56 Report of Schimmel $ Co. April 1913. 



Fortunately the working up of the new fruit proceeded under normal conditions. 

 The state of the weather favoured the preparation of oil, and although the oil-yield of 

 the fruit was not abundant, the results have generally been satisfactory. If notwith- 

 standing all this prices began to rise slowly in the course of December and reached 

 the parity of 60 odl in the first half of January, the reason must be sought on the one 

 hand in the strong demand from abroad, especially from France, and on the other in 

 the circumstance that the Sicilian manufacturers, by keeping back their merchandise 

 for some weeks, contrived to provoke a pronounced scarcity, and thus succeeded in 

 compelling a few exporters who had entered into contracts for delivery, to concede 

 the increased demands of the holders. 



But this artificial and unnatural condition of high prices could not be maintained 

 long, and from the end of January onwards the quotations for bergamot oil began to 

 sag slowly. Since then the tendency has been slowly drooping, and gradually a price- 

 level of 53 o4t was reached. 



The future of the article will be determined mainly by the prospects of the coming 

 crop. The stocks which are held in the producing country are amply sufficient to meet 

 the normal requirements of the world, and to preclude any scarcity of material in the 

 course of the present season. 



The foliage of the trees is splendid, and their appearance would justify the highest 

 expectations were it not that the flowering has already proceeded a little too far for 

 the time of the year. In such a precocious development so early in the season present 

 and future dangers lie hidden which may easily spell disaster for the coming crop. 

 If the bergamot trees should escape those climatic influences which may threaten the 

 flower and the young fruit until far into the summer, the likelihood of the prices of 

 bergamot oil undergoing a reduction would increase in proportion as the time of the 

 next gathering draws nearer. 



Lemon Oil. The business in lemon oil has passed through a time of exceptional 

 difficulty last year and during the first quarter of 1913. During that period a number 

 of various unfavourable factors, the like of which has probably never before operated 

 at one and the same time, has exercised a pernicious influence upon the trade in this 

 article. 



In order to make these circumstances clear it is necessary to revert to the sta- 

 tistical position of lemon oil at the commencement of the year 1912. Whereas in the 

 winter of 1910 'to 1911 a balance of over 100000 kilos of old oil was carried over 

 into the new season, only about 30000 kilos of such lemon oil remained in December 

 1911 to augment the new crop of 1911/12. In the course of the year 1912 the con- 

 sumption not only swallowed up the whole 30000 kilos of old stock, but in addition 

 thereto the entire output of the winter-season of 1911/1912; hence the new crop of 

 the season 1912/1913 was called upon to fulfil the requirements of an entirely depleted 

 market. For the year 1913 therefore, the consumption has nothing to fall back on 

 except the produce of the manufacturing-season of 1912/1913. 



In these circumstances it would have been of the utmost importance for every 

 dealer in the article to be in a position to form an accurate judgment of the new crop 

 while it was still on the trees. Whenever an article is left to itself, that is to say, 

 when it is affected solely by the law of supply and demand, it is not very difficult, 

 given a little experience, to form an opinion of its commercial position. But when, 

 either in the country of production or in the consuming markets, powerful groups of 

 speculators are formed, who by artificially raising or depressing the prices of the 



