns pinaster, Sol. (Pinus 

 maritinuL Poir.), Spanish and French oils used frequently to be considered identical. 

 Dorronsoro does not regard this as quite correct, without giving further reasons for 

 his assertion. 



In the second instance Pinus Laricio, Poir. (pino negral) and Pinus halepensis, Mill. 

 (pino carasco) are of importance for the preparation of Spanish oil of turpentine. 



The oils from Pinus pinaster, hailing from the provinces of Avila, Caceres and 

 Castellon had on average the following properties: — di 5o 0.8674 to 0.8729; [«] D — 28° 44' 

 to — 32°3'; n D 1.4705 to 1.4717; soluble in 5.5 to 7.5 vol. of 90 per cent, alcohol and 

 in 21 to 25 vol. of 80 per cent, alcohol. In the distillation 68.3 to 78.7 per cent, passed 

 over between 152 and 157° (700 to 710 mm.). 



The oil of the Pinus Laricio, Poir., growing in Cuenza, had the following con- 

 stants:— disc 0.8648; [«] D20 o — 25° 14'; n D20 ol.4691; soluble in 22 vol. 80 per cent, alcohol 

 and in 7.5 vol. 90 per cent, alcohol; acid v. 1.22 (corresponding to 0.715 per cent, of 

 colophony); 67.45 per cent, boiled in a Ladenburg flask (715 mm.) between 153 to 160°. 

 These numbers are in pretty fair agreement with the constants 2 ) which we found in 

 an Austrian oil of turpentine {Pinus Laricio var. /? austriaca, Endl.). 



The Pinus halepensis, Mill., which is common also in Greece and thrives in southern 

 and eastern Spain, yielded oils of the following constants: — di 5o 0.8721 to 0.8808; 

 [«]d + 0°50' t0 -f40 15 ' n D 1.4688 to 1.4716; soluble in 6.4 to 7.5vol. 90 percent, 

 alcohol; acid v. 0.64 to 1.99 (corresponding to colophony contents of 0.375 to 0.97 percent); 

 boiling in Ladenburg flask (705 mm.) 150 to 155° (39'per cent.) and 152° (49.03 per cent.). 

 Attempts to prepare sodium nopinate had no success; in its place he obtained con- 

 siderable quantities of oxalic acid. The oxidation with permanganate without alkali 

 yielded pinic acid. In addition to /?- and a-pinene there is probably present in the 

 oil another, so far unknown pinene. Unexplained is further the fact that Fernandez 2 ), 

 investigating the same Spanish oil years ago, found quite different constants. 



x ) Estudio Quimico de Esencias naturales espanolas. Memorias de la Real Academia de Ciencias Exactas, 

 Fisicas y Naturaies de Madrid 29, 1919. — *.) Cf. Gildemeister and Hoffmann, The Volatile Oils, 2"< 1 ed., 

 vol. II, p. 75. 



