

4 Report ofSchimmel 8j Co. April/October 1917. 



Oil of an Andropogon Species. The leaves and roots of an andropogon grass, 

 found in the Serbian district of Semendria, which apparently seems to be either Andro- 

 pogon Gryllus, L. or A. Ischcemum, Thunb., produced in a trial distillation we attempted 

 0.3 per cent, of a light yellow oil, having a curious rough, not very pleasant odour. 

 The constants observed were; di 5 o 0.9680; « D — 10° 52'; n D20 o 1.49951; acid v. 1.9; ester 

 v. 8.4; soluble in about 2.5 vol. of an 80 per cent, alcohol. It does not resemble any 

 of the known andropogon oils and is not suitable for perfumery purposes. Camphor, 

 as indicated by the smell of the grass, was not present in the oil. 



The roots were forwarded to us from the Agricultural Botanical Institute at Munich 

 and are used at Semendria for the manufacture of rootbrushes. 



Angelica Oil. On the cultivation of angelica, comp. p. 110. 



Aniseed Oil. A so-called Oleum anisi vulgaris, offered us for purchase, proved 

 on investigation to be a light fennel oil, such as is obtained as a by-product in the 

 manufacture of anethol. Its optical rotation was +33° and even in a refrigerating 

 mixture it did not deposit any anethol on addition of an anethol crystal, so that this 

 body can only have been present in quite minimal quantities, whereas the principal 

 constituent was fenchone. 



We mention the matter in this place in order to caution would-be buyers of aniseed oil. 



Oil of Artemisia annua. The oil of the composita Artemisia annua, L. is 

 still little known 1 ). Yoshikazu Imada 2 ) now throws some light on its composition. 

 Phellandrene, pinene, limonene, and dipentene were not contained in the oil, on the 

 contrary however cineole and a compound Ci Hi 6 O, which formed a semicarbazone 

 melting between 95 and 96°. The oil examined by Imada showed the constants: 

 diso 0.8984; « D — 16.71°. The oil we examined and distilled ourselves gave at the 

 time the following results: di 5 o 0.8912; « D — 1°18\ 



Oil of Artemisia tridentata. As we have already remarked, eucalyptus oil is 

 used in Australia in enormous quantities in foundries for flotation purposes 3 ). The 

 oil of Artemisia tridentata, Nutt, N. O. Compositce*), is also remarkably suitable for this 

 purpose, as M. Adams 5 ) found on the occasion of an examination of various volatile 

 oils executed in the laboratory of the University of Nevada. The plant is widely 

 distributed in the West, especially in western Missouri. The oil is produced by means 

 of distillation with steam under high pressure; the yield varies according to the time 

 of year from 0.4 to 1.0 percent. The crude oil is dark in colour; when again distilled 

 with steam, as before, it is at first quite colorless, but becomes straw-coloured on 

 standing. Statements are further made concerning other physical properties, but 

 unfortunately there are no particulars thereon in the abstract. The oil contained a 

 small quantity of «-pinene and /?-pinene, but the bulk smelled distinctly of camphor. 



G. H. Clevenger 6 ) gives particulars on the experiments made by various authors 

 tor the object of producing the oil of various species of sage (Artemisia?) and for 



x ) Comp. Gildemeister und Hoffmann, Die atherischen die, 2 nd ed., vol. Ill, p. 696. — 2 ) Yakugakuzasshi ; 

 Chemist and Druggist 89 (1917), 376. — s ) Report October 1911, 49. — *) The plant is referred to in the 

 abstract as sage or black sage. In America, the Labiata Ramona Stachyoides is also called "Black sage". — 

 6) Bll. Am. Min. Eng. 1916, 1685; Zeitschr. f. angew. Chem. 30 (1917), II. 129. — 6 ) Bll. Am. Min. Eng. 1916, 

 1685; Zeitschr. f. angew. Chvm. 30 (1917), II. 129. 



