Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1902-01-28
GROWING yLANG.YLANG
Facts About a Profitable Indus.
try In the Philippines.
TREE OF GREAT ECONOMIC VALUE

rhc Essence of 1t Sells For From
$40 to $50 n Pound, and the supply
Does Not Equal the Demand-Also
Possesses Some Curative Virtues In
Tooth and Other Aches.
From official material in the division
Of insular affairs, war department, the
following information has been com.
piled in response to inquiries from
many sources, particularly with refer
ence to the costly altar of ylang-ylang,
says the Washington Star:
Among the numerous trees of eco
monte value in the Philippines are
many varieties from which essences Or
Essential oils may be extracted. Those
only used in the present state of the in
dustry are the ylang-ylang, sampaguita
and champaign.
The ylangylang Giang-ilang) is a
cultivated and wild tree often attain
ing height of sixty feet, botanically
known as Cananga odorata (Hook) or
Unona odoratissima (Bl.), belonging to
the custard apple family, producing
leaves 2Ea by e inches and dropping
greenish yellow flowers three inches
long and of extraordinary fragrance.
! from which the celebrated altar Of
| ylang-ylang, cananga oil or oleum uno-
nae is distilled. The mountain trees
produce the best results The essence
is exported to France, England, Singa-
nd hn Init Sfota
mand being small.
The sampaguita Uasminum sambac
L) is plant belonging to the family
.oleacen, producing white flowers from
which highly priced perfume essence
Us extracted by distillation. The cham
paca (Michelia champaca, L.) is a gar
den plant belonging to the family mag
noliaceR, attaining conical shaped
height of thirteen feet The flowers,
about an inch in length. are very fra
grant and produce by distillation
well known essence.
The popularity of violet as the latest
favorite in the list Of perfumes is
Threatened by the altar of ylangylang
of the Philippines. Colonia agrippina.
the choice perfume of the Romans, SO
named in honor of the wife of the En-
per6r Claudius. after enjoying in mod
ern times an unrivalcd lead for nearly
two centuries as the eau de cologne,
from the city Of the Rhine, the first
place of it's modern manufacture on an
extensive scale, yielded to the more
lasting fragrance of the sachet in evil
dence in all forms. in all places and
among all classes and conditions of
women.
The altar of roses, the famed essen
ltial oil Of the damask rose of Kazan-
;lik. on the sunny slopes of the Balkans,
finds in the Philippine product its
equal in perfume, better yielder CT
essence from the flower and therefore
a less costly basic essence for the per-
tuners art
The ylans- ylang, or sometimes spell
ed ilang-ilang, while indigenous to
many parts of tropical Asia, reaches
its greatest perfection in the Philip
pine Islands. where it is a favorite
among the natives. Besides its value
as an altar in preparations for the hair
and toilet waters, it Is also claimed to
possess curative virtues in tooth and
other aches and pains. The rerfumers
of Europe and to a less degree of the
United States make it the base of some
of their most costly extracts. The Ma
Mia oil is practically without compe.
tition in the markets of the western
nations on account of superiority and
at from $40 to $50 pound is unequal
to the demand.
! The tree, common to many localities
south of Manila. is found chiefly in the
well populated provinces and islands.
it being said to thrive best near the |
habitations Of man. The propagation |
in plantations by seed or cuttings |
about twenty feet apart each way, 1OS |
trees to the acre. is easy. and the |
growth is rapid in almost any soil. The
first flowers appear in the third year,
the eighth yielding often as high as a
hundred pounds, the bloom occurring
in every month. The greatest yield Is
from July to December.
The process Of converting the long,
greenish yellow fragrant petals of the
flower into essence Is by the simplest
form of distillation. no chemicals Of
any kind being required. simply water
and the choicest flowers. The oil will
vaporize in a closed boiler at 300 de-
grees f. The usual results follow.
The best quality must be clear as dis
r,lled water and fragrant The second
quality is yellowish and smoky. The
oil is drawn from the bottom Of a
glass separator. the water remaining
The oil is filtered through talcum and
ready for the market. being packed in
glass bottles. commands ready pur.
chasers.
About seventytive pounds of flowers
yield one pound of oil. Flowers are
worth from to Is cents in gold per
pound, and the cost of manufacture Is
placed at 81 pound. The yield in the
case of altar of roses is small, $50
pounds of rose leaves producing but
one ounce of oil.