ANONACE^E 523
that it was a species hitherto unnamed, and they assigned its name to it,
Messrs. Boure-Bertrand Fils
l
give the following account of its essential
oil. Forty-two kilos of, the leaves were distilled with steam, with cohoba-
tion of the condensed waters, and yielded 246 grams of volatile oil, of
which 160 grams had collected at the bottom of the receiver and 86
grams floated on the surface.
The last water of condensation, when exhausted with petroleum spirit,
yielded to this solvent only a very small quantity of essential oil (less than
2 grams).
In all, the yield of essential oil from the dried " cape " leaves was
therefore O59 per cent.
They determined separately the constants of the heavy and light por-
tions, then those of a mixture of these two liquids, which they call the
complete essential oil, and which was prepared by uniting the first two in
proportion to their yields.
Below are the analytical characters of the complete essential oil of
Popowia Capea:—
Specific gravity at 20° C 1-00416
Optical rotation + 76° 56'
Solubility in 80 per cent, alcohol ... 1 vol., then cloudy
~~ / 0-5 vol., then a very
" " '*'• \ slight opalescence
Acid value 2*8
Saponification number 166-1
„ of the acetylated oil.. 239-9
By working separately with the heavy and the light component
portions of this oil, the following constants were found :—
Heavy Portion.
Specific gravity at 20° C 1-00808
Op ical rotation .......+ 90° 54'
/ 1 vol., then
Solubility in 80 per cent, alcohol.... J very strong
[ cloudiness
[ 1 vol.; after 3
„ 95 ,, ,,... ^ vols. a distinct
I opalescence
Acid value 1-5
Saponification number 192-3
„ „ of the acetylated oil.. 24S-3Light Portion*
0-99596
+ 51° 26'
1 vol., then
strong
cloudiness
0-5 vol., thei*
very slight
opalescence
» 3-7
123-2
218-4
The constituents of this oil have not been investigated, but there ap-
pear to be present one or more sesquiterpene alcohols or alcohols of the
benzene series. Sodium bisulphite solution absorbs 6 per cent, of the oil.OLLS OF MONODORA.The seeds of Monodora myristica, a tree 50 to 60 ft. high, found in
West Africa, but also growing elsewhere, notably in Ashanti and in the
West Indies, "where it is called " Calabash Nutmeg," yield au essential
oil. A small sample of the seeds from the Gold Coast yielded on steam
distillation 5-9 per cent, of a colourless volatile oil, possessing an agree-
able lemon-like odour and taste, and appearing to consist mainly of ter-
penes.
2
A larger but poorer sample (also from the Gold Coast, obtained
to make a more thorough examination) gave only 2*2 per cent, of essential
(^1) Roure-Bertrand Fils, Bulletin, October, 1913, 4, 15.
. Imp. Instit.j July, (^1915) -