734 
Japanese  Agar  Agar. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Oct.,  1918. 
"  The  best  method  of  propagation  is  by  cuttings  of  young  shoots. 
These  are  cut  about  3  inches  long,  care  being  taken  to  cut  just  below 
a  joint.  The  cuttings  are  then  pricked  into  nursery  beds  well 
watered  and  shaded.  In  three  weeks  to  a  month  they  will  have 
rooted  and  can  be  removed  to  the  permanent  beds,  where  they  should 
be  shaded  until  thoroughly  established.  The  .plant  grows  well  in 
open  sun,  but  it  will  also  stand  a  little  shade  and  may  be  grown  as  a 
catch  crop  in  young  rubber  or  coconut  clearings.  The  cuttings  may 
be  planted  at  distances  of  about  2  feet. 
"Harvesting  and  Drying — Marseille  and  New  York  Chief 
Bayers. — The  first  crop  can  be  cut  six  months  after  planting  and 
afterwards  twice  a  year.  In  Perak  it  is  usual  to>  take  only  three 
crops  and  then  replant.  The  leaves  when  cut  out  may  be  dried  in 
the  sun,  but  it  is  better  to  dry  them  in  the  shade,  spreading  them  out 
in  a  cool  and  airy  shed.  When  quite  dry  (about  one  week)  they 
may  be  packed  in  bales. 
"  One  picul  (133J4  pounds)  of  the  leaf  dried  just  as  it  is  cut 
yields  from  24  to  30  ounces  of  essential  oil,  and  a  sample  free  from 
the  heavier  stalks  yields  about  double  that  amount.  Thirty-six 
pounds  of  green  leaves  produce  10  pounds  of  patchouli.  One- 
twentieth  of  an  acre  planted  by  Curtis  gave  449  pounds  of  green 
stuff,  and  after  ten  days  it  had  dried  to  106  pounds,  which  on  pick- 
ing over  gave  69  pounds  good  leaf  and  37  pounds  refuse. 
"  The  dried  leaf  is  exported  from  this  country  principally  to 
Marseille  and  New  York.  Exports  from  Penang  for  1916  were 
almost  exclusively  to  New  York  and  amounted  to  about  65  tons." 
"  The  export  of  patchouli  leaves  from  Penang  to  the  United  States 
during  1917  totaled  79,979  pounds,  valued  at  $12,252  gold.  Local 
exporters  of  native  products  are  in  position  to  handle  a  much  larger 
volume  of  trade  in  this  commodity  if  orders  are  received. 
JAPANESE  AGAR-AGAR.1 
The  manufacture  of  agar-agar  is,  as  a  rule,  begun  towards  the 
close  of  the  year,  and  is  finished  at  the  end  of  February.  It  was 
started  some  three  centuries  ago,  but  still  there  is  no  departure  from 
the  primitive  method  of  production.  Nor  is  it  systematized  or  de- 
veloped into  a  factory  industry,  although  a  new  company  has  re- 
1  From  The  Chemist  and  Druggist,  June  8,  1918. 
