LEGUMINOS^E 483
Specific gravity 0*915 to 0*990
Optical rotation + 5° „ + 30°
Acid value -5 ,, 10
Ester „ 0 „ 5-6
„ ,, (after acetylation) ..... 10
It contains Z-cadinene and /2-caryophyllene.
For further details of this oil (which is not employed commercially
except in so far as the balsam is used as an adulterant of ordinary balsam
of copaiba, so that oil of copaiba may be found adulterated with the oil of
the African balsam) see under Oil of Copaiba.OIL OF HARDWICKIA BALSAM.
Hardwickia balsam, the oleo-resinous exudation of Hardwickia pin-
nata, a tree found in further India, yields about 28 to 50 per cent, of
essential oil, which has the following characters:—
Specific gravity 0-904 to 0-906
Optical rotation - 7° 42' „ - 8° 24'
Acid value 0-85
Ester „ 2-88
The oil consists principally of sesquiterpenes.OIL OF CASSIE.
The perfume of cassie flowers, Acacia Farnesiana, has for many years
been well known in the form of a pomade. The essential oil is scarcely
a commercial oil, but has been prepared by the steam distillation of the
petroleum ether extract.
Acacia Farnesiana is found in the West Indies, tropical Africa, the
Soiith of France, Egypt, South America, and the Philippines. It is a
native of the West Indies, and was first naturalised in Europe in the
Farnesian gardens in Borne. In Cuba, where it is known as "Aroma
francesca," it has become a troublesome weed. In the Sandwich Islands
also it grows wild, and has proved an obstacle to cultivation owing to its
tough, firm roots and bristling spines. It is there known as " klu," and
suggestions have been made for its employment for perfume extraction.
1
In India large quantities of cassia pomade used to be prepared and
exported to all parts of the world, including America, the South of France,
and Germany. The pomade was exceedingly fine and strong in odour,
improving with age. The production, however, gradually got less and
less with competition from other parts of the world.
In Syria a factory has been established for the manufacture of pomades
near Beyrouth, at the foot of Mount Lebanon, where there is quite a
forest of cassie bushes. The climate is temperate and admirably suited
for the development of the perfume of the flower, and Syrian cassie is
competing favourably with the product of the South of France.
In the South of France the tree flourishes best in the neighbourhood
of Grasse and Cannes, where it is known as "cassie ancienne," "cassier
de Levant," and " casillier de Farnese ". Another species, Acacia cavenia,
is known as " cassie romane ".
The flowering season is from October to January or February, and
the blooms open successively, some being ready for picking whilst others
are in course of development. The flowers are usually gathered twice a
*
P. and E.O.R. (1914), 53 ; (1916), 71.