Commercial and scientific notes on essential oils. 61 



0.0065 per cent, of a dark brown distillate of feebly aromatic, somewhat sweetish 

 odour; d 16 o 0.9665, acid v. 36.2, ester v. 29.0, incompletely soluble in 10 vols, of 

 80 per cent, alcohol. Rotation and refraction could not be determined on account of 

 the dark colour of the oil. 



Another batch of quitch roots, mixed with tarragon roots, however, yielded 

 0.052 per cent, of essential oil of light brown colour: — di 5 o 0.9670, « D +2° 30', 

 n D20 o 1.55359, acid v. 5.4, ester v. 10.6, incompletely soluble in 10 vols, of 80 per cent, 

 alcohol, soluble in 2 vols, and more of 90 per cent, alcohol. 



Ravensara Oil. — The leaves and young twigs of Ravensara aromatica, J. F. Gmel., 

 a lauracea growing on the high plains of Madagascar, yielded on distillation with steam 

 an essential oil of an agreeable, camphor-like smell. It reminded one of eucalyptus 

 oil and consisted, according to Ferrand and Bonafous 1 ), of a terpene mixed with an 

 oxygenated body. 



Roman Chamomile Oil. — According to Massera 2 ), the oil contained in the flowers 

 of Roman chamomiles to the extent of 0.8 to 1 per cent, had the following constants: — 

 d 0.905 to 0.920, [«] D —3° to +3°, sap. v. 220 to 320, soluble in less than 1 vol. and, 

 with slight turbidity, in 3 vols, of 70 per cent, alcohol. In addition to the components 

 enumerated by the author (isobutyl and isoamyl esters of angelic and tiglic acid, 

 anthemol and anthemene), azulene is present, besides, according to Blaise, n-butylic 

 alcohol and, according to van Romburgh, also /2-methylethylpropylic alcohol 3 ). 



Rose Oil, Bulgarian. — The estimations of the 1921 crop vary between 1200 and 

 1500 kilos. Although these quantities do not come up by for the average pre-war 

 results, they are about 20 per cent, better than last year's result. This excess has not 

 had any effect on the prices, however, and the market remained almost unaltered. It 

 was remarkable to what an extent the illegitimate trade with rose oil has grown. It is 

 understandable that the important banks are greatly interested in transactions concerning 

 such a valuable commodity and that even the State may now and then sell certain 

 important lots, last year, however, rose oil was offered from many other quarters, 

 which have but little or nothing at all to do with the distillation of otto of roses. The 

 number of such sellers, who often carried their goods about with them in handbags, 

 was specially large, among them a good many Bulgarian students, who meant to earn 

 like that the means necessary for continuing their studies at German universities. It 

 is desirable that these after-effects of the war should disappear quickly, to the benefit 

 of the legitimate trade. Many a buyer who was not in a position to test the "bargain" 

 offered, has been done in such transactions. 



T. H. Shipkoff 4 ) publishes an article on the Bulgarian rose industry, from which 

 we copy some data, as far as they are not contained in our previous Reports**). The 

 district in Bulgaria, called by all western travellers "The Land of the Roses", extends 

 over that portion of the southern slopes of the main Balkans mountains, which comprises 

 the whole branch range of Stredna Gora (Little Balkans). Its average length is about 

 80 miles and its average with about 30 miles 6 ). The average elevation of the rose 

 district is bout 1300 feet above the level of the sea, and the average height of the 



x ) Parfum. moderne 14 (1921), 100. — 2 ) Rev. Ital. d. Essenze e Prof urn. As per Per f urn. Record 12 (1921), 

 283. — 3 ) Comp. Gildemeister and Hoffmann, The Volatile Oils, 2 nd edition, vol. Ill, p. 616. — 4 ) Amerie. 

 Perfumer 16 (1921), 48. — *) Comp. Reports April 1908, 86; April 1913, 89; 1916, 47. — 8 ) Comp. Gildemeister 

 and Hoffmann, The Volatile Oils, 2 nd edition, vol. II, p. 552, map. 



