Syrian Essential Oils Trade Analysis

from Syria up to the end of 1906 at about 10500 to 11000 bales, of which about 8000 bales belong to Beyrout, 100 to 150 bales to Tripoli, 500 to 600 to Aleppo, and about 2000 bales to Mersina. With regard to the stocks still in hand, the opinions differ considerably, and at the moment nothing definite can be said about them, But in any case it is certain that the extraordinary position of this article, which has brought losses to every one participating in it except to the Syrian peasants and the Hamburg people, is exclusively due to the Hamburg speculators. An oil recently pressed by us from sweet apricot-kernels free from prussic acid, may possibly have a certain amount of interest, and for this reason may be mentioned here. The kernels which are about half the size of almonds, originated from the island Mallorca, and yielded on pressing 36 to 37°, oil, which, as might be expected, was absolutely identical with ordinary oil from apricot-kernels, It had a yellow colour, and at 15° the specific gravity 0,9198; sapon. no. 188,4: iodine no. 100,0. The fatty acids separated off melted at about +-5° (determined in a tube open at both ends). This oil also differs from genuine almond oil above all by the elaidine test, in which the (solid) layer of oil is not colourless, but, as in the case of peach-kernel oil, reddish. Almond Oil, pressed, from almonds. Since our last Report the prices of the material have maintained themselves at the same level, and the numerous consumers of our Pharmacopeeia oil have had to accustom themselves gradually to accepting proportionately higher — 2 quotations. If, in spite of this, we were compelled to increase our production considerably, this may be taken as a striking proof that our product can hold its own against the competition of the numerous “cheap” qualities with which the market is flooded. Angelica Oil. Owing to the exceptionally low prices obtained in the 1905 season, a large number of the Thuringian angelica growers gave up the cultivation last year, as other plantings were more remuner- ative. The crop was in consequence proportionately smaller, and the quotations for fresh root free from earth advanced from 4.50 marks per 100 kilos in 1905, to about 6.50 marks. But many complaints were made about a bad yield of oil, and for this reason we were glad to have at our disposal our own Miltitz crop of which the yield was completely satisfactory. The slight increase in the price which we were compelled to make for our own distillate, is really not at all proportionate to the position of the crude material. Anise Oil. Only after the second anise market at Alexejewka it was possible to take an approximately correct view of the result of the Russian anise harvest, and the information received from our cor- respondents practically confirms the estimate given in our last Report. The total harvest is said to be about 135000 poods, i. e. about 15000 poods more than in 1905. Although the quality of the seed brought to the market at Alexejewka turned out somewhat better than at the first market at Krasnoje, it could by no means be called good, as the yield of oil again proved to be insufficient. Really green anise could but rarely be found, and if found, could only be bought at an increased price. The unfavourable weather immediately before and during the harvest, as already mentioned, has had a most injurious effect on the quality. The high average price of the goods (about 2.50 roubles per pood) was not sufficiently inviting, in view of the deficient yield of oil, to induce large purchases of anise on the part of our industrial branch. In consequence of an insufficient demand the prices of anise oil distilled in Russia declined in the course of the last few months to the parity of about 14 marks cost-price per kilo, without, however, exciting any particular interest in the article. From the other anise-producing districts no recent information is available, As already stated by us on a previous occasion, the use of anise oil is distinctly falling off, since in anethol there is placed a product at the disposal of the consumers, the use of which, in view of its purer taste and greater richness, offers advantages which no one can gainsay. Artemisia Oils. Fr. Rabak, to whose contributions to the knowledge of these oils we referred already in our October Report — 3 — of 19051), has continued the chemical examinations of the oils then described.?) 