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Only with the commencement of better weather early in August, the 

 condition of the plants improved, at least as far as the undamaged 

 plantations are concerned. As the ripening and picking will take place 

 this year about a fortnight later than last year, the reports received 

 up to the present are largely contradictory, and do not enable one 

 to form a clear opinion on the probable results of the harvest. 



At the present moment, this year's results, as compared with those 

 of 1905, are estimated as follows: in Bavaria partly at 1/5, partly at 

 3/4 to 7/8, on the average at a feeble 3/4; in the other German countries 

 and in Austria - Hungary at a bare 2/3, in England and Russia at 

 scarcely 1/2, in Belgium at 1/3, in France at 3/4 of last year's crop, 

 whilst North America hopes to show equally favourable results as in 1905. 



In spite of the unfavourable prospect, the prices of hop will not 

 advance to an extraordinary height, as all interested parties have 

 covered themselves last year for a long time to come at the advan- 

 tageous prices, and during this season a proportionately smaller demand 

 will probably be made on the market. 



Our prices of hop oil of our own distillation remain for the 

 present unchanged. 



Lavender Oil. Owing to the exceptional drought which pre- 

 vailed during the spring and summer months in the South of France, 

 the results of this year's distillation have fallen far below the ex- 

 pectations, and the regrettable fact must be stated that only one half 

 of the result of a medium harvest can be reckoned upon. Dealing 

 with the individual producing -districts, our informant reports that 

 those in the departments Basses- and Hautes-Alpes, which are 

 situated at the greatest elevation, have suffered least owing to 

 occasional showers, and that in a few places the results are said to 

 be almost normal. On the average, the results in these departments 

 may be called 2/3 of the normal. But in the Alpes-Mari times, in 

 Var and Drome, the crop is only equal to one half, whilst the 

 department Vaucluse has suffered most from the unfavourable 

 weather- conditions, so that hardly more than 1/4 or at most 1/3 of 

 an average harvest has been obtained. 



In view of these facts it is not surprising that at the two first 

 markets at Digne and Sault, new distillate fetched prices considerably 

 higher than those of last year, although, as is well known, last year's 

 prices were not the normal ones corresponding to the rich yield of 

 the harvest, but had experienced an unnatural rise owing to the 

 speculative driving up of the prices by certain firms. As matters 

 stand at present, the prices will doubtless not remain at the level of 

 those paid at present, varying on the spot from 28 to 35 fr. per kilo, 

 according to quality, as the production does probably not by a long 

 way meet the requirements of the consumers. 



