interests concerned in the matter, the German Ministry of the Interior had 

 drawn up a set of new regulations for the "transport of dangerous articles 

 by mercantile vessels", and that these regulations were to be accepted 

 by the various Federal Governments, insofar as they were interested in 

 the matter, and to be put into force. The Senate of Hamburg had passed 

 the regulations on May 24 and had issued them in the form of an Order, 

 to come into force on June 1 st 1912. The law itself was published in the 

 last days of May. Contrary to the Railway Traffic Regulations (upon which, 

 however, it is mainly based), it required that every parcel of articles falling 

 under Section III (combustible liquids), par. 9., such as essential oils, 

 spirits of wine, liquids prepared from either of the above, §c, when 

 dispatched in quantities of more than 40 kilos weight, must be plainly 

 labelled "Fenergefdhrlich" ("liable to catch fire") in letters on a red back- 

 ground. It was further laid down that for every shipment of combustible 

 liquids a separate Bill of Lading, in which no other articles may be 

 entered, must be made out. This new regulation, which there was nothing 

 to justify, was made still more irksome by an erroneous interpretation on 

 the part of the Hamburg police -authorities, who laid it down that the 

 40 kilo limit referred to the gross weight and that passenger-ships were 

 only allowed to carry a total quantity of 40 kilos of the goods in question 

 in their hold, any excess having to be carried as deck-cargo, for which, 

 of course, on most passenger-ships there is no room available. Fortunately, 

 as a result of the protests which came in from all quarters, the police- 

 authorities have withdrawn this direction, and shortly afterwards the 

 provisions of the Order of the Hamburg Senate, insofar as they related 

 to a number of articles, including our own, were suspended until the end 

 of the current year. In the meantime a series of conferences has taken 

 place in Hamburg between the Imperial commissioners and authorities 

 and representatives of the manufacturing industries, shipping companies 

 and associations of persons concerned in'the matter, at which the subject 

 has been thoroughly considered. We have taken part in these deliberations, 

 and we feel justified in hoping that further discussions will lead to a result 

 which should satisfy all the parties interested. 



With regard to the general course of trade, it has to be reported in 

 the first place that transactions have been stimulated by the many advances 

 which have occurred in our staple articles. Clove oil, citronella oil, sandal- 

 wood oil, Italian essences, rose oil, all the geranium oils, and especially 

 menthol have been subject to price-alterations the like of which have not 

 been known for quite a long time and of which, in part, the end cannot 

 as yet be discerned. The cold and damp weather of the past summer 

 has affected particularly seriously those plants grown by us at Miltitz 

 which are not gathered until the autumn, such as peppermint, angelica, 

 lovage 8jc. The rose-crop on the other hand was gathered in June and 

 July under the most favourable weather-conditions imaginable. 



