11 
CHAPTER IX. 
ESSENTIAL OILS AND OTHER MINOR INDDSl’RIES. 
1915 1916 
Quantity 
Declared 
Quantity 
Declared 
in litres. 
value in Rs. 
in litres. 
value in Rs. 
Cinnamon bark oil... 
99 
1,099 
1,824 
15,609 
„ leaves oil. 
9,587 
37,572 
15,069 
67,256 
Clove leaves oil 
465 
2,325 
2,137 
10,557 
Lemon grass oil 
77 
308 
6 
24 
Bitter orange leaves. 
22 
88 
Vetiver oil ... 
... 
... 
31 
666 
Total ... 
10,228 
41,304 
19,089 
94,200 
Tlie distillation of essential oils is steadily progressing, the quantity of oils exported being 
double that of last year and two new stills having been erected in 1916. The bulk of the oils 
exported is manufactured from cinnamon leaves and the industry is found to be very profitable. 
The demand in England for this oil is fu’m and a rise in the price was recorded in 1916. The 
yield varies from 0-6 to 0-8o/o according to the season ; the flowering and bearing season 
(September to March) being the period of low yield. It has been found that the capacity of 
the sfill should be about 4000 litres and that it should contain about 1200 kilogs of leaves 
which yield about 8 l^ilogs of oil. The article can be sold locally at about Rs 4.50 per kilog. 
It is exported in bottles and in drums. The residue from the still is used as fuel and as ma¬ 
nure. In the worn out soils of Mahe the great quantity of organic matter derived from this 
residue is veiy beneficial. A well known coconut estate on the hill-side near Yictoria has been 
transformed by the use of this residue. Coconut trees which hardly produced any nut at all 
were seen to yield a normal crop a couple of years after the use of this humus forming ma¬ 
terial. Owing to the difficulty of getting’ cattle manure in the Colony, the erection of numerous 
essential oil distilleries will go far to produce a substitute which is worth having. It is well 
known that the use of chemical fertilizers is much less beneficial when no bulky organic mat¬ 
ters are 'used at the same time as manures. In this connection the development of the essential 
oils industry will have an important bearing on the welfare of the Colony. As the residues in 
question as soon as they begin to decomjDOse form good breeding places for the Rhinoceros 
beetles, the planters who distill essential oils are bound to dig them in the soil as manure. If 
not they rim the risk of infesting their plantations with a swarm of beetles. This obligation 
is the reason for which a few planters are said to consider this residue as being injurio’us to 
coconut trees. This sort of biased argument will not stand the test of experiment as it is well 
known that cinnamon leaves residue like all other leaf moulds are beneficial even when used 
for manuring such delicate plants as maiden hair ferns. 
Experiments were made during the year at the Botanic Station, at the request of the 
Director of the Imperial Institute, in connection with the growing of Ajowan seeds, (Carmn 
copticum) and Ocimum viride for the production of thjonol. Althoug’h these experiments are 
not concluded it may be worth mentioning that ajowan seeds cannot be grown easily during 
the rainy season owing to showers which are too heavy for these delicate plants. They will be 
experimented with during the next dry season. On the other hand Ocimum viride grows 
luxuriantly and form perennial bushes yielding at least 6 crops of green leaves per annum in 
good soil, weighing each 3,759 kilogs per acre. A small sample of oil has already been dis¬ 
tilled and forwarded as requested to the Imperial Institute. The yield was fomid to be 0’41o/o. 
CITRATE OF LIME. 
1,350 kilogs of citrate of lime was manufactured at Silhouette Island and exported during 
the year. This article is manufactm’ed from small bitter oranges (bigarades) wliich are be¬ 
coming more and more scarce in the Colony ; the trees in the low country being attacked and 
killed out by the green and barnacle scale insects. On the hills these insects are kept in check 
by a beneficial fungus (Cephalosporium lecanii) but no attempt except on one estate at Moiuit 
Sebert has ever been made up country to propagate the plant in question. Citrate of lime 
is however an article so much in demand on the English markets and elsewhere that as much 
as £100 per ton is paid for it. 
COIR. 
This article was exported during the year to the amount of 5,795 kilogs together with 8 
packages of ropes. With the present high freight charges (125 francs per cubic metre) it is 
impossible to export low grade fibres (mattress fibre). Bristle fibre only (worth 75 francs per 
100 kilogs) is exported. It is also difficult to get machmery from Europe owing to the war. 
An attempt was made by an enterprising planter to overcome the present difficulty by manu¬ 
facturing ropes and yarns for the local market and for exportation to the neighboui’ing colonies. 
These ropes are sold locally at Rs 60 per 100 kilogs. The yield of fibre in the factory per 
1000 husks amounts to kilogs 22.5 bristle fibre and 157.5 spinning and mattress fibre. The 
■mall factory at Cascade has been improved this year by the addition of a new crusting ma- 
