Oils and Fats. 



496 



[December, 1010, 



confertiflorus, the former being repre- 

 sented in this series by oils Nos. 1, 2, 5, 9, 

 10, 11, and 15, and the latter by oils Nos. 

 3 (?), 6, 7, and 8. Prom this point of view 

 it is of interest to compare the oils ob- 

 tained from these two sets of grasses, 

 with a view to ascertaining whether 

 there is any well-marked difference 

 between the two groups, corresponding 

 with the botanical difference which leads 

 to the separation of the grasses into two 

 varieties. The principal factors with 

 regard to the oils from the two varieties 

 of grnss are set out in the attached 

 table. 



The most striking feature in this com- 

 parison is the great variation shown by 

 almost all the grasses in yield and 

 character of oil obtained on distillation 

 at different times. These differences 

 are due probably to the influence of 

 cultivation on the wild grasses, to the 

 effects of manuring, and to variation in 

 the character of the oil yielded at 

 different seasons ; and for these reasons 

 too much stress should not be laid on 

 the results obtained with this set of oils 

 as bearing on the botanical classification 

 of the grasses yielding them. It seems 

 clear, however, that there is no well- 

 marked line of demarcation between 

 the oils yielded by the grasses included 

 in Dr. Stapf's l! var. Linncei (typicus)" 

 and those from the grasses regarded by 

 him as " var. confertiflorus." 



On the other hand it should be noted 

 that the oils Nos. 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, and 15 have 

 in common on the whole the charac- 

 teristic of becoming progressively richer 

 in geraniol and poorer in oitronellal 

 with continued cultivation of the grasses 

 yielding them, whilst Nos. 5, 7, 8, and 11 

 show a tendency to increase largely in 

 citronellal and diminish in geraniol, 

 though as regarda Nos- 8 and ll there 

 is also a well-marked increase in geraniol 

 in the later stages. No. 10 is abnormal 

 in yield of oil and in "total alcohols," 

 and it is of interest to note that the 

 herbarium specimen No. 10 is described 

 by Dr. Stapf as representing a rather 

 deteriorated form of var. Linncei (typicus). 

 It should be stated that this re-grouping 

 of the grasses according to the characters 

 of the oils has been communicated to 

 Dr. Stapf, but he is unable to find any 

 support for it in the botanical characters 

 of the herbarium specimens submitted 

 to him. For the reasons already mention- 

 ed much stress cannot be laid on the 

 chemical characters of this set of oils as 

 a guide to the classification of the grasses, 

 since there are so many factors likely to 

 influence the nature of the oil produced. 

 This grouping is of interest, however, 



since it would assimilate oils Nos. 1,2, 3, 

 6, 9, and 15 to " lena-batu " grass, which 

 yields oil rioh in geraniol, and Nos. 5, 7, 

 8, and 11 to " maha-pengiri," which yields 

 oil rich in citronellal. 



From a commercial point of view none 

 of these mana-grass oils is of much 

 interest. Except in the case of No- 6 

 the yield of oil is low, and the quality 

 of the oil is inferior to that obtained 

 from lena-batu grass, and much inferior 

 to that from maha-pengiri grass. 



(b) Lena-batu Grass Oils. 

 These are represented in this series of 

 oils by groups Nos. 4 and 12, and possibly 

 by No. 27*. The oils resemble medium 

 quality Ceylon citronella oil of com- 

 merce. It is worth noting that the 

 yield of oil obtained in the case of Nos. 

 4* and 12* was greater than that secured 

 in the cases of Nos. 4 and 12 respectively, 

 and that the oil was also richer in " total 

 alcohols " (see table below). It cannot be 

 stated definitely whether this is due 

 entirely to manures applied in December, 

 1907 (see "Circulars and Agricultural 

 Journal of the Royal Botanic Gardens, 

 Ceylon," Vol. IV., No. 14, p. 117), or to 

 the collection and distillation of the 

 second batch of grass in the case of Nos. 

 4* and 12* at a season when the grasses 

 are naturally richer in oil of better 

 quality. 



The present value in London of or- 

 dinary lena-batu oils is Is. 0£d. to Is. l£d. 

 per lb- 



(c) Maha-pengiri Grass Oils. 

 These are represented in this series by 

 group No. 14. Oil No. 27*, distilled from 

 grass supplied to Mr. Jowitb as "maha- 

 pengiri," is probably in reality from 

 "lena-batu" grass. The three oils Nos. 

 14, 14a, and 14* show the usual charac- 

 teristics of "maha-pengiri" oils, being 

 high in " total alcohols" and containing 

 much citronellal ( see table below). The 

 best of the three oils is No. 14a, and it is 

 noticeable that a larger yield of this fine 

 quality oil was obtained than of either 

 14 or 14*. As manure was supplied 

 to this plot in July, 1906, and again in 

 December, 1907, and did not give rise to 

 increased yields in the succeeding dis- 

 tillations, it would appear that the high 

 yield of good oil in the case of No. 14a 

 points to the season in which this batch 

 of grass was grown and collected as a 

 particularly favourable one for the pro- 

 duction of oil. 



The oils of group 14 resemble the citro- 

 nella oils produced in Java and the 

 Federated Malay Stales, which are at 

 presen t worth about 2s. per lb. 



