241 

 LEMON GRASS OIL.* 



A product for which there is at present a good demand in the 

 London market, late quotations being from 8|d. to 8Ad., is the oil 

 of lemon grass. The value of the product has steadily increased 

 from a trifle over 40 rupees to 58 rupees per gallon, and is likely 

 to rise higher in the near future. 



Lemon grass luxuriates in a well-drained sandy soil but has 

 been known to thrive also upon laterite provided the dry weather 

 be not prolonged. It is also a lover of moisture in the soil but is 

 unable to withstand water-logging. For the highest purposes of 

 its cultivation, however, the most suitable soil is an arenaceous 

 clay and the best climate one which presents a distinct alterna- 

 tions of sunshine and shower. 



The crop will, under ordinary conditions, be ready for harvest- 

 ing in the cold weather of the third year from planting it out. 

 On cropping the grass it is committed to the still with as little 

 delay as possible. The usual method adopted with the grass is 

 aqueous distillation in copper stills. In plantation-grown grass 

 at least two crops can be harvested in the season, so that, calcu- 

 lating on an average on a bundle of the grass (of six inches 

 diameter) from each of the 5,000 clumps which may safely be 

 counted upon to attain to maturity out of the 7,260 planted out, 

 the yield of an acre may be estimated at 10,000 bundles. Fifty 

 such bundles yield a quart (40 fluid ounces) of the oil, so that the 

 10,000 bundles would yield 200 quarts or 8,000 ounces. Valued 

 at 8d. per ounce, which is the current average selling price of the 

 oil in the London market, the produce of an acre would realise 

 £269 13s. 4d. Even should the xrop cost £69 13s. 4d. to raise, 

 tend, harvest, distill and transport the oil to market, a profit of 

 £200 per acre would be obtainable from it from and after the cold 

 weather of the third year of its establishment. For previous 

 articles, see Bulletin, March (p. 53) and Dec. (p. 275) 1903 ; Oct. 

 (p. 224) 1004; May (p. 102) 1906. 



MEXICAN BROMELIA FIBRE.t 



Among the collections of fibres from tropical America shown 

 at exhibitions has frequently appeared a long silky vegetable 

 fibre of a greenish colour, and showing great strength, though only 

 an expert might particularly notice the small hanks into which the 

 fibre is made up. When a specimen is unwrapped, however, the 

 fineness of the fibre and its extraordinary length become apparent, 

 for six feet is a common length. So long is the fibre that it is 

 difficult to break even a few filaments by direct strain without 

 cutting into the hands. According to the Bureau of the American 

 Republics, this is produced from the long narrow leaves of a " wild 

 pine" belonging to the genus Bromelia. The nomenclature of the 

 species is confused, however, for the fibre has been variously 



* From "Agricultural Bulletin of the Straits and Federated Malay States'* 

 August, 1906, pp. 282-283. 



t From "Journal of the Society of Arts," No. 2854, Vol. LV., Aug. 2, 1907. 



