422 
Oil  of  Erigeron  Canadense. 
Am.  Jour.  Pbarm. 
Sept.,  1893. 
point.  Since  neither  Wallach  nor  Fluckiger  paid  any  attention  to 
the  optical  activity  of  the  oil,  and  since  literature  shows  contradict- 
ing statements,  a  final  settlement  of  the  identification  of  the  terpene 
was  desirable. 
To  remove  all  doubts  as  to  the  nature  of  this  terpene,  Prof.  F.  B. 
Power,  in  1890,  put  at  the  disposal  of  Dr.  E.  Kremers  the  fraction  of 
1760,  which  he  had  retained  from  his  investigations  of  1887.  The 
nitroso  chloride  reaction,  according  to  Wallach,  was  made,  and 
limonene  nitroso  chloride  was  obtained  in  sufficient  quantity  from 
5  cc.  of  the  oil.  The  nitroso  chloride  was  converted  into  the 
benzylamine  base,  which  after  washing  with  alcohol  and  drying, 
melted  at  89-9 1°  C.  After  one  recrystallization  the  melting  point 
rose  to  930  C. 
The  action  of  the  terpene  upon  polarized  light  was  determined 
by  a  Soleil  Ventzhe,  of  Schmidt  and  Haeutsch,  of  which  1  =  o  3455 
circular  degree.  Thus  43-7  (the  number  of  degrees  shown  by  the 
instrument)  0*3455  =  15  098. 
S  3 '84  grams. 
L  (ale.  and  chl.)  18*19  grams, 
p.  =  i7'43  per  cent, 
d.  =  0-985. 
t.  ==? 
«  =+  15-098° 
1=1  d.m. 
(a)D=  +  87*90 
Ihese  results  leave  no  doubt  as  to  the  nature  of  the  terpene  in 
question.    It  is  dextrogyrate  limonene. 
TheJ  large  quantities  of  resin,  which  have  been  repeatedly 
observed  by  Todd  and  others,  e.g.,  in  this  laboratory,  indicate  that 
there  is  some  other  substance  besides  limonene  in  the  oil.  What 
this]  substance  is,  still  remains  to  be  ascertained.  In  order  to 
determine,  if  possible,  something  more  about  the  composition  of 
Erigeron  oil,  the  following  investigation  was  undertaken. 
Experimental  Part. — The  oil  at  my  disposal  was  obtained  from 
Fritzsche  Bros.,  New  York.  It  was  the  larger  portion  of  that  fraction 
of  two  kilograms  of  oil,  which  distilled  below  1800  C.  Besides 
this,  which  was  by  far  the  largest  fraction,  about  200  cc.  distilled 
at  180-1850,  100  cc.  from  185-190°,  and  only  a  few  cubic  centi- 
metres in  fractions  of  five  degrees  each  from  1900  to  2200.  The 
