Se. 
32 REPORT OF SCHIMMEL & Co. OCTOBER 1914/APRIL 1915. i ii 
80 p.c. alcohol, therefore the distillate did not agree either with the figures indicated Bs, 
‘by Gildemeister for pure oil. Presumably there was a further adulteration, which was ey 
not characterized more particularly. The distillation residue (about 53 p.c.) showed the 
characteristic behaviour of castor oil: diso 0,962; ap + 4°30’; acid v. 0,3; ester v. 174,1. 
insoluble in light petroleum. 
Palmarosa Oil. Although Java is not known as a country producing palmarosa 
oil, a few samples received by us from that island prove that the production of a 
good marketable article is well understood. The properties of the oils in question 
were within the recognized limits: dis. 0,8906 to 0,8920; a + 0°30’ to + 0°42’; 
acid v. 1,2 to 1,8; ester v. 37,5 to 51,6; ester v. after acetylation 272,7 to 276,8, 
corresponding with 94,3 to 96,0 p.c. of total geraniol; soluble in 3 to 3,5 volumes and 
more of 60 p.c. alcohol. In some instances the diluted solution showed slight 
opalescence. The geraniol percentage reached a height observed only in exceptional : 
cases even by the best Indian oils. : 
Oil of Grains of Paradise. Very little is known about the oil from grains of 
paradise, the seeds of Amomum Melegueta, Roscoe, belonging to the Zingiberaceae'). It 
may, therefore, be of interest if we give the values of an oil distilled by ourselves. 
The yield was 0,5 p.c. The oil was of light brown colour and of a peculiar odour 
which it would be difficult to describe. diso 0,8970; )—3°10’; npso0o1,49116; acid. v. 2,7; 
ester v. 41,2; ester v. after acetylation 63,9. It does not dissolve in 90 p.c. alcohol, 
but is clearly miscible, at first, in 95 p.c. alcohol, but from 1 volume of alcohol, 
turbidity sets in which decreases upon further addition of the solvent but, does not 
completely disappear. About 16 p.c. of the oil reacted with a 3 p.c. solution of caustic 
soda. We have not been able to ascertain anything definite about the nature of the 
absorbed parts of the oil, as we had not enough material at our disposal; to judge from 
the odour, we had to deal with phenols, amongst which eugenol was also represented. 
e 
Peppermint Oils. W. Himmelbaur’) reports on deterioration and subsequent. 
disease of Mentha plantations. It was a question of slips of Mentha piperita (L. ex 
parte) Huds. var. officinale, Sole, which were grown in a long and narrow border in 
an experimental nursery in Prague. The location was unfavourable inasmuch as on — 
one side it was only 1,5 m. distant from a high wall, and was shaded on the other 
side by a high tree. Moreover, the whole plantation was quite close to inhabited 
buildings. Another cultivation experiment was carried out in Korneuburg, where Mentha 
arvensis f. piperascens, Mal. (= canadensis f. piperascens, Brig.) had been planted. The 
plot of ground was quite unshaded, but in close proximity to some gas works. Moreover, 
the situation in general was rather dry and exposed to the winds. In the beginning of ; 
August a weakening of the growth made itself felt in consequence of these unfavourable 
conditions. In Prague, damage through smoke first, and later an attack of Puccinia 
Menthae, the well known fungus disease, were noticeable; in Korneuburg, however, the 
attack of Puccinia Menthae set in first, and damage by smoke later on. Himmelbaur 
describes the progress of the disease with many illustrations. As compared with ; 
healthy plants it was noticed that the leaves showed little drops of a yellow substance, ; 
and many crystals. The former consisted of fatty oil, the crystals presumably of the : 
1) Comp. Gildemeister and Hoffmann, The Volatile Oils, 2.4 ed., vol. Il. — 2) Zeitschr. f. d. landwirtsch. 
Versuchswesen in Osterreich, 1914, No. 3/4. 
