336 CHE M I 
were white, and melted readily between the fingers. Ap¬ 
plied to the tongue, they produced the frefii and pene¬ 
trating tafte of the oil. Their folution in alcohol became 
white by the addition of water. The oil in the flalk had 
acquired a kind of fluggiih fluidity ; its fmeil was lefs 
lively, and its colour deeper than formerly. It was fth 
luble in alcohol, and had loft a portion of its weight. 
Ramifications were formed in the upper part of the 
fiafk, containing the oil of oranges. In uncorking the 
flalk, a portion of an elaftic fluid efcaped; and this oil 
exhibited the fame appearances with that of peppermint, 
except that it was more deeply coloured, and had loll 
its fluidity fo as to adhere to the flalk like oil of turpen¬ 
tine. Some particles were leparated from it by mixing it 
with water, which remained conliantly at the bottom of 
this fluid. Expofure to the artificial cold produced no 
other effeft except giving rile to fqme cryftalline laminae 
of an elliptic form. At 4.°belowzero it refumed its fluidity. 
Volatile oil of lemons loft its fluidity by expofure to 
cold, at the fame time that an amber-coloured liquor and 
feveral {mail cryftals were feparated from it. The colour 
and tafte of the oil had become lefs lively. The amber- 
coloured liquor had an empyreumatic fmcll, a bitter and 
{lightly acid tafte ; it was mifcib.le with,water, reddened 
tincture of turnfole, and did not precipitate lime-water; 
but it effervefced with carbonat of potalh. This liquor 
was in the proportion of one 10th of the oil. The cryftals 
had no very regular fliape ; they were inl'oluble in cold, 
but melted in warm, water, and formed a pellicle on its 
furface during refrigeration. They melted by heat, and 
cryftallized again in the form oflmall needles by cooling; 
they did not burn in a flame of a, candle. Diflblved in 
alcohol, they gave a red tinge to tincture of turnfole. 
Margueron varied thefe experiments, by putting lome 
diftilled water into the flalk containing the oils, and 
fubjeCting the mixtures to the temperature of n° below 
freezing. During the moment the water palled to the 
ftate of ice, feveral of the corks were forced out, and an 
aromatic principle dilengaged. The flalk containing the 
oil of peppermint was covered with a kind of capillary 
vegetation ; the other oils exhibited nothing worthy of 
being remarked. The a&ion of the cold on the oil of 
peppermint, had heightened the colour of the oil, and 
had weakened its fmeil; the cryftalline needles feparated 
from it were of a white colour, iiiky and brittle. They 
bad the fmeil of peppermint applied to the tongue; they 
bad a frefh and penetrating tafte. They did not take 
fire with the flame of a candle, but melted, and aflumed 
by cooling tranfparency and a f’ohd form. The folu- 
tion of thele cryftals in water, gave, a red tinge to tinCtnre 
of turnfole. The tranfparency of the alcoholic iblution 
was not difturbed by the addition of water. From thele 
.experiments Margueron concludes, that cold di fen gages 
from volatile oils a part of their aroma, heightens their 
colours, renders them of a thicker confidence, and fe- 
parates from them concretions, home of which appear to 
be of a faline nature. 
Volatile or elfential oils unite with fulphur. Thefe 
fompolitions are called balfams ; as, terebinthinuted balfam 
offulphur, and ani/ated baljam of fulphur. 1. For the tere- 
binthinated balfam of fulphur, take two parts of.lhblimed 
fulphur, commonlycalled flowers of fulphur, and-lix of oil 
of turpentine ; mix them, andleave them in digeltion till 
the oil is faturated with the fulphur. 2. For the anifated 
balfam, the only difference is to add to the above ingre¬ 
dients, four parts of volatile oil of anileed ; let them tligeft 
as before. 
Volatile oils diflolve phofphorus. When the oil is 
well faturated, cryftallized phofphorus is produced ; by 
adding alcohol to the iblution, a precipitate is made, 
which, feen through a magnifier, is an octahedron trun¬ 
cated at top and bottom, and fometimes lengthened out 
at the fides fo as to appear an hexangular prifm. Vola¬ 
tile oils have alio the property of diflolving fulphurated 
hydrogen gas. j. 
S T R Y. 
