The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1871-07-20
How Perfumes are Made.

Mr.. Snively, in Appletons' Journal de-
scribes the methods Of extracting the per-
fumes from flowers, by distillation, mac
Grafton, and what the French call etneu-
9uge, this being the ABSORPTION OF per-
fumes by oil, lard or suet, upon which
| the flowers are placed. He goes on to
correct misrepresentation frequently en-
tertained about the ''wonderful'' results
OF modern chemistry in the artificial pro-
duction of olors. A recent writer on this
subject states that, ''to produce perfumes,
| neither gums nor flowers, earthly deposits
nor animal secretions. are necessary.
Scents of roses, aromas OF lonqullS, per-
| fumes of Vanilla and odors OF vlolets,
| acacias, and iasmines. are now obtained
| from substances associated only with dis
| gushing smells" This wholesale state
ment needs an immense deal of qualiiica-
| ton. to reconcile il to the facts of the case.
| 1t is true that few of the coarser essen
tial oils have been closely initiated by al
titicial compounds; but only one has
| been made practically available, namely,
| nitro -benzole, the ''artifcial essential oil
of almonds,'' formed blythe action OF nj
| tric acid on benzole or naptha, and ii is
| merely a near approach to the true al
cesstully counterfeited; but the best inn
ltations are in general easily distin-
guishable from the genuine by even an
| unskilled faster. Great ingenuity has
been exercised to form a substitute for
the costly vanila-bcan, whose flavor
has SO mnav lovers; but still fails to do
| more than suggest admiXtures of SINH
lar tlavors already provided by Ma
ture. Chemistry does wonders; but the
products OF the secret workings of vital
force in the organic world are so tar in
imitable, and probably ever will be. The
author, quoted above, also revives the
''cow-house story" which had its origin,
years ago, in the fact that benzoic acid, a
substance occasionally used by perfllmers.
could be obtained from the drainage of sta
bles. Those who make this statement, ig-
more the fact when benzolc :tcId is employ
ed as a perfume, it is true substance sublim-
ed from gum benzoin, containinga portion
Of volatile oil, and not the artiticially OBJ
tanned articles. 1t is not pleasant to
imagine our eau deS mlYt-feuS TO have
for its essential ingredients some mysteri
Gus substances procured from stable-dran
ings, and it is gratifying to be able TO
state that this mixture, as usually com
pounded, is entirely free from such 4 sus-
picion, as it contains no henzoic acid
whatever
Real yiolets, growing on the sunny
slopes Of Nice, distilled in their azure
hearts the subtitle essence that delights
Your senses. Groves of orange-trees bring
forth countless snowy blossoms, whose
fragrant breaths refresh you in your eau
de Cologne. Broad acres tecming with
unnumbered thousands of royal rose-trees
We're titled to produce the fragrant altar,
which has made a Journey halfway round
the world TO add its treasures to your
store of sweets. The
''-timid jasmine-buds that keep
Their odors to themselves all day;
But when the sunlight dies away,
Let their delicious secret ont;
fragrant tuberoses, and
'Cassia, sweet to SMELL"
swell the list of materials from which
'Are sweetest odors made"
The sweets, of course, need frequent
almiXtures with the much abused though
always really popular musk, with amber
girls, or even with civet, which is far from
pleasant in its concentrated natural state
but these are all things which though dis
agreeable to some, are acceptable to many
when properly presented, and scarcely
give ground for such illusions as we have
mentioned above