88 Report oe Schimmel § Co. 1922. 



x ) Only the rectified oils are colourless, these, however, being of inferior quality. Comp. Gildemeister 

 and Hoffmann, The Volatile Oils, 2 nd ed., vol. Ill, p. 434, footnote 2. 



2 ) The rotation ranges between — 3 and — 9°. 



3 ) This test should have been extended to other esters which may likewise be present besides ethyl 

 citrate. Comp. Gildemeister and Hoffmann, The Volatile Oils, 2 nd ed., vol. Ill, p. 441 and Bericht (German) 1920, 39. 



Menthol (Mentolo). — Colourless prisms; m. p. 44 01 ); b. p. 21 2 ° 2 ); nearly insoluble 

 in water, most readily soluble in alcohol, ether, chloroform, and carbon disulphide, 

 soluble in fats and paraffin oil; 0.1 g. menthol must not leave behind a weighable 

 residue when evaporated on a water bath; test for absence of thymol 8 ). 



x ) A certain allowance must be granted, i. e., 42 to 44°. 



2 ) Menthol boils under 753 mm. at 215°, the mercury thread being wholly surrounded by the vapours. 



3 ) Since mixtures of menthol and thymol are liquid this adulteration is highly improbable. 



Methyl Salicylate (Salicilate de metilej. — Colourless; soluble in alcohol, ether, 

 paraffin oil, fatty and essential oils; scarcely soluble in water: di BO 1.182 to 1.187 1 ); 

 b. p. 218 to 221°. On shaking with water the volume of the ester must not decrease 

 to a noticeable extent (test for absence of methyl or ethyl alcohol); identity reaction 

 with ferric chlorides. 



x ) The limits are incorrect, the specific gravity ranging between 1.185 and 1.190 (15°). 



Mustard Oil, natural and artificial (Essenza di senape). — Colourless, afterwards 

 yellowish with a tinge of red; b. p. 148 01 ); di 5 o with the artificial oil 1.020, with the 

 natural oil 1.018 to 1.025 2 ); « D i0°; readily soluble in alcohol, ether, and carbon 

 disulphide, sparingly soluble in water (1:1000); identity reactions; percentage of iso- 

 thiocyanallyl, 94 to 99. 



x ) This requirement must read correctly, mustard oil boils for the greater part between 147 and 153°. 

 2 ) This statement is likewise incorrect; the specific gravity of the artificial oil is between 1.020 and 

 1.025, that of the natural oil between 1.014 and 1.025 (15°). 



Orange Blossom Oil (Essenza di fiori d'arancio amaro). — Yellow, turning reddish 

 under the influence of air and light; blue fluorescence; di 5 o 0.870 to 0.880; « D to the 

 right 1 ); soluble 1 to 2 parts of 90 per cent, alcohol; on adding more opalescence ensues 2 ). 



*) French neroli oil, the chief commercial product, rotates between 4rl°30' and -f9°8', Spanish oil 

 between 4-9°30' and -f 29°, Italian oil between +2° 54' and -f56 o 30'; the two last-named oils are, however, 

 iri all probability no pure distillates from the flowers of the bitter orange. 



-) This statement applies for 80 per cent, alcohol; in 90 per cent, alcohol, orange flower oil is clearly 

 soluble in every proportion. After some time, however, slight opalescence sets in owing to a separation of paraffin. 



Peppermint Oil (Essenca di menta). — Colourless, straw-yellow, or greenish, on 

 exposure to the air turning gradually yellow and viscous; di 6 o 0.890 to 0.920; d 15 o of 

 the Italian oil 0.908 to 0.925; « D strongly to the left 1 ); English oil dissolves in 3 to 

 5 volumes of 70 per cent, alcohol, Italian oil gives with about 2 volumes sometimes 

 a slightly opalescent solution which does not become clear on further dilution 2 ); 

 solidifying at — 8 to — 20° with separation of menthol, Italian oil does not solidify 

 even at —17°; colour reaction with glacial acetic and nitric acids 3 ); test with iodine 

 for absence of turpentine oil 4 ). , 



x ) The rotation ranges between — 20 and —34°, with Italian oils between — 2°30' and — 26°51'.' 



2 ) American oils which, to judge from the specific gravity, are equally official, give generally a faint 



opalescence of the solution; with English oils this is sometimes likewise the case. 



8 ) We consider it decidedly a failure to comprise such a reaction (to which even otherwise normal 



English oils do not always answer) amongst the requirements of a pharmacopoeia. The quality of an oil musts 



never be judged by this>eaction. It would have been far more correct to require a definite minimum content 



of menthol which with good commercial oils is not below 50 per cent. 



4 ) This test is entirely superfluous, quite obsolete, and absolutely useless, and ought to have been 

 abandoned in the prior editions. 



