The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1888-03-14
Flower Farming for Perfumery. ~Tvz
From the New Orleans Picayune.

From the New Orleans Picayune. =
A correspondent INQUIRIES from Patterson
vile az to the processes for making ex-
tracts from flowers for the purposes Of per
fUmery, with the probable cost of 6ppa.
ratus for use in the premises. s4s-S ..ssx
The manufacture OF floral extracts ard
essence is not difficult, although, Of course.
q practical knowledge of the business is in.
dispenssble. The perfumes OF flowers exist
in the form of volatile essential oils which
are extracted by two principal methods
The first is by distilliDg the blossoms in
water. The apparatus ls simple, Q small
copper still holding few gallons and fur
niEhed with o receiver to De immersed in
cold water 10 condeDse the steam or vapor
which contains the oil, being sll that is re-
quired. Such a still may De ordered
through reliable druggist or made by
local coppersmith at probable cost of
from $50 10 800, depending on size. The
extract thus obtained will have 10 he re-
distilled several times 10 concentrate il,
and care must be taken that the degree OF
heat used shall be only sufficient TO accom-
plish the distillation, as any excess of tenn
peJature would damage the delicate odors
There are many flowers, such as the leg
samine, tuberose and violet, which will
not yield their perfumes TO the 6istilIer
They must be procured by enf1oursge,
which is the second principal process. II
consists in soaking the flowers 10 pure fats
heated TO the t. mDerature OF boiling water
in close vessels. Refined lard or pure cot
3 a seed oil viii serve. After the fats shall
have acquired by absorption the fragrance
OF the flowers, the pomade or ointment is
treated with alcohol, which extracts the
perfume and leaves the grease behind. In
point Of fact, these processes should be
conducted with great care and nicely, and
there are many important details which
can not be given in q brief paper like this.
The best text book on the manufacture
of perfumes Is that of Septimus Piesse
who long conducted extensive flower farms
at Nice. France. 1t can be procured from
or through the New Orleans booksellers at
cost OF 81 or s.. The flower farms OF the
country around Nice yield as an average
yearly crop 1900 tons OF orange flowers,
j 600 tons of roses, $50 tons of violets, as
many Of jessamine flowers, and lesser guam
titles Of other blossoms. The larger portion
OF the oil or altar OF roses comes from the
rose farms of Roumelis, in Turkey, and
Guezipur, in India 1t is reckoned that
200, COO rose blossoms are required 70 pro.
duce an amount Of the altar equal in
In weight to silver rupee-sbout so cents
OF our money-and worth $50 an ounce.
Large quantities of the oil OF orange peel
and the oil OF orange flowers. known ss
nerolj, are made in Sicily. Much OF the
oils Of peppsrment, thyme, rosemary and
lavender Gomez from Surrey England, while
In North Carolina large quantities Of oil
ofsasssfrss are distilled, the business rising
to the proportions g. considerable In
dustry.
Without doubt there is no more favored
region than IL 70 be found In Louisiana for
tie culture Of flowers onis large scale for