— 49 — 
Coumariii. We have also directed our attention once more to 
the detection of this body which has a not unimportant bearing on 
the lavender odour, and which has already been repeatedly isolated 
bv us from lavender oil. It was detected in the highest ester-containing 
portions of the oil, boiling at 103° to 126° (5 mm), when it was 
found as the distillation -residue of the acids isolated from the 
saponification-liquor of these fractions. After recrystallisation from 
alcohol it had the melting point 67° to 68°, and the characteristic 
pleasant oour. 
Finally we would mention an occurrence which had already been 
observed in the first examination of lavender oil made in our labora- 
tory. This is the simultaneous occurrence of the odour like form- 
aldehyde, and the formation of a gelatinous sticky substance, when 
fractions of the boiling point 78° to 90° (5 mm; 195° to 215° at 
ordinary pressure) are distilled, a fact of which we are at present 
unable to explain the cause. 
As might be expected, our work^) on the ester-question does not 
meet with the approval of Mr. E. Parry 2). He thinks fit to dispose 
of this matter with some disdainful remarks, and for the rest maintains 
his assertions. As we have already mentioned in our previous Report^) 
that for us the ester-question was settled once for all, there is no 
occasion for us to return to the subject. 
Lemongrass Oil. The value of this article has undergone 
considerable fluctuations. The lowest point was reached in November, 
at 4 d. per oz., whilst at the present time it cannot be bought 
below 5 Y4 
The export from Cochin amounted in 1902 to only 2350 cases, 
but, on the other hand, fresh sources of supplies have appeared, which 
in the near future may possibly make competition to the present 
monopoly. 
To all appearances the cultivation of Andivpogon grasses in the 
West Indian islands, to which we referred in our last October Report, 
is extending. We have lately received two further samples of Andro- 
pogon oils from the Government laboratory in Jamaica. On one of 
these oils we have already reported under the heading citronella oil; 
the other one was, like the previous one from Antigua '^), designated 
^) Report October 1902, 46. 
-) The Chemist and Druggist 61 (1902), 1028. 
^) Report October 1902, 48. 
^) Report October 1902, 50. 
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