42 Report of Schimmel § Co. 1922. 



wages. 25 Francs per 100 kilos had to be paid, but even then there were perhaps 

 only 20 gatherers, where 200 were required. As the depopulation in the mountainous 

 districts of Sault has reached about 20 per cent., as per the latest estimations, one 

 will have to reckon with a shortage of labourers in the future. 



The costs of keeping the lavender plants in good condition and those of transport 

 of the flowers have likewise trebled. Up to 500 Francs have been paid for working 

 1 hectare of wild lavender with 4 animals, a price which is out of all proportion, but 

 if one takes it that in some districts only V 2 hectare can be worked daily by two 

 men with four animals, a cost of 150 to 200 Francs per hectare would seem justified. 

 The wages of labourers and drivers and the cost of the fodder have risen from 7 to 

 25 and even 30 Francs in the mountains. The prices of the necessary implements 

 have also trebled. 



The same is the case with the costs of distillation and the general expenses. An 

 ordinary still holding 300 litres cost before the war from 400 to 500 Francs, whereas 

 already some time ago from 1200 to 1800 Francs had to be paid. Coal has risen 

 from 50 to 500 Francs per ton plus 200 to 250 Francs for transport. The wages of 

 the stokers have trebled and the amount of work done has gone down. Taxes and 

 other expenses have risen too and there does not seem to be any chance of reduction. 



Finally it is stated that, contrary to the estimation of last year's crop at 150000 kilos, 

 the total turnover on all the different fairs had not even reached 100000 kilos and 

 that there was very little oil left in the hands of the distillers. 



A- Chins 1 ) reports, on the strength of his own investigations, on the differences 

 presented by lavender oils obtained by open fire and by steam distillation. According 

 to his ideas, the rotatory power of lavender oils distilled by open fire grows in ab- 

 solute value with the ester contents. It is known 2 ) that oils distilled by steam under 

 otherwise similar conditions generally contain a higher percentage of esters than those 

 obtained by open fire. Chiris points out that a high ester content is not always a 

 criterion for the quality of the oil. Of two oils, one distilled by open fire and having 

 45.57 per cent, of esters, and the other oil, steam-distilled, having 52.65 per cent of 

 esters, he preferred the former, as being superior in aroma. As regards solubility 

 and density, lavender oils distilled by steam are less soluble in 70 per cent, alcohol 

 (not soluble in 3 vols.) 8 ) and of greater density (d often more than 0.9) than oils distilled 

 with water. As the indications of the United States Pharmacopoeia (ninth edition) 

 regarding density (d|| 0.875 to 0.888) and solubility (soluble in . 3 vols. 70 per cent, 

 alcohol) are exact only for the latter kind of oils, it ought to be revised, as nowadays 

 the majority of lavender oils are distilled by steam. 



In connection with the second Lavender Congress, held at Digne on October 1 st 

 last year, as mentioned before, Lautier Fils and Roure-Bertrand Fils published a paper 

 each on lavender oil 4 ). Lautier Fils tried to decide the question whether the quality 

 of a lavender oil depends on its ester content. For this purpose, three samples of 

 lavender grown in the same district, Saint Andre de Neouilles, were distilled under 

 identical conditions; viz., 100 kilos of flowers, under a vapour pressure of 7 kilos, for 

 45 minutes 5 ): — a) dry wild lavender, distilled 15 days after collection, b) fresh wild 



l ) Perfum. Record 12 (1921), 404. — 2 ) Comp. also our experiments, Report April 1907, 64. — *) These 

 indications are not generally valid, as we have repeatedly distilled lavender oils by steam in the South of France 

 which dissolved in 3 vols, of 70 per cent, alcohol. — *) Perfum. Record 12 (1921), 342. — 5 ) This indication 

 is of no value, as the pressure sinks, at once to that of the outer atmosphere, if the still is in connection 

 with it through rising-tube and condenser. 



