— 85 — 



Spike Oil. So far as the present reports go, the result of the crop 

 in the South of France has not been favourable and prices are therefore 

 beginning to tighten. 



Dalmatian Spike Oil. Two oils distilled in Dalmatia which were 

 submitted to us for examination some time ago 1 ) prove that it is possible 

 to prepare suitable spike oil in that country. Both oils had the pleasant, 

 refreshing aroma of the French distillate and gave the following constants: 



j 



diso 



«D 



a D 

 of the initial 10% 



acid v. 



ester v. 



1. | 0,9033 



— 0°53' 



+ 0°16' 



0,9 



5,6 



2. 0,9022 



— 0°10' 



+ 2°14' 



0,9 



5,4 



The ready solubility of the samples is worthy of note, both of them 

 giving a clear solution with 4 to 5 vols. 60°/o alcohol. The slight las- 

 vorotation does not denote any abnormality, for we have ourselves at the 

 time obtained in the South of France, from selected material, spike oils 

 which rotated slightly to the left 2 ). 



Spanish spike oil. A small parcel of spike flowers has been sent 

 to us from Spain, of which the botanical derivation from Lavandula Spica, 

 D. C. (L. latifolia, Vill.) was confirmed by a special examination. Distilled 

 with steam, the flowers yielded 1,9% of a brownish-yellow oil showing 

 the following constants: d 15 o 0,9100, <* D — 2°20', « D of the initial 10°/o of 

 the distillate + 1°10', n D20O 1,46823, acid v. 3,7, ester v. 7,0. The oil was 

 soluble in 2 vols. 70% alcohol; when more than 4 vols, of the solvent 

 was used, paraffin separated out and opalescence ensued. 



The oil possesses the same characteristics as do the oils which are 

 brought into commerce from Spain under the name of "Spanish lavender 

 oils", so that these oils also are probably in reality spike oils. The 

 darker colour and slightly lower degree of solubility of our sample were 

 due to its more exhaustive distillation. 



Staranise Oil. Throughout the summer the quotations for Chinese 

 oil have shown very slight fluctuations from the price of 4/5 cif., but no 

 large transactions have been concluded, because, as compared with the 

 cheap rates ruling at the beginning of last year, this price was by no 

 means an inducement to speculative purchases. It is true that reports 

 of shortage in the arrivals continue to reach us from Hong Kong, but so 

 far as the real position and prospects of the article are concerned, we 

 are depending upon mere suppositions. We lay stress upon this fact because 



1 ) Comp. foot-note p. 63. 



2 ) Report November 1908, 116. 



