Sandal-wood-oil.—The essential oil which carries the delightful perfume of sandal-wood (see Perfumes—Sandal-wood) is extracted in Mysore in the following manner. The roots yield the largest quantity and finest quality, and next in value is the dark central wood of the tree. The chips and billets are distilled with water in a large globular clay pot, with an open mouth, about 21 ft. deep, and si ft. in circumference at the bilge. When charged, the mouth of the still is closed with a clay lid, having a small central hole, through which is passed a bent copper tube, about 51,-, ft. long, for the escape of the vapour. The lower end of this tube is carried into an ordinary crude condenser. The white or sap wood is rejected for distilling. The operation is carried on for 10 days and nights, the water being occasionally renewed from the heated overflow of the condenser. The yield from good wood is at the rate of 2i per cent.; European distillers do not succeed in getting more than 30 oz. from 1 cwt. The oil is transparent, of pale-yellow colour, resinous flavour, sweet peculiar odour, sp. gr. 0.980. It is in great request as a perfume.
Sassafras-oils.—Essential oils are obtained from the root-wood and root-bark of Sassafras officinale (see Drugs—Sassafras, p. 823). These oils are largely distilled in America. The charge of a still, about 11 bush. of chips, yield 1-5 lb. of oil, according to the quality of the root, and the proportion of bark present. The wood of the root gives 1-2 per cent., while the bark of it affords double that amount, and the stem and leaves of the tree yield scarcely any. The commercial oil is derived entirely from America, the quantity annually produced in Baltimore, the chief market for a radius of 300 miles, being 15,000-20,000 lb. ; it was 20,200 lb. in 1876. The oil is colourless, yellow, or reddish-brown, according to the character of the root used ; it has the odour of sassafras, and sp. gr. 1.087-1.094. When cooled, it deposits crystals of sassafras-camphor (see p. 578). It is used in America to give a pleasant flavour to drinks, tobacco, and soaps.
Australian sassafras (Atherosperma moschatum), growing abundantly in gullies near the coast in Victoria and Tasmania, gives a thin, unctuous, pale-yellow oil by aqueous distillation of the bark ; its odour resembles sassafras and caraway, with a bitter aromatic flavour, sp. gr. boiling at 230°-245° (446°-473° F.) Savin-oil.—The branchlets and fruits of Juniperus Sabina, distilled with water, yield a colour less oil, with strong odour and flavour of the shrub, sp. gr. boiling at 155°-161° (311°-322° F.). In S. France, 1 lb. of oil is obtained from 300-400 lb. The yield from young branches is 1.30 per cent. fresh, and per cent, dry ; from the fresh berries, 10 per cent. The oil is used medicinally, and is often adulterated with turpentine-oil.
Other Juniperus-oils are described under Cedar and Juniper (pp. 1419, 1422).
Spearmint-oil.—The common garden miut or spearmint (Mentha viridis) is a fragrant perennial
cultivated plant of Europe, Asia, and N. America. It is cultivated in the United States in the same manner as peppermint (see p. 1425). H. G. Hotchkiss, of Lyons, Wayne Co., New York, makes some 1000 lb. of the essential oil annually. Its sp. gr. is Spike-oil.—See Lavender-oil (p. 1423).
Sweet-fiag-oil.—The rhizome of Acores Calamus (see p. 190), when distilled with water, affords a pale- to dark-yellow oil, with strong penetrating odour of the root, aromatic, bitter, burning, camphoraceous flavour, sp. gr. 0.89-0.98, dissolving readily in alcohol, and boiling at 195° (383° F.) Tansy-oil.--The herb and flowers of Tanaceturn vulgare, distilled with water, yield a thin yellow oil, having the specific odour of the plant.
Tarragon-oil.—The leaves of Artemisia Dracunculus, distilled with water, give an oil of 0.935 ap. gr., boiling at 200°-206° (392°-403° F.). The plant is cultivated on a large scale near Grasse (S. France), yielding two crops yearly (July and Ootober) ; its yield of oil is 1 lb. from 300-500 lb., according to season and locality.
Other Artemisia-oila are described under Mugwort, Wormseed, and Wormwood (pp. 1424, 1432).
Tea-oil.—An essential oil is extracted from tea-leaves by distilling with water, shaking the distillate with ether, pouring off the ether solution, and evaporating ; it is lemon-yellow, of strongly narcotic, tea-like odour and flavour, and solidifies on keeping. It is not to be confounded with the fatty oil extracted from the seed (see p. 1411).
Thyme-oil.—All varieties of the thyme afford fragrant essential oils, but this is especially the case with the wild or lemon-thyme (Thymus Serpyllum). The cultivated variety (T. citriodorus) of this species is not utilized by perfumers ; its oil is golden-yellow, with a pleasant odour of lemon and thyme, and an aromatic, bitter flavour ; ap. gr. 0.89-0.91. The species cultivated for the sake of its odour is the common or garden-thyme (T. vulgaris). This plant is extremely abundant on the arid wastes of Languedoc ; it is collected from the rocky hills in the department of Gard, S. France, and distilled chiefly in the villages around Nimes. The entire herb is used, and the process is carried on both in May-June, when the plant is in flower, and again in the autumn. The yield is about 1 per cent, of oil ; this is deep reddish-brown, becoming colourless but slightly less fragrant on re-distillation. Both the former (huile rouge de thym) and the latter (h. blanche de t.) are met with in commerce. Some 11,938 lb. of thyme-oil were consumed in England in 1839, and 7553 lb. in 1814. The oil is used medicinally (chiefly veterinary), and in perfumery under the name of " origanum " (see p. 1424) ; one of its constituents, thymol, is a valued disinfectant. It is often adulterated with oil of turpentine, or fraudulently deprived of its thymol before sale.