— 6i — 
amount of certainty, that the yield of rose oil is on the average 
"enlarged" every year by some 2000 kilos, and that about 1^50000 
extra profit is made annually by the merchants by means of adulter- 
ation of the rose oil. The largest consumption of rose oil is in France. 
The United Kingdom takes the second place, Germany the third. In 
our opinion speculation should be confined to one single good quality 
of rose oil, which has a real, honest value, and advantage may be 
taken without hesitation of the present prices to conclude larger 
transactions. 
In a short note on the value of the refractive index, Parry 
inter alia expresses the opinion, that the determination thereof may in 
certain cases afford very valuable information regarding the purity of 
the oil. Parry has, for example, recently examined several rose oils, 
which by their high refractive indices seemed open to suspicion. Whilst 
in pure rose oils of this year's crop he observed exponents of refrac- 
tion of 1,46095 to 1,46208, the samples referred to had refractive 
indices of 1,46700 to 1,47100. From these observations Parry draws 
the conclusion that an admixture of geraniol or of palmarosa oil had 
taken place. 
Rosemary Oil. In the leading French departments the dis- 
tillation has given a normal result, and has now come to an end, but 
in some districts it is taken up again after completion of the vintage — 
provided the weather - conditions are favourable. Fine distillates can 
be had in excellent selection and in abundance, but a further down- 
ward movement of the value seems improbable, as practically nothing 
is left from last year's distillation. 
In Dalmatia the yield has been normal, but the demand is so 
brisk, that a fall in prices must not be reckoned upon. From this 
source more adulterated than pure oil is on the market. This fact 
sufficiently explains the differences met with in the quotations. 
Sandalwood Oil, East Indian. Since the time of the last 
Indian wood - auctions in December 1902, the prices of sandalwood 
have not changed; but the quotations of sandalwood oil (the production 
of which has been carried on with quite exceptional energy) have been 
depressed gradually to such an extent, owing to overproduction, that 
the present selling - price, if calculated in a rational manner, no longer 
pays. Possibly the dispositon of the manufacturers is now quite as 
depressed as the prices. 
On the other hand, for pure santalol, which we were the first to 
introduce into commerce, there is now a fairly strong demand. The 
^) The Chemist and Druggist 63 (1903), 246. 
