94 THE CHEMISTKY OF ESSENTIAL OILS
having the constitution of 2:4:6-trihydroxy-acetophenone, in which
the position of the methoxy group remains to be determined.
The oil obtained from the West Australian red resin from Xanthorr-
hoza preissii was obtained in a yield of over 1 per cent. It was found
to contain paeonol and hydroxypaeonol, and a crystalline compound
melting at 69'5°, of the formula (probably) C 13 H 12 O 2. The authors con-
sider this compound to be a methoxydiphenyl ether. A small amount
of laevo-citronellol was also found in the oil.AMARYLLIDACE/E.
OIL OF TUBEROSE.The flowers of the tuberose Polianthes tuberosa are cultivated to a
considerable extent in the South of France, and are principally used for
the manufacture of concretes, pomades, and similar perfume materials.
Polianthes tuberosa is a bulbous plant originally derived from
Mexico. It is grown in England under glass for the fragrance of its
white flowers, which is most powerful at night. The tuberous bulbs
are imported from Genoa, and also from North America, but even with
artificial heat the flowers do not develop such a powerful perfume as
in the South of France, where the plants are cultivated in the open air.
In the districts round Grasse the tubers are planted 9 to 12 ins. apart
in rows, with a distance of 2 ft. between the rows. A deep, rich soil is
preferable, as the roots penetrate downwards to a considerable depth
in search of moisture. If the soil is dry the plants require well water-
ing and manuring. Under good cultivation each plant will bear 10 to
12 flowers, or even more. These are picked off as soon as they open,
and the harvesting for the pomade factories commences about the first
week in July and lasts until the middle of October. After that time
the flowers are so deficient in perfume that they are no longer of use
to the manufacturer. In November the roots are taken out of the
ground and packed away in dry sand, ready for planting out in the
following March or April.
The essential oil cannot be separated from the flowers by direct dis-
tillation, as apparently it is decomposed in the process, but the extract
prepared by enfleurage yields a small amount of oil on steam distillation.
The oil, according to Hesse/ has the following characters :—Specific gravity 1-007 to 1-043
Optical rotation.- 2° 30' „ - 3° 45'
Acid value. 22 „ 32-7
Ester „ 224 „ 243
Verley
2
isolated from the oil a body of the formula C 13 H 20 O which
lie considered to be a ketone and which he named tuberone. Hesse
isolated from the oil the methyl esters of benzoic and anthranilic acids,
the latter being present to the extent of 1*13 per cent. Benzyl benzoate
is also present, as well as free benzyl alcohol. Methyl salicylate was
detected in the oil obtained by distilling the enfleurage pomade oil, but
not in that obtained from the petroleum ether extract of the flowers.
(^1) Bericht, 36 (1903), 1459. (^2) Bull. Soc. Chem., iii. 21 (1899), 307.