Oils and Fats. 



m 



[Feb. 1907. 



respectively 2£ and 1| years old. The oil sent to us was a filtrate of the original oil 

 which separated off camphor spontaneously, and had the following properties : 







d o 0-9236 ; a + 39 20 ; soluble in 0-25 vol. 90 per cent, and in 10 vol. 80 per cent. 



15 D 



alcohol. The colour was golden yellow, and the odour differed considerably from 

 that of ordinary camphor oil. When cooled, the oil congealed into a solid mass. By 

 means of 4% soda liquor, traces of a phenol were obtained which had an odour like 

 carvacrol, but could not be identified further. Eugenol which, as is well known, is 

 present in the ordinary camphor oil usually obtained from the wood of the roots and 

 the trunk, could not be detected. Neither did the oil contain alcohol (borneol) in any 

 appreciable quantity ; we found the acetylation number 14'5. the camphor-content 

 of the oil as received by us was 75%. It also differed from Japan oil by the absence 

 of safrol. We attempted to detect this constituent by treating the oil several times 

 with hydroxylamine in order to remove the camphor, and fractionating in vacuo 

 the unchanged portion of the oil which had distilled over with the water vapour. 

 But not one of the fractions boiling between 50° and 110° (7 to 8 mm. pressure) had 

 even a remote odour of safrol. This difference in the composition of the two camphor 

 oils in question may be due to this, that in the distillation of the oils the parts of the 

 plant used were not the same.— Report of Schimmel & Co., Nov. 1906. 



CITRONELLA OIL. 

 The position of this important article can be judged only with difficulty, as 

 reports on the conditions in the producing districts have lately been very scarce, and 

 one has chiefly to depend on conjectures. It may be taken as a fact that all the oil 

 shipped before the bursting of the monsoon, i. e. in October and November, will be 

 absorbed by existing contracts ; the unimportant qaantities which arrive during the 

 monsoon are too small to have any effect whatever on the market, and as the pro- 

 duction in December and January is generally much smaller than the result of the 

 July-September harvest, it is probable that speculative sales made in the meantime 

 will not allow the market to become quiet. 



The figures of the export from Ceylon up to 20th August are :— 



/in 1905, 855,615 lbs. 

 in 1906, 694,267 lbs. against (.in 1904, 768,660 " 



The shortage of about 160,000 lbs. as compared with 1905 may therefore be the 

 principal cause of the present firm state of the market, for the demand of the soap- 

 industry is decidedly increasing, the more so as spike and lavender oils have long 

 since become too expensive for cheap soap. If, therefore, the shortage in the export 

 increases towards the end of the year, there can be no doubt that in 1907 the prices 

 will be considerably higher still. / 



We have at our disposal stocks of considerable quatities, propotionate to our 

 sales of this article, and would ask buyers of large quantities to apply our special 

 quotations when in the market. We were recently compelled to raise the price of the 

 Java quality which is in great request, especially from the side of the manufacturers 

 of better-class soaps, as the producer under the existing condition appeared not to 

 make any profit out of it. The shipments during the last few months were also far 

 from plentiful, and we are anxiously looking forward to the receipt of further new 

 explaining the causes of this regretable shortage, 



According to a paper by Wright endeavours are made to render the 

 citronella industry more remunerative by using the grass from which the oil has 

 been removed as raw material for the m anuf acture of paper, for which purpose it ia 

 said to be very suitable. 



