ADecembeVPi908m'}     Chemical  Examination  of  Nutmeg.  571 
very  small  quantity  of  a  solid  substance.  The  latter,  after  recrys- 
tallization  from  hot  alcohol,  melted  at  74-75 0  C,  and  was  identified 
as  cerotic  acid,  which  had  previously  been  isolated  by  us  from  the 
expressed  oil  of  nutmeg. 
(B.)    The  Alcohol  Extract. 
This  was  a  dark  brown  mass,  amounting  to  2300  grammes,  or 
about  14.4  per  cent,  of  the  total  press-cake.  It  was  mixed  with 
water,  and  the  mixture  distilled  with  steam  until  all  the  volatile 
substances  present  had  been  removed. 
Volatile  Constituents  of  the  Alcohol  Extract. 
The  aqueous  distillate,  which  contained  some  oil  floating  on  the 
surface,  was  extracted  with  ether,  the  ethereal  solution  being  washed 
with  a  little  water,  dried  with  calcium  chloride,  and  the  ether 
removed.  A  quantity  (about  26  grammes)  of  a  pale  yellow  oil 
was  thus  obtained,  which  possessed  an  aromatic,  and  also  somewhat 
pungent  odor.  Its  density  was  0.9362  at  200  C,  and  the  optical 
rotation  -\-  2°  59'  in  a  100  mm.  tube.  The  presence  of  furfural  was 
indicated  by  the  odor,  and  by  the  production  of  a  deep  red  color 
when  tested  with  aniline  in  acetic  acid  solution. 
The  essential  oil  was  first  extracted  with  a  10  per  cent,  solution 
of  sodium  carbonate.  This  removed  about  1  gramme  of  a  solid 
substance  which,  after  recrystallization  from  alcohol,  melted  at 
53-540  C,  and  was  identified  as  myristic  acid.  The  oil  was  subse- 
quently extracted  with  a  5  per  cent,  solution  of  sodium  hydroxide. 
On  acidifying  the  alkaline  liquid,  and  extracting  with  ether,  a 
small  quantity  (about  0.5  gramme)  of  an  oil  was  obtained  which 
possessed  a  strong  odor  of  eugenol,  and  yielded  a  crystalline  benzoyl 
derivative  melting  somewhat  indefinitely  between  84  and  98 0  C. 
This  phenolic  product  evidently  consisted  of  a  mixture  of  eugenol 
and  ?\roeugenol,  these  substances  having  previously  been  identified 
by  us  as  constituents  of  the  essential  oil  of  nutmeg  (loc.  cit.). 
After  the  above  treatment  the  oil  was  distilled  under  the  ordinary 
pressure.  It  commenced  to  pass  over  at  1900  C,  the  temperature 
gradually  rising  to  265 0  C.  The  amount  of  this  essential  oil  was 
much  too  small  for  a  complete  examination,  and  it  would  naturally 
be  expected  to  contain  the  same  substances  as  had  previously  been 
