PERFUMES AND ESSENTIAL OILS 349 



drinks like lemonade and alcoholic liqueurs of all kinds, also in 

 confectionery and cookery. There is also an enormous demand 

 for certain oils as medicinal agents, some for external use, others 

 to be administered by the mouth, and many of them are in- 

 cluded in all the pharmacopoeias. 



The following figures will give some idea of the magnitude of 

 the industry connected with the production, the buying and 

 selling of these materials. 



German Foreign Trade in Essential Oils 



Year. Imports. Exports. 



1911 . . 1,251,500 . . 599,300 kilos. 1 



1910 .. 1,524,300 .. 547,600 



1909 .. 755,800 .. 512,600 



1908 .. 911,300 .. 390,800 



1907 .. 1,498,600 .. 491,700 



German Foreign Trade in Synthetic Odoriferous Substances 



Year. Imports. Exports. 



1911 .. 17,300 .. 492,800 kilos. 



1910 .. 17,900 .. 428,800 



1909 .. 16,100 .. 417,100 



1908 .. 11,300 .. 280,000 

 (Statistisches Waarenverzeichniss, Nos. 353-4.) 



The following figures from the United States convey a further 

 idea of the value of the essential oil business. In these figures 

 the most prominent export is oil of peppermint, obtained from 

 the Mentha piperita, which is cultivated very extensively in 

 America, as well as in the chief countries of Europe, including 

 Great Britain. 



Total Value of Essential Oils 



Year. Imports. Exports. 



1913 . . 5,619,921 . . 748,105 dollars. 



1912 .. 4,116,641 .. 850,923 



1911 .. 2,864,251 .. 798,484 



1910 .. 2,446,716 .. 675,030 



France has long been a home of this industry, especially in the 

 south, where large areas of land are devoted to the cultivation of 



1 A kilogram is 2^ pounds, 



