Notes on scientific research. 83 



diso 0.9156; soluble in one vol. 90 p. a, in 4.5 vol. 80 p. c, and in 15 vol. 70 p. c. alcohol ; 

 ester v. 27.64, thujyl acetate 9.67; ester v. after acetyl. 38.35; total thujyl alcohol 

 10.47 p. c; free thujyl alcohol 3.10 p. c; thujone (by hydrogenation) 57.50 p. c. 



Dorronsoro no doubt deserves all thanks for having made us acquainted with so 

 large a number of Spanish oils, and his research may probably induce many another 

 worker to compile a similar publication on these oils which have on the whole very 

 little been studied so far. It would be recommendable in future cases, however, to 

 experiment with the fresh distillates of botanically-well identified materials, which can 

 not always be said of Dorronsoro. 



It is well known that Cyprus exports various kinds of agricultural produce like 

 wheat and barley, St. John's bread, wine, raisins, fruit, and cotton. Although the essential 

 oils, which are of significance in the industry, cannot in importance be compared with 

 these chief products, yet a summary of the plants, of special interest for us, which 

 this fertile island produces, will be appropriate. We take the following data concering 

 the agriculture and the produce of Cyprus from W. Bevan 1 ). 



Agrumen, like Citrus species, Orange and Bergamot trees, are distributed all over the 

 island. The sweet orange tree, to be found everywhere, particularly however in 

 Famagusta, gives the best fruit, the thick-fleshy, oval Jaffa orange. Bitter oranges are 

 everywhere grown from seeds as wild plants, subsequently to be grafted. The Govern- 

 ment arboreta supply many thousands of wild and grafted orange trees per annum. 

 From time to time much produce has been lost by diseases, and in 1899 whole groves 

 of oranges had to be derooted or cut down quite short in Famagusta, Lefka, and Kythrea, 

 Gradually people learnt how to fight these plagues and how to raise the production, 

 although the gum disease (gummosis) 2 ) and the scale disease are still doing injury. 

 The native planters still commit the mistake of placing the trees too close to one 

 another and keeping them too moist. They are short-sighted and believe that, the 

 more plants per acre, the greater the profit. Water is a precious article in Cyprus; 

 consequently they fancy to stimulate every plant by ample supply of water. In reality 

 this watering impairs the orange and lays the foundation to the gum disease. There 

 are no statistics extant as to the manufacture of the essential oils of the agrumen 

 fruits on the island of Cyprus and as to their utilisation. Up till 12 years ago much 

 of this fruit was exported to Rumania and Russia. As, however, the oranges from 

 Cyprus frequently suffered from the scale disease and sometimes rotted already during 

 the transport, this export declined. At present the fruit is still being shipped only to Egypt. 



Of other plants which are sources of essential oils we find in Cyprus coriander, 

 Coriandrum sativum*), L., anise, Pimpinella anisum 4 ), L., Roman caraway, Cuminum 

 Cyrninum 5 ), L., the fennel flower, Nigella sativa, L, the laurel tree, Laurus nobilis 6 ), L, 

 the rose shrub, Rosa damascena, Mill., the oassie shrub, Acacia Farnesiana, Willd., and 

 various species of Origanum' 2 ). 



Rose oil had been distilled since 1897 in a small quantity and a primitive manner 

 in the village of Milikouri where the damascene rose is growing plentifully. When 

 during the war the Bulgarian rose industry diminished, Cyprus began to expand its 

 cultivation once more. The Agricultural Department appointed technical experts who 



1 ) Bali. Imp. Jnst. 17 (1919), 344, 503. — 2 ) Amber-yellow secretions appear on the bark which harden 

 on exposure to the air and resemble gum Arabic in their properties. The bark splits and finally peels in spots. 

 (A. Risso et A. Poiteau, Histoire et culture des Grangers. Paris 1872, p. 200.) — 3 ) Cf. Report 1918, 18. — 

 *) Ibidem 1918, 68. — *) Ibidem 1918, 21. — «) IUdem April 1914, 66. — 7 ) Cf. Gildemeister and Hoffmann, 

 The Volatile Oils, 2»« ed., vol. III. p. 480 and 486. 



6* 



