- 6; - 



In order to produce choice qualities, it is therefore necessary to fall back 

 upon old roots which under the conditions described can only be had at high 

 prices. But this quantitative result of the harvest will also be affected by the 

 failure of the roots, so that some of the estimates are very low — in our 

 opinion probably too pessimistic; for the present we are rather inclined to 

 stand by our previous estimate of about 500 tons, as goods are frequently still 

 brought in up to the beginning of November. 



At the end of February 1907 there were available . . about 680 tons 

 Deduct from this the shipments from the beginning of March 



to the end of August „ 140 „ 



There remains a balance on 1st September 1907 of ... about 540 tons. 

 It will be seen that the export in the half-year March/ August was very 

 small in comparison with the same period of last year, when it amounted to 

 370 tons, but it is said that fairly large parcels have still to be shipped against 

 earlier contracts. 



Altogether there were shipped during the last 1 2 months : — 

 September 1906/August 1907 about 550 tons 

 against „ 1905/ „ 1906 „ 920 „ 



1904/ „ 1905 „ 500 „ 

 1903/ „ 1904 „ 820 „ 

 1902/ „ 1903 „ 840 „ 

 Basing upon the harvest estimates, which fluctuate between 300 and 500 tons, 

 and taking into consideration the old stocks in hand (540 tons), we arrive at a 

 total available quantity of 840 to 1040 tons for the season September 1907 

 to August 1908, so that with an annual export as hitherto observed, a sufficient 

 supply would be available. But a fact which may undoubtedly affect the 

 prices of Florentine orris root is the prospective extremely small crop in the 

 Veronese district, inasmuch as the Veronese orris harvest next due is estimated 

 at most at 60 to 80 tons, against a previous maximum of about 600 tons. It 

 should also be mentioned that the new quantities planted out during the last 

 two years have been moderate, in spite of the rise in the prices, — no doubt 

 a salutary consequence of previous sorry experience — and for this reason no 

 exceptionally large crops can be expected for the next few years. 



The movements in the prices during the past twelve months were of no 

 importance, and as regards the future, it is possible that in consequence of 

 last year's feeble export, the demand from abroad during the new season may 

 be all the greater, in which case the market might easily become firmer. 



Patchouli Oil. In spite of large sales in this important article, 

 the European market has not yet been able to meet the increased 

 prices of the raw material by an advance in the prices of the oil, and 

 all symptoms point to the fact that everywhere abundant quantities of 

 distillate of low cost -price are still available. Of the Indian distillate, 

 which is useless for the purposes of the fine perfumery, there exist 

 everywhere important stocks which can only be disposed of at a loss. 

 It is to be hoped that the producers may be induced by their bad 

 experience to restrict their manufacture in due proportion. The 

 prices of the leaves, which reached their highest level in April with 

 40/- per cwt. , have meanwhile fallen to 36/-, but there does not 

 appear to be any prospect of a further decline of the market to the 

 previous level of 26/-, as the cultivation is said to have suffered 

 greatly from heavy rainfall. 



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