— 51 — 



Xanthoxyhim fraxineum, Willd. (X ramiflorum, Michx.; X. tricarpum, 

 Hook.; X clava Herculis, Lam.; X caribmum, Gaertn.; X americanum, 

 Mill., and 



Xanthoxyhim piperitum, D. C. (Fagara piperita, L; Piper japonicum) 1 ). 



Fennel Oil. By tactful manoeuvring the Galician speculators have 

 thus far succeeded in keeping the prices of fennel seed at a level which 

 was really out of consonance with the favourable result of last year's 

 crop. The policy adopted has been always to place only just enough seed 

 on the market to satisfy the demand, and thus to obviate a depression 

 of prices as a result of too plentiful a supply. At first the prospects of 

 the present year's crop, — which is about a month late, — were very 

 favourable, but recently there have been complaints that unusually heavy 

 rains have greatly damaged the plants and that only a good medium crop 

 can be looked for. It is therefore to be expected that during the winter 

 some, if only a slight, weakening of prices will take place, especially as 

 the quantity of seed carried over into the present season is said to be 

 by no means unimportant. The German fennel crop in our neighbourhood 

 (Ltitzen) has been a complete failure, but its output does not affect our 

 branch of industry. 



Geranium Oil. The accuracy of our view concerning the course of 

 prices of African geranium oil continues to be justified by events. The 

 scanty offers with which the Algerian producers are making their ap- 

 pearance in the open market are so extraordinarily high that users cannot 

 be blamed for gradually and increasingly eliminating African geranium oil 

 from their recipes and replacing it by suitable substitutes, such as pure 

 geraniol and others. The last quotations were at the rate of from 40 frcs. 

 to 42 frcs. per kilo, but only small parcels were being offered. As already 

 previously stated, the low prices of two or three years ago have induced 

 several of the largest growers to give up their geranium-cultures and to 

 replace them by more profitable crops. In view of the fact that, all alarmist 

 rumours and manipulations notwithstanding, the prices of Reunion geranium 

 oil cannot be driven up beyond the limit of about 36 frcs., the position is 

 not of a character to give fresh courage to the Algerian distillers, and it 

 need therefore occasion no surprise if the shipments of African oil in the 

 present year should fall considerably below even those of the year 1910. 

 Up to the end of July they have totalled to 18 200 kilos, whereas for the 

 entire year 1910 they amounted to 33 700 kilos. 



The position of Reunion geranium oil has gradually undergone con- 

 siderable change in the course of the summer, reports of discontinuance 

 of plantations, destruction of the crop by hurricanes, and so forth, having 

 succeeded each other. As a result the quotations have risen considerably. 

 The latest market-report which has reached us from St. Denis is dated 



x ) Report October 1890, 61. 



4* 



