274 THE CHEMISTRY OF ESSENTIAL OILS
OIL OF NUANUA LEAVES.This oil is distilled from the leaves of one of the Nelitris species,
belonging to the Rubiacece. The plant is found in Samoa, and the oil
has been examined by Schimmel & Co. and found to have the following
characters:—
Specific gravity 0-9025
Optical rotation + 9° 30'
Kefractive index.1-4849
Acid value 2-2
Ester „ 7-4OLEACE/E.OIL OF JASMINE.The perfume of the Jasmine flower is principally marketed in the
form of enfleurage products or similar preparations, but the oil is of the
highest importance, an 1 its examination has led to the preparation of a
synthetic jasmine oil of considerable commercial value. The jasmine
perfume of commerce is almost entirely prepared from the flowers of
Jasminum grandiflorum, but as there are many closely allied species
the t ollo wing details^1 of them are of considerable interest.
There are about 100 species and varieties, mostly natives of India,
Arabia, China, and tropical regions of the Old World, where this jasmine
is found in the wild state. A few occur in Africa and one in South
America.
The species commonly found in this country is Jasminum officinale,
the white jasmine, but it is not known when it was introduced into
England. It may be propagated by cuttings or by layering. The
flowers only develop on the young shoots, and to secure a good crop
the plant should be pruned in the autumn. Three varieties of this
species are known, the golden and the silver-edged leaf varieties, and a
double-flowered variety.
Jasminum grandiflorum, the Spanish or Catalonian jasmine, is the
species generally cultivated in the south of France, where it is grafted
on cuttings of the white jasmine. It resembles the latter, but the
branches are shorter and thicker, and the flowers much larger and
reddish underneath, forming at the extremities of the branches.
The white jasmine cuttings are planted in rows and trenched. Level
ground is best, but if rising ground only is available, it is formed into
a series of terraces. As soon as the young stem is strong enough shoots
of Jasminum grandiflorum are grafted upon it. It is then left until the
second year, when the long slender branches are trained along light
poles, supported horizontally and running the whole length of the rows,
the branches being entwined and interlaced between them. At the end
of the autumn i he plants are banked up with earth to half their height,
when the exposed parts die off. The earth is removed in the spring,
when the plant begins to grow rapidly, and the flowers appear about
July, the flowering period continuing until the middle of October.
Jasminum sambac, var. trifoliatum, known in India as " kudda mulla,"
differs from the other varieties in having solitary flowers, the calyx
of which is divided into a large number of segments, and the leaves
*P.andE.O.R. (1916), 36.