January, 1910.] 



7 



Oils and Fats, 



" Two hundred liters of essence have 

 been sold by Reunion dealers at an 

 average price of 500 francs per litre. 

 Many new plantations of ylang-ylang 

 have been set out, and it is estimated 

 that in three or four years the pro- 

 duction will increase to 400 or 500 litres 

 per year. The planters undoubtedly 

 realize a very good profit at present, 

 but it is to be feared that, as in the 

 case of vanilla, an overproduction will 

 lead to a fall in price." 



Production of Different Countries. 



We find in the Bulletin Commercial 

 of Reunion that the total exportation 

 of essence amounts at the present time 

 to only 279 kilograms. The importance 

 and the value of the ylang-ylang culti- 

 vation in Reunion being thus established, 

 we shall discuss what has been un- 

 dertaken in other places. 



In Jamaica there was an attempt, 

 without very conclusive results, to dis- 

 till the flowers of the trees which were 

 cultivated in Hope Gardens. The details 

 of this experiment, which does not seem 

 to have been repeated since then, may 

 be found in No. 52 of the Journal 

 d' Agriculture Tropicale, 1905. 



In Indo-China ylang-ylang is widely 

 cultivated as an ornamental tree, but 

 up to the present it does not seem to 

 have been exploited for its perfume. 

 Some cultural enterprises in Cochin 

 China have been noted in a United 

 States consular report (April, 1908), in 

 which we read :— 



The plantation of vlang-ylang lies in 

 the Province of Bienhoa, where the first 

 results are encouraging. The present 

 high price of the essence renders this 

 culture very remunerative. It is esti- 

 mated by the planters that a hectare 

 planted with 600 trees will produce 

 y,500 kilos of flowers, which when dis- 

 tilled will furnish at least 10 kilos of 

 essence.* 



In India attention has been drawn 

 to ylang-ylang by the exhibition, at 

 Kuaal Kangsar, of a sample of essence 

 from the estate of Pula Daat, in Labuan. 

 It was after a long sojourn in the 

 Philippines that the director of Pula 

 Daat undertook the extensive cultiva- 

 tion of this plant. He hopes this year 

 to distill a considerable quantity for 

 market. (Supplement to the Tropical 

 Agriculturist, September, 1907.) 



We have thus found that ylang- 

 ylang is cultivated under excellent eco- 

 nomic conditions in Reunion, and that 



* Mr, Martin de Flacourt estimates that in 

 Reunion 1 hectare planted in ylang ylang will 

 yield about i kilograms of essence, (N. d, 1, R.) 



the area planted to it is extending 

 rapidly there as well as in Cochin China 

 and British India. 



The Cultivation. 

 Useful information regarding the cul- 

 ture of this plant will be found in 

 No, 17 of the Journal d' Agriculture 

 Tropicale, and more recent documents 

 enable us to add to this, now that 

 the subject is again attracting at- 

 tention. 



Botany.— The botanical species which 

 furnishes the essence of ylang-ylang 

 is Cananga odorata, Hook P. and Thorns, 

 more or less widely distributed through- 

 out southern Asia. It appears that it is 

 incorrect to distinguish, as is often 

 done, between this species and Unona 

 odorata, Dun., which is identical with it. 

 Unona odoratissima, Steud, on the 

 other hand, is the same as Artabotrys 

 odoratissimus, R. Br., a species that 

 differs absolutely from Cananga, both 

 in its general characteristics and the 

 inferiority of its product. It is im- 

 portant in cultivation to plant Cananga 

 odorata, which is easily distinguished 

 from Artabotrys by its distichous 

 arrangement and more herbaceous ap- 

 pearance, recalling by these character- 

 istics " anone cceur-de-boeuf " (Anona 

 reticulata), and finally by its large 

 flowers which grow only in groups of 

 two or three. 



In the specimens of this plant at the 

 museum, examined by the late L. 

 Pierre, a botanist whose work the 

 Journal d Agriculture has published, 

 the identification is absolute between 

 Cananga odorata aud Unona odorata. 

 If there exists a difference in the value of 

 the essence produced, as Mr. Guerlain, 

 the great Parisian perfumer, has indi- 

 cated to us, it can only be attributed to 

 physiological differences. 



The culture of Cananga odorata in 

 Reunion has been described explicitly 

 by Mr. Martin de Flacourt in an article 

 published by the Journal Officiel de 

 Madagascar, March 19, 1904. According 

 to this author the tree had been grown 

 in Madagascar a long time, when a 

 planter of Saint Paul decided to sub- 

 mit some flowers for distillation, and 

 the excellent quality of the essence was 

 revealed. This was the beginning of 

 methodical cultivation. 



Climate. — Ylang-ylang requires a warm 

 and even climate, soil that is rich, per- 

 meable, and healthy, and in Reunion it 

 will not flower at an altitude of more 

 than 400 metres. 



Methods of reproduction.— The plant 

 multiplies by means of seeds, which may 

 either be planted directly in place, or 



