and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society.— December, 1911. 579 



new cheap turpentine oil as such, instead of 

 using it to prepare artificial camphor. 



Cinnamon Oil, Obylon (G. Ph. V). 



Within the past few months cinnamon chips 

 have continued to show only slight fluctuations, 

 and quite recently it was even possible to buy at 

 somewhat reduced rates. The prices of our pure 

 distillate have remained unaltered. 



ClTRONELLA OlL. 



Quotations of Ceylon citronella oil 

 (Schimmel's test) had for a long time heen in 

 the neighbourhood of lOd. cif., but within 

 the last few months a firmer tendency has 

 gradually jbecorae perceptible, and under its 

 influence the quotations finally advanced 

 to Is. up to Is. 2d. cif. European ports. 

 This tightening of the prices is somewhat diffi- 

 cult to understand, especially in view of the 

 fact that as a rule July and August are tho very 

 months in which the largest arrivals come for- 

 ward in Ceylon and also because in our 

 opinion the demand both in Europe and in 

 America has not improved, but on the 

 contrary, has, if anything, fallen off. It is pos- 

 sible that the parties interested believe them- 

 selves justified in raising their quotations on 

 account of the not inconsiderable decrease in 

 the exports during the first 7 months of the pre- 

 sent year, for the latest available figures relating 

 to the citronella exports from Ceylon aro as 

 follows : 



From January 1st to August 21st 1911 915,6831b. 

 In the corresponding period of 1910 1,070,732,, 

 „ ,, „ ,. „ 1909 1,106,731,, 



The above figures show that the deficiency of 

 the present year's exports compared with those 

 of 1910, to which attention was already drawn in 

 our April Report, has not, as might have been 

 expected, been equalized. The sluggish state of 

 trade which has prevailed in this article in recent 

 months should have been sufficient to show that 

 there could be no question of any increase in the 

 demand, and the raising of the prices could there- 

 fore at best be due to artificial manoeuvring, un- 

 less indeed the higher requirements as to quality 

 which have been set up within the past few 

 months have caused the native dealers to raise 

 their ideas of the value. However this may be, 

 we aro inclined to thiuk that the present firm 

 tendency will not be of long duration, and that 

 if prices should nevertheless rise still higher, the 

 large soap-makers, who are the principal con- 

 sumers, will find it easy to turn to other arti- 

 cles which, after all, are not more expensive 

 than citronella oil. 



The pure estate oil with a geraniol-content of 

 57 to 62 per cent, which was introduced by us in 

 the spring of the present year, has already secu- 

 red a number of regular buyers, but generally 

 speaking this exquisite quality is not by far es- 

 teemed as it deserves to be. To our regret we 

 have observed that, curiously enough, the 

 very firms of soap-makers, especially in England, 

 who formerly were always the first to insist upon 

 certain standards of quality, and who were in the 

 habit of referring to the insufficiency of " Schim- 

 mel's test," are now, when we iiave succeeded in 

 procuring at a low rate an oil which answers 



their requirements, taking little or no notice of 

 this new quality. 



Java citronella oil has continued to be avail- 

 able in such ample quantities that we have even 

 been enabled somewhat to reduce our 

 prices. 



A method for the acetylation of citronella 

 which originally appeared in the Chemist and 

 Druggist, and which has recently been reprin- 

 ted in an American contemporary), has inspired 

 a searching criticism by O Kleber. First of all 

 Kleber corrects the assertion which is made in 

 the description of this method that the acetate 

 of sodium is added for the purpose of absorbing 

 the water formed in the course of 63teritication 

 with acetic anhydride. As a matter of fact, 

 the sodium acetate merely plays the 

 part of a catalyser, for since no water 

 whatever is formed in the course of 

 the reaction, none can be absorbed. Moreover, 

 every trace of water which might be present 

 would be absorbed, not by the sodium acetate, 

 but by the acetic anhydride, with generation of 

 a corresponding quantity of acetic acid ; hence, 

 in order to obviate errors, Kleber expressly re- 

 commends the use of fused instead of dry 

 sodium acetate, on the ground that the ordinary 

 crystalline salt, although it looks dry, in fact 

 contains 3 molecules of water of crystallisation, 

 which would effect the decomposition of a por- 

 tion of the acetic anhydride. 



Further, according to Kleber it is impractic- 

 able to wash out the acetylated product with 

 water, because too many washings would be re- 

 quired to remove the acid completely. The 

 object is much more quickly attained, he states, 

 by shaking once with a solution of common salt, 

 running off the aqueous solution, and complet- 

 ing the neutralising process with a 10 per cent, 

 carbonate of soda solution, which should be 

 added in small portions, the mixture being 

 vigorously shaken each time. The completion 

 of the reaction is indicated by the ces- 

 sation of pressure in the separating funnel 

 after shaking 4). 



When the oil has been acetylated and washed 

 out it must not be dried with anhydrous sodium 

 bisulphate, as laid down in the Chemist and 

 Druggist, but with anhydrous sodium sulphate \ 

 because the first-namecl agent, owing to its acid 

 properties, might split up the geranyl esters. 

 Warming on the water-bath also is not only 

 superfluous but positively objectionable. Half- 

 an-hour is not enough to saponify the ester which 

 is formed ; the oil should be left upon the 

 water-bath at least one hour, two hours is still 

 better. 



Kleber next refers briefly to the goraniol-test, 

 the general introduction of which for commer- 

 cial purposes would scarcely, in his opinion, 

 afford the universal panacea against adultera- 

 tions which it is claimed to be by others. Kle- 

 ber specially holds this view because the prac- 

 tised sophisticator would find way3 and means 

 of imparting to his oil the required acetylation- 

 value by means of esters, alcohols (fusel oil, &c.) 

 and acids, and because the "average phar- 

 macist," judging blindly by the acetylation 

 value, would fail to detect such additions, 



