— 66 — 
say whether the actual value will be permanent or a decline take place 
in due time. 
Peppermint Oil, Italian. Although the peppermint oil distilled in 
Italy is usually consumed in that country, and not much exported, we 
have come into possession of a small parcel of this oil which has been 
distilled in the province Piemont. This oil has a faint greenish-yellow 
colour, and an odour which reminds somewhat of pennyroyal. Its 
physical constants are as follows: Specific gravity at 15°, 0,9122, optical 
rotation — 16^21^; it is soluble in about 7 volumes 70 per cent, and 
in 1,1 volume 80 per cent alcohol, with considerable opalescence, which 
in both cases becomes gradually fainter if further quantities of the 
solvent are added. The oil has a total content of menthol of 52,5 per 
cent; of this 7,89 per cent are esterified, and the remainder is present 
as free alcohol. In conformity with this low menthol-content, the oil 
does not congeal when placed in a freezing mixture. On the 
other hand, it shows a fairly considerable content of menthone, viz., 
22 per cent. 
These figures, with the exception of the menthol-content, approxi- 
mately correspond to those which we have already previously given for 
Italian peppermint oil. 
Peppermint Oil, Japanese. The results of the peppermint harvest 
in Japan are said to have been somewhat better than had originally 
been expected, but definite figures cannot as yet be given. The 
following table shows that the shipments of both sorts of liquid oil 
were very small in the first seven months of this year, and the stocks 
in Europe are correspondingly insignificant. 
Export of peppermint oil from Yokohama 
from I January to 31^^ July 1902: — 
to Hongkong 9^45 catties 
London 5995 
„ Hamburg 3 600 „ 
„ Havre 1590 
„ Calcutta 1 530 „ 
„ Bombay ...... 229 „ 
„ Shanghai 30 
„ Singapore 19 „ 
22238 catties, 
or about 13330 kilos. 
This figure falls rather considerably behind the average of the last 
few years. 
