— n8 — 



of which the exports to the United Kingdom amounted to: — 

 1906 1907 1908 



Turpentine oil 1 400 tons 1 524 tons 1 169 tons 



Resin, pitch etc. 8356 „ 9793 „ 14*97 » 



The turpentine oil works of the Indian Government at Dehra 

 Dun, to which we have previously referred 1 ) are, as we learn from 

 a technical paper 2 ) about to close down. The plant at Nurpur, which 

 has only been at work for 6 years, has also been laid idle. The only 

 turpentine oil distillery in India which is working satisfactorily (the 

 name is not stated) has recently doubled its capacity. As pointed out 

 by us on a previous occasion, the plant at Dehra Dun,, which com- 

 menced work in 1888, was from the beginning placed in a rather 

 difficult position owing to its great distance from the turpentine forests, 

 and its closing therefore does not come as a surprise. 



An American Consular Report gives details with regard to the 

 situation of the Russian turpentine industry 3 ). As is well known, 

 Russian oil of turpentine is chiefly produced, not from the turpentine 

 balsam by steam distillation, but as a bye-product when distilling wood. 

 The industry is centred in the Northern, Eastern and Western Govern- 

 ments of Russia and in the Governments of the Vistula. In the district 

 of Shenkur almost 75 °/ of the population are engaged in the pro- 

 duction of oil of turpentine and pitch. The export value of the principal 

 articles has been greatly reduced in the past year, as is shown by the 

 following table: — 



1907 1908 



Oil of turpentine . 1949000 Rbl. 1292000 Rbl. 

 Rosin. .... 743000 „ 438000 „ 



Tar . . . . . 634000 „ 440000 „ 



The reason why, in spite of the abundant material, the yield of 

 oil and of pale rosin is small, is ascribed to imperfect technical prac- 

 tice. The best products are obtained in the Western Provinces, where 

 the large output finds a ready sale abroad. A matter of interest is 

 the increase in the exports of turpentine oil to Great Britain, as 

 indicated by the following figures, which are taken from the British 

 Import statistics: — 



x ) Reports April 1905, 78; October 1905, 68 ; April 1906, 64 ; April 1907, 97 ; 

 April 1908, 102. 



2 ) Chem. Ztg. 33 (1909) 808. 



3 ) Oil, Paint and Drug Reporter 75, No. 16, p. 51, 19 th April 1909. 



