8 Report of Schimmel § Co. 1922. 



fresh plantations in Thuringia which, besides, will yield material for distillation only 

 in 1923. The shortage of oil will therefore continue. 



From fresh angelica roots, Roure-Bertrand Fils 1 ) obtained by water-and-steam 

 distillation 0.4 per cent, of a golden-yellow oil with the following qualities: — di 7 . 50 0.8887, 

 di 5 o 0.8907 (corr.), a 180 +6°42', acid v. 7.20, ester v. 45.07, sap. v. 52.27; soluble in 

 2 and more vols, of 90 per cent, alcohol. The odour of the oil was inferior to that 

 obtained from dried roots. The low optical rotation and the high acid and ester values 

 differed from the normal figures. — The oil extracted from aqueous distillate by means 

 of light petroleum showed an odour less intense than that of the principal oil, it was 

 dark red and had the constants: — acid v. 20.53, sap. v. 134.40; soluble in 90 per cent, 

 alcohol with slight opalescence, entirely soluble in 95 per cent, alcohol. 



Apple Oil. — Basing on their investigations on the composition of the odorous 

 principle of ripe apples 2 ) F. B. Power and V. K. Chesnut 3 ) publish particulars of a 

 U. S. Pat. (No. 1366541) for synthetic apple oil. This oil is composed of the isoamyl 

 esters of formic, acetic, caproic and caprylic acids, together with acetaldehyde, or of 

 these components without the isoamyl caproate. According to the abstract available, 

 the mixture, which may be employed either in the concentrated state or in alcoholic 

 solution, consists of: — isoamyl formiate 10 pts., isoamyl acetate 10 pts., isoamyl 

 n-caproate 5 pts., isoamyl caprylate 1 pt, acetaldehyde 2 pts. 



As to the paper published by Kodama (comp. p. 154 of this Report) and bearing 

 the. title: "On the odour of apples; ethereal oils obtained from leucic acid", F. B. Power 

 and V. K. Chesnut 4 ) remark that, according to their investigations, the esters prepared 

 by Kodama do not occur in apples 5 ). Hence, the title given by Kodama to his com- 

 munication is not only misleading but entirely unwarranted. 



Atlas Cedar Tar. — In the well-wooded region of Azrou, south-east of Meknes, 

 the natives prepare through incomplete combustion of the roots of Cedrus atlantica, 

 Manetti, a tar which was recently investigated by R. Massy 6 ). The author states that 

 a long pit, lined with clay and situated on an incline, serves for the purpose. The 

 lowest part of it is connected through a narrow pipe with a hole, into which the 

 distillation products flow. After having filled the pit with the pieces of wood from 

 the roots, the largest at the bottom, and covered with branches of the tree and sand, 

 the wood is lit from the side opposite the escape-pipe, left open for the purpose. The 

 slower the combustion, the better the yield. After about twelve hours, the distillate 

 collected in the hole is taken out and filled into a hanging skin bag, in which the 

 tar separates from the water, this then being removed. The distillation is completed 

 after another 24 hours, when the new distillate is treated in the same way. 241 kilos 

 of cedar wood thus yielded 17.78 kilos (7.4 per cent.) of crude tar, corresponding to 

 4 per cent, of filtered tar. The final product had the following properties: — d 20 o 0.981 

 to 0.985; on being distilled under ordinary pressure between 150 and 300°, 71 percent, 

 of a dextrorotatory body passed over. The products carried over by steam are dextro- 

 rotatory. Less than 5 c. c. of N/soda lye suffice to neutralize the acid contained in 



!) Bull. Boure-Bertrand Fils, October 1921, 33. — 2 ) Comp. Berleht (German) 1921, 7 ; also the work of 

 Thomae, Reports October 1911, 21 ; April 1913, 28. — s ) Perfum. Record 12 (1921), 123. — 4 ) Journ. Americr. 

 chem. Soc. 43 (1921), 1741. — 6 ) Comp. Bericht (German) 1921, 7. — 6 ) Journ. de Pharm. et Chim. VII. 24 

 (1921), 264. 



