and Magazine oj the Ceylon Agricultural Society. 



87 



CEYLON ESSENTIAL OILS IN 1907. 



Cinnamon Oil. 

 We are pleased to say that in the course of 

 last winter we received again regular chip- 

 consignments, so that it was not necessary to 

 interrupt the distillation. In spite of a con- 

 siderable increase in our production, we could 

 scarcely accumulate a stock of the distillate, 

 and our prices were willingly paid, — a sufficient 

 proof that the excellent quality of our oil is 

 universally appreciated. Most persons having 

 a knowledge of this article are aware that 

 numerous mixtures are met with in commerce 

 which are adulterated with cinnamic aldehyde 

 and eugenol, often to such an extent that they 

 are almost unrecognisable. Against such pro- 

 ducts we would once more utter the most 

 emphatic warning. As we expected, the export- 

 figures for cinnamon-chips for last year show 

 again a considerable surplus. The quantities 

 exported from Ceylon were : — 



in 1907 2,835,936 lb., 

 against „ 19U6 2,531,614 ,, 



„ „ 19C5 2,325,514 ,, 



,, ,, 1904 2,368,351 ,, 



On the other hand, the export of cinnamon 

 oil distilled in Ceylon— which is well-known 

 to be of very doubtful quality, and which 

 nowadays is only bought in England and the 

 United States,— has fallen off considerably. It 

 amounted to 



102,604 oz. in 1907 

 against 158,344 „ ,, 1906. 



CITRONELLA OlL. 



The export-figures to the end of 1907 were 

 1,312,192 lb. against 1,242,110 lb. in the previous 

 year, showing an increase of about 70,000 lb. 

 Since our last Report, the prices have declined 

 continuously, and at the beginning of January 

 1908 reached their lowest level at about 10 pence 

 cif. Recently they have nominally advanced 

 again slowly, but it is doubtful whether any 

 business worth speaking of has taken place un- 

 der the conditions which have prevailed during 

 the last six months. At the beginning of March, 

 the nominal Ceylon quotations even rose sud- 

 denly to 1 /2 cif. but at these prices there were no 

 buyers, if only for this reason that the stocks 

 in London, which are said to come still to some- 

 thing like 50 tons, were offered at considerably 

 lower prices without rousing the interest of the 

 consumers. There appears to be no doubt what- 

 ever that the increase in the stocks must be at- 

 tributed above all to the fact that the whole- 

 sale soap- manufacturers have consumed much 

 less than in previous years ; and if the quota- 

 tions in Ceylon have recently again become 

 firmer, this is in our opinion only clue to the co- 

 operation of the native wholesale-merchants, 

 which we have already referred to in our last 

 Report. It is probable that one of the expor- 

 ters has to cover blank sales, and the native 

 , syndicate endeavours to take advantage of this. 

 We consider it very questionable whether we 

 shall have to reckon on higher prices in the 

 course of the next few months, because so 

 long as stocks have not been cleared, and as 

 long as large consumers, such as the soap- 

 industry in England and the United States, 

 stand aloof from the market, we may 



IN ALL PROBABILITY RELY ON CHEAP PRICES. 



The quantity exported in 1908, as far as known 

 up to the present, is 76,291 lb. up to 17th Feb., 

 against 47,041 lb. in the previous year. 



The export of Ceylon citronella oil during the 

 last 15 years is shown in the following table : — 





United 





United 



Various 







Kingdom. 



Germany. 



States. 



Ports. 



Total. 



1893 



391595 



40964 



162648 



73323 



668530 



189 1 



543301 



50559 



310995 



33553 



938471 



1895 



1028760 



53 '73 



1645:9 



: 5559 



1282251 



1890 



923200 



55492 



1073 8 



46111 



1132141 



1897 



602435 



518 3 



450954 



71625 



1182867 



1898 



696^69 



22883 



61S999 



27166 



1365917 



1899 



760594 



1335 



66713a 



43495 



1178756 



1900 



848001 



41854 



463732 



55471 



1409058 



19)1 



928908 



172984 



292946 



35330 



1430168 



190 1 



550096 



140518 



538970 



53166 



1295750 



1903 



34^029 



96422 



554689 



63454 



1062594 



W i 



514007 



72376 



481880 



8838 i 



1I5664B 



19)5 



398707 



197976 



623999 



88734 



1309416 



1906 



484049 



97396 



563030 



97635 



1242110 



1907 



520331 



198109 



479024 



2147J8 



1312192 



With regard to the export to Germany, it 

 should be borne in mind that a considerable 

 portion of the quantities mentioned under the 

 United Kingdom, subsequently finds its way to 

 Germany. For this reason, the above figures do 

 not give a correct representation of the German 

 demand. The supplies to our firm alone came 

 in 1907 already to about 125,000 lb. 



On the subject of Java citronella oil, nothing 

 rew can be reported. In spite of the dullness 

 of the Ceylon oil, the producers, spoilt by the 

 remunerative prices obtained last year without 

 serious efforts, are but rarely inclined to make 

 concessions, and they remain firm, saying that 

 the cultivation formerly did not pay. For the 

 rest, there are signs that the people in Java are 

 already accumulating stocks, and we would 

 strongly advise the holders not to aim too high, 

 so as not to experience bitter disappointment. 

 Although the Java oil is far superior to the 

 Ceylon oil, it is impossible to obtain prices for 

 the former which are out of all proportion to 

 the latter. 



Nutmeg Oil. 

 As frequently no distinction is made in the 

 trade between nutmeg oil and mace oil, the 

 origin of the oils in the older examinations 

 .is generally uncertain. It is accepted that the 

 two oils have the same composition, and that 

 only the relative quantities of the individual 

 constituentsdiffer,butthis is by no means proved. 

 In connection with a summary of the exami- 

 nations of these oils made up to the present, 

 F B Power and A H Salway communicate 

 the results of a detailed examination of 

 genuine nutmeg oil, made with a view to clear- 

 ing up the nature of the individual consti- 

 tuents, especially of the " myristicol " dis- 

 covered in it by Wright. The existence of 

 this body had become extremely doubtful, 

 particularly so as Stephan had shown in our 

 laboratory that the " myristicol " which Wright 

 had also detected in oil of sweet orange peel, 

 was nothing but d-terpineol. 



The examination was made with a colourless 

 oil specially distilled for the purpose by Stafford 

 Allen & Sons, Ld., London, from Ceylon nut- 

 megs of good quality, free from lime, in a 

 yield of 6'94 per cent. 



