Daily Kennebec journal., 1883-05-04
Mlisfellar,egus.
Sweets to the Sweet.
A PERrUMER's ACCOUNT OF THE ODoRoUs
OCCUPATION.

smell OF that" said Syracuse per-
tuner, at his place Of business. He pull
ed the cork from a big bottle containing
the tincture of ambergris and rubbed it
upon the back of the reporters hand.
THE basis from which that tincture is
made" he said, ''came from sick whale.
1t doesn't smell very pleasant, but, when
combined with other things. it makes a
sweet perfume
You got that stuff from a sick whale ?"
the reporter asked.
why, yes." said the perfumer. 1T
is morbid secretion OF the liver of the
whale, and is principally found floating
upon the seas of warm climates, inter
mixed with the remains of the food of
whales. When of good quality it is of a
bright gray color. streaked with black
and yellow, 80 soft that it may be fiattened
with the finger. Persons 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 it would
seem to be product of disease. II is
found in Jumps weighing from one pound
to 20 or 80 pounds, and is worth So an
ounce or twice as much as gold"
do you use it in the manufacture OF
perfumes?''
Yes, I'll tell you how. In the first
place, it costs $1,000 to manufacture one
ounce OF perfume. That is to say, man
who wishes to 60 into the business will
nave to lay out about that sum to start.
There are SIX flowers which are used in
the work-the bases Of all pertumes-vio-
lets. cassia, rose, tuberose. jasmine and
orange flowers. These flowers are grown
in France, except the violets, which are
raised in northern Italy. They are pluck
ed and threwn into long pans filled with
suet, which is just hot enough to keep it
melted. The flowers are left in that way
"a hours, when the suet is drawn off and
treated to another batch of flowers. This
process is continued for 20 or 80 days, I'M
til 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 a filter.
The suet is thus kept apart, and have the
pure flower perfume. 1t is very sweet
and delicate. but when exposed to the air
it soon loses its strength. Therefore we
combine it with what are called the fixing
ingredients, which hold the odors and the
essential oils.
Take my Minnehaha perfume. for in
stance. To make that have two large
vessels. Into one put the flower wash
ings of tuberose, rose and violet. To
these ! add the tincture OF tonca, vanilla,
ambergris. musk, civet and tolu. This
mixture is thoroughly shaken. In the
other vessel put the essential oils-orris,
altar of roses. rose geranium, neroli, lang
lang and patchculy. These oils are cut
with cologne spirits. The contents of both
vessels are then put together and thor
oughly mixed. The substance is after
wards filtered and then allowed to stand
a month to get age. 1t is then ready for
the market.
The perfumer's artistic work is in
studying the affinities and blending the
scents. as painter does his colors. Some
idea of the magnitude of the business of
raising sweet scented flowers for their per-
fumes alone may be gathered from the
fact that Europe and British India alone
consume about l50.0 gallons of hand
kerchief perfume yearly; that the Eng
lish revenue from French eau de cologne
OF itself is $4,000 annually. and the total
revenue of England from other imported
perfumes is estimated at 100000 each
year. There is one great perfume distil-
lery at Cannes. in France. which uses
yearly l00,0O pounds acacia flowers, 49,
900 pounds of jasmine blossoms,
together with an immense quantity
OF other material necessary tor
perfume. Victoria. in New South
Wales. is noted place for the production
OF perfume-yielding plants, because such
plants rs the mignonette, sweet verbena,
Jasmine, rose, lavender, acacia, heliotrope,
rosemary, wall flower. laurel, grange and
the sweet scented geranium are said to
grow there in greater perfection than in
any part of the world. An acre of jasmine
plants. $4,000 iIr number. will produce
5000 pounds of flowers, valued at 81, ,2j0 /;
an acre of rose trees, 10000 in number.
will yield 2000 pounds of flowers, worth
1915 800 orange trees. growing on an
acre. will yield at 10 years of age, 2000
pounds of flowers. valued at $3.50; an acre
of violets, producing 1900 pounds of flow
ers, is worth $500; an acre of cassia trees,
about 300, will. at three years of age,
yield 900 pounds OF flowers, worth $3.50;
an acre of ofgeranium plants will yieltH6me-
thing over 2000 ounces of distillN altar,
worth $4,000, and an acre of Law hder. CIV
ing over $500 pounds of flowers for distil-
lation. will yield a value OF $500.
why is it that America cannot make
as good perfumes as the old country? p
the reporter asked.
Because he replied. lin France the
manufacturers get their odors directly from
the flower, while Aparican are obliged to
import the odors.ip The pomades. When
this country begins to raise its own flow
ers, l don1 know any reason why we can t