July, 1910.] 



13 



Saps and Exudations. 



outside gutta-percha. Another rubber 

 industry that should be mentioned is 

 the rubber reclaiming trade. All pieces 

 of old rubber, the soles of old rubber 

 shoes, old tyres, bits of old hose pipe, 

 are treated by a special process and 

 turned into a form in which they can be 

 used again. 



The future of the rubber industry is 

 undoubtedly promising. The growth of 

 the motor trade, which seems likely to 

 continue for years will cause an ever- 

 increasing demand for rubber. Besides 

 which new uses are always being dis- 



covered for india-rubber, and some 

 enthusiasts go so far as to talk of streets 

 beinc: paved with blocks manufactured 

 out of rubber. Of course, at present 

 rubber is too expensive for such pur- 

 poses, but there is no doubt that as the 

 price falls, new employment will be 

 found for it. It is possible that some 

 cheaper substitute may be discovered ; 

 in fact, several hxve been discovered, 

 but they have only encroached on the 

 minor branches of the trade, and are 

 usually used in conjunction with rubber. 

 Any permanent displacement of rubber 

 does not seem likely at present. 



OILS AND FATS. 



CITRONELLA OIL. 



(From the Chemist and Druggist, Vol. 

 LXXVL, May 21, 1910.) 



Although endeavours have been made 

 in several quarters to transact business 

 on the proposed London standard test 

 for citronella oil, we are informed that 

 no shippers are willing to enter into 

 contracts for forward shipment guaran- 

 teeing a certain percentage of geraniol, 

 unless at a considerable advance in price, 

 which, of course, buyers are not pre- 

 pared to pay. The excuse made on this 

 side is that the native distiller or Ceylon 

 dealer, as the case may be, has not the 

 chemical means or knowledge at his dis- 

 posal, and would be unable to apply the 

 test in a satisfactory manner. Mean- 

 while, business continues to be done 

 in London for forward shipment on 

 Schimmel's test, and we are informed 

 by one of the largest London Importers 

 of Ueylon oil that transactions are now 

 going through satisfactorily, and that 

 since the recent outcry against adulter- 

 ation and the consequent heavy allow- 

 ances that have been made, adulteration 

 has been less prone. Undoubtedly the 

 agitation has done good in the way of 

 reducing adulteration for the time being, 

 and it is only when this becomes flagrant 

 that the need for change arises. The 

 fact to be noted on the present occasion 

 is that shippers are emphatic in their 

 views that there is no need for a re- 

 vision, "when care is used "the bulk of 

 transactions as above stated go through 

 satisfactorily. 



[An interesting commentary upon the 

 discussions that went on here some time 

 ago — Ed.] 



CINNAMON OIL, CEYLON. 



(Prom Schimmel's Report, April, 1910.) 



This article has enjoyed a very 

 active demand, and its manufacture in 

 our works is still steadily extending. 

 In the year 1909 we distilled over 

 100,000 kilos of Ceylon cinnamon chips, 

 while our sales exceeded in quantity 

 even those of the year 1908. It is, of 

 course, a fact that the quality of our 

 oil is beyond all praise. The imports 

 of cinnamon chips via Hamburg have 

 again increased somewhat during the 

 past year, when they amounted to 

 2,941,578 lbs,, against 2,7»5,824 lbs. in 1908. 



On a previous occasion we have re- 

 ported on cinnamon bark oil from the 

 Seychelles islands, and in continuation 

 of this report we subsequently stated 

 that the cinnamon trees in the Seychel- 

 les were originally introduced from 

 Ceylon. Rosenthaler has now examined 

 a sample of the bark, supplied to him 

 by us, and, has ascertained in the first 

 place that the bark differed from all 

 other cinnamon barks known and des- 

 cribed. Recently Rosenthaler has pro- 

 cured young examination-material from 

 Mahe, and in conjunction with Reis 

 he has continued his investigations on 

 bark from the branches and trunk. 

 Anatomically the structure of the 

 branch-bark agrees entiiely with that 

 of Ceylon cinnamon. The authors gave 

 a precise, illustrated description of the 

 bark from the trunk. As this bark was 

 derived from the same trees which 

 produced the branch-baik, it follows 

 that it, too, must be Ceylon-cinnamon. 



According to Rosenthaler and Reis the 

 differences in the composition of Ceylon 

 and Seychelles cinnamon oil which have 



