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

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN ESSENTIAL OILS 311 instead. Soon, however, it became apparent that the Guatemalan oils could not compete with those from the Far East, which were at that time produced with coolie labor and offered at abnormally low prices (substan- tially below $1.00 per pound). It was only with the outbreak of World War II that the situation changed fundamentally and became most favorable for the producers in Guatemala. Java, until then the principal supplier of citronella oil, was conquered by Japan, and general shipping difficulties interrupted the arrival of lemongrass oil from East India. Prices of both oils rose to an all-time high of about $5.00 per pound on the American mar- ket, and many landowners in Guatemala went into the cultivation and dis- tillation of citronella and lemongrass, with a large production of both oils. The boom lasted for some years after the war even as late as 1951 Guate- mala produced more than 1,300,000 pounds of citronella oil. Then, all of a sudden and quite unexpectedly, Formosa appeared on the world market as a very heavy supplier of citronella oil, and this at prices absolutely ruinous to the Guatemalan growers. In 1953 production of citronella oil in Guate- mala fell to about 150,000 pounds, with the once beautifully kept fields falling into neglect and overgrown with weeds. A similar, though not quite so drastic, development took place with lemongrass oil, despite the fact that the Guatemalan oils were of selected and guaranteed quality, shipped by The Essential Oil Producers' Association in Guatemala. At the same time the growers suffered grievously from the "agrarian reforms" enacted by the pro-communist government of President Arbenz. One law, for example, permitted agricultural laborers to take over and subdivide any land that was not under actual cultivation. As a result aggressive and misled peons invaded fields planted with lemongrass and burned down the crop simply to claim the land as not under cultivation. It was a reign of intimidation and terror. Wages of farm labor increased to such an extent that produc- tion became entirely unprofitable. Owners no longer dared to visit their own plantations weeds and insect pests (spittle bugs) inv,tded the fields, and the productivity of the once well-managed citronella and lemongrass plantings declined sharply. Some large plantations were burned, many were abandoned. Fortunately the situation took a turn for the better in 1954, with the overthrow of the Arbenz reign. Landowners could once more look after their fields, and at the same time prices of both oils on the world market rose substantially, allowing the producers a fair profit. Under these circum- stances many new citronella and lemongrass plantings were started in 1955 with a substantial crop coming in this year (1956). Guatemala offers good possibilities for the production of tropical essen- tial oils, provided that prices on the world market are sufficiently high to encourage landowners to go into this sort of venture. Otherwise, they will grow other more profitable crops.