Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1872-06-20
Something About Perfumes.
BY L. G. COOLEY. Ph. d.

Gremio, it is said, had occasion to
send papers to Blanca. He directed
that they should be well perfumed, for.
said he, "She is s,veeter than perfume
itself" In another play, entitled King
John, Shakespeare makes Constance
speak to Death, and lets her call him
thou od0rifrous STENCIL" You will
notice that Gremi0 was thinking of
pleasant things and that he calls the
scent perfume. while Constance
thinking OF that most unpleasant of all
things, uses the word odor in describ.
ing it. From this can you not guess
the difference between the meanings of
the words perfume and odor. A per-
fume is an odor, but not every odor is
a perfume.
I cannot tell you who made the first
perfume, nor how long since he did it.
it was most likely q Persian, for per-
fumes seem to have come first from
Persia. But he would not have been
called a Persian at the time, because it
was when that country was called Elan
before it took it's present name. The
first makers of perfumes were Elan
ties. With camels laden.with odors of
sweet scents the ancient trader from
Elan crossed the desert to Egypt. You
remember in the story of Joseph that
the 1shmaelites, to whom his brothers
solo him, were merchants going to
Egypt, carrying spices, and balm, and
myrrah. Joseph then became a part of
their sweet scented merchandise. 1t
was the custom in those very early
days, as it is among us now, to adorn
the home with boquets of beautiful
and fragrant flowers. Then, as now,
the most beautiful colors quickly fad
ed and the pleasant fragrance soon
vanished, but those who, loved these
things learned how by destroying one
to preserve the other, and make t the
work of their lives to spoil the beauty
Of flowers, in order to get and preserve
their perfumes.
The substances from which perfume
are made do not all come from flowers !;
IL few are obtained from animals. So
numerous are the perfumes given by
plants that to read list of their names
would be tiresome; so few are those
given by animals that their names may
be read al q glance; they aie musk,
civit, and ambergris. Far away, among
the mountain ranges OF Siberl, oil
Thibet and of China there lives the
musk deer, from which musk is obtain.
cd. In Malabar the civet cat is found
which furnishes clvet to the perfumer,
and, floating on the sea, near the coasts
small scally masses, of grey color, some.
Lmes streaked with yellow or black,
arc found, which are thought to have
come from the whale this substance
is called ambergris.
ces are the strongest of perfumes.
Even very little of either of these
good things would be too much. To
be pleasant, very little must he used
at ono time. A single grain in weight,
would scent the air of a parlor quite
perceptibly for century. When left
in the air, little particles fly from il
and scatter themselves around in great
profusion, AMI then when the air il
breathed they go with it into the lungs.
On their way thither, they strike
against the delicate membrane of the
air passages in the nose. These little
blows effect no bruises, but they cause
us to experience a pleasant odor. What
hosts of these little particles must be
all the time flying INTO the air from
the grain of musk and yet, after two
years, it is said, the musk is still q
grain having lost as little of it's sub.
stance that the balance of the chemist
can scarcely detect it. The most Gle.
giant perfumes are obtained from flow
crs. The beauty of a rose, how fleet
ing cit withers and dies in an hour. u
Its fragrance how lasting! Caught by
the skilltul perfumer,it may be impris-
oned for years, and when afterward re.
heved, it will leap into the air and lin
ger for days to impart delightful per-
fume to the atmosphere.
Some large parts of the south OF
France are almost wholly given to the