The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1905-08-14
MAklne pERFumes.


Flowers IN France.
In the southern part Of France,
which borders on the Mediterranean
and extends between the Alps and the
Rhone, the culture Of flowers has de-
veloped into a great industry for the
manufacture Of perfumes. In the
department Of the Alpes-Maritimes he
perfumery Industry has probably made
greater strides than in any other por-
tion Of france" says NJ George Cages
In the Monde Moderne of Paris. Here
are more than sixty factories, the TO-
tai product OF which is valued at more
than S4,OO0,OO0 per year, and over 1900
persons are constantly employed, with
out counting the multitude Of harvest
hands. The more important harvests
are those Of the rose 100000 pounds:
the orange flower. 100000 pounds;
the violet, 100000 pounds Jasmine,
100000 pounds; the tuberose, 500, 900
pounds; the geranium, 10000 pounds,
and the cassia, 100000 pounds. II we
consider the fact that all of these flow
ers are weighed without their stems
It is evident that the quantity IS
enormous, and this fact will be stu
better appreciated when we say hat
ia order to obtain two pounds of rose
leaves no less than a thousand flowers
are required, while a thousand lunches
OF violets, each with a diameter OF
more than a foot furnish only forty
pounds Of fioTers."
Flowers all go taroush preliminary
treatment of being placed in cold
room, and plants such as lavender,
thyme. spike, mint, roots such as orris,
fruits and woods. are passed through
cutting and macerating machines AZ
Ter this has been done the perfume
is extracted, the principal methods
being distillation, maceration, enleu-
rage and by the use of dissolvents
Distillation is only employed when
the perfume is not ini Ired by heat or
steam. In this case the flowers
and water are put in a great
alemhic and heated. After tho
water begins to boil it disorganizcs
the vegetable cells containing the per-
fume, and il is merely necessary now
to seperate the two. The process OF
distillation, however. has the great
disadvantage of frequently altering the
perfumes obtained, and, Therefore, when
it is desired 10 obtain finer extracts
recourse must be had TO other methods.
For maceration the flowers arc
thrown into a mass of rat melted and
raised to a temperature of e5 degrees
centigIade and completely submerged,
after several hours the perfume being
incorporated with the fat The mass
is then strained to get rid Of the fow-
ers, after which the latter are soaked
in boiling water and compressed
hydraulically. In this way all the per-
fume is extracted. In the eniuerage
method frames are used The bottoms
Of which are glass. The frames are
placed one above the other, small space
being left between the glass plates.
The fatty substance is spread on the
glass, and the flowers are placed in
direct contact with the fat At the
end of a certain time. which varies
with the flowers, the perfume is alb
sorbed by the fat, after which the
flowers are renewed until the pomade
is of the desired strength.
A third method is that Of volatile
dissolvenJs. In general the dissolvent
employed is an ether of refined pc
troleum. The apparatuses used are
Of different form, but they must all
contain an extractor into which the
flowers are placed cold with the dis
solvent, a decanter where the water
contained in the flowers is separated
from the mixture, o distilling alembic
which forces the dissolvent back
through the flowers, and a certain
number Of reservoirs in which the
dissolvent is kept in a pure state or
charged with the perfume evaporates
and leaves behind the essential oil
This method is by far the best In
the single department OF the Alper-
Maritimes the annual production is
S00.0 pounds OF pomade and 1000, 900
quarts OF extracts Public Opinion.