THE  AMERICAN 
JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY 
OCTOBER,  1903. 
OIL  OF  ROSEMARY. 
By  Dr.  Georgb  R.  Pancoast  and  Wizard  Graham,  P.C. 
The  U.  S.  Pharmacopoeia  describes  oil  of  rosemary  as  an  oil  dis- 
tilled from  the  leaves  of  Rosmarinus  officinalis,  Fam.  Labiates.  Many 
of  the  essential  oil  dealers  label  it  oil  of  rosemary  flowers,  when  the 
proper  label  should  read  oil  of  rosemary  leaves. 
The  first  mention  of  its  distillation,  according  to  Gildemeister 
and  Hoffman,  was  made  by  Arnoldus  Villanovus,  in  the  thir- 
teenth century,  and  since  then  has  been,  noted  for  its  use  in  per- 
fumery. One  of  the  first  popular  perfumes  consisted  of  an  alcoholic 
distillation  of  the  leaves,  known  as  Hungarian  water.  At  times, 
turpentine  was  added  to  cheapen  the  product. 
In  commerce  there  are  several  kinds  of  oil,  of  which  at  present 
but  two  are  obtainable  in  large  quantity.  The  Italian  (Dalmatian 
or  Trieste  oil)  is  produced  on  the  islands  of  the  Dalmatian  coast,  prin- 
cipally on  the  island  of  Lesina.  The  French  oil  is  mostly  distilled 
in  Southern  France,  and  is  much  higher  in  price. 
The  oil  is  a  colorless  or  pale  yellow  liquid,  having  a  warm,  some- 
what camphoraceous  taste,  being  used  in  perfumery  and  occasionally 
medicinally  as  a  stimulant  and  carminative,  and  externally  in  lini- 
ments. 
Gildemeister  and  Hoffman  give  the  following  constants :  Specific 
gravity  at  1 50  C.,  0-900  to  0-920.  Optical  rotation  -f  i°  45'  to  -f  50. 
Soluble  in  1  or  more  parts  of  90  per  cent,  alcohol,  and  sometimes  with 
2,  but  often  as  many  as  10  parts  of  80  per  cent,  alcohol. 
Schimmel  gives  the  following  constants  : 
(453) 
