THE CHEMIST AND DEUGGIST OF AUSTEALASIA 
23 
VoL. ii., No. 1. 
well qualified to do so on account of the \vide range of its 
solvent powers. 
Of more immediate interest to the pharmacist will be some 
details as to the operations conducted at Mr. Bosisto’s factory 
in West Gippsland, from which the greater part of the oil in 
consumption as “ Eucalyptus Oil ” is obtained. Six tons of 
leaves are treated there daily in stills that have a total capa- 
city of 2,000 gallons, and yield 12,000 lbs. of oil annually. 
The circumstances under which the pharmaceutical oils are 
■obtained are much less favourable to the cheapness of the 
materials than those under which the mallee oil is manufac- 
tured. The greater part of the expense of manufacture comes 
in the gathering of the leaves, and obviously the circumstances 
under which the mallee raw material is collected could hardly 
be improved on,— the trees are dwarfs and their growth as 
dense as possible. With the species of Eucalyptus from which 
the other oils are obtained it is quite otherwise, some of them 
#i'e not even gregarious, and even when they are so, being as a 
rule large trees, they do not give a sufficient yield of leaves 
for the area cleared to make it pay to fell them purely for 
their leaves, thus the oil distiller has to follow the woodcutter 
and gather his waste material, so that the leaves are obtain- 
able in much smaller supplies, and have to be carted much 
greater distances than in the case of the mallee. The proper 
economical site for a distillery for the pharmaceutical oils is 
in the neighbourhood of a large saw-mill, where the greater 
part of the timber cut is obtained from trees whose leaves 
are rich in oil, and where the f amilies of the woodcutters offer 
facilities for cheap female and child labour for the simple 
work of stripping the felled trees. 
There are many factors determining the cost of production 
of a particular oil in a particular district, for example, the 
season of year in many cases has much to do with the quantity 
of oil contained in the leaves, while the average yield for 
different years fluctuates considerably. It has been noticed 
that the eucalypts sprout in the spring time with very varying 
vigour, when the output of young leaves is unusually large, 
the yield of oil varies markedly during the ensuing year, but 
in those years when the spring growth is less vigorous than 
the average a regular supply of oil can be calculated on. In 
the coast species of eucalypt the yield is heavier in the sum- 
mer than in the winter, while in the Mallee the reverse is the 
case ; but in exceptional years both coast species and mallee 
give tolerably regular results throughout the year. Soil does 
not appear to have much influence in determining the 
amount of oil secreted by the leaves of a given species, unless 
indeed it varies from the normal constitution so far as to alter 
the whole physical properties of the trees. 
The following table will give a general idea of how the yield 
of oil varies from species to species, and will show the great 
importance that attaches to a proper selection of leaves by 
the manufacturer. 
Average Yield op Eucalyptus Oil from 1000 lbs. of 
FRESHLY GATHERED LEAVES ATTACHED TO VERY SMALL BRANCHES, 
as estimated by Mr. Bosisto : — 
Species. 
Yield in fl. oz. 
Species. 
Yield in fl. oz. 
E. Odorata 
7 
E. Corymbosa 
120 
E. Viminalis . . 
7 
E. Globulus 
120 
E. Rostra ta 
15 
E. Leucoxylon 
160 
E. Obliqua 
80 
E. Oleosa or Mallee 
200 
E. Macrorrhiza . . 
80 
E. Amygdalina 
500 
The Amygdalina species is seen to be by far the richest in oil 
and is probably not surpassed by any unless by one of the 
Western Australian species, E. Saluhris^ E. Salmonopliloia, 
and E, Rudis, whose yields have not yet been quantitatively 
measured, but which are known to contain large stores of oil. 
But mere abundance of oil in the leaves of a tree of a particular 
species is only one qualification out of many which determine 
the choice of the most paying species in any locality, the 
gregarious habit of the species being quite as important, for 
although a deal of oil may be concentrated in a single tree of a 
certain species, if the representatives of that species are few 
and far between, the total advantage over a much poorer but 
more sociable species may be a large minus quantity. 
