18 
At the request of the Director of the Imperial Institute several samples of oil were distilled 
from Ocimum viride and from various specimens of ocimum which are growing wild in Seychelles. 
Qcimum viride plants obtained from seeds forwarded bj Professor Dunstan were distilled at the 
Botanic Station and produced 0-4 o/o of oil which was found by the above authority to contain 
as much as 62 o/o of phenols (mostly thymol). At the present price of thymol the oil was 
valued by a firm of manufacturing chemists at 5s to 6s per lb. Larger consignments are being 
prepared both in the laboratory and in one factory to ascertain at what price the oil can be pre¬ 
pared commercially in the Colony. The plants grow well without being manured and can pro¬ 
duce 3 or 4 crops ot leaves and twigs per annum. As nearly other allied Ocimum plants are 
growing wild in the Colony alongside roads and in other open places it has been found neces¬ 
sary to & distill leaves of several species which produced oils of the following composition accord¬ 
ing to a report from Professor Dunstan. 
° Ocimum basilicum (basilic de France). This plant which is distilled in Reunion and else¬ 
where produced the sweet basil oil of commerce worth at present 4s to 6s a lb. The sample 
from Seychelles was found to differ a little in composition from the other oils of known origin 
(German, Spanish, French) ; it contains anethol as well as methyl chavicol but the constants of 
the present sample agree generally with those of Reunion basil oil. 
Seychelles oil. Reunion sweet basil oil. 
Specific gravity at 15 C. ... 0*962 0*945 to 0*987 
Optical rotation ... ... 0*82 at 28 C. 0*36 
Refractive index ... ... 1*514 1*515 to 1*517 
Acid value ... ... 0*2 up to 3 
Ester value ... ... 2*5 up to 22 
Solubility in 80o/o alcohol ... Nearly soluble in 4 vols. not Soluble in 1 to 7 vols. 
completely even in 10 vols. 
Ocimum basilicum is only grown in gardens and is not hardy enough to be set out in poor 
fcjoirs on a commercial scale. 
Ocimum gratissimum (Basilic grandes feuilles) is the plant which grows wild in Seychelles 
and which can be mistaken eventually for Ocimum viride. It has the same appearance 
although the flower spikes are 3 times longer in Ocimum gratissimum and the odour of the 
leaves is quite different. This plant is also grown for distillation on the Ivory Coast. 
The composition of the oil is as follows :— 
Ocimum gratissimum oil Ocimum gratissimum oil 
from Seychelles. from the Ivory Coast. 
Specific gravity at 15 C. 
Optical rotation 
Refractive index 
Solubility in 80 o/o alcohol 
Phenols ... 
0*995 
14*1 
1*52 at 21 C. 
Sol. in 0*7 vol. at 15 C. 
62 o/o principally cugenol. 
0*910 
0*58 
Soluble in 1*2 vols. 
44 o/o almost entirely 
thymol. 
As a source of eugenol this oil cannot compete with cinnamon and clove oil for the 
present. The yield of volatile oil from leaves was found to be very small, 0*1 o/o. 
Another oil from Ocimum sanctum (Basilic a petites feuilles) lias been also forwarded to 
the Imperial Institute for examination. This plant, cannot however be mistaken for ocimum 
viride. 
If the latter plant (Ocimum viride) is found to yield as much in the field as it has 
yielded experimentally there is no question that it will occupy a place in the Colony besides 
other already established perfume plants. It grows easily from seed, it occupies the field for 
several years without having to be replanted and it can be set out as a catch crop in young 
coconut and rubber plantations. 
Ambrette (Hibiscus abelmoscbus). This plant is being grown in gool soil in many places 
for the production of the seeds which possess a muse odour. The present price of this article 
is high and is likely to remain so for some time to come. Over-production unfortunately can 
easily be reached ; an acre of well grown plants producing as much as 250 kilogs of seeds 
worth Rs 500. The essential oil obtained contains an alcohol (farnesol) and an aldehyde 
(furfurol). It has a powerful smell. This species of Hibicus like all others is liable to be 
attacked by insect pests in Seychelles and it is not safe to count on the above yield except in 
very rich soil free from the parasites in question. Hibiscuses are generally grown in India by 
Entomologists in order to breed many insects such as boll worms and their parasites. This is 
sufficient proof that these plants are very susceptible to disease. It is impossible in Seychelles 
to grow properly Hibiscus rosa sinensis and most all other Malvaceae owing to attacks of the 
following scale insects :—Icerya Seychellarum, Lecanium nigrum and Hemiekionaspis minor. 
CITRATE OF LIME. 
No citrate of lime was nauufactured at Silhouette during the year under review. This is 
due to raw materials becoming scarce ana the . reighfc difficulties which not only rendered diffi¬ 
cult the exportation of the manufactured article but also the importation of pure chalk with 
which it, is made. This is a home industry ior the development of which there are great 
possibilities ; the climate and soil of this colony being highly benficial to two of the citrus 
frees which are grown for the use ol their juice in the manufacture of citrate of lime. These 
fwo citr us trees are :— 
Citius medica var acida called locally limon. 
Pifunn mitici Ool Inrl ffQ VQiId 
