279 



■soluble in 1 volume of 80 per cent, alcohol, and on aMition of 10 

 volumes sh i\vs only the faintest opalescence If it could be produced 

 at a reasonable price in quantity, it would no doubt find great favour 

 in this market. Messrs. Schiuimel & Co., have reported on what 

 appears to be the same oil, and say that it takes about an intermedi- 

 ate place between the Java and Ceylon oils ; but I am of opinion that 

 it is more of the Java type than of the Ceylun. 



The Jamaican oil distilled from A. SchoenanthuB is not u palmarosa 

 .oil, and is accurately described as a true lemon-grass oil. This raises 

 the question sis to which grass is really the parent of lemon grass oil, as 

 it appears out of the question that so enormous a change in the character 

 of the product could take plate by the grass being cultivated in Ja- 

 maica. 



This lemon-grass oil has the following characters : 



Sp. gr. at 15° ... 0-8965 



Rotation, 100 mm. ... — 0° 30' 



Aldehydes ... 83 per cent. 



Refractive index at 20° ... 1-4896 



Insoluble in 70 per cent, or 80 per cent, alcohol. 



The oil i'. a typically fine lemon grass oil, with a very high aldehyde- 

 content, and differs onl}'- from normal Eastern oils in its insolubility 

 in alcohol. The insoluble portion of the oil is a heavy body, sinking 

 to the bottom of the alcohol, which I am now investigating. Apart 

 from this insjlubility, which may not be normal, and may be found to 

 disappear when the oil is distilled under normal conditions, the oil may 

 be described as a fine lemon grass oil, with a very high citral value; 

 and, since the value of lemon grass oil depends entirely on its citral- 

 content the oil should command a ready market if produced at a 

 reasonable price. 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



The usual monthly meeting of the Board of Agriculture was held 

 on the 14th Juh^ at Headquarter House, present lion. W. Fawcett in 

 the Ciiair, Hon. J. V. Calder, Messrs. H. H. Cousins, C. A. T. Fursdon, 

 J. W. Middleton, T. L. Roxburgh, and John Harclay, the Secretary. 



The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. 



A letter from the Acting Colonial Secr-tary w;is read intimating 

 that Mr. Buttenshaw had been appointed ScientiHc Assistant to the 

 Imperial Commissioner of Agriculture for the West Indies. 



yv. Cousins submitted a summary of reports from some of the most 

 .experienced horse breedeis and experts iu the island. 



The Acting Colonial Secretary intimated that the £10,000 grant in 

 aid of the Sugar Indu^try could only be applied for the benefit of the 

 .jSug .r Industry. 



It was decided to recommend to the Privy Council the purchase of a 



