Am.  Jour-  Pharm. 
Feb.,  1889. 
Laurel-Nut  Oil. 
89 
standing  for  an  hour  the  oil  separated  with  a  rich  mahogany  brown 
<;olor,  and  the  lower  acid  liquor  was  red.  Treating  the  oil  according 
to  Poutet's  elai'din  reaction,  and  working  at  a  temperature  of  20°,  the 
mixture  of  oil  and  nitric  oxide  solution  congealed  in  two  and  a  half 
hours ;  after  twenty  four  hours  it  remained  as  a  firm  butter-like  solid 
of  a  dull  lemon  color,  and  yielding  to  the  pressure  of  the  finger. 
5*045  grams  of  the  oil  were  on  November  7th  exposed  to  the  air  in 
a  watch-glass  under  a  bell-jar,  and  weighed  daily  for  one  month. 
The  increase  in  weight  was  just  appreciable  after  the  exposure ;  the 
weight  on  December  the  7th  was  5*047.  This  quantity  of  oil  heated 
in  a  water-oven  at  93°  for  eight  hours  gained  0*006  gram  only. 
The  insoluble  fatty  acids  amounted  to  90*85  per  cent.  They  crys- 
tallized into  radiating  tufts  of  acicular  crystals  having  a  melting  point 
of  37*6°,  and  a  specific  gravity  of  0*9237  (solid)  at  16°,  and  of  0*8688 
at  90°.  Their  mean  combining  weight,  obtained  by  titrating  the 
washed  and  dried  acids  with  normal  alkali  and  using  phenol-phthalein 
as  an  indicator,  was  found  to  be  283*1.  A  lead  soap  of  the  fatty  acids 
was  made  by  decomposing  the  potash  soap  with  a  hot  solution  of 
plumbic  acetate.  After  washing  and  drying,  1  gram  was  weighed  out 
and  shaken  up  with  ether  ;  the  oleate  of  lead,  or  soluble  lead  soap, 
weighed  *44  gram  after  the  ether  had  been  rapidly  driven  off.  The 
lead  soap  insoluble  in  ether  was  decomposed,  and  the  purified  fatty 
acids  had  a  melting  point  of  58°. 
The  oil  agitated  with  85  per  cent,  alcohol  removed  the  green  color- 
ing matter  and  a  sticky  extract  possessing  the  peculiar  melilot-like 
odor  and  the  bitter  taste.  This  extract  amounted  to  about  7  per  cent. ; 
it  was  almost  entirely  soluble  in  dilute  alkalies  with  an  orange  color, 
precipitated  unaltered  on  the  addition  of  acid,  and  was  perfectly  solu- 
ble in  ether  and  chloroform.  The  green  mass  was  boiled  with  water 
and  the  filtered  liquor  evaporated,  had  the  odor  of  coumarin,  but  no 
rhombic  crystals  of  coumarin  could  be  observed  in  the  slight  residue 
when  examined  under  a  microscope.  The  alcoholic  residue  was  crystal- 
line, and  contained  some  free  fatty  acids  of  the  oil. 
The  conclusion  arrived  at  from  the  examination  of  the  laurel-nut 
oil  is  that  it  cannot  be  regarded  as  a  drying  oil,  nor  altogether  as  non- 
drying,  but  must  take  up  an  intermediate  position  between  the  two. 
In  endeavouring  to  classify  this  oil  with  those  that  have  already  been 
investigated,  the  task  is  not  difficult.  Most  of  the  experiments  exhibit 
in  a  very  striking  manner  a  strong  relationship  to  those  of  the  cotton- 