Water diflolves thefe oils, which produces -the aromatic 
diJUlled waters. The modV of proceeding we have already 
deferibed, in the diftillation of a plant for obtaining its 
volatile oil. Fourcroy has proposed a very Ample and 
cheap procefs : he directs to pcJur a few. drops of volatile 
oil into a large quantity of water, to agitate the mixture, 
and then let it fettle, to clarify the liquor, and feparate 
the undifioived oil; by this fimple operation, the water , 
is very aromatic, fometimes even more fo than what is 
diftilled in large quantities from vegetables too much ex- 
lvaufted of pil; and the prccefs requires neither diftilla- . 
tory apparatus, nor fire, nor lofes any time; it may be 
performed in any place and in all feafons ; large bottles, 
or common calks, wilLanfwer the purpofe. 
Waters called inodorous, are produced by diftilling 
certain plants in balneum rnariae, without any other wa¬ 
ter ; they are weak, herbaceous, and of fmall duration. 
The water which holds the extraCV, or odorant mucilage, 
in Iblution, grows thick, is filled with mucous flocks, and 
gives out a multy or mouldy fmeil : inch, are the eflen- 
tial waters of borrage, lettuce, plantain, &c. 
The acids have not all the lame ettefts upon volatile 
oils. 1. The concentrated fulphuric acid thickens and 
converts them into a kind of coal or bitumen ; if weak, 
forms a kind of foap, crfa'vonule. 2. The nitric acid, if 
concentrated, caufes them to burft into a flame; but, if 
weak, it converts them by degrees into refins. 3.The mu¬ 
riatic acid makes them faponaceous; the oxygenated 
muriatic acid thickens them, and makes them refinous. 
Volatile oils do not unite without difficulty with earth)f 
fubftances and alkalis. The only combination of this kind 
which is well known, is that of potafh with a volatile oil, 
which is called favonulc , or Starkey's foap, from the name 
of the perfon who firft tried it; but his procefs is tedious 
and imperfeCt. Other modes have been propofed by 
Stahl, Roueile, Baume, Geoffrey, A chard, &c. but Pelle¬ 
tier’s lbcceeds the bell: Take equal parts of turpentine 
and alkali of tartar ; triturate them together, and add by 
degrees about one-fourth of the weight of the whole' of 
carbonat of ammoniac. 
Volatile oil unites with fugar.—If a bit of fugar be 
rubbed againft the peel of a lemon, or an orange, it im¬ 
bibes volatile oil, and forms an oleo-faccharum, foluble 
in water, and very proper for aromatizing certain liquors. 
Thefe oils are uled as cordial, ftimulant, antilpafmodic. 
See. remedies. Externally applied, they are powerfully 
antifeptic, and ftop the progrefs of caries in the bones. 
Of CAMPHOR. 
Camphor is a volatile oil, rendered concrete by carbon. 
This fubftance is obtained from a fpecies of laurel which 
grows in China, Japan, and in the tilands of Borneo, Su¬ 
matra, Ceylon, Sec. The tree which produces it, fome¬ 
times contains fo large a quantity, that it need only be 
cleft, in order to obtain very pure tears of camphor, of 
confiderable fize. It is obtained alfo by diftillation. The 
roots, or other-parts of the tree, are put into an alembic 
with water, which is covered with a capital, containing 
ropes of rice ftraw. On the application of a fufticient 
heat, the camphor is 1'ublimed in fmall greyifh grains, 
which are afterwards united into larger malTes. This 
crude camphor is impure ; the Dutch purify it by fub- 
limation, after previoufly adding an ounce oflime to each 
pound of the camphor. 
Camphor is much more volatile than the other eflentifil 
oils, and fublimes with the molt gentle heat; it cryftal- 
lizes in hexagonal laminae, attached to a middle ftenv 
By a fudden heat it melts before it rifes. Its fmeil is 
ftrong, and infupportable to lome peri'ons; it takes fire 
readily, burns rapidly with much l'moke, and leaves no 
carbonaceous refidue. The camphorate principle exhi¬ 
bits iome very curious and interefting phenomena. Be¬ 
nedict Prevolt difeovered thefe in his experiments made 
for the purpofe of exhibiting to the fight the emanations 
of odorous bodies. 
If 
