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Lavender Oil. Mild and moist spring weather, which favoured the 

 development of the young plants, warranted the expectation of an ex- 

 ceptionally good crop, and in the month of May the prices of last year's 

 oil experienced a decline of about 20% as compared with their value in 

 February, Unfortunately the severe drought which prevailed during the 

 summer has for the greater part destroyed the satisfactory prospects, 

 those districts having specially suffered which were not visited by occasion- 

 al refreshing thunderstorms. If it is further borne in mind that in all 

 probability the cold weather of June and July has in many places ad- 

 versely affected the oil-yield and that in many districts only small quan- 

 tities of oil could be distilled owing to want of labour for gathering the 

 flowers, the general result of this season's lavender harvest can hardly 

 be called more than moderate. For the present very little that is definite 

 can be said as to the course of prices, no considerable transactions having 

 yet taken place. So far, however, the buyers are exceedingly reserved, 

 considering the notorious, fact that fairly considerable stocks have been 

 carried over into the new season from 1909. At the first lavender oil 

 fair at Digne no business was transacted, as the distillers stood out for 

 excessive prices, which of course no one could bring himself to concede. 

 The fairs at Sault (Vaucluse) on the 7 th , at Buis-les-Baronnies (Drome) on 

 the 9 th , and at Apt (Vaucluse) on 10 th of September also failed to bring about 

 any change in the position: the majority of the producers either ask 

 impossible prices, or are only willing to sell when they have completed 

 the whole of their distillation, which will only be towards the end of the 

 month. For the present, therefore, our quotations must be regarded as 

 provisional. 



Throughout the current season our lavender oil works at Barreme 

 (Basses-Alpes) have been very fully occupied, and for a long time it was 

 necessary to work day-and-night-shifts, in order to cope with the quan- 

 tities of flowers that were being brought in. All the oil produced has 

 again been of exceptionally fine quality. The ester-content was materially 

 higher than in 1909, and in some lots it reached the considerable figure 

 of 56°/o. 



At the above-named works distilling was completed on 8 th September, 

 but at the works at Sault (Vaucluse), which we hold on lease, operations 

 were continued until about 20 th September. In addition to these two 

 centres we carried on distillation at various other points in the best 

 districts, partly with movable distilling apparatus, partly in hired plant of 

 the older type. Such operations were carried out by us at Castellane, 

 Thorame-Haute, Vergons, Lambruisse, and Soleilhas. For the purpose of 

 giving our readers an approximate idea of the importance of this special 

 branch of our manufacture, we subjoin particulars of the quantities of 

 lavender flowers which have up to the present been distilled by us at 

 each of those places: 



