The Art of Perfumery, and Methods of Obtaining the Odors of Plants Part 6

" rose, 1/4 oz.

The essence of patchouly thus made is that which is found in the perfumers' shops of Paris and London. Although few perfumes have had such a fas.h.i.+onable run, yet when smelled at in its pure state, it is far from agreeable, having a kind of mossy or musty odor, a.n.a.logous to Lycopodium, or, as some say, it smells of "old coats."

The characteristic smell of Chinese or Indian ink is due to some admixture of this herb.

The origin of the use of patchouly as a perfume in Europe is curious. A few years ago real Indian shawls bore an extravagant price, and purchasers could always distinguish them by their odor; in fact, they were perfumed with patchouly. The French manufacturers had for some time successfully imitated the Indian fabric, but could not impart the odor.

At length they discovered the secret, and began to import the plant to perfume articles of their make, and thus palm off homespun shawls as real Indian! From this origin the perfumers have brought it into use.

Patchouly herb is extensively used for scenting drawers in which linen is kept; for this purpose it is best to powder the leaves and put them into muslin sacks, covered with silk, after the manner of the old-fas.h.i.+oned lavender-bag. In this state it is very efficacious in preventing the clothes from being attacked by moths. Several combinations of patchouly will be given in the recipes for "bouquets and nosegays."

PEA (SWEET).--A very fine odor may be abstracted from the flowers of the chick-vetch by maceration in any fatty body, and then digesting the pomade produced in spirit. It is, however, rarely manufactured, because a very close

IMITATION OF THE ESSENCE OF SWEET PEA.

can be prepared thus:--

Extract of tuberose, 1/2 pint.

" fleur d'orange, 1/2 "

" rose from pomatum, 1/2 "

" vanilla, 1 oz.

Scents, like sounds, appear to influence the olfactory nerve in certain definite degrees. There is, as it were, an octave of odors like an octave in music; certain odors coincide, like the keys of an instrument.

Such as almond, heliotrope, vanilla, and orange-blossoms blend together, each producing different degrees of a nearly similar impression. Again, we have citron, lemon, orange-peel, and verbena, forming a higher octave of smells, which blend in a similar manner. The metaphor is completed by what we are pleased to call semi-odors, such as rose and rose geranium for the half note; petty grain, neroli, a black key, followed by fleur d'orange. Then we have patchouli, sandal-wood, and vitivert, and many others running into each other.

From the odors already known we may produce, by uniting them in proper proportion, the smell of almost any flower, except jasmine.

The odor of some flowers resembles others so nearly that we are almost induced to believe them to be the same thing, or, at least, if not evolved from the plant as such, to become so by the action of the air-oxidation. It is known that some actually are identical in composition, although produced from totally different plants, such as camphor, turpentine, rosemary. Hence we may presume that chemistry will sooner or later produce one from the other, for with many it is merely an atom of water or an atom of oxygen that causes the difference. It would be a grand thing to produce otto of roses from oil of rosemary, or from the rose geranium oil, and theory indicates its possibility.

The essential oil of almonds in a bottle that contains a good deal of air-oxygen, and but a very little of the oil, spontaneously pa.s.ses into another odoriferous body, benzoic acid; which is seen in crystals to form over the dry parts of the flask. This is a natural ill.u.s.tration of this idea. In giving the recipe for "sweet pea" as above, we form it with the impression that its odor resembles the orange-blossom, which similarity is approached nearer by the addition of the rose and tuberose.

The vanilla is used merely to give permanence to the scent on the handkerchief, and this latter body is chosen in preference to extract of musk or ambergris, which would answer the same purpose of giving permanence to the more volatile ingredients; because the vanilla strikes the same key of the olfactory nerve as the orange-blossom, and thus no new idea of a different scent is brought about as the perfume dies off from the handkerchief. When perfumes are not mixed upon this principle, then we hear that such and such a perfume becomes "sickly" or "faint" after they have been on the handkerchief a short time.

PINE-APPLE.--Both Dr. Hoffman and Dr. Lyon Playfair have fallen into some error in their inferences with regard to the application of this odor in perfumery. After various practical experiments conducted in a large perfumatory, we have come to the conclusion that it cannot be so applied, simply because when the essence of pine-apple is smelled at, the vapor produces an involuntary action of the larynx, producing cough, when exceedingly dilute. Even in the infinitesimal portions it still produces disagreeable irritation of the air-pipes, which, if prolonged, such as is expected if used upon a handkerchief, is followed by intense headache. It is obvious, therefore, that the legitimate use of the essence of pine-apple (butyric ether) cannot be adapted with benefit to the manufacturing perfumer, although invaluable to the confectioner as a flavoring material. What we have here said refers to the artificial essence of pine-apple, or butyrate of ethyloxide, which, if very much diluted with alcohol, resembles the smell of pine-apple, and hence its name; but how far the same observations are applicable to the true essential oil from the fruit or epidermis of the pine-apple, remains to be seen _when_ we procure it. As the West Indian pine-apples are now coming freely into the market, the day is probably not distant when demonstrative experiments can be tried; but hitherto it must be remembered our experiments have only been performed with a body _resembling in smell_ the true essential oil of the fruit. The physical action of all ethers upon the human body is quite sufficient to prevent their application in perfumery, however useful in confectionary, which it is understood has to deal with another of the senses,--not of smell, but of taste. The commercial "essence of pine-apple," or "pine-apple oil," and "jargonelle pear-oil," are admitted only to be _labelled_ such, but really are certain organic acid ethers. For the present, then, perfumers must only look on these bodies as so many lines in the "Poetry of Science," which, for the present, are without practical application in his art.

