Ss as ‘caraway oil offered ‘to us Apow aganbare was conepI lots: by its. ‘abnormal 
By constants, » being far too heavy, | specially well soluble and of too small a rotatory 
_ power: ‘dies 1 0342, “ay +359 10" 3 soluble in about 1 vol. and more alcohol of 80 percent. 
_ As there was. no agreement with either caraway oil or carvone, it was natural to look 
_ out for an adulteration. The examination revealed that, in opposition to caraway oil, 
the stuff contained a considerable proportion of ester, which resembled very much the 
. phthalic ester used in perfumery. The acid isolated from the saponification lye was then 
3 recognized as phthalic acid, melting at about 196°. The ester value determined (325.8), 
= ‘corresponded to an ester content Of 56.4 per cent., calculated as dimethyl phthalate. 
This case shows that caution is required even in buying oils which, such as 
caraway oil, are very seldom faked. 
Sa . ota oe | 
Gaecia Oil. Se per. a communication. of the eee Consulate General at 
Hongkong?) the exports of cassia oil have decreased considerably, in 1918, the ship- 
_ments to Europe having gone down. by two thirds. Ehie:: declared export of cassia oil 
to the United States, in 1918, amounted to 139938 lbs. to the value of & 124405.—, 
as compared with 112003 Ibs. to the value of § 124503.—, ‘in 1917. arnt 
The adulteration wath: phthalester has, of- late, not been restricted ath to the oils | 
content appear as” high as possible, but is now in use with almost any oil. As in these 
‘other cases the original aim. does not enter into consideration, the addition is no longer 
so modest as before, but reaches an astounding proportion. First in the ranks is a 
ttle Leipzig firm, scarcely known before the war, but who through this bad, though 
certainly very remunerative, ‘practice has attained to such a shameful notoriety, that we 
h ave had to stigmatize them repeatedly in this Report. Among the oils “transformed” 
I them is a cassia oil, submitted to us from Hamburg for. inspection. It betrayed at 
once its having been faked by its excessively high specific gravity (diso 1.1108) and 
above all by the altogether insufficient aldehyde content (about 15 per cent.). The — 
a ly Saponifiable components, the sample showed an ester value of 390.5. The acid 
“separated from the lye was recognized by its m.p. (195. to 197°) as phthalic acid. It 
J ielded, besides, a sublimate in the form of fine needles, melting at 130° and identical 
with phthalic acid anhydride. The adulterant was thus proved to be phthalic ester, the 
quantity added amounting fo about 67 per cent: calculated as dimethyl phthalate. 
F. D. Dodge?) has ‘continued his” investigations of cassia. oil, discussed by us3) at 
the time, and discovered again some new constituents. _ 
EY! He examined two oils, the one of which (A), obtained by him through rectifying a 
pure commercial oil, showed the following properties: doso 1.0528, «p feebly to the right, 
aldehyde content 88 per cent. The other oil (B) answered the requirements of the 
J.S.P.: doso 1.0514, ap feebly to the ee algenyae) content 80 per cent. Both oils 
pere free from rosin. 
He shook 1 Ib. of each with Macc 5 Ibs. of sodium bisulphite ene senaved 
le non-aldehydes and heated the solution on a water-bath until the transformation 
into the sulphonate was complete. After cooling down, sodium carbonate was added 
to > the whole Maus until it had become strongly alkaline, when he extracted it with 
*s 
a =) Handelsherichten (Den Haag) 13 Midd 362. bea 4) Journ. Ind. and Engin. Chamistey 10 (1918), 1005. — 
*) Rep ita 1916, 12. 
Recinated according to their ester content, when ‘the purpose is to make the ester 
saponification showed how this had been done. Whereas cassia oil contains scarcely — 
