486  Essential  Oil  Industry:  ipop  j 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm 
October,  19  la. 
Character  and  Output  of  Establishments. — Of  the  total  establish- 
ments in  the  industry,  16.2  per  cent,  were  under  corporate  owner- 
ship in  1909,  as  compared  with  13.5  per  cent,  in  1904;  these  estab- 
lishments reported  68  per  cent,  of  the  total  value  of  products  in  1909 
and  45.1  per  cent,  in  1904.  Establishments  under  firm  ownership 
decreased  considerably  in  relative  importance  during  the  5-year 
period,  reporting  only  3.8  per  cent,  of  the  total  value  of  products 
in  1909,  as  compared  with  34  per  cent,  in  1904. 
Of  the  68  establishments  in  1909  and  52  in  1904  there  were  5 
at  each  census  whose  products  were  valued  at  more  than  $100,000, 
with  74.6  per  cent,  of  the  total  value  of  products  in  1909,  as  com- 
pared with  77.8  per  cent,  in  1904.  The  average  value  of  products 
per  establishment  decreased  from  $28,167  in  1904  to  $25,548  in  1909. 
The  average  number  of  wage  earners  per  establishment  increased 
from  2.5  in  1904  to  4.3  in  1909. 
Value  of  Products. — The  production  of  essential  oils  increased 
in  value  during  the  decade  1899-1909  from  $700,709  to  $1,108,603, 
or  58.2  per  cent.,  while  the  value  of  the  witch-hazel  extract  produced 
in  1909  was  $412,322,  over  seven  times  that  in  1899,  which  was 
$54,649.  The  production  of  each  kind  of  essential  oil  was  con- 
siderably greater  in  1909  than  in  either  1904  or  1899.  The  produc- 
tion of  witch-hazel  in  1909,  however,  represented  a  decrease  of 
14.9  per  cent,  as  compared  with  1904,  when  the  value  was  reported  as 
$367,873,  although  it  was  more  than  six  times  as  great  as  in  1899. 
Materials  and  Products. — The  principal  materials  used  in  the 
industry  are  grain  alcohol,  crude  essential  oils  for  refining,  and  the 
herbs,  leaves,  bark,  roots,  etc.,  from  which  the  crude  oil  is  extracted. 
The  consumption  of  grain  alcohol  in  the  industry  amounted  to 
75,274  gallons,  costing  $188,618,  in  1909,  as  compared  with  84,602 
gallons,  costing  $206,255,  in  1904,  and  13,258  gallons,  costing 
$44,888,  in  1899. 
Connecticut  is  the  chief  producer  of  oil  of  black  birch  and  witch- 
hazel  extract ;  Michigan,  of  oil  of  peppermint,  spearmint,  tansy,  and 
wormwood ;  New  Jersey,  of  oil  of  wintergreen ;  and  Virginia,  of  oil 
of  sassafras. 
