The Cairo daily bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1870-1872, 1872-10-20

'criais IorHs principal branch
of industry in this district, giving
employment to upward of ten thousand
people, including many women and
children, for whom the work of culling
flowers and picking off the stocks is
particularly suitable.
The prices of flowers vary considera.
bly,. The average is about eight to
sixteen cents per pound in our money
for roses, which seem to be about the
cheapest while the more expensive
flowers, such as tuberoses, violets, and
cassie, range as high as seventy five
cents.
Some idea of tie INNER Sc quantity
used for perfumery purposes in this 10.
cality alone, can be gained from the
knowledge Of the fact that upward Of
1000, 900 pounds Of orange flowers,
worth s250,O00, are consumed, while
of the other flowers the amount varies
from 10000 to 10000 pounds yearly.
The odors and essential oils are
gathered from flowers and fruits by
many different methods. For instance,
orange, lemon, and citron-peel are
placed in press, and by mere mechan.
ical action, made to yield up the es-
sentia oil which resides in the small
pellicle in the riud.
Many of the more delicate odors are
so volatile that the use of heat, as in
distillation or maceration, spoils them
1t Is, therefore, necessary to conduct
the process cold. Possibly, the gross
est material matter of which
we have any notion is fat, and the most
spiritual, the delicate odors of flowers.
That two such very different matters,
if we may use the word, should have
any affinity to each other does not at
first appear natural; but when we re.
member the large proportion of carbon
in tat, and that carbon has an especial
power ofabsorbing all gases and essences,
we get at the rationale, Of the alb
sorption or enHowerage process. The
odors so liable to escape ON the applica-
ton Of heat are very effectually
trapped and secured in the following
manner Square wooden frames about
three inches deep are filled with glass
bottoms, about two feet wide and a yard
long. Over the glass thin layer of
fat is spread with spatula. Upon
this bed the flowers, the odors of which
are to be absorbed, are spread thickly
and are allowed to remain from twelve
to seventy two hours. These chasses
en- GER, as they are called, are made to
fit one upon the other, aud in some
large houses thousands may be seen
thus piled, silently at work securing
the odors. The flowers are continually
changed throughout the season, and in
the end the fat is completely saturated
with their perfume. Thus the finer
scented pomatums are made but when
it is required to secure the perfume as
an essence, the fat thus saturated with
perfume is cut into small cubes an.
placed in spirit, which speedily steals
back, by its greater attraction, the odor
from the hydro carbon.
HOW TO MAKE PoMADE.
The author of an amusing and in
structive work on periumery asks why
ladies should not cultivate flowers for
their scent as well as for their color.
and he suggests means of obtaining
heliotrope pomade which any person
may put in practice. An ordinary glue
pot, made thoroughly clean, is in fact
balm Marie on small scale. Place in
the pot a pound of fine lard, and when
the heliotrope flowers are in season,
throw them into the clarified Eat. Place
the glue pot near the fire of the green
house, SO as just to liquify the lard.
Let the flowers remain in the liquid for
twenty four hours, strain the fat from
the spent flowers, and go on repeating
the operation for a week the result
will be a pomade a Ia heliotrope. This
pomade can be made into an extract by
the odorous fat in highly rec
titled spirits. In this manner young
lady may make her own perfumes, and
SO get them pure which is far from be-
ing the case at present. Let US take
extract Of heliotrope, for instance, as
it is sold in the shops. There is not
one particle OF the flower in it vanilla,
French rose, orange flowers, ambergris.
and the essential oil Of almonds, mixed
together in certain proportions, make
the imitation known by the name of
extract Of heliotrope. Other perfumes
are couuterfeited in the same manner.
Sweet-pea is initiated by mixture of
rose and orange-howers magnolia
with tube,rose, orange flower, and
dash Of lemon, etc. Indeed, some of
the odors in use are made from the
most repulsive smelling substances.
For instance, there is the artificial altar
Of almonds, which is made from ben
zole, or tar-oil. Extracts of myrtle,
narcissus, lily of the valley, and several
others, are all innocent of containing
the odor of the perfume, they are made
to represent.
The number of flowers used for per.
fumery purposes has hitherto been lin
tied to seven, namely, rose, jasmine,
orange, violet, jonquil, tuberose, and
cassie. Out Of these flowers four only |
are distilled and yield essential oils
rose, jasmine, orange, and cassie.
Orange flowers produce what is called
4