260 
Oil  of  Sandal  Wood. 
/  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
I        May,  1886. 
deceived  in  their  estimate  of  its  yield.  Mr.  Uniney  states  that  the 
largest  percentage  obtained  by  him  has  been  4*5,  but  that  sometimes 
less  than  a  third  of  this  quantity  will  result  from  careful  distillation. 
The  amount  obtained  also  greatly  depends  upon  the  fine  state  of  di- 
vision to  which  the  wood  is  brought  before  distillation.  This  is  ef- 
fected by  first  incising  or  chipping  the  logs  by  powerful  machinery, 
and  then  disintegrating  them  with  special  tearing  or  rasping  appara- 
tus or  with  mill  stones. 
Ihe  Indian  oil,  in  Mr.  Umney's  opinion,  is  imported  into  this 
country  to  the  extent  of  not  more  than  1500  lbs.,  and  often  reaches 
England  in  a  discolored  state,  containing  fixed  oil  and  traces  of  water, 
and  is  rejected  by  wholesale  druggists  for  medicinal  purposes,  the 
whole  import  being  purchased  for  use  in  perfumery.1 
The  essential  oil  used  in  this  country  realizes  a  higher  price  than 
either  Indian  or  German  oil ;  the  latter  in  some  cases  contains  oil 
from  cedar  wood  or  inferior  sandal  wood  mixed  during  the  process  of 
distillation.  Mr.  Umney  believes  that  the  continental  distillers  are 
far  in  advance  of  the  British  in  their  superiority  both  of  plant  and 
of  the  knowledge  necessary  for  the  production  of  this  and  other 
essential  oils,  two  well  known  German  firms  probably  distilling  three- 
quarters  of  the  whole  quantity  used  in  Europe. 
The  above  statement  concerning  the  adulteration  of  oil  of  sandal 
wood  having  reached  me  from  several  sources,  I  obtained  a  sample  of 
the  oil,  as  well  as  a  number  of  commercial  samples  of  sandal  wood 
oil,  with  a  view  to  ascertain  what  variation  might  exist  in  their 
specific  gravity.  Examined  at  my  request  by  Mr.  W.  H.  Ince  the 
following  results  were  obtained  :2 — 
Distilled  in  Sp.  gr.  Source. 
1.  Germany   "9797  E.  Indian  wood. 
2.  Germany,  same  firm   "9754  E.  Indian  wood. 
3.  Germany,  different  firm   "9756  E.  Indian  wood. 
4.  Germany,  same  firm  as  1,  2,   "9738  Macassar  wood. 
5.  Germany,  same  firm  as  1,  2,   '9650  W.  Indian  wood. 
6.  English   -9713  E.  Indian  wood. 
1  According  to  Dr.  Dymock  as  much  as  12,000  lbs.  of  this  oil  are  imported 
into  Bombay  from  the  Malabar  coast,  the  oil  being  worth  rupees  per  lb.,  and 
it  is  used  chiefly  for  perfumery. 
2  I  am  informed  by  Mr.  A.  C.  Abraham  that  two  samples  of  the  oil  pur- 
chased in  London  gave  respectively  the  specific  gravity  "9753  and  •9771.  The 
German  specimens  were  obtained  from  firms  of  the  highest  reputation. 
