November i, i8Sg.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
333 
state, i. e. available as plant food. An authority gives 
from '\ to 3 per cent only as readily available ! The 
rest of the soil is not valueless, it has plant m a dor- 
mant or insoluble form. The forces of nature are 
constantly at work in reducing the percentage of in- 
soluble plant food in the soil. "We aid these by break- 
ing up the soil and affording an easy ingress into 
it of the carbonic acid and oxygen of the air, both 
gases being disintegrators, and the rain. The action 
of water in the soil is very great, more so in a stiff 
soil. The more water passes through a soil, the more 
aeration it receives, for where water passes through 
air must follow. Unfortunately this is not as well 
known as it should be. In discussing the value of 
trenching with a friend lately, I said the greatest good 
it did was to pass most of the rain that tell on the 
Estate through the soil and not over it. His reply, 
which was meant to be sarcastic, is extremely amus- 
ing, and displays the extent of his knowledge on Agri- 
culture. "The idea can at least be claimed as original, 
and will no doubt be followed by all those who see 
its advantages" ! If these ideas are not original, noth- 
ing is. To resume. Liming is an operation which tends 
to greatly accelerate the setting iree of the insolnble 
mintral and organic portions of the soil going on 
continuously around us by means of natural agencies. 
Burning effects the same object almost instantaneously. 
But the action of fh-6 is so quick, and the chemical 
combination which produces it is so intense, that where 
in liming the liberation of nitrogen is comparatively 
slow and is available to the roots of growing crops, 
in the process of burning it is liberated at once and 
wasted. But burning is a very valuable operation not- 
withstanding this drawback, especially on clay lands 
which are particularly rich in valuable mineral matter, 
chiefly potash in a dormant state. It must not be 
forgotten that the waste of nitrogen I spoke of takes 
place only where the action of the fire is felt, audas 
the whole surface of the ground of a Coconut Estate is 
not, and C-iuuot be burned, at one time, the loss of nitrogen 
will not be great. The soil has locked wi thin it vast stores 
of nit r ogen carried into and fixed in it by the decay of 
vegetable and animal matter during many ages. From 
this source can be replaced what the fire has dissipated. 
This will be rendered more easy by the improved 
mechanical condition of the burnt soil permitting 
thorough aeration. — B. — Local "Examiner." ' 
NOTES ON ESSENTIAL OILS FROM MESSES 
SCHIMMEL AND 00,'S REPORT. 
The following notes on various essential oils are 
taken from the April Bericht of Messrs. Schimmel 
and Co., of Dresden : — 
Angelica Oil. — The results obtained from the parcel 
of augeliea, root itnpurted frurn Japan, to which re- 
ference was made in the previous report tsee before, 
p. 326;, differ essentially irom those experienced with 
the German drug. The Japanese roots have the same 
tufted-form as the German, but are lighter and nearly 
white and are provided with stronger rootlets. They 
are referred to one of two species, Angelica refr'acta, 
Fr. Schmidt (Jap. " Senkiyu"), or A. anomala, Lall. 
(Jap. " Biyakushi ")-, both of which, according to 
Rein, are cultivated in the open fields in Japan. This 
Japan angelica root proved to be comparatively very 
poor in essential oil, tbe yield being only one-tenth 
per cent., the oil also being essentially different from 
commercial angelica oil. Whilst the German distil- 
late has a specific gravity of 0-853 at 20° C. that ot the 
Japanese is 0912 at the same temperature. At 10° 
it gives a separation of crystals and at 0° it solidifies 
to a paste. The crystalline msss obtained by cooling 
and draining had the properties of a fatty acid melt- 
ing at 62^-63° 0. Tbe oil boils between 170° and 
310° 0., the last portion that passes over having a 
beautiful blue-greeu colour. The residue solidifies 
upon cooling and consists principally of the nou-vola- 
tile Eatty acid. The odour of the oil is unusually intense 
and persistent, more acrid than that of the German 
angelica oil, but .possessing the characteristic sugges- 
tion of musk. The oost of this oil deprives it of any 
industrial importance. 
