36 THE WORK OF THE FOREST DEPARTMENT IN INDIA. 



white oil of a standard composition can be put on the market,, 

 which should materially benefit the trade in this article. 



Lemon grass oil. The distillation of lemon grass oil from 

 Cymbopogon citratus is a more modern industry than that of 

 rosha oil, for the former was imported into England for the first 

 time in 1832. Distillation by crude methods has been carried 

 out for many years. The industry started in Travancore and 

 extended later to Malabar, where stills of improved construc- 

 tion have been used. When Travancore held the monoply the 

 oil was exported from Cochin, but now that the industry has 

 extended northwards into Malabar, Calicut is becoming a centre- 

 of distribution. The oil has lately been prepared in Assam. 

 Before the war from 2,000 to 3,000 cases each containing one 

 dozen quart bottles of oil were exported annually from Cochin 

 to Bombay and to various other ports, chiefly New York, Ham- 

 burg and London. A large proportion of the oil is absorbed in 

 the manufacture of citral and ionone, an artificial violet 

 perfume. An export trade in the oil has recently developed in 

 Java. The demand for lemon grass oil is steadily on the in- 

 crease in Europe, and all things considered this oil would seem 

 to have a promising future. 



Saussurea Lappa. " Kuth " roots are an important forest 

 product. The plant grows in Kashmir at an altitude of from 

 6,000 to 10,000 feet. It is exported largely to China where it 

 is burnt as incense and was sent in large quantities to Germany 

 before the war for the distillation of costus oil, which was then 

 valued at Rs. 150 a Ib. It is used to adulterate violet perfumes. 

 Lengthy experiments in order to ascertain the best method of 

 distillation and the factors which determine its oil value are 

 approaching completion at the Forest Research Institute. The 

 work done up to date indicates that the best method of extract- 

 ing the oil is with the help of alcohol. The roots should first 

 be treated in a modern extraction plant in which the loss of 

 solvent does not exceed 1 2 per cent, and the extract thus ob- 

 tained should be steam distilled. A complete note on the subject 

 will be issued as soon as the experimental results have been con- 

 firmed on a commercial scale. 



Wintergreen oil. Mr. Puran Singh, Chemical Adviser at 

 tl!o Forest Research Institute, is Velieved to have been the first to 



