76 REPORT OF SCHIMMEL &.Co. APRIL 1914. 
Pennyroyal Oil. The sale of this oil has left a good deal to be desired, and in ; 
spite of the scarcity of oil from the Spanish producing districts, it has therefore not — 
been necessary to increase the price. It would appear moreover that its use in the 
soap-industry has declined. American pennyroyal oil is also unchanged. 
A case of poisoning by a single dose of 7 grams pennyroyal oil is described in 
an English periodical’). Half an hour after taking the dose the patient became 
distracted, and finally she had an attack of frenzy which lasted four hours. An emetic 
was then administered, after which she recovered fairly rapidly. On the next day she 
was quite well again. 
Peppermint Oil, American. As is always the case at the present season, it 
is impossible to say much that is of value about the prospective development of the 
peppermint oil cultivations in Michigan and Indiana. Our New York friends report 
that it is as yet too early to discover what damage has been done to the roots by the 
winter. In amplification of our report of last October they observe: At the beginning 
of last August, owing to the poor appearance of the fields, we estimated the result 
of the crop at 225000 Ibs., but since then it has turned out that the total production 
was close upon 205000 Ibs. of oil. Fine rainfalls in August assisted, at any rate to 
some small degree, the development of the plants, and although it was too late to 
improve the growth of the leaves to any appreciable degree, yet the oil-content was 
increased, and this accounts for the surplus production. In the months of September 
and October the turnover was fairly brisk, but in November and December the market 
calmed down again, consumers at this period maintaining an attitude of great reserve. 
One of the largest growers in the West then brought his oil to market and prices fell 
by as much as 10 to 15 cents per lb. Now, however, the growers have cleared off 
their stocks of oil, which have passed into the middlemen’s hands, so that the situation 
has again grown firmer, and it is to be expected that during the summer everything 
possible will be done to drive up the prices once more. With the new crop, but not 
until then, the position may possibly undergo a change. Thanks to our timely pur- 
chases at advantageous prices we have been in a position to supply the friends of 
our two popular brands “FS & Co.” and “FB” at cheap rates, and it is only the recent 
cable advices of serious upward movement, said to be due to bad weather in the West, 
that have induced us to follow the market, at any rate to some extent. 
: 
We have recently noticed that the shipments of peppermint oil which have reached 
us from America contained an exceptionally large percentage of menthone. Upon 
enquiring from our NewYork branch house as to the probable cause of this phenomenon, 
our American friends consulted their scientific adviser, Dr. C. Kleber, of Passaic, N. J., 
who has sent us the following statement on the subject: — 
The American peppermint oil samples of last year’s crop showed certain peculiarities 
in respect of their characters, as will be observed from the subjoined table, in which 
the oils are recorded in the order in which they arrived at New York. As, owing to 
the urgency of the demand, the oils were delivered fresh from the still, it is probable 
that the sequence in the table corresponds closely with that in which the parcels were 
produced. 
1) Pharmaceutical Journ. 92 (1914), 10. 
