— 86 — £ 



Orris Oil. We have received from our local informants the following 

 report on the Florentine orris root market: — 



In our report on Florentine orris root of last March we pointed 

 out that the stock then available had been reduced to about 120 tons. 

 It is many years since the supply had shrunk to such small dimensions, 

 and this circumstance is no doubt a leading factor contributing to 

 the increased firmness of the market and to the consequent advance 

 of prices, which led to the sale of the last lots of available root in 

 July of the present year at 115 lire on the spot, a figure equalling 

 95 marks per 100 kilos cif. Hamburg. At the end of July no orris root 

 whatever was obtainable in the various producing centres of Tuscany, 

 while the warehouses in Florence and Leghorn held only insignificant 

 quantities, which were likewise cleared before the end of August. The 

 pretentions of the producers were supported by this total lack of old 

 supplies and they therefore had no difficulty in advancing the quo- 

 tations for orris root of the new crop. These prices were partly fixed 

 even before the digging of the root, on the basis of the average 

 grass-yield. The producers asked from 30 to 35 lire per 100 kilos, 

 grass basis, but such prices are prohibitive, seeing that they would 

 represent a parity of over 120 lire per 100 kilos for the dry root, ready 

 for delivery in the producing centre. — During the past month it was 

 generally believed that the new plants were vigorous and promising, 

 and this was the advice given to us by our confidential agents who 

 had inspected the several growing districts. We were therefore justi- 

 fied in assuming that the crop would be a good one, both in respect 

 of quantity and of quality. We called the producers' attention to 

 these facts, and succeeded in causing them to abate their absurd 

 demands and to take up a more sensible attitude. At the present 

 time the work of peeling (trimming) the new root is already well 

 advanced, and our anticipations so far as quality is concerned have 

 turned out in the main to be well-founded, the root being generally 

 fine and healthy. But the quantity of the output has been considerably 

 affected by a disease of which the cause is as yet unknown, but 

 which also frequently attacks the vines and olive-trees and destroys 

 their fruit. It is therefore pretty safe to say that the output of trimmed 

 root ready for the market will be less than was originally expected. 

 The average yield was at first estimated at about 700 tons, whereas 

 it is now thought that the total production will not surpass 600 tons 

 and we ourselves are of opinion that the last-named figure will hardly 

 be reached. At the end of August of last year the stock of orris 

 root of the old crop amounted to between 90 and 100 tons, while the 

 new crop yielded rather more than 600 tons; from which it follows 

 that the total available quantity this year will be at least 100 tons less 

 than last. Taking into the account, apart from the reduction in the 

 available supply, the fact that between March of this year and the 

 present time only unimportant parcels have been bought for export and 

 that consequently the stocks abroad must be either exhausted or greatly 

 reduced, it is to be expected that before long there will be a keen 

 demand on the part of foreign buyers for covering their requirements. 

 At the present moment, owing to lack of buying-interest, the market 

 is rather flatter, but as soon as the inevitable demand from abroad 

 sets in the prices will at once begin to advance, and owing to the 

 reduced quantities which will be available for the next twelve months 

 we fail to see how the prices can possibly fall, either now or later. 



