Evening star., 1902-02-15
ALTAR OF YLANG-YLANG.
A Famous Perfume That Originated in
the Philippines.

From the New York Press
Among other things, 1t appears now that
by capturing the Philippines we have cap
tured the chief source of the famous altar
Of ylang -ylang. almost as costly as altar of
roses and equally as delicious in perfume.
The division of insular affairs of the War
Department has compiled some Information
about it. Altar of ylang-ylang is obtained
from the flowers Of the ylang-ylang tree,
cultivated and wild tree, often attaining a
height of sixty feet. 1t belongs to the Gus
tard apple family, and its dropping, green
ish yellow flowers three inches long are Of
extraordinary fragrance.
The DODularity Of the violet as the latest
favorite in the list Of perfumes is threat
ened by the altar Of ylang-ylang of the
Philippines. Colonia Agrippa, the choice
perfume of the Romans. so named in honor
of the wife Of the emperor Claudius. after
enjoying in modern times an unriyaled lead
for nearly two centuries as the eau de CO.
logne, from the city Of the Rhine, the first
place Of its modern manufacture on an ex-
tensive scale, yielded to the more lasting
fragrance of the sachet in evidence in all
forms, in all places and among all classes
and conditions of women.
The altar Of roses, the famed essential Oil
of the damask rose of KaZanlik, on the
sunny slopes of the Balkans. finds its equal
in perfume in the Philippine product. and
the ylang- tree is better yielder OF
essence from the flower. and. therefore, 9
less costly basic essence for the perfumers'
art.
The ylang -ylang. sometimes spelled ilang-
ilang. while Indigenous to many parts OF
tropical Asia. reaches it's greatest perfec-
ton in the Philippine 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 held to possess
curative virtues in tooth and other aches
and pains. In preparation OF cocoanut
oil, known to commerce as Macassar Oil,
for the hair, the altar OF ylang-ylang IS the
perfume.
The perfumers OF Europe, and, to less
degree. of the United States. make 1T the
base of some Of their most costly extracts.
The Manila Oil is practically without COM
petition in the markets OF the western ma
tions on account Of superiority. and even
at from $40 to SO a pound the supply Is
unequal to the demand.
Hitherto the, United States supply has
come through Germany or France To-
gether with England. those countries have
a monopoly Of the product, which Is gen
orally secured in advance under contract
for the entire output.
The tree is common to many localities
south of Manila. 1t Is found chiefly in the
well-populated provinces and Islands, and
the natives say that 1t thrives best near
the habitations Of man. The propagation IN
plant atfons, by seed or cuttings. about
twenty feet apart, each way COS trees to
the acre., is easy, and the growth rapid In
almost any soil. The first flowers appear
IN the tnlfu year, IHe elSutu ySdi
as high as 100 pounds. the bloom occurring
every month The greatest yield is from
July to December.
The process OF converting the long green
ish yellow fragrant petals Of the flower
into essence is by the simplest form OF
dstillation. using merely water and the
choicest flowers. No chemicals Of any kind
are required
The best quality is clear as distilled
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 then filtered
through talcum. and Is ready for the mar
ket.
Seventy-five pounds Of flowers yield about
one pound of oil. Flowers are worth from
to Is cents gold per pound. Ihe cost OF
manufacture il placed at s. a pound. Ine
yield in the case of altar OF roses Is small,
150 pounds of rose leaves producing but
one ounce of oil.
There are whole Towering groves or
Wang -ylang trees in many parts OF south
ern Luzon and the Visayan Islands.