Commercial notes and scientific information. 31 



advantage of a particularly pure and aromatic odour. A few weeks ago we were able 

 to reduce the prices, but it is probable that they will now remain at their present 

 level, as the demand leaves nothing to be desired. 



W. C. Fishlock 1 ) gives particulars on the bay oil and bay rum industry in the islands 

 of St. Thomas and St. John in an article of which we reproduce the outlines as follows: 



If it is desired to obtain an oil of good quality, carefully collected leaves must be 

 worked up. It is not easy to procure a uniform raw material, because the Myrcia and 

 Pimenta-speties which are suitable for the preparation of bay oil are most difficult to 

 distinguish from each other. The true parent plant is said to be Pimento, acris, Wight, 

 but according to Fishlock there are various varieties which yield the ordinary bay oil 

 of commerce. Particular care must be taken to avoid mixing with the raw material 

 the leaves of the so-called "lemoncilla" 2 ) because this admixture spoils the whole 

 distillate. Morphologically it is impossible to distinguish the variety know as "lemoncilla" 

 or "false bay" from the common bay shrub; the leaves can only be recognised by 

 their odour. It would appear that the bay-shrub varies greatly, but little is known of 

 the different varieties. 



With regard to the cultivation, Fishlock 3 ) reports, inter alia, as follows: The first 

 gathering of leaves can be made when the bay-shrubs have reached the age of five 

 years. The gathering takes place in the dry months: February, March, and April. A 

 ten-year-old tree yields from 60 to 100 lbs. of leaves annually, for which 2 cents per lb. 

 is paid in St. John. The principal producing area includes Porto Rico as well as 

 St. John, but the genuine bay-tree also occurs in Barbuda, Montserrat, Dominica, Saba, 

 Antigua, and other islands. The bay shrub does not grow in St. Thomas. In that 

 island not only the leaves but also the young terminal branchlets are used for 

 distilling purposes. The stills are of copper, of about 200 gallons capacity, and 

 hold about 400 lbs. of green leaves. The still is filled with water to which 35 lbs. 

 of common salt is added, or the distilling-water is mixed with one-third its volume of 

 sea-water. The oil-yield varies according to season, location, and climate. The average 

 quantity of green leaves required to produce a bottle of oil (= V 6 th gallon) is from 

 130 to 140 lbs., which equals a yield of from about 1,2 to 1,3 p. c. 



Bay rum is made either by distilling the bay leaves with rum or spirits of high 

 strength or by mixing bay oil with rum or alcohol. The bay rum obtained by distilling 

 is the best. To prepare it, 400 lbs. green or 200 lbs. dried leaves are mixed in the 

 copper still with 65 gallons Demerara rum, the still being then filled up with water. 

 The distillate constitutes the genuine bay rum of commerce. 



The value of a bottle of bay oil in St. Thomas is from 18/- to 20/-, in Porto Rico 

 about 16/-. 



Fishlock explains that the reason why the island of St. Thomas is the centre of 

 the bay oil industry is its proximity to the island of St. John, from which, as stated 

 above, the raw material is procured, and furthermore the fact that in St. Thomas the 

 import-duties on alcohol and rum have always been low (from 3 to 6 p. c. ad vah). 

 The existence of good shipping facilities in St. Thomas also favours the industry. 



In an appendix to the article, H. A. Tempany deals with bay oil distillation in the 

 Leeward Islands. The quality of the oils distilled there is bad, which is chiefly attri- 

 butable to careless distillation. The light and the heavy fractions of the oil are often 



x ) West Indian Bulletin 12 (1912), 513. — 2 ) It is probably this variety which yields the so-called 

 "Lemon-scented Bay oil" to which we have referred on previous occasions (Report April 1909, 21 ; October 

 1909, 28). — 3 ) Comp. Report October 1912, 25. 



