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COMMERCIAL AND SCIENTIFIC Marae) ON ESSENTIAL OILS. 35 
g brought to by large fosee of milk.. A closer cvaminaton showed that the oil contained 
j no dangerous impurities. ; 
In another poisoning case, which occurred in Wurttemberg in 1918, the eucalyptus 
oil proved to be an artificial product composed of 6 per cent. alcohol, 30 per cent. 
camphor with some camphor-containing camphor oil fractions, and waste-terpenes’). 
Re oil of Eucalyptus megacarpa, F. v. Muller, that up till the present had not been 
examined, H. G. Smith?) reports: — The oil contains pinene, limonene, dipentene, 
about 30 per cent. cineole and probably 10 per cent. terpinene, that was found in the 
fraction boiling between 170 to 190°. Terpinene was indicated by the nitrosite (m. p.155°), 
and by rapid oxidation in the cold with Beckmann’s chromic acid mixture. During this 
reaction the inactive terpinene was destroyed and the residue consisting chiefly of 
limonene increased in optical activity. 
; - Fennel Oil.— During this year the prices of fennel oil have kept at their previous 
level, and the approach of the new harvest has .only slightly influenced the market. 
The yield of the Lutzen fennel district is described as normal, and up to within a few 
weeks ago appearances led one to believe that one would be in the position to buy 
_ more cheaply this year. Unfortunately certain elements have appeared in the last 
_ few weeks in the fennel districts only a few kilometers from Leipzig which offer no 
_ resistance to the exaggerated demands of the peasants and by agreeing to high prices, 
‘ for which reason foreigners are said to be in the market, they obtain large quantities. 
_ This year only small amounts will be procured for the distillation of fennel oil, for 
: with the present prices there can be no thought of a profit. It should be noticed 
; however that the reaction has set in only within the last few weeks, and it remains 
: to be seen if surprises in the form of-lowering of prices set in; if it turns out not to 
{ be true that large quantities from the previous year turn ae } 
Geranium Oil.—It is announced that the supplies of African oil are . meagre and 
also that the supplies from the last harvest are quite exhausted; consequently high 
_ prices must still further be reckoned with. Pure ordinary Algerian distillates finally 
reached 325 francs per kilo, against about 45 francs before the war. Quantities of 
Réunion geranium oil are still to be had; but a falling of the price, which hovers in 
the neighbourhood of 325 francs per kilo, is scarcely to be reckoned with. 
Of three Japanese geranium oils examined by S. Furukawa’), that of Pelargonium 
_ denticulatum, Jacq. was similar in composition to the geranium oils of commerce, whilst 
the oils of P. graveolens, L’Hérit. and P. Radicula, L’Hérit. were of little value as per- 
fumes. The chief ingredients of P. graveolens, d-citronellic acid 56 per cent.?, /-menthone, 
_ and /-citronellol were isolated. Moreover the following data re oils were supplied: — 
P. graveolens P. Radicula P. denticulatum 
emsty 8 eh ge a7 0.9178 0.9234 0.8860 
Pew ANe 24 225 2225 183.68 5.6 LAF 
EME VAe ic AB 31.7 12.8 
Total geraniol . . . . 23.1 percent. 26.3 per cent. 63.5 per cent. 
Free geraniol . . . . 22.0 percent. 17.26 percent. _ 60.0 per cent. 
Yield from fresh plants 1.75 to 2 percent. 1.5 per cent. 5 per cent. 
1) Sidd. Apotheker-Ztg. 59 (1919), ¢ 972 as per Chem. Zentralbl. 1920, 1. 539. — 2) Journ. and Proceed. Roy. 
Soc. N.S. W. 5% (1918), 529, as per Soc. Chem. Ind. 39 (1920), A. 206. — +*) Journ. chem. Ind. Tokio 22 (1919), 
83. According to Journ. Soc. chem. Industry 38 (1919), A. 656. 
m 3* 