Anise Oil. — The statement made on " high 
authority " in the paper read at a recent evening 
meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society by Mr. J. O. 
Umney, tj the effect that for every pound of aniseed 
oil from Timpinella Anisum a thousand pounds of 
star-anise oil are met with, and the subsequent state- 
ment of Mr. John Moss that he would put the por- 
portion as one to ten thousand, are sharply criticized 
as underestimating the importance of the aniseed on 
industry. Messrs. Schimmel say that in their factory 
aloue under ordinary circumstances 7000 kilos of 
aniseed are worked up daily, yielding 200 kilos of 
aniseed oil. They plac-^ the annual production of oil 
from seeds of Pimpinella Anisum at 42,000 kilos, or 
equal to about 1,400 canisters of star-amse oil, and they 
raise the question whether the annual production of 
star anise oil amounts to 1,400 canisters, to say nothing 
of one thousand or ten thousand times that quantity. 
Messrs. Schimmel make this correction in tbe hope 
that in future such questions may be discussed " with 
more care and upon a better basis, bearing in mind 
that the centre of gravity of the manufacture of essen- 
tial oils lies in Germany, and not iu England." 
Betel Oil. — A st ttemeut made in a previous report 
to the effect that the essential oil of betel leaves con- 
tained eugenol was considered to be opposed to a 
report by Professor Eykman upon the composition 
of a sample of betel oil examined by him ; a fresh in- 
vestigation has therefore been made with the following 
result. The sample of betel oil examiued was a slightly 
brown coloured liquid, sp. gr. 1 024 at 15° C. It con- 
sisted up to about two-thirds or tbree-fourtus of a 
phenol, the boiling-point of which iu partial vacuum, 
under a pressure of 12 mm., lay at 131-132° O. ; under- 
ordinary atmospheric pressure it underwent decom- 
position on boiling. The specific gravity of the phenol 
was 1"067 at 15° C. Examination ot the oxidation pro- 
ducts, acetyl compound and methyl ether showed that 
this compound was not eugenol, but an isomer, the 
composition of the new compound and of eugeuol being 
represented as follows : — 
New Compound. Eugenol. 
r'JCsH, [']C,H, 
C 6 H 3 [«]OH C 0 H 3 p]OOH 3 
MOCH 3 . [4] OH. 
The seeoni coustitueut of betel oil boiledpractically 
between 250° and 275° C, had a very agreeable tea 
like odour, and consisted for the greater part of a ses- 
quiterpene ( C15H24), cubebene, vvbich is characterized 
by its dihydrochlorate melting at 117-118° O. This 
composition differs considerably from that given by 
Professor Eykman, but how far the difference may 
depend upon the oil examined by Professor Eykman 
having been distilled from fresh leaves, whilst that 
examined by Mes-rs. Schimmel was distilled from 
dried leaves, has not been determined. 
Bergamot Oil. — Some quesiion having been raised 
recently as to the natural colour of bergamot oil, 
Messrs. Schimmel publish some information on the 
subject obtained from two of the largest producers 
in Keggio. One of them says:— This essence occurs 
for the most part of a brown-yellow colour. A certain 
quantity approximates more to green, but this is an 
essence prepared only from unripe fruit. Iu commerce 
it seldom occurs pure, since it is ordinarily mixed with 
the essence prepared later from ripe fruit. Carefully 
examined in a glass tube it cannot properly be called 
'green,' but there is always a yellow colour percep- 
tible. The emerald green essences which have been 
exported from Messina are such as have been allowed 
to stand for a long time in badly tinned vessels, 
and the colour is due to oxide of copper." The se- 
cond correspoudont says : — " After the working of the 
bergamot fruit the essence obtained is honey coloured, 
and it is usually put forward and sought for of this 
colour. The green colour is acquired when the oil 
is allowed to stand a certain time — about seven or 
eight months — iu the vessels; it attacks the tinuing 
and becomes green through contact with the copper. 
This is the correct explanation of the two colours ; 
any other is false." 
Cajeput Oil. — Referring to a large consignment from 
Macassar, Messrs, Schimmel state that according to 
