ON  THE  SO-CALLED  OIL  OF  CIMNAMON  LEAF. 
163 
vessels,  in  which  the  animal  matter  and  potash  are  mixed,  to  con- 
vey the  gases  evolved  during  the  operation  into  suitable  condens- 
ing and  other  apparatus,  by  means  of  exhausting  apparatus,  with 
valves  so  constructed,  that  when  these  gases  cease  to  be  evolved, 
the  communication  will  be  shut  off  between  the  vessels  and  ex- 
hausting apparatus  Annals  of  Pharmacy,  Dec.  1854. 
ON  THE  SO-CALLED  OIL  OF  CINNAMON  LEAF  FROM  CEYLON. 
By  John  Stenhouse,  LL,  D.,  F.  R.  S. 
For  the  last  ten  or  twelve  years,  considerable  quantities  of  cin- 
namon leaf  oil  have  been  imported  from  Ceylon  into  Great 
Britain.  The  cinnamon  leaf  oil  of  commerce  is  of  two  qualities, 
one  of  which  is  adulterated  with  a  considerable  quantity  of  a 
fixed  fatty  oil,  but  the  other,  which  sells  at  a  much  higher  price, 
consists  wholly  of  essential  oil. 
Little  is  known  with  certainty  of  the  origin  of  this  oil.  Dr. 
Pereira,  in  the  last  edition  of  his  Materia  Medica,  page  1308, 
states  :  "  That  he  was  informed  by  a  gentleman  on  whose  estate 
in  Ceylon  this  oil  is  obtained,  that  it  is  procured  by  macerating 
the  leaves  of  the  cinnamon-tree  in  salt  water,  and  afterwards 
submitting  to  distillation." 
The  quantity  of  cinnamon  leaf  oil  on  which  I  operated,  was 
kindly  given  me  by  Messrs.  Quincy  and  Son,  Billiter  Street, 
City.    It  had  been  in  their  possession  from  two  to  three  years. 
Oil  of  cinnamon  leaf,  both  in  its  appearance  and  properties, 
very  closely  resembles  the  oils  of  cloves  and  pimento.  It  has  a 
brownish  color,  and  a  specific  gravity  of  1.053.  Its  smell  is 
aromatic  and  penetrating.  Its  taste  is  exceedingly  pungent.  It 
has  an  acid  reaction,  and  when  treated  with  solutions  of  potash 
or  ammonia,  it  solidifies,  forming  a  butyraceous  crystalline  magma. 
Like  clove  and  pimento  oil,  it  is  essentially  a  mixture  of  eugenic 
acid  and  a  neutral  hydro-carbon,  having  the  formula  C20  H16.. 
Cinnamon  leaf  oil  is  remarkable,  however,  for  containing  a  small 
quantity  of  benzoic  acid. 
When  the  crude  oil  was  distilled,  a  colorless  oil  came  over,, 
while  the  residue  in  the  retort  became  gradually  darker.  The 
last  portions  of  the  oil  which  passed  over,  on  being  set  aside  for 
some  time,  deposited  crystals  which  had  all  the  appearance  and 