That the above numbers can be used only as a rough and 
ready standard of comparison is shown by the following data 
supplied by Mr. W. Nitschke of Hackney, South Australia, to 
Baron von Mueller in connection with some samples which he 
prepared for the Melbourne International Exhibition of 1880 
The mallee consists of three or four dwarf species of eucalyptus 
of which E. oleosa is one ; Mr. Bosisto’s result tabulated above 
for E. oleosa is really that for the mixed mallee. jMr. Nitschke’s 
results for the four mallee species separately are as follows: — 
1,000 lbs. of small branches and leaves^ of which the leaves 
constituted about one half, yielded in this case of the genuine 
E. oleosa 62J fl. oz. of oil; E. gracilis gave 54J fl. oz. ; E. 
uncinata 69 fl. oz. ; and E. iiicrassata 140 fl. oz. The meaning 
these numbers gives for a mallee scrub composed of equal 
proportions of the four species, a yield of 81 fl. oz. which is 
very different from Mr. Bosisto’s figures, 200 fl. oz. 
Again, Mr. Nitschke gives 112^ fl. oz. as the yield from 1,000 
lbs. of E. odorata leaves, while under the same name Mr 
Bosisto gives only 7 fl. oz. The two observers must be 
referring to different species by the same name, a confusion 
which was likely enough to occur a few years ago, but which, 
ought not to occur now that Baron von Mueller’s Eucalypto- 
graphia is accessible. Mr. Nitsehke’s result is for the E. 
odorata of the Eucalyptographia. The same sort of discrepancy- 
occurred in the stated yields of two odorata specimens at the 
Victorian Exhibition of 1861, this species may be one whose 
yield varies remarkably with locality and season, but perhaps 
odorata and melliodora have got confused being very like one 
another. The amount of raw material that could be treated 
in a still per day could be considerably increased if the leaves* 
were cut up fine or much more so if they were thoroughly 
crushed, for the oil glands in the leaves are surrounded by 
layers of compact and firm cells which it is desirable to break 
to facilitate the escape of the oil. When the oil is prepared 
in small quantities it can be separated most completely from 
the water which distils over with it by the addition of some 
common salt which expels the small percentage of oil dis- 
solved in the water. When the oil is required as pure as 
possible for internal administration it can be separated from 
the trace of acid that distills over with it by agitation with 
dilute caustic soda, filtration finally removes any precipitated 
resinous matter and yields the clear oil. 
The amount of oil to be obtained from dry leaves is, as 
might be expected notably less than that from fresh leaves, yet 
it is by no means inconsiderable ; the dry leaves of E, 
amygdalina contains about 300 fl. oz. of oil to the 1,000 lbs. 
The oil differs from that obtained from the fresh leaves^ in a 
deficiency of the more volatile and aromatic ingredients. 
Thoroughly mature leaves may always be relied on to give the 
best yield of oil, although often leaves which are not full- 
grown make a much better apparent show of oil glands when 
viewed by transmitted light, but these in young leaves alway* 
contain little oil. Spring eucalypt leaves when crushed in the 
fingers gives a very slight eucalyptic odour. 
{To he continued.) 
LINIMENTUM TEREBINTHIN^E, B.P. 
AN AMENDED FORMULA. 
By J. B. Lillie Mackay, A.K.C., 
LaU Professor of Practical Pharmacy to the BirJcbeck Scientifie 
Institution, London. 
At first sight it would seem difficult to understand why any 
alteration was made in the Liniment of Turpentine in the 
latest edition of the British Pharmacopoeia, for, as the formula 
now stands, it is no improvement on the corresponding pre- 
paration of the B. P. of 1867, but rather the reverse. Indeed, 
judging by the opinions of numerous correspondents in the 
pharmaceutical press, a considerable number of pharmacists 
have experienced difficulty in producing a satisfactory lini- 
ment. In these colo. lies the same trouble has been encoun- 
tered as evidenced bj the query of 2\ovus Homo in “ Dispen- 
sing Difficulties” appearing in one of the recent issues of The 
Chemist and Druggist of Australasia, as well as from many 
observations made to the author by others. 
When the old formula is adhered to a very presentable lini- 
ment can be made which will keep clear and homogeneous for 
some length of time, especially if it be made with a good fresh 
sample of pure transparent soft soap prepared from olive oil. 
In such case, the product only becomes faintly turbid after 
the lapse of a year or more. 
Evidently the water has been introduced to enable the soap 
to saponify the oil, but the object has not been attained, for 
the proportions stated will not admit of the production of an 
elegant preparation. 
By the new formula, and following the cfireetions given, a 
clotty orcurdy appearance is presented. If heat be applied. 
