Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
April,  1888.  ; 
Sandalwood  Oil. 
183 
In  a  very  exhaustive  paper  on  sandal  wood  and  its  oil  {Phai^m. 
Journ.  Trans.,  [3],  xvi,  819)^  Mr.  Holmes  has  shown,  with  the  assist- 
ance Mr.  W.  H.  Ince,  that  while  commercial  sandal  Avood  oil  has  a 
specific  gravity  near  the  nine  hundred  and  seventies,  Indian-distilled 
oils  may  go  as  high  as  0'9901.  INIoreover  the  Indian  Pharmacopoeia 
standard — 0*980 — is  much  higher  than  am  other  standard.  The  ques- 
tion therefore  arises,  is  this  high  degree  of  density  natural,  or  is  it  due 
to  the  addition  of  a  foreign  substance — a  fixed  oil,  for  example  ?  It 
was  a  settlement  of  this  moot  point  which  ^Ir.  Holmes  had  in  view 
when  he  asked  Dr.  Bidie  to  get  him  a  specimen  of  pure  oil. 
It  will  be  seen  from  the  specimens  on  the  table  that  the  Indian  and 
Fiji  oils  differ  in  appearance.  The  former  is  mucK  more  viscous  than 
the  latter,  is  of  a  dark  amber  color,  and  is  not  quite  clear,  owing  to 
the  presence  of  a  trace  of  water.  The  Fiji  oil  is  of  a  pale  straw 
color,  and  is  perfectly  transparent.  Each  dissolves  in  less  than  its  own 
volume  of  rectified  spirit  ;  thus  a  mixture  of  equal  parts  of  spirit  and 
oil  takes  up  another  part  of  the  oil.  Both  dissolve  in  their  own  vol- 
ume of  the  mixture  of  proof  spirit,  1  part,  and  rectified  spirit  3  parts, 
which  was  used  by  Mr.  Holmes  to  detect  the  presence  of  cedar  wood 
oil.  Of  this  mixture  1  part  of  an  Indian  oil  reported  upon  by  Mr. 
Holmes  required  1*1  part  for  solution.  The  slight  difference  is  of 
little  importance,  and  is  probably  due  to  INIr.  Holmes'  specimen  being 
an  old  one. 
Specific  gravity  ^ysis  determined  at  16°  C,  or  somewhat  loAver  than 
the  temperature  (65°  F.)  at  which  Mr.  Ince  made  his  determinations. 
The  results  Avere  : — 
Indian  Oil  0-9896 
Fiji  Oil  0-9768 
Although  the  purity  of  the  Indian  oil  is  unquestionable,  fixed  oil 
was  looked  for  and  AAdth  negative  results. 
It  was  found  that  the  Indian  oil  began  to  boil  at  289°  C,  and  the 
Fiji  oil  at  277°  C.  In  "  Pharmacographia the  boiling  point  is  given, 
with  reserve,  as  214-255°  C.  ;  but  this  is  too  low,  that  given  by  Cha- 
poteaut  (300-345°  C.)  is  nearer  the  truth.  A  careful  determination 
of  this  factor  Avith  a  fair  number  of  samples  would,  I  think,  be  A^alu- 
able.    We  require  a  reliable  factor  for  our  text  and  reference  books. 
The  next  and  the  last  point  for  determination  Avas  the  specific  rotatory 
^  See  American  Journal  of  Piiarmacy,  1886,  pp.  254-263. 
