141 



. Oils and Fats. 



The refining process gives a remarkable residue, a dark resinous mass 

 which has a low melting point. This material on cooling when exposed to the air 

 solidifies. Just prior to solidifying it is very sticky ; and in the unrefined oil 

 existed in a state of solution. What the value of this residue is, and to what 

 uses it may be put, Mr. Wright is as yet unable to say. The oil when the manu- 

 facturers refine it must leave some such residue, and it will be of interest to learn 

 what economic use is made of it. 



Refining of the oils has in some cases resulted in a loss of 20 — 30 per cent in 

 weight. As pointed out at a recent meeting of the Board of Agriculture, 8d. 

 per oz. was obtained for unrefined lemongrass oil, so that to make the refining 

 process a paying one, something near one shilling per oz. will be required as the 

 price. It will have to be ascertained what the London and New York buyers are 

 willing to pay for the refined oil before its worth can be stated, and whether 

 the refining process will be worth the extra labour, etc. 



Lemongrass cultivation is spreading in Ceylon and Malaya. At present the 

 acreage under it is very small, but plants are being distributed every week to 

 parts of Ceylon, especially the Southern Province, and to the Straits and India. 

 A rival to lemongrass has recently appeared, and may become a serious competitor. 

 This plant is the Backhousia citriodora, a myrtle-like shrub with fragrant foliage 

 which grows plentifully in Queensland. Its oil is stated to contain 93i per cent, of 

 citral, against 70 — 80 per cent, in lemongrass. Gildmeister and Hoffmann state 

 that Backhousia oil " appears to consist almost entirely of citral." The Imperial 

 Institute analysed samples and valued the oil commercially at 7d per oz. c.i.f. London, 

 and by another London authority it was valued at 9d. to 9%d. per oz. in London. 

 It remains to be seen if the plant can be commercially worked ; with Australia's 

 present labour policy it is unlikely that this essential oil product can be profitably 

 worked any more than profitable cultivation on any large scale can be carried on 

 of rubber, cotton or coffee. 



LEMONGRASS OIL. 



IN JAVA AND CEYLON. 



It would appear that Java will in the immediate future make competition 

 to the Cochin distillate. Samples have already been approved many a long 

 day since, and the first consignments may possibly make their appearance very 

 soon. Since in the oil of Backhousia citriodora a new and very rich source of 

 citral has also been discovered, which it may soon be possible to make use of 

 in practice, the time for the exaggerated prices of lemongrass oil appears to 

 be now past, and producers will do well to meet the trade with concessions. 



A lemongrass oil originating from Ceylon examined by Sage which had 

 been distilled at the Government Experiment Station at Peradeniya, had the 

 following properties :—dl5, 5° 0.899, _D— O, 2°, citral-content 66,5%. In alcohol the 

 oil dissolves badly, it only forms a clear solution with 1 vol. absolute alcohol, 

 which, however, becomes cloudy when more solvent is added. 



The oil shares this deficient solubility with the West Indian and African 

 distillates which have frequently been referred to in these Reports. Both 

 on account of the inferior solubility, and of the low citral-content, the oil 

 must be characterised, in spite of the opposite view held by Mr. Sage, as 

 an inferior product which cannot compete with a good East Indian commercial 

 oil.— Semi-Annual Report of Schimmel & Co, 



