— 54 — 
to be an aliphatic compound. The alcohol has a faint odour and is 
therefore of no importance for the aroma of neroli oil. 
On separating^) the geraniol from the terpineol and linalol, by 
means of phthalic anhydride according to the process worked out in 
our laboratory, they obtained a mixture of geraniol and an alcohol 
isomeric with geraniol, which latter could approximately be separated from 
the geraniol by treatment with dry calcium chloride, with which, as 
is well-known, the last-named body forms a solid compound. The 
alcohol, separated from the solid calcium chloride compound of geraniol 
by suction, although still considerably contaminated with geraniol, yet 
differs sufficiently from the latter, so that the assumption appears to 
be justified, that an alcohol differing from geraniol is present in the 
constituent which no longer reacts with calcium chloride. In the odour 
the alcohol greatly resembles geraniol. In the opinion of the authors 
it has a finer and fresher odour. For the rest, the product (to which 
the name nerol has been given) differs from geraniol by an ''apparently 
uniform" diphenyl urethane^) melting at 73° to 75°, by the slightly 
lower boiling point, and by the property of forming no solid compound 
with calcium chloride. 
In addition to the free alcohols geraniol and nerol, their acetic 
esters geranyl acetate and neryl acetate are, according to Hesse 
and Zeitschel, also present in neroli oil. Neryl acetate also 
greatly resembles geranyl acetate in the odour and other properties. 
With regard to quantity, it is stated that neroli oil contains about 
4 per cent, geraniol -|- nerol, and about the same quantity of the 
two acetates. 
According to our experience (see under petitgrain oil) the state- 
ments concerning nerol must for the present be accepted with reserve, 
as it has not as yet been found possible to separate this body com- 
pletely from the geraniol, and to identify it with sufficient certainty. 
For the aroma of neroli oil, nerol and its acetate have no greater 
importance than geraniol and its acetic ester, from which in our opinion 
they do not differ in any very marked degree. 
Hesse and Zeitschel have next occupied themselves with the 
examination of oil of orange-blossom water, and of orange-blossom 
extract. In the former they detected phenyl acetic acid, phenyl ethyl 
alcohol, geraniol, and nerol. The oil had the following properties: 
d = 0,915; aD = -|-2°5o'; ester-content 6 per cent. 
Owing to the greater solubility of the alcoholic constituents of the 
orange-blossom and of methyl anthranilate in water, the water- oil 
contains a comparatively larger amount of these bodies than neroli oil. 
^) K. Stephan, Journ. fiir pract. Chemie 11. 60 (1899), 248. 
In this connection, compare our observations under petitgrain oil, on page 62. 
