32 
Distillation  of  Geranium  Oil  in  India.    {  Am.  jour.  Pharm. 
anuary,  19  u 
temperature,  after  which  a  further  series  of  extractions  was  made. 
The  extraction  in  all  cases  lasted  for  one  hour. 
The  following  results  were  obtained : 
Mgrms.  of  Ether-soluble  Matter  extracted 
Extraction. 
After  treatment  with  glycerol  jelly..  - 
After  removal  of  glycerol  jelly 
Corks  A  and  B 
'(very  porous).    Corks  C  and  D. 
I 
5 
1 
2 
0 
0 
3 
0 
0 
4 
0 
0 
5 
13 
7 
6 
10 
3 
7 
7 
9 
8 
7 
6 
9 
8. 
5 
10 
6 
3 
DISTILLATION  OF  GERANIUM  OIL  IN  INDIA.1 
In  a  recent  issue  the  Indian  (Government)  Trade  Journal  quotes 
from  a  note  on  the  distillation  of  geranium  oil  in  the  Nilgiris  pre- 
pared by  the  chemical  adviser  to  the  Forest  Research  Institute  at 
Dehra  Dun,  in  which  it  is  stated: 
The  note  is  written  for  the  information  of  those  interested  in 
the  development  of  the  essential-oil  industry  in  the  Nilgiris,  to  show 
that  the  cultivation  of  geranium  would  in  all  probability  lead  to 
good  results,  especially  as  its  distillation  could  be  combined  with 
that  of  eucalyptus  oil  without  incurring  any  additional  expenditure. 
True  geranium  oil  is  distilled  from  the  fresh  herb  of  several 
species  of  Pelargonium,  chiefly  Pelargonium  odoratissimum,  P. 
capitatum,  and  P.  roseum.  (The  plant  collected  by  the  writer  has 
been  identified  for  him  as  Pelargonium  graveolens  L'Herit.)  The 
geranium  plants  cultivated  and  used  for  distillation  are  generally 
varieties  of  these  species  which,  however,  do  not  correspond  exactly 
with  the  wild  plants.  Ducellier  states  that  the  plant  is  cultivated 
in  open  fields  in  many  parts  of  Algeria.  It  is  also  largely  cultivated 
in  the  south  of  France,  in  Spain,  in  Italy,  Corsica,  Reunion  and  in 
Provence. 
1  Commerce  Reports. 
