St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1889-06-29
PRECIOUS PERFUMES.
Something About the ingredients
Used in Their Composition. -
Fragrant Subject Discussed in an inter-
estlng Way--The Flowers, Spices
and Herbs Employed by Per-
tuners Here and Abroad.

and Herbs Employed by Per-
tuners Here and Abroad.
The rose is one of the most valuable OF
the limited series of flowers available to the
perfumer. When dried it is useful in
sachets or scented powders, distilled, it
yields rose water and the well known ottar,
and subjected TO cnfeurage 1t gives oil,
pOmade and alconOate. The variety chiefly
used is the hundred leaved Rosa centifolla
and IS grown tor commercial purposes most
extensively in Turkey, India and IN the
south OF France, says the San Francisco
Chronicle The ottar of rose is a light vel
low or straw-coIored liquid, possessing a
high degree of concentration, the character
istic odor of he flower, and dlffusiyeness
and persIstcncy that render it of great
service to the perfumer.
Of the citrine family. consisting of the
two great divisions OF lemons and oranges,
the bitter or Seville orange is the most val
liable species to the perfumer It's flowers
yield the ottar known as the oil of neroli,
or neroly, and by cn1leurage a pomade and
alcoholate of delightful fragrance. The
rlnd Of the ripe fruit contains a useful oil,
and the small unripe berries and leaves
also furnish one. Another orange of i'm
portance is that known as the Bergamla,
from which the oil of bergamot is produced
The common lemon gives an essence hay
ing both perfume and flavor, while from
the citron is taken the truly delightful es-
sence known as the ottar of cedrat.
By entleurage the modest violet yields an
odor which is universally admired for it's
delicacy and sweetness. The chief violet
beds are at Nice, where the plants are bed
ded in the shade of orange or acacia groves.
Approximations of the scent of the violet
are found in the acacia, the orris, and in
myallwood, a native of Australi. The acacia
referred to is a small tree or shrub which
grows only in southern ATTITUDES, and the
flowers, which are yellow and about the
size of large pea, are cassie flowers.
These are treated by enfeurage. Cassie
must not be COMPOUNDED with cassia, which
is the common cinnamon.
The tuber-rose is a dubious plant, first no.
tlced by old writers as the Indian hyacinth.
The odor is obtained by enfeurage, and is
not only favorlte in its pure state, but en-
tiers into the formation of the most recher-
che bouquet. France, Italy and Spain con-
tain the chef gardens of the tuber-rose, al
though there is no reason why in this in
dustry as in so many others, California
should not enter the competing field.
The ylang- ylang Cflower of f1owers) IS the
blossom of a large tree native in the islands
of the India archipelago Its native Tagal
name is the ihIans ihlang, the Malays call it
kanonga and to botanlsts it is known as
unona odorFlsslma. The flowers remind
one somewhat Of the locust blossom. Their
color is greenish yellow. and they possess
an odor resembling mixture of jasmine
and lilac, so powerful that it scents the air
FOR miles. The Wang Wang was first dis
covered by chemist at Manila in 1867. 1t
is now largely manufactured there and at
Singapore.
Lavender, rosemary and patchouly are
all herbs. The two former are quite well
known in this country; the last named is an
Indian plant resembling our garden sage.
To the natives it is known as putchapat,
both leaves and stem yielding an ottar of
great strength and very peculiar odor.
OF the spice series cloves and cinnamon
are the only ones that are much used in per-
fumery, and these are chiefly employed in
soaps. The Glove tree is largely cultivated
in the West Indies and the Malacca islands,
while the cinnamon is not the bark of COM
merce, but comes from a smaller tree, and
has mildcr odor and favor, with faint
China, the true cinnamon from Ceylon.
Two odorous grasses, natives Of India,
furnish ottars of extensive usefulness.
One is lemon grass, having a strong re
semblance in odor to the lemon verbena,
and from it nearly all our ''eXtracts of ver-
bena" and ''verbena water are made.
The other ottar is citrOne la, a perfume
which most persons have made ac-
infa in tthnnav
soap"
The wood of the sandal tree, native OF
the West Indies, gives curious odor, great
" admired in Oriental countries and much
valued by u.s. 1t IS both used IN substance
and distilled for its ottar. Vetivert, or kus-
kus, a thread-lIke Indian root, furnishes
another perfume of the same class as san
dial, but sharper and more approaching
floral odors. 1t is a strong and durable
odor that gives it's characteristic to the
cashmere bouquet soap. The ottar of
vetiyert is much higher in cost than even
that of roses.
Bitter almonds, though containing no
ottar in their natural state, yield .fpe by the
reaction of their constituents in the pres
ence of water. Thus the still furnishes US
the almond odor, which, while slckening in
itself, finds place in minute quantities IN
many of the finest floral compounds.
Vanilla is the capsula of beautiful creep
ing plant native in Mexico and South Amer
lea. 1t is generally from six to ten inches
IN length, about one fourth of az inch in
diameter, cylindrical in shape, tapering to-
ward either end, and slightly fattened:
The color is dark brown. The interior con-
tains sort of pulp filled with little shining
black seeds. Its flavor and odor are both
familiar.
The origin of ambergris was long mys-
terry, but is now known to be diseased Sc
erection of the spermaceti whale. 1t is found
floating on the surface Of the sea, and has
an odor which isextremely unpleasant when
pure, but which gives melloWIess and per-
manency to mixtures
Musk is also a secretion, and is obtained
from the musk deer, pretty little animal
inhabiting the higher mountain ranges OF
Tonquin, China, and Thibet. The musk is
found in small pocket or pouch under the
belly of the deer, and, being cut off by the
hunters, becomes hard and dry and pre-
serves it's contents as an unctuous powder
of reddish brown COLOR Its powerful,
warm, aromatic odor blends well with every
other scent, and gives them permanency
without being intrusive. 60