136 
ESSENTIAL  OIL  OF  CHINA  ORANGES. 
posed  blood,  may  be  completely  purified  before  passing  into  the 
vessels  intended  to  receive  it. 
I  would  observe  in  conclusion,  that  the  experiments  which  are 
described  in  this  memoir  confirm  what  I  have  before  announced, 
namely  :  1st.  That  it  is  advisable  to  preserve  the  blood  for  refin- 
ing during  summer,  by  incorporating  with  it  a  calculated  quantity 
of  the  fine  charcoal  intended  for  clarification  ;  2d.  That  the  ad- 
dition of  small  quantities  of  pulverised  plaster  sufficiently  alters 
the  new  charcoal  imported  into  France  for  the  requirements  of 
agriculture,  and  that  it  may  thus  be  included  in  the  category  of 
manures,  properly  so  called. — London  Chemist,  December,  1857, 
from  Comptes  Rendus,  1857. 
CHEMICAL  INVESTIGATION  OF  THE  ESSENTIAL  OIL  OF  CHINA 
ORANGES  (ESSENCE  DE  MANDARINE.) 
By  S.  de  Luca, 
The  China  or  Mandarine  orange  (Citris  higaradia  sinensis 
and  Citrus  higaradia  myrtifolia\  grows  very  abundantly  in  cer- 
tain parts  of  Calabria,  in  China,  Algeria,  and  some  European 
countries.  The  essential  oil  contained  in  the  cells  of  the  rind 
of  the  fruit  does  not  occur  in  commerce,  probably  from  the 
rather  high  price  of  the  fruit,  and  it  has  not  been  examined 
chemically.  The  oil  investigated  by  the  author  was  prepared 
by  expression,  partly  by  himself,  and  partly  by  M.  Anca  of 
Palermo. 
The  essential  oil,  thus  prepared,  is  limpid,  and  very  fluid,  and 
possesses  a  faint  golden-yellow  tint ;  its  odor  is  very  agreeable 
and  different  from  those  of  lemon  and  orange ;  its  taste  is  by  no 
means  disagreeable,  and  resembles  that  of  orange-rind ;  it  boils 
and  distils  exactly  at  362°-4  F.,  leaving  a  very  small  residue, 
which,  however,  contains  the  minute  quantity  of  matter  which 
gave  it  its  yellow  color.  The  distilled  product  is  colorless,  and 
has  the  same  odor  and  taste  as  the  crude  oil ;  it  is  lighter  than 
water,  its  density  at  50Q  F.  being  0-852  both  for  the  first  and 
last  portions  distilled  ;  its  density,  as  determined  previously  with 
another  sample,  was  0-8517  at  53°-6  F. 
It  does  not  appear  to  contain  any  oxygenated  compound  ;  its 
