Commercial and scientific notes on essential oils. 55 



Palmarosa Oil. — A sample of this oil, forwarded in 1917 from the United Pro- 

 vinces of India, was investigated in the Imperial Institute 1 ) with the following result: — 

 dg§ 0.889; « D — 0.41°; n D20O 1.477; sol. in 1.8 vol. of 70 per cent, alcohol; acid v. 1.6; 

 ester v. 11.8; total alcohols, calculated as geraniol, 90.7 per cent. The oil answered 

 nearly fully the requirements of a good commercial quality, yet it smelled slightly of 

 lemons and had not the clean geraniol odour of highest grade palmarosa oil; possibly, 

 the sample contained lemongrass oil. 



A second sample of palmarosa oil distilled at Cawnpore contained a lower per- 

 centage of total alcohols and its aroma was not quite equal to that of the previous 

 sample. Its constants were : — dg£ 0.889 ; a D20O -f-0.32°; n D20 o 1.472; sol. in 1.9 vol. 

 70 per cent, alcohol; acid v. 0.8; ester v. 28.0; total alcohols, calculated as geraniol, 

 85.5 per cent. 



Patchouly Oil. — Whereas the true patchouly plant of commerce, Pogostemon 

 Patchouli. Pell., or P. Cablin, Benth., is cultivated only to a very small extent in Java, 

 there are extensive patchouly fields in the North of Sumatra, especially near Tapa Tuan 

 in the Atjeh district 2 ). In the beginning the natives cultivated the plant, nilam, in 

 order to prepare with the aid of its leaves a hair oil for their own use, and the export 

 of the dried leaves did not begin earlier than about ten years ago. The plantations 

 extended in the same proportion as the prices rose (at present 15 florins per picul, 

 as compared with only 3 florins ten years back). Now they are not only restricted 

 any more to Tapa Tuan, but are also found in the districts of Sama Dua, South-Dho, 

 Phoa and Menke. 



Before the war, France and Germany were the chief European importers of 

 patchouly leaves. In 1913, France imported 3659 piculs and Germany 4975 piculs from 

 Penang; in 1914, France imported 93 piculs from Singapore and 1655 piculs from 

 Penang, whereas Germany took 2973 piculs from Penang. In addition, considerable 

 quantities went to British India, Hongkong and, since 1911, to the United States. 

 Japan and Canada were buyers for the first time in 1918, the former importing 259 piculs 

 and the latter 481 piculs from Singapore. 



According to a report of the Dutch Chamber of Commerce in New York 3 ) the 

 distillation of the oil has been started in Atjeh, the export centre of patchouly leaves. 



Roure-Bertrand Fils 4 ) examined two patchouly oils from the neighbourhood of 



Kotta-Radja (Sumatra), obtained by distillation of leaves and stems, and found the 



following constants: — 



leaf oil stem oil 



d 15 o . . . .- 0.9698 0.9739 



« —52° 4' —54° 8' 



acid v 1.2 8.7 



ester v 6.7 1.3 



„ „ after acetylation . . . 26.1 3 5 ) — 



solubility in 85 per cent, alcohol turbid turbid 



,, „ 90 „ „ „ up to 1 vol., in any proportion 



turbid in 3 

 to 4 vols. 



l ) Hull. Imp. Inst. 18(1921), 342. — 2 ) Chem. and Druggist 96(1922), 56. — ») Holland and her Colonics 

 1 (1921), No. 7, p. 15. — *) Bull. Roure-Bertrand Fils, April 1921, 18. — 5 ) In this' case the acetylation is 

 of very little importance, as patchouly alcohol cannot be acetylated quantitatively. 



