Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1886-06-17
SHIFTS or SWEETNESS.
Facts About Perfumes. Natural and Fictitious
Fugitive Flower Odor>,
Boston Times


Choice perfumes may be considered
as belonging 10 three classes the 500
called bouquet perfumes, those that are
the simple odors of the flowers whose
names they bear, and those that 10y deli
cate art snploy such combinations and
blendIngs of various odors as together
simulate perfectly the perfume of some
particular flower the real odur Of which
is so eyanosceut and delicate that il can
not be caught and fixed by amy process
vet known to science. OF the first Of
these. the representative one that most
readily occurs to my mind ~ present, is
the Edna that have already mentioned
among the classes The inventor of that
perfume was no less than nine years i'm
bringing it TO perfection, and when it was
done he was SO Justly enthusiastic over il
that he declared that in il art was glon-
fled and nature eclipsed. All these bou-
quet perfumes are made by various blend
ings of the result Of the euheurage proc
ess the extract odOrs of violet jasmine,
tuberose, rose, orange flower, and cassie
together with musk oil of rose, oil of
ylangylang, and ambergris as n txateur,
One or another of these may be left out
of a special blending. but that is the open
field for selection. The enileurage pro-
cess consists in exposing clarified grease,
thinly spread on glass frames, to the pres
ence of the flowers, until il has taken
their odor from them. That is done by
manufacturer in the valley of the Var,
in the south of France, where vast fields
of understanding flowers are grown for
this purpose Alcohol afterwnrd takes
up all the perfume from the grease, and
the perfumed alcohol is what is used in
making the extracts for the toilet II ia
in the grease from that the perfumes are
imported to this country. Other fxrtcurs
than that which have mentioned are en-
ployed, such as gum benzoin and gum
tolo. The province Of ambergris is TO
blend and develop perfumes, to give
them a homcgeneity as IL We're. its ma
tura smell is not pleasant being more
more like that of a damp cellar than any
thing else. II is found in the spcrmacet
whale, rs an indication of an abnormal
and unhealthful condition of that crea-
ture, and is supposed To- be q product Of
of Indigestion Nevertheless IL is re-.
quieito for the perfumer. and nothing else
can take its place.
Doubtless the incest art of the prefu-
mer is shown in the perfect stimulation Of
the odors OF certain flowers, the real per
fumc of which cannot be caught Such
q flower, for instance, is the lily of the
valley; yet here is perfume named after
that flower, the eutraucingly sweet odor
of which is the perfect reproduction of
natures work. 20 fan rs the smell goes.
The reproduction Of such "a simulant per
fume is sometimes the work Of years.
u can only be carried on when the ioW-
ers themselves are in perfection for pur-
poses Of comparison. for a scent can no
more be accurately remembered than Il
can be Analysed And even when the
time IS propitious the artist compoundcr
must often lay aside his work for days
together. because his olfactories grow
weary. temporarily Initiated, and unreia-
BILE. Two Of our most delightfully."- sweet
flowers that grow upon our continent
the magnolia and the tea olive of Georgia
and Alabama. have never yet been per
fectly simulated ia perfume. though they
have been the iect- of almost count
les experiments Again and again the
exact Odors have been caught and lost
again the moment that the necessary
fxateurs for retaining them were added
to the alcoholic compounds. OF course
they viii be won some day. but when they
DO they will have been well earned