136 PRE-EXISTENCE OF AN ESSENTIAL OIL IN STARCH. 
ART XL1V.— ON THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF AN ESSENTIAL OIL 
IN STARCH. 
By M. Paten. 
Many years ago the author asserted the pre-existence of 
an essential oil in starch, which was denied by most chemists 
and especially by Liebig. In proof of the correctness of 
his view, he now brings forward the following experiments: 
— 500 grms. of starch were gradually added to three litres of 
boiling water, which had been acidified with 0.005 sulphu- 
ric acid, contained in a vessel capable of holding 6 litres ; 
the condensation was effected in an apparatus similar to 
that which the author has described in the separation of the 
aroma from coflee. About half a litre of water condensed 
in the first two recipients; in the third, towards the end of 
the operation, some cubic centimetres of water; and in the 
fourth, which was surrounded by ice, only a few drops. 
The water in the first two recipients possessed the odour of 
the starch, and was covered with a whitish pellicle, which 
dissolved in ether and solidified on cooling. The water of 
the third recipient had a very strong odour of starch, and 
was covered with a layer of essential oil ; by uniting the 
collected essential oil the author obtained 0.08 grm. of it. It 
was liquid, yellowish, had a very strong odour of starch, 
and at all events a lower boiling point than that of water. 
The water poured from the oil still yielded 0.018 of oil ; so 
that the starch contains at least 0.0001 part by weight of 
essential oil. — Chem. Gaz.from Comptes Rendus. 
