SOME ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF PERFUMERY 313 It is therefore necessary to understand that, considering the costs of research and of production development of a truly original product and the legal possibility of continuing its production in spite of patent demands by third parties, the industry is not obliged to divulge the nature of such products by way of patents. It is clear that analytical facilities are constantly improving but it is well to reflect that there is often a great deal of work and expense between identifying a new substance and being able to produce it economically and consistently. It is not possible to establish a general rule for or against the dis- closure of a new product. Each case must be considered on its own merits. THE LECTURER: I accept your observation unreservedly. I am sure if I were in your position I would have very similar feelings. Nevertheless, it is a pity that so much has to remain concealed and one wonders whether some kind of agreement could be reached between leading manufacturers which might enable the pooling of a certain amount of the less vital in- formation with a consequent rationalisation of production. Seeing the matter from my side of the fence I have often suspected that several different concerns were manufacturing the same secret chemicals unknown to each other. DR. 3/[. H. KLOUWEN : I agree completely with you that the olfactive judgement should be of primary importance. But in many cases support for this opinion can be found in chemical or physical analysis. Experiments carried out by the Institute of Horticultural Plant Breeding (I.V.T., Wageningen, Netherlands) showed that the yield of oil of Angelica archangelica roots could be significally improved by way of selection [De Bruyn, J. W., Elzenga, G., and Keuls, M., Euphytica 3 147 (1954)]. The content of pentadecanolide, olfactively the most important constituent of the oil, was at the same time correspondingly decreased. THE LECTURER: I think your question illustrates a problem which very frequently arises in plant selection. If one seeks to improve one factor, in this case the yield, one almost invariably finds that another factor is adversely affected. I am not myself a large user of Angelica and do not know what precise characteristics are most sought after in this oil. The pentadecanolide content must be of importance since it is indeed a very beautiful substance but since it may be purchased at quite an economically acceptable price it seems to me that the other constituents of oil of Angelica are probably, in aggregate, more important. One would have to examine the oils obtained by plant selection to see whether some other characteristics

314 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS besides the pentadecanolide content had been adversely affected. If this were not so, then plant selection would have achieved the desired object. MR. J. G. J. KOK: As far as we know geranyl riglate has never been identified as such in geranium oil [Gildemeister, E. and Hoffmann, F. Die iitherischen Ole V 374 (1959).•. In our opinion the oilactive qualities of the ester are not such that its presence in geranium oil would be of decisive influence on the total odour of the oil. THE LECTURER: I listed a number of materials the use of which might be responsible for progress within the industry. Let me say at once that if I had been aware of the work on 11-oxahexadecanolide I would certainly have included it, since it appears to be one of the most interesting develop- ments with musk odours which has yet been produced. I do not think the identification of geranyl figlate in natural geranium oil is fundamental to the point I am making, which is the broad one that success in the use of new chemicals is most easily achieved if these bear a close relation to materials already present in natural oils. I think this entitles me to include ethyl linalol, for example. As to the oilactive qualities of the material, I am much in the hands of the suppliers. Of two samples of geranyl figlate which we examined, one, from an American source, appeared to us to be very much the finer, and we have established, on an experimental basis, a small number of applications for it.