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The shipments for the past year are only an estimate, as accurate 

 statistics are not yet available, and our informants add that the shipments 

 for 1911 may be expected to reach from 60 000 to 65000 kilos. It is true 

 that towards the end of the year the development of the plants has been 

 injuriously affected by great drought, but we understand that in January 

 beneficial rains have fallen, and that as a consequence the prospects once 

 more are favourable. Since then, however, the island has been visited by 

 a severe cyclone, but the damage wrought by this affliction has naturally 

 been restricted almost entirely to high-growing plants, such as trees and 

 shrubs, and the geranium plantations have suffered little or nothing. The 

 opinion is that prices will remain at about their present level, and it is 

 hoped that the effect of the increased production will be counterbalanced 

 by the scarcity of African oil. We are unable to share this opinion, 

 because it is well-known that only in very few manufactures can Algerian 

 oil be replaced by Reunion oil, the last-named possessing an herbaceous 

 subsidiary odour which often has a highly disturbing effect. We rather 

 continue to hold to our conviction that outputs such as those of Reunion 

 are far in excess of the world's requirements, and that in spite of all 

 clever manipulations on the part of the Syndicate and of the firms interested 

 in the sale of the article, large stocks are accumulating somewhere, and 

 will sooner or later cause a surprise to the market. 



Ginger Oil. The tendency of all varieties of ginger suitable for distil- 

 lation has been an upward one throughout the past few months, and at 

 times supplies could only be obtained with the greatest difficulty. It 

 has therefore been necessary to advance the quotations of ginger oil on 

 several occasions, and they still remain firm, for the new crop of Cochin 

 ginger is described as being very small, and the supplies of African 

 ginger, of which the crop takes place in April and May, are apparently 

 also expected to be comparatively small. It is notorious that of late 

 African ginger has only been brought to market in quite small quantities. 



Bacon 1 ) reports on an oil distilled in the Philippines from material 

 yielding 0,072 °/ , which possessed the following constants: dg| 0,8850, 

 <*D3oo5,9° (+?), n D30O 1,4830, sap. v. 14. The pale yellow oil was soluble 

 in twice its volume and more of 90°/ alcohol. 



Gingergrass Oil. Very little oil of pure quality has been offered, 

 but in spite of this fact we have been able to secure a few small parcels 

 which have enabled us to fill up our much reduced stock. The demand 

 for the article has recently fallen off a great deal, because we now supply 

 in our Palmarosa Oil Substitute an artificial East Indian geranium oil 

 equalling palmarosa oil in its exquisite perfume and even surpassing 

 gingergrass oil in cheapness. 



*) Philippine Journ. of Sc. 5 (1910), A. 259. 