1. Oil of Artemisia frigida Willd.: — Sap. no. distilled Spec. grav. ap Acidno. Esterno. Sap.no. after acetylation 1904 0,927, —24°48’ 1,2 31,8 33,0 _ 1904 0,931 —25°I0’ 3,0 45,0 48,0 143 1905 0,933 —23°40' 2,0 35,0 37,0 139 The oils formed clear solutions with 0,5 vol. and more go per cent. alcohol, and had a distinct odour of cineol, which could be determined qualitatively by the phosphoric acid reaction. 2. Oil of Artemisia leudoviciana Nutt.: — Sistas, distilled Spec. grav. ap Acidno. Esterno, Sap.no. after acetylation 1904 0,929 —16°14' 4,0 10,0 14,0 _— 1904 0,930 —13°32' 4,3, 14,0 18,3 = 1905 0,931 —17°20' 0,0 26,0 26,0 116 The oil dissolved in 0,5 vol, and more go per cent. alcohol, and with phosphoric acid gave the cineol-reaction. 3- Oil of Artemisia caudata Michx.: — Sap. no. distilled Spec. grav. ap Acidno. Esterno. Sap.no. after acetylation 1904 0,920 —12°30' 0,0 17,0 17,0 not determined 1904 0,887 inactive 20,0 73,0 93,0 tieetieee 1905 0,8418 —24°20' 0,0 29,0 29,0 material The odour of the oil (which with 2 vol. and more go per cent. alcohol formed a cloudy solution) was at first sweetish, and gradually became lemon-like. For the purpose of comparison we quote here the constants of two oils which we examined ourselves some time ago.) 1. Oil of Artemisia variabilis Ten.: dygo 0,9115; #—9° 205 acid no. 1,7; sap. no. 15,5°; sap. no. after acetylation 49,1; incom- pletely soluble in alcohol (even in absolute alcohol); the solution which is at first clear, becomes cloudy when 10 to 12 vol. are added. 2. Oil of Artemisia annua L.: yield of oil from the green herb cultivated by ourselves, 0,29 %/y; dise 0,8912; 4» — 1° 18’; acid no. 3,8; ester no. 19,2; ester no. after acetylation 44,5; soluble in 1 to 1,5 vol. 80 per cent. alcohol; when more solvent is added cloudiness occurs owing to separation of paraffin. Basil Oil. The regrettable state of affairs of this oil unfortunately continues, as the present producing districts, and particularly Réunion, 3) Pharm. Review 28 (1905), 128; Report October 1905, 12} comp. also Reports April 1902, 77; October 1904, 13; April 1905, 85. 2) Pharm. Review 24 (1906), 324. 8) Reports April 1902, 77 and April 1905, 85. — 4 — are completely exhausted. We hope in the course of this summer, with the help of our own cultivations, to make once for all an end of the scarcity. “ Cade Oil. The information by C. Pépin, on the origin, production, and properties of cade oil given in our last Report!), may here be supplemented by some further details from the hand of the same author?). According to these, an oil derived from Juniperus oxycedrus is mobile, has a smoky odour, an acidity of less than 1,5°/) (calculated for acetic acid), and gives a brown coloration with petroleum ether and copper acetate. Between 150 and 300° (ordinary pressure), at least 65°/) must pass over; between 100 and 215° (65 mm. pressure), at least 70 to 75°/, of the oil. Cajeput Oil. In the shipments from Macassar during last year a further falling off is to be recorded, for, according to the export lists received, only 3713 baskets have been exported between January 1 and December 31, 1906, against 3935 baskets in the previous year. The prices remained unchanged, as the demand from the consumers leaves much to be desired. In the above figures for 1906 are naturally not included the considerable quantities received by us, as previously mentioned, from a German producer in Buru direct. As the first part of a work on the Australian melaleucas, R. T. Baker and H. G. Smith) give a description of the two species Melaleuca thymifolia Sm. (‘thyme-leaved tea tree”) and I. inanifolia Sm. (“tea tree”). As in the case of the eucalypts described by the same authors, they give here also detailed information on the oils contained in the above species, of which we quote the important points in the following. Melaleuca thymifolia Sma. Leaves distilled in April yielded 2,28°/, essential oil of a faint yellow colour, which behaved exactly like a good eucalyptus oil rich in cineol, except in so far as it was much more difficultly soluble. dys0 0,9134; @p2se-+ 2°1'; pase 1,4665; sap. no. 3,1; ester no. after acetylation 33,6; the oil is insoluble in 10 vol. 70 per cent. alcohol, but dissolves already in 0,5 vol. 80 per cent. alcohol; when more alcohol is added, cloudiness occurs soon; with go per cent. alcohol it behaves in a similar manner. The bulk of the oil (86°/,) boils between 172 to 183°. The cineol-content determined by the phosphoric acid method amounted to 53°); in addition to this, very small quantities of aldehydes were present, whilst pinene and phellandrene could not be detected. The 1) Report October 1906, 13. 