Scientific and other notes on essential oils. 59 



with the help of a current of air, and the residue, mixed with 35 cc. of glycerine, is 

 distilled in vacuo, till 25 cc. of glycerine have passed over. The distillate is then 

 mixed with 25 cc. of water, is agitated thrice with chloroform, using 25 cc. each time, 

 and the extract then evaporated on the water bath in a tared dish, and finally the 

 weight of the residue is determined after drying in vacuo over sulphuric acid. Twelve 

 sandalwood samples from Mysore, treated in this manner, produced from 3.5 to 

 8.3 percent, of oil. The oil, extracted by. this process, showed a rotation of at least 

 — 18° and was easily soluble at 25° in 5 vols, of 70 per cent, alcohol, whereas the 

 oil obtained from the same wood by distillation required for solution more than 

 5 vols, of 70 per cent, alcohol and only showed a rotation of — 14° or even less. 

 According to Briggs, these differences are caused by changes produced in the oil 

 owing to prolonged contact with boiling water. 



Unfortunately, we have not the original paper at our disposal, but only an abstract, 

 hence our criticism must not be too severe. In any case Briggs' method seems to us 

 quite unsuitable. Of course, two oils, produced by such different means, cannot 

 possibly be compared, least of all, when proceeding in the arbitrary manner Briggs 

 employs. Is the author really sure that all the components of the sandal oil have 

 passed over with the 25 cc. glycerine distillate? Our sandalwood oils, obtained by 

 distillation, were always easily soluble in 3 to 5 vols, of 70 per cent, alcohol and 

 occasionally gave a rotation even over — 20° with a santalol content of about 

 95 per cent. Accordingly we are forced to conclude that Briggs hardly knows how 

 to distil sandalwood in an appropriate manner. 



Concerning an isomeric teresantalic acid, see page 154 of this Report. 



Santolina Oil. L. Francesconi and N. Granat#) have continued their investigations 

 on the structure of santolinenone which we have repeatedly discussed in our Reports*). 

 They have discovered that /^-santolinenone forms a liquid oxime and a simple hydroxyl- 

 amine compound, melting between 63 and 

 64°. The oxalate of the hydroxylamine 

 compound melts at 161°. Oxidation with 

 mercuric oxide transforms the hydroxyl- 

 amine compound into the pungent smelling 

 nitroso- ,5 -santolinenone melting between 

 60 and 62°. The best means to produce Possible formula for £_ san t ii n fenone. 



the hydroxylamine compound of /?- san- 

 tolinenone is to allow hydroxylamine hydrochloride in the presence of sodium bicarb- 

 onate act on an alcoholic-ethereal solution of the oil from Santolina Chamcecijparis. 

 As yet it is impossible to determine exactly what the structure of /^-santolinenone 

 may be, possibly one of the two formulas below may express it. Accordingly ,^-san- 

 tolinenone is probably a derivative of m-cymene, hence the first known »?-ketone found 

 in a natural state. 



Sassafras Oil. A sassafras-wood oil sent to us for examination turned out to be 

 ordinary safrol, as the following figures demonstrate: di 5 o 1.106; « D i0°; n D20 o 1 .53648 ; 

 freezing point + 10.6°; soluble in 3.5 vols, and more of 90 per cent, alcohol. Sassafras 



HCH 



3 







HCH 3 



Ha \/ 



H 2 



= C(Cr-y 2 



H,l J=C(CH 3 ) 





O 



2 ) Gazz. chim. ital. 46 (1916), II. 251; Chew. Zentralbl. 1917, I. 13. — '-) Comp. h'eport April 1912, 113 

 April 1915, 41 ; October 1915, 35. 



