60 Report of Schimmel 8j Co, 1922. 



us states that the trials of preparing oil from the leaves are still going on in the Government 

 Laboratories of Jamaica. The production on a large scale was not yet possible. It is 

 further said that experiments had shown the pimento leaf oil to contain 1.8 per cent, 

 eugenol, from which it would be possible to prepare to advantage isoeugenol and vanillin. 



Pine Needle Oils. — A comparative investigation of Eastern and Western hemlock 

 oils has been started by D. E. Cable 1 ). Five oils originating from the East (Michigan, 

 Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Virginia) which were distilled during the 

 months of June, July, and August from the stripped leaves of Tsuga canadensis, Carr. 

 with a yield of 0.29 to 0.65 per cent., showed the constants :— dgg 0.9020 to 0.9234, 

 [«] D 2oo— 14.80 to —21.65°, n D20O 1.4691 to 1.4704, acid v. 0.33 to 0.70, ester v. 103.8 to 

 147.35, ester v. after acet. 113.5 to 171.94, esters calc. as bornyl acetate 36.33 to 

 51.57 per cent, total borneol 31.24 to 47.41. The Wisconsin oil excelled by its high 

 content of esters and of total borneol. 



Three oils from Western hemlock, originating from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, behaved 

 quite differently. They were distilled in the months of May, June, and July 1920 from the 

 stripped leaves of Tsuga heterophylla. Sargent (yield 0.32 to 0.36 per cent.) and showed the 

 constants as follow:— dg 0.8444 to 0.8521, [«] D20O — 6.74 to —20.00°, n D20O 1.4790 to 

 1.4840, acid v. 2.57 to 3.4, ester v. 6.7 to 17.25, ester v. after acet. 19.6 to 33.4, esters 

 calc. as bornyl acetate 2.35 to 6.02 per cent, total borneol 5.43 to 9.24 per cent 



For the purpose of comparing these oils with ordinary commercial hemlock oils 

 of the years 1909 and 1919, the following constants for three oils of commerce were 

 ascertained:— dg 0.9190 to 0.9664, [«] D20O — 1 4.85 to —24.85°, n D20O 1.4721 to 1.4786, 

 acid v. 1.51 to 18.45, ester v. 105.09 to 115.41, ester v. after acet. 149.51 to 150.83, 

 esters calc. as bornyl acetate 36.78 to 40.39 per cent, total borneol 41.55 to 41.74 per cent. 



The last-named oils are remarkable on account of the extraordinary high upper 

 values for density, refractive index, and acid content indicating, partially, resinification. 



The essential oil of the needles from Pinus silvestris, L. of Russian origin has 

 hitherto been investigated only by Hirschsohn 3 ) and, later on, by J. Schindelmeiser 3 ). 

 According to this author, Russian pine needle oil constitutes an oil with a pleasant 

 aromatic odour, showing the constants:— b. p. 160 to 250°, di 8 o 0.875, « + 0. On 

 fractionated distillation from 10 to 10° the following fractions resulted:— 160 to 170°, 

 48 per cent; 170 to 180°, 32 per cent; 180 to 190°, 12 per cent. The first fraction was 

 optically active (« D -j-2°30') and contained d-pinene; nitrolamine, m. p. 118°. The 

 fraction 170 to 180° was laevorotatory (« D — 2°46') and contained, in the opinion of 

 the author, equally as the fraction 180 to 190°, Mimonene in addition to some 

 rMimonene (tetrabromide of the total limonene, m. p. 125 to 126°, dihydrobromide 

 of the total limonene, m. p. 64°; cf. the constants of the corresponding dipentene 

 derivatives). The fraction boiling above 190° contained inactive borneol (phenyl- 

 urethane, m. p. 137 to 138°) and, probably, some cadinene (dihydrochloride, m. p. 117 

 to 118°). Hence, the oil resembled in its composition, apart from the absence of 

 sylvestrene, the German and the Swedish pine needle oils 4 ). 



Quitch Root Oil. — It is little known that quitch root (Triticum repens. L.) contains 

 an essential oil. A trial distillation of selected roots from Miltitz fields yielded 



*) Journ. Americ. pharot. Assoc. 10 (1921), 170. — 2 ) Pharm. Zeitschr. f. Russland 481 (1891). — 8 ) Sitz.- 

 Ber. d. Naturforscher-Ues. I. d. Universitat Jurjew (Dorpat) 13, 2 (1903), 315. — *) Cf. Gildemeister and 

 Hoffmann, The Volatile Oils, 2 nd edition, vol. II, p. 122 and Bericht (German) 1920, 35. 



