Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1885-07-23
TOILET PERFUMES.
The Tribrfe Paid by the Land and
Sea-Rose Culture in the French
San Francisco Chronicle.

| san FRANCISCO chronicle.
I'VE have to depend upon every
country IN the world for the various
component parts of perfumery," saiC
manufacturer of toilet preparation:
to Chronicle reporter recently.
'How is that?" asked his visitor
whose nostrils were inflated with the
numerous pungent odors that filleo
the atmosphere of the perfumer's Of
fee.
'Well, for instance, there is amber
girls, which comes from the diseased
stomach of the sperm whale, in the
Indian Ocean. This substance enters
largely in the manufacture of per-
fumes, and we are dependent upon
Boston for our supply. A whaler who
finds a whale with a small tumor in
his stomach is assured of a small for
tune, as ambergri1 IS worth $50 an
ounce, and the tumors are generally
by no means small. From the Flow
cry Kingdom, Or at least from Ton
quin, we obtain our musk, which
comes from a cyst of the animal call
ed the musk. This cyst or bag con
tains an oily colored matter, which
is the true musk, one of the strongest
odors or perfumes in nature Many
people suppose that the musk perfume
is made from the musk rose, but the
suppositi@n is incorrect. We get the
oil of ylang ylang fro N Manila. The
Hover Of tDis plant is SO fragrant that
the natives there place one III their
te'bans, which is sufficient to per-
fume them for an entire year The
ylang-ylang is the queen of flowers
and the oil from it was made original
ly by the early missionaries in the
philippine Islands. Now, however,
the business is very extensive. Ceylon
is prolific in rare and fragrant per-
fumes and it is a fact well known
among navigators there that when the
wind is blowing from the shore de-
licious odors can be noticed by people
on vessels Fifty miles out at sea.
From the southern states we obtain
the white ash, which is so pungent
that bough of it brushed over q
snake will cause it to become torpid.
Turkey furnishes us with the altar of
roses, which is a highly favored con-
crete, obtained from the petals of
roses. India also furnishes some, but
the Turkey product is the best. II is
worth about $22 per ounce, but has
been much more expensive, at times
years ago retailing at 81 drop.
When the temperature gets below As
degrees Fahrenheit, the altar of roses
crystalliZes in the most beautiful man
ner. Ne roll is the essential oil of the
choisest petals of the orange flower,
being very expensive. We get this
from the large orange districts in
Upper Italy and Southern France,
From distant Siam we obtain benzoin.
which is a resinous juice that flows
from incisions made in the Styrax
benzoin, a tree that grows in Siam
and on the Island Of Sumatra. This is
solid and brittle, and comes to us in
yellowish white tears, joined together
by brown substance. It has an all
most imperceptible taste, but when
rubbed or heated is extremely fra
grant and agreeable. The Siamese
benzoin is the most expensive and
delicate, that from Sumatra being
more pungent. England supplies us
with the finest oil Of lavender, which
comes from a small place called Nit
cham, and is worth $65 pound. An
inferior quality is obtained in France
for $40 a pound, but there is no coma
parison between the two oils. The
tonquin bean comes from Guiana,
and has d peculiar agreeable smell.
1t is used IN combination with essen
tial oils TO make lasting perfume
The rose is, of course, one of the lead
ing flowers from which perfume is
obtained, and from France and Tur>
key we get the largest quantities of
those leaves. French roses are the
best and most expensive. The cen>
tifolla, or hundred leaved rose, is the
most fragrant. 70 give yoA some idea
of the extent Of the business or rose
culture in France, ] have only to
state that 100000 pounds of rose
leaves are gathered annually in the
French Alps. It takes 1000 pou nds
of rose leaves to make one and one
half ounces Of rose oil, and the oil is
worth about 1900 francs pound. In
the south of France they also gather
annually over 5000, 900 pounds of
orange blossoms. Whole communi-
ties are engaged in the business, which
is the only way it can be made to pay.
Cassia, the blossom of the cinnamon
tree, comes from the East Indies, and
is sometimes used as substitute for
violet, when the latter is scarce. The
tube rose also comes from the East
Iudles, the bitter orange from the
northern districts of Italy, and so on.
Every country sends sone kind of a
contribution to u.s."
''How are these oils, essences and
favors sent to you2"
''SoR1e come in bottles others in
the form of powder and some in
grease. What do [ mean by grease2
Well, I'll tell you and show you.
Come up stairs with me-"
Upon entering the chemists room
the reporter was shown about doz-
en- large tin vessels tightly covered.
The lid of one was removed and a
strong odor arose from the milky
mass Of oleaginous matter within.
Resuming the conversion, the chem
ist said: