_Star anise oil_ very much resembles the ordinary anise-seed oil. It is obtained from star anise, the fruit of _Illicium anisatum_, a tree formerly supposed to be indigenous to Cochin China, and cultivated in China, Japan, and the Phillipine Islands. However, according to Messrs. Bourgeoin-Meiffre, a French firm of Hanoï (Tonkin), the star anise oil found in commerce is exclusively produced in the French colony Tonkin (Province Langson), the French government having made over the entire sale of the oil to the above-mentioned firm. According to a memoir published by Dr. Blondel, of Paris, the star anise tree is not indigenous to the Chinese provinces Yunnan, Quang-si, and Fo-Rien, but to the province Langson, which has by conquest passed into French possession. Hence, the producers of star anise and star anise oil are now under French control and, as it seems, are obliged to sell all the oil produced to the above-mentioned firm. If these statements should prove correct, the Chinese harbors Macao and Hong Kong, from which the greater portion of star anise oil was formerly exported, will lose their importance in this respect and the product find its way direct from Hanoï _via_ Hayphong to Marseilles. The first shipment from Bourgeoin-Meiffre arrived in Europe in December, 1890. According to Messrs. Schimmel & Co.'s report, the product is put up and packed exactly like that formerly shipped from Hong Kong, and the oil of excellent quality. Star anise oil differs from the ordinary oil in containing a much smaller quantity of anethol, and hence congealing only at a temperature of from 41° to 50° F. Besides the odor of the terpene contained in star anise oil differs from that of the ordinary oil. Admixtures of star anise oil can, therefore, be generally recognized by the odor. Other methods recommended for its detection are unreliable. _Balm oil._--The leaves of this plant, _Melissa officinalis_, yield by distillation a volatile oil sometimes called oil of melissa. It is colorless or yellowish, of a pleasant odor, has a specific gravity of 0.85 to 0.92, shows a slightly acid reaction and dissolves in 2 to 3 parts of alcohol. It must not be confounded with the so-called East India oil of melissa or citronella oil from _Andropogon Nardus L._ Balm oil is occasionally used in the preparation of _eau de Cologne_. _Basil oil_ is distilled in Southern France from the fresh leaves of _Ocymum basilicum L._, natural order _Labiatæ_. The oil shows the peculiar odor of the herb and crystallizes a few degrees above 32° F. In perfumery it is used as an addition to violet and other preparations. The French also prepare a _pommade basilique_, which serves as a cheap substitute for violet pomade.