Los Angeles herald., 1892-02-22
PERFUME MAKING.
THE METHODS THAT ARE USED IN
FRANCE.
the Department of Agriculture-Ex-
periments Which Are Suggested.

In answer to request for informa-
ton upon the subject OF making per-
fumes the following has been received
by a resident OF California from the
national department of agriculture, and
as considerable interest is being taken
in the matter at present it is given to
the public, says the San Francisco
Chronicle.
The chief production of genuine per-
fumery is in that part of France border
ing upon the Gulf of Lyons and the
Mediterranean sea, where it is an inn
portant branch of agricultural industry.
The town of Grasse is the great GEN.
ter where, with only about II 900 inhab-
itants, there are over seventy factories,
giving employment to more than 5000
persons in field and factory.
Many manufacturers grow their own
flowers and plants, others buy them
daily in the market, and still others are
supplied by contract, making fixed
price for term OF years for the total
product of farm. The average price
stated in American currency and weight
at Grasse is as follows: Rose leaves, to
s cents pound; jassamine leaves, 20 to
25; orange flower leaves, 25; acacia
buds. 80 to 40 tuberose leaves, so; vio-
let leaves, 40 to go. These are the prin-
cipal garden flowers used in Grasse. A
great breadth of land is devoted to law
ender, rosemary, thyme, sweet mar
ioram, cherry, laurel, sage, balm and
other medicinal and culinary plants,
which are sold at much lower rates than
the products OF the flowers above mem
toned.
Different manufactures have different
details in following the general methods
of manufacture, by which they think to
increase the product or the profit, or
both, in regard to which they are gen.
ersllv very reticent, esteeming them to
be trade secrets. But the ordinary pro-
cess with most of the odoriferous plants
and flowers is very simple, the essential
oil being obtained by Installations. This
is the case with all whose volatile oil is
contained in the different peculiar ves-
sells OF the plant. For those which have
no peculiar vessels for its imprisonment
preparatory process before distilla-
ton is necessary. For these alter
nate layers are formed of fresh flowers,
an i then cotton fleece or wooden
cloth wadding, previously soaked in
pure inodorous oil. Whenever the
flowers have given out all their volatile
oil to the fixed oil upon the fibrous mat
ter, they are replaced by fresh layers of
flowers in succession until the fat oil has
been saturated with odoriferous parti-
cles. The cotton or wool wadding being
next submitted to distillation with
water gives up the volatile oil. To ex-
tract the oil of certain flowers, the white
lilies, for instance, infusion in fat oil
is.sufficient.
For distillation the plant or saturated
tfibrous material is introduced to still,
water poured upon it, and heat being
applied, the oil is volatilized by the aid
of the watery vapor, at temperature OF
f.212 degrees. When the singled vapors
Of the oil and water are condensed
into the liquid state by the refrigerator
OF the still, the oil separates and is
easily collected.
The volatile oil of some plants, such
as belgamot, lemon, orange, citron, ETC.,
where the oil exists in the skin or rind,
is best obtained by expression. For this
purpose, hgdrostatlc pressure, or its
equivalent, is necessary.
The original otto, or altar of roses, the
queen of perfumes and highest type of
fragrance, which was chiefly obtained at
the foot of the Balkan mountains, was
procured by collecting the drops of oil
which foated on the surface of vessels
filled with rose water, in the following
manner: The petals are placed in a
wooden vessel with pure water, and ex-
posed for several days to the heat OF the
sun. The oily products, being olsen
gagged by the heat, float on the surface.
and are taken up by fine cotton lint.
From this lint the oil is pressed into
small bottles and Theoretically sealed.
But it is now mostly produced by distilla-
ton. For this purpose the flowers of
the cabbage rose are gathered before
sunrise, as after that they lose half
their fragrance, and distilled the same
day. The petals are placed in an alem-
bic with water and boiled, the steam
being carried to a refrigerator. The
otto floats on the condensed steam and
is then collected. On an average 1000
pounds of leaves produce one pound of
oil. A more recent process is to steam
the petals, and the condensed steam
produces the same result; but it is
alleged that this method makes finer
oil.
There is in this country undoubtedly
vast and undeveloped field suitable for
the culture of perfume-yielding flowers
and fruits, notably on the borders of
the Gulf of Mexico, and the COM
mercial Horticulture of this region
may yet rival the produc-
ton of the Mediterranean coast and
become the great flower garden of
America, and possibly of the world.
Southern California seems to be spe-
cially adapted to Horticulture, and par
ties there are now engaged in discussing