Am.  Jonr.  Pbarm. 
April,  1903. 
} 
Some  Notes  on  Essential  Oils. 
157 
England;  or  Kremers,  Kleber  or  Kebler  in  our  own  country,  to  call 
to  mind  a  host  of  valuable  contributions  on  this  subject  that  have 
already  done  much  toward  making  the  subject  of  the  essential  oils 
one  of  the  most  advanced  in  the  realm  of  organic  chemistry. 
The  semi-annual  reports  of  Schimmel  &  Co.,  of  Leipzig,  Germany, 
contain  a  fund  of  practical  as  well  as  theoretical  information  on  the 
essential  oils,  and  it  was  a  casual  perusal  of  their  latest  (October- 
November,  1902)  number  of  this  report  that  prompted  the  compila- 
tion of  the  following  notes  and  ideas.  Much  of  the  information 
contained  in  the  following  pages  was  culled  from  this  report,  and 
where  not  otherwise  accredited,  it  may  be  assumed  that  any  actual 
information  given  is  from  this  source. 
Before  passing  to  the  consideration  of  the  various  essential  oils  in 
detail,  there  is  one  other  phase  of  the  question  that  should  be  con- 
sidered. It  is  well  known  that,  as  a  direct  outcome  of  original 
chemical  investigation,  the  chemical  constituents  of  the  active,  or  at 
least  the  more  important,  ingredients  of  a  number  of  essential  oils 
have  been  recognized.  Some  of  these  constituents  have  been  repro- 
duced synthetically  from  other  products  much  more  economically, 
and  in  several  cases  more  uniform  in  composition,  than  the  natural 
product. 
These  synthetic  products  or  imitations  promise  to  play  a  very 
important  part  in  future  discussions  on  essential  oils.  They  should 
not  be  confounded,  however,  with  the  so-called  mixtures,  blends  or 
compounds  with  which  the  market  is  flooded  at  the  present  time. 
These  compounded  oils  are  adulterations  pure  and  simple,  and 
while  labeled  correctly  by  the  manufacturer  or  wholesale  dealer, 
are  willingly  and  knowingly  sold  to  deceive. 
It  may  be  of  interest  to  introduce  here  some  approximate  com- 
parison of  the  present  prices  of  the  synthetic  and  natural  oils: 
BITTER  ALMONDS. 
Oil  of  bitter  almonds,  true  .  .  . 
Oil  of  bitter  almonds,  natural  . 
Oil  of  bitter  almonds,  synthetic 
10 
CINNAMON. 
Oil  of  cinnamon,  cassia  ordinary 
Oil  of  cinnamon,  cassia  prime  . 
Oil  of  cinnamon,  artificial  .  .  . 
Oil  of  cinnamon ,  Ceylon    .  .  . 
10 
40 
15c 
5 
