Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  1 
Jan.,  1881.  J 
Notes  on  Patchouli. 
27 
green  parts  of  the  plant  are  broken  off  by  hand,  rejecting  all  yellow 
or  decayed  leaves  and  all  the  woody  stems.  The  selected  parts  are 
then  dried  in  the  shade  under  large  sheds  (as  the  sun  would  draw  out 
the  perfume),  and  to  ensure  evenness  in  drying,  they  are  spread  on 
bamboo  racks,  allowing  the  air  to  penetrate  from  beneath.  During 
this  process  they  are  frequently  turned  over,  and  when  so  far  dried  as 
to  leave  just  sufficient  moisture  to  permit  a  slight  fermentation,  they 
are  piled  in  heaps  and  allowed  to  heat  gently ;  after  this  they  are  again 
spread  out  and  dried — but  not  to  absolute  dryness — and  are  imme- 
diately distilled.  The  addition  of  about  25  per  cent,  of  the  wild  herb 
"  Tildm  outan^^  is  said  to  increase  the  fragrance  of  the  distillate.  The 
distillation  is  effected  by  passing  steam  generated  in  a  boiler  apart 
through  the  leaves  in  the  stills.  The  pressure  of  steam  is  not  allowed 
to  rise  above  30  lbs.  The  yield,  under  these  conditions,  being  about 
\  o'z.  per  lb.  of  leaves;  by  high  pressure  steam  the  yield  would  be 
greater  but  more  rank  in  quality.  The  stills  are  sometimes  jacketted, 
and  by  passing  a  separate  current  of  steam  into  the  jacket  condensation 
in  the  body  of  the  still  is  avoided.  Operating  on  specimens  of  leaf 
recently  imported  into  London,  I  have  observed  that  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  distillation  a  small  portion  of  pale  colored  oil  passes  over, 
lighter  than  water,  and  of  a  more  delicate  aroma  than  the  heavy  oil ; 
but  the  heavy  oil  was  rank.  The  Singapore  oil  is  sent  to  London  in 
cases  of  twelve  bottles  containing  22  ounces  in  each  bottle,  labeled 
with  the  manufacturers'  name  and  guaranteed  by  him  to  be  pure.  From 
London  it  is  sent  to  merchants  and  manufacturing  perfumers  in  all 
parts.  Obviously  such  oil  is  more  likely  to  be  pure  and  of  better 
quality  than  an  oil  distilled  in  England,  France  or  Germany  from  the 
baled  leaves  and  without  a  reliable  pedigree.  The  oil  described  as 
'^French''  oil  has  a  different  odor  to  the  genuine  leaf,  and  has  not 
the  peculiar  olive-brown  tint  of  the  Singapore  oil. 
An  examination  of  oil  of  patchouli  was  made  in  1864,  by  Dr.  Glad- 
stone Journ.  Chem.  Soc./'  series  2,  vol.  iii.),  on  a  specimen  obtained 
from  Dr.  Piessse,  and  believed  to  be  quite  genuine;  also  on  a  specimen 
obtained  from  India.  Both  specimens  were  brownish-yellow  and 
slightly  viscid.  They  began  to  boil  at  257 °C.,  at  which  temperature 
nearly  all  distilled  over,  and  was  found  to  be  a  hydrocarbon  analogous 
to  that  from  cubebs,  but  towards  the  end  tlie  thermometer  rose  much 
higher,  and  the  distillate  became  of  a  deep  blue  color,  owing  to  the 
presence  of  an  intensely  blue  matter  termed  "azulene'^  or  '^coerulein,'^ 
