— 135 — 



brand, owing to their exquisite quality, have not been difficult to place, 

 and our stocks in warehouse therefore never exceed a few original cases. 

 It is true that the cheap Reunion oils, as has already been frequently 

 pointed out by us, cannot approach the best reputed Manila brands in 

 respect of quality, but it is nevertheless not surprising that French con- 

 sumers in particular should evince a steadily-growing interest in this new 

 product of the French Colonies. To this must be added the general ten- 

 dency to buy low-priced goods, although as a matter of fact this tendency 

 is wholly misplaced in the case of such fine products as ylang-ylang oil. 

 The shipments of ylang-ylang oil from Reunion have declined from 2363 kilos 

 in 1910 to 856 kilos in 1911, but in view of the enormous stocks which 

 have been carried over from the year 1910, this decline has had no effect 

 whatever upon the market-value. 



In connection with an incident which has occurred in England we 

 again take this opportunity to place upon record the fact that the sale 

 of the "Sartorius" brand is entirely controlled by us, and that the brand 

 is legally protected in all civilized countries. 



An article by B. T. Brooks 1 ) deals with the fluctuations in the market- 

 values of ylang-ylang oil. He ascribes the fall in the prices mainly to 

 the ever-increasing over-production, a fact upon which we have also laid 

 stress on several occasions. Ten years ago, when the prices rose as a 

 result of the political disturbances in the Philippines, the planting of 

 ylang-ylang trees was quickly taken up in many localities, especially in 

 Java, Jamaica, Bangkok, Tonquin, Nossi-Be, Mayotte, and the Comoro 

 Islands. The oils distilled in all these localities, however, are only of 

 secondary quality and cannot compete with the first-class Philippine oils. 

 As we have regularly reported on the production of ylang-ylang in the 

 several countries named, this short reference to Brooks's article will be 

 sufficient, especially because he bases himself chiefly upon our statements 

 and upon those of Roure-Bertrand Fils. 



Three years ago 2 ) we reported on an ylang-ylang oil which had been 

 obtained by Bacon by the extraction method and of which the odour 

 differed somewhat from that of the distilled oil. Bacon explained this 

 difference by the presence of compounds very liable to decomposition 

 which were destroyed in the process of steam-distillation. In order to 

 discover to what extent ylang-ylang oil undergoes a change when heated 

 "with water, Brooks 3 ) heated a mixture of 5 grams of the oil with 15 cc. 

 water on an oil-bath to a temperature of from 105 to 120° for 5 hours. 

 At the end of that time the saponification value of the oil showed a drop 



x ) Philippine Journ. of Sc. 6, A. (1911), 355. 



2 ) Report October 1909, 131. 



:{ ) Philippine Journ. of Sc. 6, A. (1911), 349. 



