— 27 — 
The examinations of a larger quantity of citronella oil, made by 
us with the view of ascertaining the character of the adulterant, are 
also approaching completion, and we expect soon to be able to 
communicate further details also on this point. 
We find in the ^'Circular and Agricultural Journal", on page 8i, 
that experiments have been made in the Royal Botanical Gardens of 
Ceylon, the principal producing country of citronella oil, with the 
cultivation of Andropogon species, in order to ascertain whether the 
cultivation of these grasses is also possible in the higher-lying districts 
of the island. The results obtained here with a few varieties of citronella- 
grass, which also grows wild there, have been successful, and justify the 
hope that it can be cultivated everywhere in Ceylon, even at alti- 
tudes up to 2,000 feet. 
The cultivation, however, can only be remunerative if the present 
yield and price of citronella oil are raised; there is a prospect of this 
if the cultivation can be improved, and if the adulteration which is 
carried on with this oil in Ceylon on a large scale, can be suppressed. 
On this question of adulteration, which is of such importance for the 
citronella -oil trade, and to which we have now given our attention 
for years, the Director of the Royal Botanical Gardens will shortly 
issue a report. We are looking forward with great interest to the 
communications promised. 
In the West Indian Islands the cultivation of different Andropogon 
species has now been attempted for some years, with a view of ob- 
taining the essential oil of those plants. On several occasions we have 
already had before us samples of oils distilled there; they all differ 
from oils of other origin by a lower solubility in alcohol^). 
H. H. Cousins 2) has recently reported on Andropogon oils 
which had been produced at the Hope Experiment Station in Jamaica. 
In the distillation of the fresh grass of Andropogon citratus D. C, one 
pound yielded one cc. of a golden -yellow oil of the specific gravity 
0,8897 ^ "> ^'^d the optical rotation — 1^0' in a 20 mm tube. 
The yield in the distillation of the citronella grass Andropogon nardus 
was nearly three times as much; here, 2,9 cc. oil were obtained from 
one pound fresh grass. The specific gravity of this oil was 0,8935 
at 60^ F., and the optical rotation -|- 1 7° o^ As compared with the 
oils produced in Trinidad, the higher dextrorotatory power and lower 
specific gravity of the Jamaica oils are worthy of note. 
Oil of Cloves. Up to the moment we are unfortunately still 
without any official report on the result of the last clove-harvest in 
Zanzibar and Pemba, and one has to rely exclusively on the information 
Report April 1896, 68; April 1902, 48; October 1902, 50; April 1903, 49. 
^) Jamaica. Bulletin of the Department of Agriculture Vol. i (March 1903), 49. 
