266  Composition  of  Oil  of  Gaultheria,  {km'A^imTm' 
in  the  receiver  which,  after  being  treated  several  times  with  lime,  fur- 
nished a  liquid  more  volatile  than  water,  and  burning  with  a  pale 
blue  flame."  The  original  papers  on  Salicylic  Compounds,  published 
by  Cahours  in  "Annales  de  Chimie  et  de  Physique"  and  in  "  Comptes 
Rendus,"  could  not  be  consulted. 
Two  different  specimens  of  oil  of  gaultheria  were  examined  by  the 
writer;  one  was  obtained  by  Prof.  Maisch,  from  Messrs.  Underhill, 
Concord,  N.  H.,  and  was  distilled  by  them ;  the  other  was  obtained 
directly  from  a  distiller  in  Ellenville,  N.  Y.,  and  both  were  guaran- 
teed to  be  absolutely  pure.  These  oils,  when  received,  had  already 
acquired  a  very  slight  reddish  tinge,  but  upon  re-distillation  were  ob- 
tained as  bright,  colorless  and  quite  highly  refractive  liquids,  having 
the  specific  gravity  1*17,  both  corresponding  in  this  respect  with  the 
specific  gravity  of  oil  of  wintergreen  as  determined  by  Procter. 
The  oils  were  treated  separately,  190  grams  being  operated  upon  in 
«ach  case.  The  plan  followed  in  the  investigation  of  this  oil  was  the 
same  as  that  adopted  in  the  analysis  of  the  oil  of  birch  ("Arner.  Jour. 
Phar.,"  1883,  p.  385),  namely,  saponification  by  treatment  with  a  con- 
centrated solution  of  potassium  hydrate  and  boiling  over  a  sand  bath 
in  a  flask  fitted  with  an  inverted  condenser.  After  complete  decom- 
position of  the  oil,  the  contents  of  the  flask  were  submitted  to  distilla- 
tion upon  a  sand  bath  until  the  residue  remaining  in  the  flask  was 
nearly  dry.  The  distillate  thus  obtained  presented  a  milky  appear- 
ance, and  globules  of  a  yellowish  oily  substance  were  seen  floating 
upon  the  surface.  This  is  one  striking  difference  between  this  oil  and 
the  oil  of  birch,  as  the  corresponding  distillate  obtained  from  the  latter 
was  perfectly  clear  and  transparent.  The  distillate  was  then  agitated 
in  the  flask  in  which  it  was  collected,  with  several  successive  portions 
of  ether,  and  the  etherial  solutions  were  carefully  separated  from  the 
aqueous  liquid,  and  the  ether  recovered  by  distillation  upon  a  water 
bath.  The  residue  remaining  in  the  flask  then  consisted  (besides  a 
few  drops  of  water)  of  a  yellowish  oily  substance,  which  was  lighter 
than  water  and  possessed  a  very  strong  peculiar  odor  entirely  different 
from  that  of  the  oil  of  birch  or  wintergreen.  The  terpene  was  then 
weighed  without  any  attempt  being  made  to  purify  it,  as  the  amount 
was  small.  This  determination  was  only  approximate,  yet  the  amount 
of  terpene  found  amounted  to  but  0-3  per  cent,  of  the  weight  of  the  oil. 
The  aqueous  liquid  which  remained  after  extracting  the  terpene  by 
agitation  with  ether,  and  which  contained  the  methyl  alcohol,  was  per- 
