580 
Conversion  of  Alcohol  etc. 
f  Am.  Jour.  Pha  km 
\    Dee.  1, 1874. 
from  Japan  oil  is  a  monatomic  alcohol,  10 -g19  j-  0  menthylic  alcohol  or 
hydrate  of  menthyl. 
In  an  experiment  with  liquid  Japan  oil  it  commenced  boiling  at 
206°  0.,  the  temperature  rose  to  210°  C,  where  it  was  stationary 
for  some  time,  and  finally  reached  to  218°  C.  This,  therefore,  is  a 
mixture  of  two  or  more  bodies ;  but  as  menthene,  according  to  Op- 
penheim,  boils  at  163°  C,  this  hydrocarbon  does  not  enter  into  the 
mixture. 
Crystallized  Chinese  Oil  of  Peppermint  is  mentioned  in  the  work 
"  Pharmacographia,"*  recently  issued  by  Mr.  Hanbury  in  conjunc- 
tion with  Dr.  Fliickiger.  It  is  there  referred  with  reserve  to  31. 
arvensis.  Oppenheim  distinctly  gives  Al\  piperita  as  the  source  of 
camphor  he  examined,  and  he  does  not  hint  at  a  Chinese  origin.  It 
is  stated  in  "  Pharmacographia,"f  that  to  distil  M.  arvensis  with  M. 
piperita  ruins  the  flavor  of  the  oil  yielded  by  the  latter  plant.  I 
consider  this  strong  positive  evidence  that  M.  arvensis  is  not  the 
source  of  Japan  oil,  for  this  oil  is  not  greatly  inferior  to  the  best 
Mitcham  oil  in  point  of  fragrance.  If  a  demand  for  it  were  to  arise 
in  this  country  (by  confectioners,  etc.),  there  is  little  doubt  that  it 
could  be  supplied  at  a  low  price. % — Pharm.  Journ.  and  Trans.,  Nov. 
7,  1874. 
CURIOUS  CONVERSION  OF  ALCOHOL  INTO  ACETATE  OF  ETHYL 
BY  THE  AGENCY  OF  CRYPTO GAMIC  LIFE. 
By  F.  M.  Rimmington. 
To  those  acquainted  in  any  degree  with  the  remarkable  power  of 
metamorphosis  possessed  by  some  of  the  microscopic  cryptogami,  this 
paper  will  be  of  interest.  It  may  probably  have  been  noticed  by 
others  that  concentrated  infusion  of  quassia  is  very  prone  to  become 
bcid,  but  the  conversion  of  alcohol  into  acetic  ether  has  probably  not 
aeen  before  noticed.  I  assume,  both  from  my  own  observation  and 
the  published  experiments  of  Pouchet  and  Pasteur,  that  this  trans- 
formation has  been  brought  about  by  the  agency  of  cryptogamic  life 
in  the  fluid,  whether  that  life  was  fungoid  or  otherwise. 
My  attention  was  recently  drawn  to  a  bottle  of  concentrated  infu- 
sion of  quassia  that  I  had  made  myself  some  months  ago,  which  smelt 
so  strongly  of  acetate  of  ethyl  that  it  was  rather  difficult  to  resist  the 
belief  that  some  had  not  been  introduced.  The  fluid  was  quite  clear 
and  bright,  without  any  sign  of  fermentation  or  other  change  going 
on.  On  pouring  off  the  clear  liquor,  a  very  thin  stratum  of  sediment 
appeared  at  the  bottom  of  the  bottle,  looking  very  like  mud. 
The  circumstance  aroused  in  my  mind  an  interest  to  know  the  ex- 
planation of  this  phenomenon,  and  the  inquiry  took  the  following 
*  p.  434.  f  p.  436. 
%  The  crystallized  oil  of  peppermint  and  of  thyme  were  exhibited  by  Messrs. 
Sachse  &  Co.,  of  Leipzig,  at  the  meeting  of  the  American  Pharmaceutical  As- 
sociation, held  in  St.  Louis,  1874. 
