The record-union., 1896-09-28
DECEPTIVE PERFUMES.
OdOrS Of All Kinds Can Now be
Measured.
Artificial Musk and Its Use in the
Manufacture of Other
Perfumes.

Eugene Mesnard is certainly entitled
20 the thanks Of the general public, and
especially Of the fair sex. Thanks to
him' we are now able to measure smells
and 1t will be our own fault if we ever
AGAIN annoy our own or our neAghporS
nostrns with spurious perfumes.
ms curious art of measuring SmeiiS
Is known In the scientific world as OIL
Tactometry. M. Mesnard has been study
Ing it for some years, and has now per-
fected certain delicate instruments by
means Of which anyone, even without
The slightest knowledge of physics or
chemistry, can accurately determine
not only the strength of the different
perfumes, but also the changes which
each Of them undergoeS under the inf1u-
ence Of light, heat, humidity and other
exterior forces
To musk he has especially devoted his
attention, since both natural and arti-
ficial musk are largely used by manu-
facturers as the basis Of other perfumes.
lie tells US that the action Of humidity
is an important factor to be considered
in this connection, since the moisture
OF the skin and the humidity of the
handkerchiefs and tissues play a great
part in modifying more or less the per-
sistency, the quality and the strength
IF perfume.
Natural musk he says, being an
organic product, Is always more easily
destroyed than artificial musk, which
IS a chemical product and less subject
to change. 1t follows that if one forms
a bouquet of perfumes by mixing diff
ferent essential natural oils with an
extract of natural musk these different
will
fed with the lapse of time without any
change being noticed In the distinctive
perfume of the entire mixture. On the
other hand, If artificial musk be used
as the basis of the mixture, there
will be lack Of homogeneousness, and
the result will be that the natural per
fumes will disappear first, and after
some time there will only remain the
perfume Of the artificial musk and this
one Will find it hard to get rid Of"
Many cheap perfumes, 1t Is said have
artificial musk as a basis, and are con-
seQuently grossly deceptive, for in a
short time all other odors disappear ex-
cept that Of the chemically formed
musk, and this remains with impIaca-
ble persistency, so that finally 1t be-
comes absolutely objectionable. Exper-
iments which have been tried show that
at certain temperature artificial musk
becomes tainted and produces a sicken-
ing effect on those who smell it, Why,
then, IS it used? Simply because the OIL
factory nerves of those who constantly
use such cheap perfumes become afro
phied, we are told, and they do not per-
celve what horrible odor they exhale
and what a nuisance they are to per-
sons whose sense of smell Is finer than
theirs.
According to NJ Mesnard, perfumes
that are pure can easily be distin-
gutshed from those that are adulterated.
The former remain ever the same,
neither light nor heat having any power
to decompose them Take, for exam
pie, perfume made from orchids NJ.
Mesnard tells US that orchids only ex-
hale their perfume at certain moments,
and care, therefore, must be taken to ex-
tract it just at those moments. A gem
uine perfume Of this kind is delightful.
whereas an adulterated perfume of this
same kind would soon prove a delusion
and a snare.
That there Is great deal Of adulter-
alton not only in perfumes but also in
many cosmetics is well known to ply
sicians. Here, for example. are the
ingredients of certain cosmetics which
are. or used to be, very popular: Iodide
Of potassa, red precipitate spirit, corro-
sive sublimate, chloric acid, alcohol nj
trate Of mercury, white lead, oxide of
zinc, chloride of lead, cantharides, TO-
dine, acetate Of lead, flowers Of sulphur
and extract Of colocynth. Now, all
these ingredients may not be harmful
but all are certainly not harmless. The
T-sx-
metics containing such ingredients
should not be used at ALL and that
others less harmful, though very prob
ably not harmless, should be used very
cautiously, and only upon advice Of a
physician.
Paul Mantegazza, the noted italian
author, has made a special study of
this subject, and the disclosures which
he makes In regard to the composition
Of certain well-known cosmetics are
very interesting and instructive. He
gives us 266 recipes, many of which
contain dangerous ingredients, while
comparatively few are entirely harm
less.
That there Is an immense profit in the
sale Of such stuff need hardly be said
What costs dollar can, as rule, be
IndnuIacLuTeu lot rev cents. Thus
as Mantegazza points out, a person who
makes an indiscriminate use Of such
cosmetics is very likely to suffer both
in health and pocket. IF persons want
10 use cosmetics let them do so; only
let them be sure that the cosmetics are
harmless.
AS to pure odors, the opinion seems to
be growing that there is a greater virtue
in them than Is generally imagined II
seems ludicrous to talk about the NOR
ality OF perfumes, and yet 1t would be
hard to prove that there are not i'm
moral as we'll as moral perfumes. II
music can thus be classified, why not
perfumes New York Herald.
How Dickens Wrote.
Stephen Fiske presents most inter.
esting pen picture of Dickens, his fam.