2sn 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



SEYCHELLES CINNAMON OIL 

 INDUSTRY. 



The possibility of the profitable establish- 

 ment of an essentia] oil industry in the Sey- 

 chelles Islands has long been under experimen- 

 tal consideration, and about two years ago the 

 idea was first put into operation on a commercial 

 scale, when a modern factory, provided with a 

 boiler and a still of 4,000 litres capacity, was 

 erected. In 1906 work was startod by the dis- 

 tillation of citronella and lemon grass; but owing 

 to the late fall in price of the oils obtained from 

 these twc grasses, it was decided in 1907 to make 

 cinnamon oil the chief product of the factory for 

 the present. The cinnamon grown in the Sey- 

 chelles is the same variety as that cultivated in 

 Ceylon. Oil is yielded by the roots, the bark, 

 and the leaves of this plant, but from the bark 

 is the most valuable of tlie three products. The 

 trees are cut down periodically, and the bark 

 from which the oil is distilled is obtained from 

 the young shoots arising from the stumps. 

 These shoots are available for the purpose in 

 about two years. It is not only the young shoots, 

 however, from which the bark is obtained 

 yielding the cinnamon oil. This is contained 

 in the same proportion by the bark from older 

 trees, and tall trees about 1 ft. in diameter are 

 said to yield as much as 1001b. of dry bark when 

 cut down. The average tree, however, does not 

 give more than about 201b. of dry bark. This 

 contains from 9 to 9 '4 per cent of cinnamon oil. 

 Samples of oil produced in the Seychelles by 

 water distillation about two years ago were 

 forwarded to Europe and valued at about £2 6s 



?er litre (a litre being approximately 1| pint.) 

 t is anticipated, however, that with the im- 

 provements in the product brought about as the 

 result of the establishment of the new factory, 

 a higher price will be obtained in future and 

 the industry placed upon a sure footing. — 

 Morning Post, Jan. 10th. 



FRENCH SYNTHETIC CAMPHOR. 



An Extraordinzry Flotation! 



Artificial Camphor.— It is reported from France that 

 a new company, known as the Societe le Camphre, of 6b, 

 Boulevard <le .■Slrasb.iurjr. Pat is, is to acquire various patents 

 for the production of synthetic camphor, including those of 

 MM. Dubosc and Behal. A factory lias been secured at 

 Bonnieres, and work is to bo " commenced in the course of 

 a few months." The old story is circulated that the plan 

 will be capable of producing three to six tons of artificial 

 camphor per day !— C. it- D., Auj<. 31, 1907. 



Since the above paragraph was written, 

 facts have transpired which show that the 

 Societe le Camphre has fallen upon evil times, 

 the company having practically exhausted its 

 capital of 7,100,000f. (-284,000/.), while the pro- 

 duction has been relatively unimportant. This 

 much we gather from lengthy reports on the 

 condition of the company which have been pub- 

 lished in the French financial Press. Although 

 the company was formed in February 1907, no 

 profit-and-loss account has been issued, but a 

 statement of accounts to June 30, 1908, shows 

 that a sum of 4, 169,732f . has been expended on 

 the purchase of patents, and that a further 

 2,300,0C0f, has been laid out in land, buildings, 

 etc. On June 30, 1908, there was 521,070f. at 

 the disposal of tho company, while the liabilities 



were 270,497f., leaving a balance of 250,573f., 

 which was insufficient to meet working-expenses, 

 so that a fresh issue of capital is necessary. It 

 appeals that ' Le Camphre ' was an affiliated 

 undertaking of the Societe 1 ; Oyonnithe, which 

 had been able to secure the patents for the manu- 

 facture of synthetic camphor, and they in turn 

 formed or caused to be formed another company 

 to which they sold the patents. Subsequently 

 the shares were 'boomed,' and the interest of the 

 public was excited to such an extent that many 

 shares were disposed of by the promoters at 

 more than 100 per cent premium. It is not known 

 what proportion of these gains accrued to 

 ' l'Oyonnithe, ' but on December 31, 1907, this 

 company did not possess a single share of the 

 affiliated company, showing that the confidence 

 inspired in the new company was not very great. 

 Time has proved the wisdom of 'l'Oyonnithe,' 

 as the lOOf. shares of ' Le Camphre ' are now 

 worth 36f. only. The meeting of shareholders 

 on December 31 was stormy, considering that 

 many of them had purchased shares at double 

 the par value. The present board of directors 

 were only able to hold on to their office by the 

 votes of absent shareholders. Aggrieved share- 

 holders pointed out that tho company had been 

 stating that the daily production of synthetic 

 camphor was 200 kilos., whereas it appears the 

 company has only produced 2,500 kilos, since 

 its formation. Professor Behal declares he has 

 not received a penny for the sale of his patents, 

 though he was also promised a bonus of 25c. 

 per kilo, on the manufacture. — Chemist <k Drug- 

 gist, Jan. 16. 



RUBBER IN 1908: IN GERMANY. 



Market Report of Walther & Luhmann, 

 Robber Brokers. 



Asia and Australia. — The production of the 

 Ceylon and Straits commodities has enormously 

 increased, it has risen from 1,400 to 2,500 tons. 

 These commodities, which are prepared with 

 great care and much experience, have doubtless 

 great prospects. Germany already consumes 

 fair quantites of same, however, the consign- 

 ments offered here have been up to the present 

 still unimportant. London offers, however, al- 

 ways lower than Ceylon itself. The import of 

 this line Rubber is strongly to be recom- 

 mended. From Borneo arrived shipments of fair 

 amounts, principally Gelotong. The increase 

 is probably on account of a new, important 

 consumer. 



1 a.— Borneo becomes from year to year worse 

 and isonly slightly better than quality. No. 2a. 



From Sumatra and Java very fine lots have 

 arrived, in this quality a great deal can be 

 done. The quality of Penaug has slightly 

 declined. From Rangoon and Tonkin' only 

 small shipments have arrived. New Guinea and 

 New Caledonia arrived only insignificant quan- 

 tities and besides mostly via foreign countries. 



Finally we refer still to the enormous deve- 

 lopments which have taken place in respect to 

 tho demand in Germany, with its over 100 

 factories it has established itself at the head of 

 all European countries. We trust that the 

 time is not far distant when the German de> 

 mand can bo satislied ou the German market, 



