The Lehi sun. [volume] (Lehi, Utah) 1913-1949, 1921-04-28
WHERE SOME OF OUR I'M
PORTS COME FROM
PERFUMES

Mllady America paid S4.072,541, dur.
ing the last year for perfumes, cos
metics and toilet preparations, a fact
which has led to confused specula-
ton by mere man as to what she did
with them.
The real romance and adventure In
the statement lies not so much In the
uses TO which these Imports were put
as where they came from. The sunny
isles and lands along the MedIterrnne-
an probably grew some of the flowers,
others perhaps were plucked by dark
Moorish hands In Algeria, and mayhap
an animal In the brooding hills Of
western China gave It's life to furnish
one constituent Of the perfume.
The vegetable kingdom is necessarily
the most fertile source Of perfumes.
From ltS flowers such as the rose and
jessamine, and from It's seeds, woods
and barks such as the spices and san
dalwood. even the most fastidious
connoisseul would be able to select
either some simple odor or a complex
bouquet. Nor are they for perfumes
alone, but for seeming soaps. creams
pomades, and In making favorings
and extracts.
Rosemary, thyme, sweet basil, and
marjoram are found In great pro
fusion In Mediterranean countries, and
here the chemist can distill the whole
plant and not bother about picking
the flowers. Shakespeare, the unfall-
Ing naturalist that he was, made no
error when he chose for 0phelia the
flowers she scattered.
The old-fashloned lavender flowers
In which our grandmothers used to
pack the household linen. and their
rich old lace grew best In France and
England.
The rose geranium, which has such
an exquisite odor Is also grown and
distilled In France, but Spain, Alglers,
and the Island Of Reunion engage In
the industry. Unlike the lavender,
however, the perfume OF the rose ger
anium comes from It's leaves and not
from the flowers.
But the country that might well be
known by It's scent IL Bulgaria, for lis
rose crop is second only TO It's tobacco.
over 1850 acres OF land In the prov.
lnces Of Phllippopolis and Starr IN.
CORA are given 20 the growth of roses
from the petals of which altar OF roses
is distilled. In the wonderful gardens
at Kazanllk. Karlovo, KlisOura and
Stara Zagora, the best OF the flower,
are grown.
About four thousand pounds OF rose
are produced ON an acre OF land, bu
II takes about two hundred pound
of petals to produce an ounce OF oil
for an altar which before the war cos
about $3.50 a pound.
Roses are grown In other parts {
the Balkans, as well as In Asiatlc Tul
key, and In India, Persia, the FayuI
province In Egypt, and in France. Tn
industry lately has been introduce
into Germany.
The animal perfumes are extremel
= limited IN number. Ambergris Is Sc
, creted by the sperm whale, clvit by thu
5 animal Of the same name, and musk
! by the musk OK, the musk rat, and
3 the musk deer, which is found In the
high Hlmalayas, Tibet, and eastern
, siberla. About 10000 ounces Of musk,
usually IN the grain form, are annual
Is imported to the United States from
china and india. Musk has one pc
culiar and almost lnexplicable charac-
terlstlc one grain Of II kept freely
exposed to the air OF well-ventilated
room, Will impregnate the atmosphere
for ten years without sensibly dimin-
ishlng In weight.