2) Journ. de Pharm. et Chim. VI, 24 (1906), 248. %) The Australian Melaleucas and their essential oils. Proceed. of the Linnean Soc. of N.S. W. 40 (1906), 60. — 56— alcoholic constituent of the oil, judged by the odour, appears to be closely allied to borneol. Melaleuca linariifolia Sm.1). Yield of oil from leaves distilled in September, 1,214/,. The crude oil was pale yellow, and had a tur- pentine-like odour. dye 0,9129; “p+ 2,5°; pave 1,4741; sap.no. 6,4; ester no. after acetylation 40,3; insoluble in 10 vol. 70 per cent. alcohol, soluble in 1 vol. 80 per cent. alcohol, with ro vol. slight- cloudiness. On distillation 52°/) passed over between 175 and 183°, and a further 23°/) up to 250°. The oil does not contain pinene and phellandrene; the content of cineol is small. In the portions passing over first, small quantities of aldehydes could be detected; the alcohol present in the oil appears to be identical with the one contained in the oil. of M. thymifolia. Calamus Oil, Japanese. According to researches by Y. Asahina?), the mother-plant of this oil appears to be morphologically identical with the European Acorus Calamus L. The coarsely cut-up roots yielded on steam-distillation about 3°/, oil of a yellowish colour, an unpleasant odour and bitter taste; dise 0,976; @paio + 23 to + 25°; piso 1,513; sap. no. 0; sap. no. after acetylation 17; methoxyl-content 9,299 °/o. On fractional distillation the bulk of ‘the oil passed over between 250 and 280°, A more detailed examination showed that the oil contained no terpene of the formula Cj)H,,. Methyl eugenol was detected with certainty, as the principal distillate of the oil on oxidation yielded veratric acid. As the distillate was moreover optically strongly active, contained considerably more carbon than is found in methyl eugenol, and acquired a green colour when acetic acid and sulphuric acid were added, Asahina concludes that a sesquiterpene is present. We would here refer to our previous communications*) on Japanese calamus oil. Camphor Oil. The critical position of this important material has during the last few months grown decidedly worse, and since all the old stocks have now gone into consumption, the calamity begins to make itself felt to its full extent. Offers of crude camphor oil could during the last six months only be obtained in isolated cases, and white Japanese oil also was only sparingly offered. Owing to our exceptionally favourable position in this article, for which we are chiefly indebted to the reliability of our suppliers and their supporters, we were able to lay in for the present sufficient quantities of crude oil to cover the current demand for safrol and also for light and heavy camphor oil, and to concentrate the trade in these important articles 1) Comp. also Gildemeister and Hoffmann, The Volatile Oils, p. 523. ) Apotheker Ztg. 21 (1906), 987. %) Bericht April 1889, 7; Comp. also Gildemeister and Hoffmann, The Volatile Oils, p. 304. — 46 — in our hands. Supported by the high prices of turpentine oil, we obtained without difficulty for light oil 160 marks per 100 kilos, and occasionally interested parties, for example in England, were prepared to pay even considerably more. Heavy camphor oil advanced to 100 marks per 100 kilos, and in spite of these high quotations we are hardly able to accumulate a stock. A review of the movement of the prices of these two articles during the last ten years may not be devoid of interest. The prices on March 1 were: — Light camphor oil Heavy camphor oil 1907 160 marks per 100 kilos 1907 100 marks per 100 kilos 1906 190 , 4 100 4 1906 45 » » 100 ,, 1905 170 » » 100 y 1905 40 » » 100 ,, 1904 170° , 4, 100 y 1904 40 , 4 100 , 1903 170 4 4» 100 y 1903 40 , » 100 , 1902 170 4 4 100 y 1902 40 = 100 , I9OI 155 5, 4 100 4 Igor 40 , 4, 100 , 1900 155 » » 100 » 1900 40 4 » 100 5, 1899 140 , » 100 , . 