RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN ESSENTIAL OILS 309 write off the investment and to bring some return.) As a result of these failures it was assumed for a long time that true lavender simply does not lend itself to cultivation, the plant being of too delicate a nature. It was only recently that the idea of cultivating lavender on regular plantations was taken up again, farmers having learned that it can be cultivated only in places where the plant grows wild (2000 to 3500 feet altitude), and under proper conditions of soil, climate, and with ample spacing between the rows. Most of all, the fields must be well drained so that no stagnant water nor too much moisture remains in the soil. It has been found also that the fields require careful cultivation (thorough weeding). In other words, good field management is essential. In the light of these findings new attempts have recently been made to cultivate true lavender, in many cases with good results. The yield of oil amounts to 26 pounds per acre. Total annual production of lavender oil in Southern France now averages 100,000 to 110,000 pounds. Last year very extensive plantations of true lavender were started near Sault (Vaucluse). These will come into production between 1957 and 1959 yield will ultimately be from 40,000 to 65,000 pounds of true lavender oil per year (ester content of the oil 38-42 per cent). Provided the ven- ture is successful such large quantities will undoubtedly have a stabilizing influence upon the price structure of lavender oil in general, and reduce prices to a level at which this valuable and delightful oil can again be used more freely in the perfume, cosmetic and soap industries. As regards lavandin (Lavandula hybrida Reverchon), a much hardier plant than true lavender, it is n•w cultivated extensively on vast planta- tions, particularly on the high plateaux in the Basses-Alpes, i.e., at lower altitudes, where the climate in the summer would be too hot for true lavender. These extensive high plains lend themselves admirably to large-scale cultivation of lavandin, permitting the use of tractors, culti- vators, trucks, etc. A well-managed field should remain productive for about twelve years. The original (old) type of lavandin yields approxi- mately 44 to 48 pounds of oil per acre (i.e., almost twice as much as true lavender) the oil contains from 15 to 24 per cent of esters, calculated as linalyl acetate. About twenty years ago a new type of lavandin plant was discovered by a government botanist and named after him. The oil -derived from this variety (Abrial) contains from 28 to 32 per cent of esters moreover, an acre of var. Abrial yields from about 88 to 96 pounds of oil, in other words, twice as much oil as the original, older variety. No wonder then that growers have every interest in planting the Abrial variety, and as old fields covered with the original type of lavandin die out they are re- placed with the high yielding Abrial variety. Under these circumstances it is inevitable that in a few years the old type of oil will no longer be available, or only in small quantities.

310 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS Production of lavandin oil in recent years has reached large proportions, and the oil is now used extensively, particularly for the scenting of soaps and detergents, where it gives excellent results. In 1939 total production of lavandin oil amounted to about 220,000 pounds, in 1952 to 650,000 pounds, and in 1955 to something like 800,000 to 1,000,000 pounds. If this trend continues as much as 1,300,000 pounds can be expected in two years. In view of such heavy production eventual lower prices would permit even wider use of the oil in soaps, detergents and for the scenting of all sorts of technical preparations. One cannot discuss lavender and lavandin oils without mentioning a new type of field distillation equipment that has lately become quite popular among the producers of these two oils, viz., the Prince and the Eysseric stills. Fundamentally these two types of stills are based upon the same principle. The new distillation units consist essentially of a large tank (vat or retort) surrounded on the sides and bottom by a closed water jacket in which water is brought to a boil by a fire beneath. The low pres- sure steam generated in the water jacket is conducted into the retort and serves for distillation of the plant material charged above a perforated false bottom. Since the side walls of the retort are kept warm by the boiling water in the enclosing steam jacket, no internal condensation of live steam can take place within the retort. The plant charge remains comparatively dry throughout the operation, and distillation of a charge of 200 kilograms of plant material in a vat of 1000 liters capacity can be completed in twenty minutes--against fifty minutes in the old types of steam stills. So short a distillation in a retort of relatively large'capacity means a saving of at least one-half of the labor. Moreover, the exhausted plant material (which is easily removed from the still by mechanical hoists) is usually so dry that it can be dropped immediately, and without sun-drying, into a chute leading to the large specially constructed fire hearth below the still it is, in fact, the only fuel required for the generation of steam, and does not have to be sun-dried and carted back to the distillery--a further saving of labor. The use of low pressure steam and the short length of distillation reduce hydrolysis and other forms of decomposition within the still to a minimum the resulting lavender or lavandin oils exhibit a fine odor, and a higher ester content than the oils produced in the old type of steam stills. Guatemala Beautiful and picturesque Guatemala offers a striking example of the pos- sibilities and limitations of essential oil production in Latin America. In Guatemala this industry made a modest beginning in 1930, when the banana plantations of the late Ren6 Keilhauer were practically destroyed by sigatoka and hurricanes, and when he planted citronella and lemongrass