Scientific American Supplement, No. 799, April 25, 1891Various
Science
Scientific American Supplement, No. 799, April 25, 1891
Various
Science -- Periodicals
The specific gravity of Spanish oil of _L. stæchas_ is 0.942 at 15° C.
It boils between 180° and 245°. The odor of this oil is not at all
suggestive of that of lavender, but resembles more that of oil of
rosemary, possessing also the camphoraceous odor of that oil. In India
this oil is much prized as an expectorant and antispasmodic.
[Illustration: LAVANDULA VERA. LAVANDULA SPICA.
(From photographs of the plants. Natural size.)]
The other species which are distinctly characterized are _L.
pedunculata, L. viridis, L. dentata, L. heterophylla, L. pyrenaica, L.
pinnata, L. coronopifolia, L. abrotonoides, L. Lawii_, and _L.
multifida_.
The _L. multifida_ is synonymous with _L. Burmanii_. In Spain the
therapeutic properties of _L. dentata_ are alleged to be even more
marked than in the oils of any of the other species of lavender. It is
said to promote the healing of sluggish wounds, and when used in the
form of inhalation to have given good results in cases of severe
catarrh, and even in cases of diphtheria. In odor this oil strongly
suggests rosemary and camphor. Its specific gravity is 0.926 at 15° C.
It distills almost completely between 170° and 200°.
The specific gravity of the oil of _L. vera_ (according to Flückiger and
Hanbury, _Pharmacographia_) ranges between 0.87 and 0.94. The same
authorities state that in a tube of 50 millimeters the plane of
polarization is diverted 4.2° to the left.
Dr. Gladstone found (_Jnl. Ch. Soc._, xviii., 3) that a sample of pure
oil of _L. vera_, obtained from Dr. S. Piesse, indicated a specific
gravity of 0.8903 at 15° C., and that its power of rotating the plane of
polarization (observed with a tube ten inches long) was -20°. Compared
with these results he found the sp. gr. of oil of turpentine to be
0.8727, and the rotatory power -79°.
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