1899 38 » » 100 4 1898 145 » » 100 5 1898 40 , 4 100 With regard to the production of camphor and camphor oil down to the year 1904, vol. VI. of the Financial and Economic Year Book for 1906, issued by the Imperial Japanese Treasury, gives fresh information which may be a welcome addition to the statistics already available from former years. Production of camphor and camphor oil (Japan). Year Kwan | Yen || To | Yen || Yen s8y4| 358142 | 1526831] 82687| 40923 ||1567754 1896 | 258826 | 1119197) 89417| 93483|| 1212680 1897 | — 417319 | 1318292 | 175176 | 181535 || 1499827 1898| — = = 389444 | 1174 103 686 1.257027 1899| 282 | 735 171657 | 535130) 20492 3 || 586493 1900 2181 252021 | 1178924) 9797| 79612) 1258536 1901 1893 || 320195 | 1309375 42695 | 195853 || 1505 228 1902 | | 2431 || 407629 | 1841910] 26875 | 158052||1999962 1903 2066 || 353830 | 1828953| 14496 | 129826||1958779 1904 |) 3458 | 3754 || 633796 | 330043|| 714370| 202191] 532234 Note. As it is not possible to give the exact production for the years previous to 1898, the figures for those years are given for the quantities exported. 7 The figures of the production of Formosa agree on the whole with those given in our Report of April 1906: — Year Camphor Camphor oil kin kin 1896 _— _ 1897 1534590 638 603, 1898 2064406 1120979 1899 1819227 1369887 1900 3479179 2362 108 1901 3667887 2587186 1902 3148742 2388135 1903 3595813 2678794 1904 3540953 2805 809 The export of camphor in the year 1905 to the individual consuming countries was as follows: — Australia. ©. . 2. 2 2). 1). «© 23917 yen British America . . . . . . . 20487, British India. . . . . . . . 525266 ,, Straits Settlements . . . . . . 15894 , China. . 2. 1 1 eee 28985, France. 2 2 - ee ee + + 573775 Germany .....-... ~ I1§0I2 ,, United Kingdom. . . . . . . 258973 » Hong Kong... . . . . . «11677 United States. . . . . . . . 985484 ,, : 7363» Total 2566233 yen Against in 1904 3168197 ,, and in 1903 3537844 » Other countries The large falling off in the exports during the last two years be- comes all the more apparent, as the market value of the article, on which the above figures are based, has in this period undergone an uninter- rupted and considerable advance. According to a notice of the British Foreign Office (Ann. Series No. 3713), the total production of the Japanese Empire in 1905 was quantitatively as follows: — Formosa . . . 4800000 lbs. Japan. . . . 1226607 ,, Total 6026607 lbs. Of this, 837333 lbs. were refined at Kobe and Osaka, 400000 lbs. were used up for home consumption, whilst the balance, and also the bulk of the camphor refined in Japan, were exported. 2 — 2 — The exports of camphor and camphor oil from Formosa were: in 1889 1902 1904 1905, Value: Yen Camphor 1935001 3718549 3057923 2683523 Camphor oil 1075858 921536 1235684 1156454 According to a report from the German Consul in Twatutia!), the camphor production in Formosa has now for some years been growing smaller. In the districts in which it was possible to work with com- parative safety under the protection of the frontier guards, all the trees have fairly well been felled. For this reason the chain of posts has to be pushed forward, in order not to let the production fall too low, as the trees stand already in the Savage district, or at least on its frontiers. This also explains the serious mistake made by the Japanese Government in calculating the purchases, as it obtained instead of the calculated quantity of about 5,7 million kin (1 kin == 601 g), over 1 million kin less. According to the Custom’s statistics, there were exported in the year 1905 from Formosa, 2923117 kin camphor and 2579782 kin camphor oil, the oil exclusively to Japan, and of the camphor over 75 %/ abroad. According to the same report, the high expectations based on the production of camphor from the leaves, have up to the present not yet been realised; the experiments cannot, however, as yet be con- sidered as concluded, as it is generally accepted that the trees must be 4 to 5 years old?) before the leaves can be utilised for the produc- tion of camphor oil. In the course of the