34 Report of Schimmel § Co. 1922. 



until the attack has reached an advanced stage, when the tree has been nearly ring- 

 barked. Associated with the disease 1 .), 'a fungus parasite (Fusarium limonis) is con- 

 stantly found, which enters the tree at an injured part, goes very slowly through the 

 tissues of the trunk, and if left unchecked accomplishes the ring-barking of the tree. 

 The treatment recommended when "gumming" has been observed is to scrape the 

 earth away from the base of the tree, remove the dried bark apparently infected by 

 the fungus, and paint the wound with a bluestone paste composed of lVa'lbs. of 

 copper sulphate, 4 lbs. of unslaked lime and l^a gallons of water. Where collar rot 

 is too far advanced for the tree to be saved by this treatment it should be removed 

 and burned, and the stump-hole limed. Bad drainage is conducive to this disease. 



Estragon Root Oil. — Estragon roots, collected in Miltitz, yielded on distillation 

 with steam 0.21 per cent, of a dark brown oil. The feeble smell recalled somewhat 

 that of radishes and was, in any case, entirely different from that of the herb: — 

 di 5 o 0.9744, n D20O 1.56406, acid v. 2.1, ester v. 14.4, soluble in 5 vol s of 90 per cent, 

 alcohol with turbidity, which gradually diminishes on further dilution. Owing to the 

 dark colour, it was impossible to determine the optical rotation. 



Eucalyptus Oil.— As per an American report 2 ), the eucalyptus oil industry in 

 Victoria appears to be in a very low condition, many of the distillers having ceased 

 to work. In the Maryborough district, only one distillery is at work. In the Neilborough 

 district, about half the factories are working, but only at low-grade oils. 



In a communication dealing with piperitone, J. Read and H. G. Smith 3 ) furnish 

 some details concerning the history of the "peppermint" eucalypts of Australia. 



Soon after the arrival of Governor Phillip in New South Wales, in 1788, a species 

 of this peppermint type, growing plentifully in the neighbourhood of Port Jackson 

 attracted the attention of the colonists, and the first eucalyptus oil to be distilled was 

 obtained from its foliage and employed for medicinal purposes by Surgeon-General 

 Dr. White, who gave the plant the name Peppermint Tree on account of the very great 

 resemblance between the essential oil drawn from its leaves and that obtained from 

 the peppermint in England. The. oil was found by Dr. White to be much more effi- 

 cacious in removing all cholicky complaints than the English peppermint oil. Nowadays, 

 the tree is known to have been Eucalyptus piperita, which is common in the Sydney 

 district and the Blue Mountain Ranges of New South Wales 4 ). 



The eucalypts of the "peppermint" group are now known 5 ) to contain piperitone 

 CioHieO 0>menthenone-3), occurring, with the exception of E. apiculata, in association 

 with /,«-phellandrene and, in most cases, also with the corresponding secondary alcohol 

 piperitol. Wh^en isolated in the usual way, by fractional distillation under atmospheric 

 pressure followed by treatment with sodium hydrogen sulphite solution, the piperitone, 

 on regeneration, undergoes racemisation and usually exhibits a feeble lasvoratation not 

 exceeding [«] — 1°. Read and Smith ascribe this to the possible presence of small 

 quantities of the lasvorotatory aldehyde "cryptal". By conducting the distillations, 



') According .to the description the so-called "gumming" disease (gummosis), which may attack all sorts 

 of citrus-trees, seems to be referred to. Comp. Bericht (German) 1921, 89. — 2 ) Americ. Perfiim. 16 (1922), 318. 

 — 3 ) Journ. chem.Soc. 117 (1921), 779. — *) Comp. Gildemeister and Hoffmann, The Volatile Oils, 2 nd edition, 

 vol. Ill, p. 277. — B ) Ibidem, p. 283. 



