Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-04-04
AMONG THE SWEETS.
PcrfumeF Gives Some ssPOints'' i'm
Regard 60 a Peculiar Business

A PcrfumeF Gives Some ssPOints'' i'm
Regard 60 a Peculiar Business
From the Syracuse Herald.
Smell OF that" said perfumer, at his place
of business. He pulled the cork from a big
bottle containing the tincture of smbergris and
rubbed it upon the back Of the reporters hand.
The basis from which that tincture is made, I"
he said, came from q sick whale. II doesn't
smell very pleasant. but, when combined with
other things. it makes a sweet perfume"
''You got that stuff from q sick whale;" the
reporter asked.
ing as he smiled. at is a morbid secretion Of
the liver OF the whale. and is principally found
hoating upon the seas OF warm climates. inter
mixed with the remains OF the food OF whales
When Of good quality 1t is OF bright gray
color. streaked with black and yellow, 30 soft
that it may be lattened with the finger Per-
sons engaged in whale fishing look for ambergris
In the intestines Of the spermaceti whale and
are most successful In those that appear
torpid, sick and lean; whence 1t would seem to
be product Of disease. 1t Is found in Jumps
Weighing from one pound to twenty or thirty
pounds. and lie worth sS2 an ounce, or twice as
much as gold"
"Do you use it In the manufacture of per-
fumes?"
"Yes; TIL tell you how In the first place. 1t
costs 81, 500 to manufacture one ounce Of per
fume. That's to say, man who wishes to 60
into the business will have to lay out about
that sum to start. There are six flowers which
are used in the work-the bases of all per-
fulnes-violet. cassa, rose, tuberose Jasmine
and orange flowers. These flowers are grown
In France. except the violets which are raised
In northern Italy. They are plucked and thrown
into long pans filed with suet. which is kept
just hot enough to keep IT melted. The flowers
are left in that way for "a hours, when the suet
treated a another hatch
flowers. This process ia continued for 20 or
so days, until the strength required has been
attained. 1t Is then put into cans. and in
that shape is sent to this country. They are
called pomades. / take these pomades and
cut them with cologne spirits. | then freeze the
substance and run it through filter. The suet
is thus kept apart, and L have the pure flower
perfume. 1t Is very sweet and delicate, but when
exposed to the air 1t soon loses its strength.
Therefore we combine 1t with what are called
the fixing ingredients which hold the odors and
the essential oils. Take my Mnnehaha per-
fume, for instance. To make that l have two
large vessels. Into one put the flower wash
ings Of tuber0se, rose and violet. To these L
musk. civet and tolu. This mixture is thor
oughly shaken. In the other vessels l put
the essential Oils-orris. altar Of roses, rose
geranium. nerOli, langlang and patchouly.
These oils are cut with cologne spirits. The
contents of both vessels are then put together
and thoroughly mixed The substance is after
wards filtered, and then allowed to stand for q
Vonth to get age. 1t is then ready for the mar
ket.
The perfumer's artistic work is in studying
the affinities and blending the scents as a
painter does his cOlors. Some idea of the mag
ntude of the business Of raising sweet-scented
flowers for their perfumes alone may be gath
cred from the fact that Europe and British
India alone consume about 10000 gallons of
handkerchief perfume yearly; that the English
revenue from French eau de cologne of itself is
$4,000 annually, and the total revenue of Eng
land from other imported perfumes is estimated
at S2000O0 each year. There is .ona
great perfume distillery at Cannes. in
pounds acacia flowers, 10000 pounds
of rare flower leaves, 1900 pound Of
jasmine blossoms together with an immense
quantity of other material necessary for per-
fume. Victoria, in New South Wales, Is anoted
place for the production of perfume yielding
plants because such plants as the mignonette
sweet yerbena, jasmine, rose. lavender, acacia,
heliotrope, rosemary. wall flower, laurel. orange
and the sweet scented geranum are said to grow
there in greater perfection than in any other
$4,000 in number, will produce 5000 pounds OF
flowers, valued at 81 $50; an acre of rose trees
pounds of flowers, worth 1875; 800
orange trees, growing on an acre. will
yield. at 10 years Of age. 1000 pounds Of flow
ducing 900 pounds Of flowers, is worth $500;
all acre Of cassia trees. about 800 will, at 3
years Of age. yield 800 pounds Of flowers, worth
$3.50; an acre of geranium plants will yield some
thing over 900 ounces Of distilled altar worth
$4,000, and an acre Of lavender giving over
$500 pounds of flowers for distillatiOn, will
yield value Of 81 500"
why Is it that America cannot make as
good perfumes as the old country" the reporter
asked
Because" he replied, Sin France the man.
flower. while Americans are obliged to import
the odOrs in the pOmades. When this country
begins to raise its own flowers, don't know
any reason why we can't make just as good per-
fume as does Lubin."