Daily camera., 1898-03-14
A MILLION FOR PERFUME
Annual Outlay of New York for
Fine Odo-1.
The Principal Consumers Are Wom-
cn-Dfvers Ways in Which the
Sweet Scents Arc
Used.

One million dollars is spent in New
York every year for perfume! Of course
It's lot of money to futter away from
lace mouchoirs up into the snoke-laden
atmosphere of this big city, and thus
perish untimely. It's a good many
round, hard pieces Of silver to breathe
from my lady's charming presence as
she fits past the amiab,e caryatids OF
the cigar stands in her walks through
the fashionable streets. Nevertheless,
those hard dollars are cheerfu-ly taken
out of dainty purses and straightway
converted into something that-p'ff!-
is gone. Quite little fortune, isn't it,
to put into something whose tangible
form is mia thing you cannot even
see? But it is invested gladly, and no
one murmurs or repines over it.
I New York never could DO anything
by halves, and so this practical city
goes proudly on its way, shifting up its
respectable nose that anEua. million,
never guessing the amount, the vast
sun, that is titillating It's olfactory
nerve and then floating off into circum-
ambient space where perfu1ners cease
to manufacture ard the consumer is at
rest.
Who does all this buying? Who is it
rushes forth ard blows" Il million dol
lars On air? Of course, the women Oh,
of course! But the mer, TOO, if you
must know one of their weaknesses.
Though, in justice be it said, they gem
era,ly buy it for the Christmas girl and
send it up to her house in forms that
would Uheed.e d miser cut Of coin.
Undoubtedly women put into circula-
ton this reckless million, but two
thirds Of it Only is her direct response
bi.ity. The other third may be divided
equally between the unhappy men and
their annual holiday rredicament-,
what to buy for presents. In order not
to strain the mind too far, the perfume
bottle, with its load of ephemeral
sweets, has rushed to the front. So it
is small wonder that the million is
dropped.
The poor little odor-Iaden flowers
from which all this perfumery is made
run somewhere up into the billion bill
lions, and no record is kept CT their poor
little lives. For the beautiful things
are raised, culled and marketed into
odors as elusive as fame, without a
thought for their pathetic sacrifices.
Like the drops of water and grains of
sand they go to the making of vast vats
of fashionable brands of perfume, and
their history is lost in the evolution.
! The bath is responsible for great
deal of the liquid luxury, for into that
delightful part of the daily toilet goes
many a quart of the finest and most
subtle odors known to the art. In fact,
so large has become the demand for
these particulc. fnr'ns,"f perfume that
the material is put up for sale in four
quart bo>slas IN cases
The handkerchief is kept supplied by
more costly perfumes, of course, but no
more perfect in make up. Their boxes,
down lined and satin covered, are more
fair to look upon. but no extra claim
can be made in their behalf for intrinsic
charm. Insome cases the handkerchiefs
are not supplied from liquid perfumes
in bottles, but the powdered sachet is
used to scent the bureau drawer night
and day.
Si,ken pads filed with the odor de-
sired are sometimes sewed into party
and opera gowns, in the interlining, to
forever form part Of the dainty pres
ence of the owner.
From foreign and domestic fabrics
comes this delightful commodity, and
American dealers are beginning to rival,
if not outrun, their foreign competitors
in the, line. The duties on foreign i'm
ports make the incoming supply not
only more expensive, but the home
products are constantly gaining in ey-
quisifiveness and makeup.
Musk forms the basis of many of the
stronger and cheaper perfumes, and it
is the part that outlives the. finer and
purer qualities Of the combination.
Long after the clover scent or the lily
scents have gone, the course animal fat
remains. The finer grades of perfume
are not adulterated with this long
lived product. but flower extracts are
used, and many many times their origi
nal strength is employed in a single in
stance to produce the desired effect in
lasting qnality-N Y. Herald.
Merely a Guess.
Mrs. Grumpy Why are the doctors
hunting about and discovering SO many
new diseases?