44 Report of Schimmel $ Co. 1922. 



should be carried through as quickly as possible (within an hour). 3) In consequence 

 special stills with wide neck and wide steam-pipes must be used. 4) The oil passing 

 over has to be cooled well, as cold water dissolves, less oil than warm water. 



In order to obtain a uniform good product, growers ought to combine and distil 

 the oil in joint distilling plants. 



A report has been published on the meeting of the Lavender Commission, held 

 on May 17 th , 1921, in the French Ministry of Commerce, containing the suggestions 

 and propositions made by lavender growers, merchants and industrials. The Commission, 

 however, has not arrived at a definite solution of all the questions concerning lavender 1 ). 



Lautier Fils 2 ) examined a lavender oil of the following constants: — di 50 0.894; 

 « D — 4° 35'; soluble in 3 vols, of 70 per cent, alcohol; ester v. 48.8. In their opinion 

 it had been adulterated with lauric ester, obtained apparently from the residues of 

 cocoa butter manufacture, and small quantities of terpenyl acetate. 



According to Humbert 3 ), the sub-species of Lavandula fragrans and L. delphinerisis, 

 created by Jordan, cannot be considered as distinct species, but merely as two extreme 

 forms of variation in accord with the local conditions of habitat. Whereas the xero- 

 philous Lavandula fragrans predominates in the sunny South of France and on the dry 

 crests of the low mountains, the more moisture-loving L. delphinense thrives in the 

 North, or in the higher valleys and higher mountains, where mists and rain are less 

 rare, or again in the shadow of forests. Thus the Luberon shows on its arid brows 

 (calcareous, of the lower Cretacean system), towards 1000 m. high, the most xerophil 

 forms. But on descending from the summit towards the north, one meets on the 

 slopes, less exposed to the sun and principally towards the base, where the soil is 

 no longer puroly calcareous, but a soft Miocene formation and more hygroscopic, 

 the whole gamut of transitions to forms presenting the maximum lengthening of axes 

 and enlargement of the leaves. The transformation of one form to the other can be 

 proved experimentally by planting the seed of the xerophil type in a damper soil or 

 climate than the original station, or vice versa with the other type. The plant called 

 L. Faucheana*) by Briquet and Rouy is also only a form of variation. 



It is otherwise with L. pyrenaica, DC, which plant, found in the eastern Pyrenees, 

 is distinguished by the much greater size of its principal bracts, which are as broad, 

 as long and almost conceal the calyx. The flowers are a little larger and the in- 

 florescence appears bigger than that of Lavandula officinalis. The vast colonies of 

 L. Pyrenaica begin where spike ceases and almost reach the summit of the mountains. 



Very seldom, in altitudes of from 800 to 1500 m., the white variety of lavender 

 occurs. It was found on the Mount Angele near Nyons, in the neighbourhood of 

 Saturnin-les-Apt, on the Ventoux and near Ribiers. The corolla was white in each 

 case, the calyx either blue, red or white. In order to obtain the essential oil of this 

 highly fragrant species, A. Chiris 5 ) tried to cultivate the plant from seeds. But only 

 a few seedlings had white flowers, those of the others being mostly very pale. The oil 

 obtained from the latter surpassed the ordinary lavender oil in ester content and aroma 6 ). 



It results from Humbert's explantions that the bracts and bracteoles are of special 

 importance for the recognition of the different species and varieties of lavender. 

 ). Gattefosse 7 ), in an article on French lavender and its hybrids, publishes six pictures 



!) Parfum. moderne 14 (1921), 153. — 2 ) Perfum. Record 12 (1921), 343. — *) Perfum. Record 12 (1921), 

 252. — *) This type is not mentioned in the Index Kewensis up to 1910. — 5 ) Perfum. Record 12 (1921), 405. 

 6 ) There are no further details. — 7 ) Parfum. moderne 14 (1921), 207. 



