Evening star., 1902-01-25
n HEAlTH-GIVlNG SCENTS
EIGHTr-FIvE REMEDIES DERIVED
FROM ONE.
violets Give Seventeen and the Cancer
Cure From Use old n.
the Hills.

Written Scr The Evening Star.
Science, delving deeply In this twentieth
century. more and more goes back to very
ancient beliefs. Even before letters, scents
were accounted more than luxuries. Odor-
Gus herbs, notably the yervain. warded or
the evil eye. The Mosaic ritual is full OF
hyssop nard and frankincense. Greece set
cinnamon gates to its elysium and sur
rounded 1t with scented river a hundred
cubits broad, which souls swan through.
and thereby purged themselves OF earthly
grossness.
Pliny. grave historian that he was. re-
cords eighty-five remedies derived from
odorous rue, forty-one whose base was
mint, thirty-two balms from roses. twenty
one from lilies, bulb and bloom, and seven
teen medicaments strong in the virtue of
Nlolets. Thus IL appears that the much
Naunted violet cure for cancer is among the
very new things that surface science scorn-
ed because they were so very old.
we are changing all that. Now, say the
wise men, one must choose and use per-
fumes with an eye. or, rather a nose TO
health. So 1t is worth, while TO set down
the properties. attributed to various per-
fumes. Pure violet essence is especially
suitable to nervous people. But it must be
optained from the flowers themselves, not
the chemical limitations. Chemically de-
rived perfumes are always irritant poison-
GUS even 10 persons of especially sensi-
tive constitution. True flower scents are
ootalned IN three ways: First. by spreading
Iresh, odorous blossoms upon glass thickly
smeared with pure grease. letting Them
sIahd IN the sun, and as they wilt replac-
ing them until the grease is as fragrant as
themselves; second, by repeatedly infusing
iresh petals in oil: and third, by infusing
lueH IN ether. which Is haF laa 70
ury Solid As this solid sells for $3.50 an
ounce, IT Is easy to understand why the
elher process, though far and away the
most perfect, is not commonly used Rut
the scented grease and the essences rnade
py sleeping it in pure spirit are never
cheap. After all the scent possible has
oeen extracted from the grease il Is stflI
perfumed soap.
All the eitrene scents, bergamot. neroii
orange-hower water-are refreshing and IN
degree stimulating, IL properly prepared
70 make lasting perfume some animal
paSe is essentlal-muSk, ciVet or amber
girls III the base is too strong, II makes
the nower-scent curiously irritant People
VINO feel faint in 4 crowded room are often
victims OF several scents simultaneously al
ldcklnS their nerves. A single odor no
matter how strong. after a while deadens
the olfactory nerves, whereas a combina-
ton keeps them active much longer.
nay fever, which arises from the irri-
tant properties OF fine odorous pollen Weld
ed by grass and weed fields, is in a way a
type of perfume action. Scent particles in
general are not strong enough nor acrid
enough to set up violent ills. None the
less, they have their effect. Witness tbs
refreshment of lavender water. when one
is faint from heat or crowding I.aven-
DER is peculiarly suited to high-strung tenn
peraments. 1t is soothing as well as re-
freshing, without being undulv stimIIaf
ing. Jasmine should always be used pure
Alone 1t tones and braces the whole system.
but in almost all OF it's compounds is singu-
larry depressing. Neroli is the exception
Jasmine and neroh together in faint es-
sence make the scent OF scents for ali who
have hysterical tendencies