— 35 — 



Cinnamon root Oil. A. A. Pilgrim 1 ) has examined the oil 

 obtained from the green root-bark of Cinnamomum zeylanicum Breyne 

 bv means of distillation with steam. The oil was a pale yellow liquid, 

 with a strong odour of camphor, while camphor was found separating out 

 of it at ordinary temperature. The following constants were determined : 

 diso 0,99366 and a D-f-5o,2° (?). The constituents of which the pre- 

 sence was determined were: pinene, dipentene, phellandrene, cineol, 

 camphor, eugenol, safrol, caryophyllene and borneol. We may remark 

 on this that the separation of camphor has long been known, and 

 that Holmes 2 ), many years ago, showed that the oil also contains 

 cinnamic aldehyde. 



Citronella Oil. As was to be foreseen, the prices of this article 

 have moved in very narrow limits; nominally they remain below 1/- cif. 

 even at the present time, although exporters in Ceylon until quite 

 recently stood out for somewhat higher rates. 



The exports from Ceylon amounted to 1276965 lbs. in 1908 



against 1 230159 „ „ 1907 



1 107655 „ „ 1906 

 1 282471 „ ,. 1905 



The exports from I st Jan. to 15 th Feb. 1909 amounted to 126038 lbs. 



do. do. 1908 „ 76291 „ 



do. do. 1907 „ 47041 „ 



do. do. 1906 „ 116017 „ 



The above figures show that the excess of exports in the first 

 five or six weeks of the new year is already about 50000 lbs. as 

 compared with the year before, from which it may be concluded that 

 the reports as to scarcity of supplies which periodically reach us from 

 Ceylon are not to be taken very seriously. 



At the present time it is difficult to judge what course prices 

 will take within the near future. Although on the one hand the 

 increased exports may give rise to the belief that the consumption 

 of this oil is again on the increase, we have on the other hand to 

 take account of the fact that, because of the severe competition 

 which exists among them, large soap manufacturers, especially in Eng- 

 land, no longer consume anything like as large a quantity of citronella 

 oil as in former years. Almost everywhere, slightly scented house- 

 hold soap is being superseded by strongly perfumed cheap toilet 

 soaps — a result of the extremely low-priced synthetic perfumes 

 which in recent times have found more and more favour with the public. 



x ) Pharm. Weekblad 46 (1909), 50. Quoted from Chem. Zentralbl. 1909, 1. 534. 

 2 ) Pharmaceutical Journal 20 (1890), 749. Compare Gildemeister and Hoff- 

 mann, The Volatile Oils, p. 382. 



3* 



