COMMERCIAL NOTES AND SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION. — NOVELTIES. 101 
45 minutes from the plantations. Moreover, the apparatus is so constructed that it 
is impossible to avoid contact of the flowers with the hot water, while fractional 
collection of the distillate is difficult and cannot be done completely. A first experi- 
ment, which was made at the beginning of the year under review with 77,5 kilos of 
flowers, several separate charges being made, afforded 0,75p.c. of oil. During the 
carriage from the plantation to the plant the flowers, even when loosely packed in 
large baskets, unavoidably became somewhat heated and faded. The experiments 
made at the end of the year under review gave the following results: — 
25. lll. 13 19,4 kilos flowers, Time of dist.2 hours, yield 1,2 °/o pale green oil, 
Me Tih. 13 © 32,7 ,, PEIN, Heh Va oir oye (RRO lanky eareli wf 
meme 13° °354 | itv pada na lil tas DC onlt al 1 LTA Richa nO 
Ps I 13° ««14,1_~=C«y, ha ei Rag IS ee a alae UE eae SRA aaa 
Poti 13 «165, Ee ee ee treet ee ries OL e/g marae ew awa 
A sample of ylang-ylang oil distilled in the island of Mauritius which has been 
sent to us for our opinion by the Imperial Institute in London, showed the following 
constants: diso 0,9906, ep) — 29° 18’, np» 1,50790, acid v. 1,9, ester v. 181,1, soluble in 
90 p.c. alcohol up to 1,5 vols. Turbidity ensues when more of the solvent is added. 
In spite of its high ester-content, chiefly represented, judging by the odour, by benzyl 
acetate, the oil does not compare in respect of aroma with good Manila brands, and 
must therefore be pronounced as of inferior quality. In view of the notorious over- 
production*) of ylang-ylang, an oil of the character of that described above would be 
very unlikely to find a profitable market. 
Novelties. 
Ashanti Pepper Oil. The fruit of Ashanti pepper, Piper guineense, Schum. et 
Thonn. (N. O. Piperacee), a native of tropical Western Africa, contains an essential oil 
of which hitherto nothing was known. A sample distillation carried out by us with 
two small samples received from Mayumba’) should therefore be of general interest. 
The oil-yields were respectively 11,5 and 10,96 p.c. The oils were colourless to palish 
yellow, and had a peppery, and at the same time somewhat sweetish odour. For the 
rest their characters were as follow: — 
diso hn Np200 | Aciduws este v. rene solubility in 90 p.c. alcohol 
Per oss  =—3°43' 1,48005 ~ 0,6 55 — Sol. in 8 vols. a. m. with turbidity 
M. 0,8788 —5°34’ 1,48847 09 4,2 221 Sol. in 8 vols. a.m. 
Both samples gave a pronounced phellandrene-reaction. 
From the fruit of Piper Clusti, C.DC., which is said to be a variety of P. guineense, 
and which was also designated as Ashanti pepper’), Herlant*) has obtained 11,5 p.c. 
of essential oil. 
1) Comp. Report October 1911, 103; April 1912, 135. — 2) The botanical determination of the fruit was 
made for us by Dr. Giessler, curator of the Botanica! Institute of University of Leipzig. — 8) R. Sadebeck, 
Die Kulturgewachse der deutschen Kolonien und ihre Erzeugnisse (Jena 1899), p. 182. — 4) Acad. Roy. de Méd. 
de Belgique 1894, 115. Comp. Gildemeister and Hoffmann, Die dtherischen Ole, 2"4 Ed., Vol. II, p. 309. 
