— 59 — 
normal distillate, but which above all attracted attention by their difficult 
solubility. It is a matter of course that these oils also showed a very 
low menthol-content. We mention below a few oils which had been 
adulterated to a specially large extent, in order to show the impudence 
with which these adulterations are carried out: — 
Total 
alcohol 
% 
Solubility 
I 
2 
3 
4 
0,8888 
o,8886 
0,937 
0,8867 
-i5°40' 
-17^24' 
-I2°44' 
- 9°4i' 
33,8 
35,2 
45,9 
26,1 
. Insoluble in 10 volumes 70 per cent, 
alcohol. 
What has been said above applies particularly to the last-mentioned 
oil, which, contrary to the other three oils, only formed a cloudy solution 
even in 15 to 20 volumes absolute alcohol. A more detailed examin- 
ation showed in this case an addition of about 60 per cent, 
mineral oil, an adulteration which must be characterised as un- 
heard of. 
The same observations have been made by Parry who, in 
''The Chemist and Druggist"^), publishes the examination of a 
number of American peppermint oils which show entirely similar 
deviations from normal oil as the examples mentioned by us. He 
states that he has lately had before him more adulterated oils than 
pure ones. 
On a previous occasion Parry had already pointed out a case 
of adulteration of peppermint oil with light oil of camphor 2). Such 
oils are characterised by exceptional insolubility and low menthol- 
content, and especially by the fact that the fractions obtained on 
distillation below 200^ to 205°, are much larger than in the case of 
pure peppermint oil. 
Peppermint Oil, Italian. In our Report of October 1902 we 
gave on page 66 particulars of Italian peppermint oil. A few pepper- 
mint oils also originating from Piemont have been examined by 
C. Ed. Zay^); we reproduce below in tabulated form (I to III) the 
actual results obtained by the author, and add for purposes of com- 
parison the values which w^e have since obtained in examining some 
other samples of the same origin (IV to VI). 
^) Vol. 61 (1902), 948. 
^) The Chemist and Druggist 61 (1902), 520. 
^) Staz. sperim. agrar. ital. 35, 816; according to Chem. Centralblatt 1903, 
I, 331. 
