260 TROPICAL AGRICULTURE 



oil is greenish and contains some chlorophyll. It is used in 

 scenting fine toilet soaps and in certain mixed perfumes. The 

 essence of bergamot commonly contains 8 per cent, of the oil 

 of bergamot per 5 quarts of alcohol. The United States 

 imports about 65,000 pounds of bergamot oil annually. 



CHAMPACA OIL 



A large handsome tree (Michelia champaca), native of 

 Java, India, and other parts of the Oriental Tropics, yields an 

 oil which bears the trade name Champaca oil. The tree pro- 

 duces conspicuous yellow flowers and the oil is distilled from 

 these flowers. In Java, Champaca oil is of a peculiarly de- 

 licious fragrance and of greater value even than ylang- 

 ylang oil. 



M. longifolia, a closely related species, with white flowers, 

 also yields a perfume oil by distillation of the flowers. In 

 Manila the flowers of this species yield about 0.2 per cent, of 

 oil. Champaca wood oil is obtained from a different tree 

 (Bulnesia sarmienti). The oil is distilled, as the term indi- 

 cates, from the wood. This oil is solid at ordinary tempera- 

 tures and emits an odor of tea and violets. It is quite widely 

 used as perfumery. The chief source of the oil is Paraguay. 



GERANIUM OIL 



The perfume oils which are included under the term gera- 

 nium oil are derived by distillation of the leaves and stems of 

 Pelargonium capitatum and other species of geranium. The 

 oil thus obtained is widely used as a substitute for the essence 

 of rose and Palmarosa oil. The geranium has been widely cul- 

 tivated as a source of oil in southern France and Spain and 

 particularly in Algeria, where large plantations are maintained 

 for this purpose. The plant is propagated by cuttings, which 

 in Algeria are planted in the fall. The plants begin to yield 



