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New  Essential  Oils. 
f  Am.  Jour.  Phann. 
\     October,  1909. 
from  the  leaves,  was  of  a  pale  brown  color  and  somewhat  resembled 
in  its  odor,  oil  of  turpentine,  to  which  it  is  probably  also  closely 
allied  in  its  composition,  d'  0  0.8685,  aD  —  io°  20',nD2oO  1. 4693 1, 
acid  no.  0.5,  ester  no.  5.7;  soluble  in  5.4  vols,  and  more  of  90  per 
cent,  alcohol. 
Oil  of  Artemisia  Herba-alba  var.  densiflora  Bois  (Chieh 
Oil). — From  Egypt  we  received,  for  the  purpose  of  examining  it 
for  essential  oil,  an  herb  which  is  known  there  by  the  name  of 
,(  Chieh,"  and  which  occurs  on  the  high  limestone  plateaus  of  Egypt 
and  Tripoli  and  probably  also  in  Arabia.  The  plant  is  said  to  reach 
its  full  development  early  in  March  and  to  flourish  particularly  in 
rainy  years.  The  Arabs  and  Tuaregs  employ  a  decoction  of  the 
herb  medicinally  as  an  emollient  and  diuretic.  Owing  to  the  sample 
sent  to  us  being  imperfect,  great  difficulty  was  experienced  in  deter- 
mining its  botanical  name.  Prof.  Heckel,  of  Marseilles,  who  kindly 
examined  the  sample  for  us,  and  to  whom  we  owe  thanks  for  his 
courteous  assistance,  informed  us  under  reserve  that  the  herb  was 
probably  an  Artemisia  Herba-alba.  This  opinion  was  confirmed  on 
further  investigation  when  a  few  specimens  which  had  been  care- 
fully pressed  between  paper  were  sent  to  us.  Dr.  Giessler,  "  Custos  " 
at  the  Botanical  Institute  of  the  University  of  Leipzig,  was  able  to 
ascertain  that  the  sample  represented  a  variety  of  the  above-men- 
tioned plant,  viz.,  A.  Herba-alba  var  densiflora  Bois. 
By  water  vapor  we  obtained  from  it  a  yield  of  .16  per  cent,  of  a 
yellowish  oil,  with  a  clear  odor  of  thujone,  which  upon  examination 
gave  the  following  results  :  d^0  0.9192,  aD— 50  20',  nD2QO  1.45611, 
acid  no.  1.5,  ester  no.  11.0,  ester  no.  after  acetylation  40.7,  soluble 
in  2.6  vol.  and  more  of  70  per  cent,  alcohol.  From  the  low  ester 
and  acetylation  numbers  it  is  to  be  inferred  that  the  oil  contains 
but  small  proportions  of  saponifiable  and  alcoholic  constituents. 
With  regard  to  an  oil  of  Artemisia  Herba-alba  previously  exam- 
ined by  E.  Grimal,  compare  our  Report  October,  1904,  13.  This  oil 
differs  entirely  from  the  one  now  under  review,  which  may  without 
further  inquiry  be  set  down  to  the  fact  that  A.  Herba-alba  shows 
very  wide  variations.  Several  varieties  exist  which  have  been 
regarded  as  separate  species  by  many  authors ;  J.  Gay,  for  instance, 
describes  the  variety  above-mentioned  as  A.  Oliveriana. 
