June:1908.] 



525 



OILS AND FATS. 



DISTILLATION OF CINNAMON OIL. 

 (Illustrated.) 



The apparatus used for distillation of 

 this oil consists of three earthen pots, 

 serving as boiler, covering pot and 

 receiver, with two short tubes of bamboo 

 to conduct the steam from the boiler to 

 the condenser. The large earthen pot 

 which acts as boiler is placed over a 

 furnace ; water is poured into it to a 

 depth of nine inches. Fairly matured 

 green leaves of Cinnamomum Tamala are 

 packed into it. One head-load of leaves 

 will fill the boiler twice. A small earth- 

 en pot (chatti) is kept with its mouth 

 down over the boiler, the joint beiug 

 well plastered with clay and cowdung 

 mixed. A small bamboo tube (wate) 

 about a foot long aud half an inch iu 

 diameter is thrust through a hole in the 

 top of the upper pot as shown in Plate 

 2. To the free end of this tube another 

 about three feet in length is attached, 

 the two joints being wrapped up in cloth 

 and plastered well with the clay mixture. 

 The longer is led into another earthen 

 pot called the condenser which is fixed 

 in a tank containing cold muddy water. 

 The condenser is kept down by means 

 of horizontal bars passing over its neck, 

 the bars being pegged down to the 

 ground. A thick wet cloth is spread 

 over the mouth of the condenser and 

 around the bamboo tube. The muddy 

 water is replaced as soon as it gets 

 heated by the steam. 



The process consists of heating water 

 in the boiler to boiling point. The 

 steam given off absorbs the oil from the 

 cinnamon leaves. It passes through the 

 bamboo tubes into the condenser and is 

 there condensed against the cool jides. 

 The oil being heavier than water sinks 

 to the bottom, while the distilled water 

 forms the upper layer. 



The process takes about 8 to 12 hours 

 yielding from half to one seer of good 

 oil (1 seer=2f tolas.) The oil is used for 

 medicine and is largely exported to cold 

 countries. The market price of the oil 

 in South and North Kanara varies from 

 eight to twelve annas per seer. 



The rate of royalty for each still 

 (bhatti) is six rupees per annum. The 

 working season lasts only for five 

 months, from November to March, 

 After this the young leaves appear, and 

 these would not yield sufficient oil to 

 repay the labour. 



The apparatus used in the manufacture 

 of this oil, though rude, is simple and 

 lasts a long time. The distillation pro- 

 cess is confined to the Western Ghats, 

 where there is an abundant supply of 

 leaves of Cinnamomum. 



B. GOPALIAH, d.d.r., 



Range Forest Officer. 

 Thirthali Range, Mysore State. 



— The Indian Forester, Vol, XXXIV, 

 February, 1908, No. 2). 



DRUGS AND MEDICINAL PLANTS* 



COCA. 



By G. Van der Sleen. 



(Ind. Merc. 25, 2, 1908, p. 127, reviewed 

 by J. C. Willis.) 



Coca comes on the market as Huanuco, 

 Truxillo, Cuzco, Bolivia, Ceylon, and 

 Java, but may for practical purposes be 

 divided into large— and small— leafed. 



In 1901 there were shipped from Peru 

 (510,000 kilos (1,500,000 lbs.) of coca-leaves, 

 and 10,680 kilos of cocaine, valued at 



about £320,000, a total which compares 

 favourably with Java cinchona. 



Java according to this author grows 

 only the small-leafed coca, which con- 

 tains almost no cocaine. Early analyses 

 showed that it contained 2-20 per cent, 

 of alkaloid, but this was not cocaine. 

 To the small-leafed Java kind he identi- 

 fies as ErythroMylon truxillense, Rusby, 

 the large-leafed as E. Coca, Lamarck, 

 the true coca. 



The rest of the article is devoted to a 

 polemic on the subject. Ceylon gener- 

 ally grows the large-leafed coca, which 

 appears to give more cocaine. 



