2 BULLETIN 399, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



L' ' ". ■ r 1/ I' ; 



cells of the outer part of tne peel are ruptured and the mixture of oil 

 and other hquids is forced out in a fine spray. After the sponge has 

 become saturated, the contents are squeezed into a bowl, and the oil 

 is eventually drained off the accumulated liquid. From time to time 

 various machine methods have been tried, but apparently none of 

 them has proved satisfactory. Furthermore, when the peel is pressed 

 in quantity by machinery an emulsion is formed from which it is 

 very difficult to separate the oil. Accordingly, almost the entire 

 output of sweet-orange oil is extracted by the hand-pressing method. 



IMPORTANCE OF THE INDUSTRY. 



Complete figures on the total world production of sweet-orange oil 

 are not available, but the annual exports from Italy and Sicily, which 

 represent a large portion of the world's production, have been com- 

 piled from various sources and are given in Table I. 



Table I. — Export of siveet-orange oil from Italy and Sicily for the years 1906 to 1913, 



inclusive. 



Year. 



Quantity. 



Value. 



Year. 



Quantity. 



Value. 



1906 



Pounds. 

 301,455 

 357, 749 

 381,980 

 498, 705 



S666,984 

 782,972 

 735,683 

 770, 725 



1910 



Pounds. 

 285,357 

 90,078 

 118,366 

 105,826 



S415,06S 



1907 



1911 



131,021 



1908 



1912 



193,691 



1909 



1913 



202, 033 





It will be seen from Table I that m 1911 there was a marked decrease 

 in the exports and that in the two foUowmg years the quantity ex- 

 ported was much lower than in the six preceding years. This decline 

 is due in part to a smaU crop of oranges in Italy in 1911, in part to a 

 heavy import tax levied in this country, and in part to the activity of 

 producers in the West Indies, which region is now producmg a quan- 

 tity nearly sufficient to meet the American as well as the British demand. 



The imports of sweet-orange oil entered for consumption in the 

 United States are shown in Table II. 



Table II. — -Imports of sweet-orange oil into the United States from all sources for the 

 years 1900 to 1914, inclusive. 



[Compiled from Commerce and Navigation of the United States.] 



Year. 



1900 

 1901 

 1902 

 1903 

 1904 



Quan- 

 tity. 



Pounds. 

 57, 069 

 72, 218 

 79,160 

 77, 138 

 74, 816 



Value. 



$95, 405 

 109, 832 

 104, 159 

 107, 808 

 109, 478 



Year. 



Quan- 

 tity. 



Value. 



1905 



Pounds. 

 92,077 

 74,535 



112,8.34 

 71,224 

 87, 591 



8143,555 

 122,634 

 199, 027 

 165,982 

 151, 861 



1906 



1907 



1908 



1909... 





Year. 



1910 

 1911 

 1912 

 1913 

 1914 



Quan- 

 tity. 



Pounds. 

 46, 814 

 73, 786 

 97,065 

 77, 797 



104, 597 



Value. 



S65, 488 

 100, 115 

 168, 831 

 155, 299 

 222, 118 



The price of sweet-orange oil is subject to considerable variation, the 

 extent of which is mfluenoed both by the relative abmidance of the 



