RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN ESSENTIAL OILS ½ 319 agricultural cooperative of the federated type which now markets about 75 per cent of the total volume of shipments of fresh citrus fruit from Cali- fornia. The function of Sunkist Growers is to protect its members against losses by overproduction and speculation, and to assure the consuming public of a regular supply of fresh fruit at reasonable prices. The coopera- tive has succeeded in developing excellent marketing techniques, and in solving problems for its member growers. Moreover, Sunkist Growers has shown what can be accomplished through extensive research in nutritional by-products, through popularizing and stimulating the demand for these products, and through improving means of production. In 1955 the total sales value of all fresh fruit and numerous frozen, canned and other citrus products marketed by Sunkist Growers was about $167,- 000,000. The organization now comprises about 12,500 individual growers in California and Arizona, with approximately 200,000 acres under cultiva- tion. In addition to more than 150 fresh fruit packing plants, Sunkist Growers owns and operates processing plants in Ontario and Lindsay, California, and Tempe, Arizona. The two plants in California are devoted to the processing of oranges, the plant in Arizona largely to the processing of grapefruit. At Corona and Covina, California, the organization proc- esses lemons. As regards essential oils, California now produces approximately 500,000 pounds of coldpressed sweet orange oil per year (about 75 per cent of this by Sunkist Growers), 750,000 to 1,000,000 pounds of coldpressed lemon oil (75 to 80 per cent of this by Sunkist Growers), and 30,000 to 40,000 pounds of coldpressed grapefruit oil (about 50 per cent of this by Sunkist Growers). Production of distilled oils varies greatly, with demand. The essential oils supplied by Sunkist Growers have long enjoyed a reputation for excellent quality because they are handled with the utmost care: every batch is analyzed, and large bulkings assure a supply of uni- form quality throughout the year, advantages not yet offered by other. pro- ducers in California and elsewhere. Above all, citrus oils marketed by Sunkist Growers carry a guarantee of purity, a guarantee backed by the strict Government control exercised over every phase of operation in the processing plants of this prominent agricultural organization. (2) Florida offers certain advantages over California in so far as orange and grapefruit are concerned--among them availability of land at reason- able prices for new plantations and ease of irrigation, with water drawn from the countless fresh water lakes. Small wonder then that production of orange and grapefruit has increased enormously in Florida, by far exceeding that of California. Production of the oils, too, is heavy esti- mates for 1955 are about 1,200,000 pounds for orange oil, 20,000 pounds for grapefruit oil, 5000 pounds for tangerine oil and 1000 pounds for lime oil (Persian or Tahiti type). Conditions for lemons, however, are less favor-

320 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS able in Florida because they cannot be grown easily in the warm andl humid climate, at least not as an edible fruit. Lemon scab attacks thel skin, causing disfiguration and making the fruit unsuitable for the freshl fruit market. Nevertheless, considerable effort is being made at the pres-i ent time to "top-work" surplus grapefruit groves, with a view to producingI lemons suitable for industrial purposes at least. In their competition with] California, the citrous canneries of Florida have always suffered from a lackl of lemon products. It is possible that ultimately this disadvantage will overcome, at least in part. For example, about 1000 acres of lemons havel recently been planted on rough lemon stock near Babson Park. These• groves conslit of Avon lemons and of the Sicilian type of lemon. However, I the undulating land near Babson Park is much exposed to frost, whichl would be disastrous to lemons. Aside from these 1000 acres there are many i small lemon plantings, also totaling about 1000 acres, in various parts ofl Florida, and additional groves are being laid out at the present time, partly by "top-working" old grapefruit trees. Altogether there will be from 2500 to 3000 acres of lemons in Florida, coming into full production in about five years, and yielding from 300 to 500 boxes of fruit per acre. B. Peppermint Oil (Mentha piperira). The first commercial pepper- mint plantations in the United States were started about 1816 in Wayne County, New York. Toward the middle of the last century the young industry moved to the Midwest (Michigan and Indiana), where it became well established. Shortly before the first world war the peppermint indus- try made another move westward, to Oregon and western Washington. More recently it has expanded to eastern Washington State and eastern Oregon. Today there are three major areas in the United States, each producing a somewhat different type of peppermint oil: (1) Midwestern States (Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin). The mid- western oils still exhibit the finest quality and are most highly esteemed. Unfortunately, however, mint wilt (I/erticillium albo-atrum R. & B.), a fungus disease against which no effective remedy has been found yet, has done much damage to the plantings. The average annual yield of oil per acre has fallen off substantially: in 1955 it was 30 pounds in Indiana, 20 pounds in Michigan and 40 pounds in Wisconsin--hence cost of oil produc- tion is high. The 1955 total production of peppermint oil in Indiana was 288,000 pounds, in Michigan 128,000 pounds and in Wisconsin also 128,000 pounds, with a total production in the Midwest of 544,000 pounds (182). (2) Far Western States west of the Cascade Mountains (western Oregon and to a small extent western Washington). Growing conditions in the Willamette Valley near the lower Columbia River are favorable in general, and facilitated by the abundance of water for irrigation, which is by over- head sprinklers. The quality of the oil has been good, depending of course