36 REPORT OF SCHIMMEL & Co. OCTOBER 1915. 
So far the oils from Solidago canadensis, L., nemoralis, Ait., odora, Ait. and rugosa, Mill.*) 
-have been described. The oils of the two last-named kinds have now been examined 
more closely by E. R. Miller and J. M. Moseley ”). 
Solidago rugosa is found in damp thickets, and on the borders of fields, from 
Newfoundland to Ontario and south-westward to the Gulf of Mexico. The fresh herb 
yielded 0.4 p.c. of essential oil (d22 0.8620; « Oy — 12° 8’; npowo 1.4813; sap. value 4.22; | 
250 
sap. value after acet. 10.97) which boiled between 165 and 180° and appeared to consist 
chiefly of /-«-pinene, the properties and the formation of a nitrosochloride pointing that 
way. The constants of the higher-boiling parts seemed to indicate that d-limonene and 
6-pinene may also have to be considered as constituents of the oil. 
Solidago odora, commonly known as Sweet Scented Golden-rod or Blue Mountain 
Tea, grows on dry or sandy soil on the borders of thickets and in open woods, from 
New Hampshire to Florida and westward to Missouri and Texas. The authors presume 
that the golden rod oils met with in commerce for many years were probably nothing 
more than nondescript oils distilled from a mixture of weeds without any attempt at 
Selection. In their distillation experiments the authors obtained yields averaging 
about 1 p.c.; the lowest was 0.64, the highest (in one instance) 1.53 p.c. The odour 
of the oil was somewhat like that of anise, and at the same time suggestive of safrole. 
d= 0.9310; ay + 13°72’; npx0 1.5065; acid v. 0.63; sap. number 7.9. Methylchavicol 
was proved by oxidation to anisic acid (m.p. 184°) and homoanisic acid (m.p. 85 to 86°). 
The content of methylchavicol amounted to about 76p.c. (methoxyl determination). 
Anethole was not present; phenols, aldehydes and ketones were also absent. The 
presence of a-pinene is doubtful; although the hydrocarbon furnished a nitrosochloride. 
of the m.p. 103°, it had no properly melting nitrolamine bases. Phellandrene reaction 
was negative, and camphor could not be proved. On the other hand borneol was 4 
characterized by its melting point (203 to 204°) and phenylurethane (m. p. 138 to 139°). 
Besides borneol another alcohol appears to occur in the oil. In the saponification 
lyes there were present presumably three volatile acids and a non-volatile one. 
The oil obtained from cultivated plants showed properties similar to the oil from 
wild herb. dy500.9450; ap + 9.339; npwo 1.5140; sap. v. 8.9; sap. v. after acet. 19.4; 
soluble in 0.4 vol. of 90 p.c. alcohol; upon addition of 15 volumes, the solution 
became opalescent. 
Spearmint Oil. The use of this oil in the American chewing gum and confectionery 
industry, which we had always looked upon as an aberration of taste, has, according 
to a report of our New York friends, declined to such-an extent that the oil is threatened 
with complete depreciation. The quantities grown in the West exceed the present 
requirements so much that large parcels are‘ lying about everywhere unsold and 
cannot be placed even at considerable sacrifices. In February 1914, spearmint oil cost 
§ 3.80 per lb. in the U. S., whereas now the best oil may be had at § 1.40 to f 1.50 
per lb. at most. It is, of course, difficult to say whether the great European war has 
anything to do with this considerable drop in prices; the export of the oil to Europe 
has never been very important. 
In a price-list, E. M. Holmes?) found an oil styled “Olewm Menthae Satiwae B. P.” 
whereby spearmint oil was meant. The designation of “Olewm Menthae Sativae”’ occurs 
last in the London Pharmacopoeia for 1788, but was changed to “Olewm Menthae 
1) Comp. Gildemeister and Hoffmann, The Volatile Oils 1st ed., p. 668. Report April 1906, 62; October 1906, 72; 
April 1915, 43. — *) Jowrn. Americ. Chem. Soc. 87 (1915), 1285. — *%) Pharmaceutical Journ, 94 (1915), 229. — 
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