DETECTION OF SPIKE OIL AND TURPENTINE IN LAVENDER OIL
BY DR. J. GASTELL.
There are two kinds of lavender oil known in commerce; one, which is very dear, and is obtained from the flowers of the Lavandula vera; the other is much cheaper, and is prepared from the flowers of the Lavandula spica. The latter is generally termed oil of spike. In the south of France, whether the oil be distilled from the flowers of the Lavandula vera or Lavandula spica, it is named oil of lavender.
By the distillation of the whole plant or only the stalk and the leaves, a small quantity of oil is obtained, which is rich in camphor, and is there called oil of spike. Pure oil of lavender should have a specific gravity from .876 to .880, and be completely soluble in five parts of alcohol of a specific gravity of .894. A greater specific gravity shows that it is mixed with oil of spike; and a less solubility, that it contains oil of turpentine.
DIFFERENT ORANGE-FLOWER WATERS FOUND IN COMMERCE
BY M. LEGUAY.
There are three sorts of orange-flower waters found in commerce. The first is distilled from the flowers; the second is made with distilled water and neroli; and the third is distilled from the leaves, the stems, and the young unripe fruit of the orange tree. The first may be easily distinguished by the addition of a few drops of sulphuric acid to some of the water in a tube; a fine rose color is almost immediately produced. The second also gives the same color when it is freshly prepared; but after a certain time, two or three months at the farthest, this color is no longer produced, and the aroma disappears completely. The third is not discolored by the addition of the sulphuric acid; it has scarcely any odor, and that rather an odor of the lemon plant than of orange-flowers.—Bulletin de la Société Pharmaceutique d'Indre et Loire.