Commercial notes and scientific information. 91 



mix the oil which they themselves prepare with that supplied to them by the growers, 

 a uniform product of the same condition is obtained, which answers the requirements. 

 Bulgarian dealers of repute are endeavouring to protect themselves against adulteration 

 by establishing in the chief oil-producing localities small works where they themselves 

 distil some oil, in order to obtain thereby a guide to the natural characteristics of 

 the oil of the locality for comparison with that offered to them by the peasants. With 

 the adulterants in use we have repeatedly dealt in our Reports. 



Rosemary Oil. Generally speaking, the sale of French rosemary oil has left very 

 much to be desired, although we have no lack of customers for our quality of oil, 

 which is equal to the highest requirements. It is regrettable that certain firms of 

 middlemen indulge freely in malpractices in their dealings in the article, "cheap" offers 

 of highly adulterated quality, which entice buyers solely on account of their low price, 

 being the order of the day. The cheap Spanish oils also, with their abnormal chemical 

 and physical properties, made business in pure oil extraordinarily difficult. Only too 

 often we are met with the objection that the cheap quality is good enough and that 

 the buyer is unable to pay the price of our oil. In such cases it is our practice to 

 point out that the most advantageous way of procuring such cheap oils is for the 

 consumer himself to mix pure oil with the well-known adulterants. Unfortunately 

 large numbers of the consumers regard this as a job of which the trouble is out of 

 proportion to the gain. There has been a somewhat brisker demand for Dalmatian 

 rosemary oil, the value of which has therefore been maintained. We have shipped 

 considerable quantities of this oil to the United States where, we are glad to say, its 

 characteristic properties continue to be much appreciated. 



Rue Oil. Our correspondents send us somewhat more favourable reports of this 

 article. The distilling season in Algeria is again approching its close, but the prices 

 have not yet given way to such an extent that we would feel justified in reducing 

 our quotations at this moment. We again wish to point out that our tests for quality 

 are extremely stringent arid that the only grade of oil sold by us is that which com- 

 pletely solidifies at +8°. 



For the quantitative estimation of ketones in oil of rue, comp. p. 45. 



On the conversion of the methylnonyl ketone of oil of rue into undecane, see p. 141. 



Sandalwood Oil, East Indian. The further important upward movement in the 

 prices^ of sandalwood will have caused no particular surprise to our readers, seeing 

 that we have not omitted to give hints of the impending advance. A large proportion 

 of our regular customers have thus been enabled to cover their requirements in good 

 time and will in all probability have cause for satisfaction with their contracts. At 

 the auctions, of which particulars are given in the tables on pp. 92 and 93, the demand 

 which manifested itself caused an immediate increase in prices of about 25 p. c, which 

 developed, in the course of the sales, to a rise of 100 p. c. It is said that the first 

 impetus towards this rise came from the Indian buyers, but on the part of European 

 buyers also a certain feeling of nervousness was apparent. Who knows whether, with 

 a little more circumspection, events would not have taken a different course? Sandal- 

 wood oil gradually advanced to about 45 ^, and even at this price, which had never 

 been known before, business was quite brisk. Nor has the general tendency been 



