- 63 - 



The principal centres of production in the department of the Basses- 

 Alpes, with a total yield of about 12000 kilos of oil of exquisite 

 quality, are the Lure Mountain chain, together with Cruis, Mallefougasse, 

 St.-Etienne, Banon, Forcalquier, Chateauneuf, Valbelle, Sisteron, the 

 district of Bar re me, Clumac, Lambruisse, Tortonne, Castellane, and 

 Senez. 



Lemongrass Oil. Since we last reported on this article, the 

 quotations have moved round about 2 d. per oz., with slight upward 

 and downward fluctuations. An attempt to engineer a demand for 

 lemongrass oil on the occasion of the Sicilian disaster, on the ground 

 that this oil forms the raw material for citral, must be pronounced a 

 complete failure. Considerable stocks of lemongrass oil are held in 

 Europe, and as, in spite of the low values, the growers in India 

 continue cheerfully to produce in spite of the low value, there seems 

 for the present to be no prospect of more remunerative prices. 



In our previous Report (p. 82) we stated that, according to de 

 Jong's researches, Java lemongrass oil, although giving a clear solution 

 with 2 parts of 70 per cent, alcohol immediately after distillation, 

 becomes less soluble already after a few days; and that de Jong is 

 of opinion that this change is due to the polymerisation of a terpene. 



F. Watts and H. A. Tempany 1 ) have experienced similar results 

 with oils distilled in the West Indies. They also attribute this phe- 

 nomenon to the polymerisation of a hydrocarbon which, they think, 

 is perhaps identical with myrcene. 



As we have repeatedly stated in our Reports, the same difficulty of 

 solubility is manifested by the lemongrass oils distilled in Brazil, Mexico, 

 Africa etc., all of which are currently termed "West Indian" lemon- 

 grass oils. This want of solubility finally becomes so pronounced that 

 even solutions of the oil in absolute alcohol, which are clear at first, 

 become cloudy when more of the solvent is added. On the other 

 hand, the so-called Malabar, Cochin, or Travancore lemongrass oils 

 (= "East Indian" lemongrass oil) remain readily and clearly soluble 

 in 70 per cent, alcohol even a long time after distillation. Stapf 2 ) 

 has ascertained that the difference in the behaviour of the oils is due 

 to the fact that the plants of origin are not the same, the Malabar 

 oil being obtained from Cymbopogon flexuosus Stapf, and the West 

 Indian oil from C.citratus Stapf. According to Watts and Tempany 3 ), 

 the Botanic Stations on the Leeward islands are engaged in the ex- 

 perimental cultivation of Cymbopogon flexuosus (Cochin grass) in order to 



x ) West Indian Bulletin 9 (1908), 265. From a copy kindly sent to us. 



2 ) Comp. Report April 1907, 58. 



3 ) West Indian Bull. 9 (1908), 267. 



