Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-12-07
ACRES OF PERFUME.
Gngland's Lavender Fields and
 the Flower Farms of France.
The Commercial Classification of Odors- Profit in the Cultivation of Sweet Scented Flowers-Napoleon's Daily
 Bath in Eau de Cologne.

| Bath in Eau de Cologne. There IS not lady who perfumes her handkerchief, says writer in the Detroit Free Press, but would be both surprised | and interested to know the magnitude of the perfumery industry, the amount manu- | 1actured, the money and machinery in- | Volved, and the countries from which l tribute IS exacted. It sounds little start ling to say that Europe and British India alone consume 15O, 900 gallons of handker- chief perfume every year; that the English revenue from eau de Cologne alone is s4O,- l OOO annually, and that the total revenue from other imported perfumes is $2OO, GOO a year. England imports annually from the 1 two Sicilies oils of lemon and bergamot | alone to the amount of $2S5, OOO
 1 Ihere Is one great perfume distillery at Cannes, in France, which uses yearly about 100000 pounds of acacia flowers; 14OOOo | pounds of rare flower leaves, B, 900 pounds | of jasmine flowers and 10000 pounds of | tuberose blossoms, in addition to immense 1 quantities of other perfume-yieldlng flow CTS. In the extreme southeast of France the | flower farmers of the Var harvest annually on an average, nearly 800, GOO pounds each of l orange blossoms, rose and jasmlne, and of geranlum, tuberose and jonquil 2O,OOO l pounds each.
 There are extensive fields of lavender 1 within thirty miles of London, the oil of | which produces annually 3O,OOO gallons of l lavender water, besides a large, unknown | quantity of perfumes with more pretentious names. The plant is at its best between | It's third and seventh year. It is harvest | ed in August, and immense numbers of l bees follow the vans to the distillery. The l production of perfume-yielding plants at Victoria, in New South Wales, is i'm mense. The mignonette, sweet verbena, r on, rv,on 1~,, 1 sweet-scented geranium, grow there in greater abundance than in any other part of the world.
 Sailors, while yet leagues at sea, know when they are nearing the coasts of Spain by the subtle perfumes which are waited oceanward. Moore sings of the roses of Cashmere and Bishop Heber of the spicy breezes of Ceylon. Quite an industry in perfumed flowers has been opened pp in South Australia, the climate being adapted to 1t. To judge by what Crouise says in his "Wealth of California;" the latter State is not lavish in odorous flowers. They are gorgeous, and that is all But the deficiency In fragrance of flowers is amply supplied by the aromatic shrubs and vines, such as mint, honeysuckle, sage and fennel, which are especially abundant in many parts of Los Angeles
 Some idea of the extent of the production NANA oiAO pi odo III tuS Cu1bltdtlOu OI mowers can be derived from the following state ments, which have been amply verified: An acre of jasmine plants, so, ,0OOin number. will produce 5000 pounds of flowers, valued at si,250; an acre of rose trees, 10,GOO in number, will yield 2,0OO pounds of flowers, worth S375; 300 orange trees, growing on an acre, will yield, at ten years of age, 2,OOO pounds of flowers, valued at s25O; an acre of violets, producing 1,600 pounds of tlow- fo n
 Of about 300 will, at three years of age yield 900 pounds of flowers, worth s45o; an acre of geranium plants will yield some thing over 2,OO0 ounces distilled altar, worth s4,GOo; an acre of lavender, giving over $500 pounds of flowers Tor Clstilation, will yield a value of l,5GO.
 Ottos (also written attars) are largely used ln pertaining soaps, toilet powders (the base of which is starch and orris), dentifrices (made of powdered aayrrh and tanlpief), aGd s%eetmeats, largely tozenSes, known by the names of pepper mint, lavender and rose. Odors are classl- lied and they blend into each other very much as colors do. The odors of verbena, lemon, bergamot, orange and citron are called lemon-likc odors; the almopd-like odors are heliotrope, vanilla and violet; the spice odors are cloves, cnna- mon and cassia. The odors are extracted
 
 times from the rind, as in the lemon and orange; from the seeds, as in the caraway and rutmegi from the roots, as in the prris; from the leaves, as Tn the sage, mint and thyme; from the bark, as in the cassia and cinnamon; rosewood and sandalwood edors are taken from the wood Certain perfumes are made for the market by mix ing odors. For instance: Jasmine and tube rose produce hayacinth, and jasmine and orange produce sweet pea. Such con- mercial odors known as "Sweet Daphue,n "Frang gipanni,'' etc., are made on this prin- ciple.
 In ancient times perfumes were exten- sfVely used in religious ceremonies The gods were supposed to be highly perfumed, and hence burnt odors were especially ac- ceptable to them: During tho Roman games tho awnings of tue amphitheater were saturated with scented water, and the Roman eagles were anointed with perfume before going into battle. Later on we read of Mime. Talbea bathing in strawberry juice, and afterwards rubbed with sponees dipped in perfume. Napoleon l. poured eau tie Cologne over hls head and shoulders every morning.
 CURED OF FLIRTING.