PINK.--_Dianthus Caryophyllus._--The clove pink emits a most fragrant odor, "especially at night," says Darwin.

"The lavish pink that scents the garden round,"

is not, however, at present applied in perfumery, except in name.

IMITATION ESSENCE OF CLOVE PINK.

Esprit rose, 1/2 pint.

" fleur d'orange, 1/4 "

" " de ca.s.sie, 1/4 "

" vanilla, 2 oz.

Oil of cloves, 10 drops.

It is remarkable how very much this mixture resembles the odor of the flower, and the public never doubt its being the "real thing."

RHODIUM.--When rose-wood, the lignum of the _Convolvulus scoparius_, is distilled, a sweet-smelling oil is procured, resembling in some slight degree the fragrance of the rose, and hence its name. At one time, that is, prior to the cultivation of the rose-leaf geranium, the distillates from rose-wood and from the root of the _Genista canariensis_ (Canary-rose-wood), were princ.i.p.ally drawn for the adulteration of real otto of roses, but as the geranium oil answers so much better, the oil of rhodium has fallen into disuse, hence its comparative scarcity in the market at the present day, though our grandfathers knew it well. One cwt. of wood yields about three ounces of oil.

Ground rose-wood is valuable as a basis in the manufacture of sachet powders for perfuming the wardrobe.

The French have given the name jacaranda to rose-wood, under the idea that the plant called jacaranda by the Brazilians yields it, which is not the case; "the same word has perhaps been the origin of palisander--palixander, badly written."--_Burnett_.

ROSE.--

"Go, crop the gay rose's vermeil bloom, And waft its spoils, a sweet perfume, In incense to the skies."

OGILVIE.

This queen of the garden loses not its diadem in the perfuming world.

The oil of roses, or, as it is commonly called, the otto, or attar, of roses, is procured (contrary to so many opposite statements) simply by distilling the roses with water.

The otto, or attar, of rose of commerce is derived from the _Rosa centifolia provincialis_. Very extensive rose farms exist at Adrianople (Turkey in Europe); at Broussa, now famous as the residence of Abd-el-Kader; and at Uslak (Turkey in Asia); also at Ghazepore, in India.

The cultivators in Turkey are princ.i.p.ally the Christian inhabitants of the low countries of the Balkan, between Selimno, and Carloya, as far as Philippopolis, in Bulgaria, about 200 miles from Constantinople. In good seasons, this district yields 75,000 ounces; but in bad seasons only 20,000 to 30,000 ounces of attar are obtained. It is estimated that it requires at least 2000 rose blooms to yield one drachm of otto.

The otto slightly varies in odor from different districts; many places furnish an otto which solidifies more readily than others, and, therefore, this is not a sure guide of purity, though many consider it such. That which was exhibited in the Crystal Palace of 1851, as "from Ghazepore," in India, obtained the prize.

"Attar of roses, made in Cashmere, is considered superior to any other; a circ.u.mstance not surprising, as, according to Hugel, the flower is here produced of surpa.s.sing fragrance as well as beauty.

A large quant.i.ty of rose-water twice distilled is allowed to run off into an open vessel, placed over night in a cool running stream, and in the morning the oil is found floating on the surface in minute specks, which are taken off very carefully by means of a blade of sword-lily. When cool it is of a dark green color, and as hard as resin, not becoming liquid at a temperature about that of boiling water. Between 500 and 600 pounds' weight of leaves is required to produce one ounce of the attar."--_Indian Encyclopaedia._

Pure otto of roses, from its cloying sweetness, has not many admirers; when diluted, however, there is nothing to equal it in odor, especially if mixed in soap, to form rose soap, or in pure spirit, to form the esprit de rose. The soap not allowing the perfume to evaporate very fast, we cannot be surfeited with the smell of the otto.

The finest preparation of rose as an odor is made at Gra.s.se, in France.

Here the flowers are not treated for the otto, but are subjected to the process of maceration in fat, or in oil, as described under jasmine, heliotrope, &c.

The rose pomade thus made, if digested in alcohol, say 8 lbs. of No. 24 Pomade to one gallon of spirit, yields an esprit de rose of the first order, very superior to that which is made by the addition of otto to spirit. It is difficult to account for this difference, but it is sufficiently characteristic to form a distinct odor. See the article on fleur d'orange and neroli (pp. 77, 78), which have similar qualities, previously described. The esprit de rose made from the French rose pomade is never sold retail by the perfumer; he reserves this to form part of his _recherche_ bouquets.

Some wholesale druggists have, however, been selling it now for some time to country pract.i.tioners, for them to form extemporaneous rose-water, which it does to great perfection. Roses are cultivated to a large extent in England, near Mitcham, in Surrey, for perfumers' use, to make rose-water. In the season when successive crops can be got, which is about the end of June, or the early part of July, they are gathered as soon as the dew is off, and sent to town in sacks. When they arrive, they are immediately spread out upon a cool floor: otherwise, if left in a heap, they heat to such an extent, in two or three hours, as to be quite spoiled. There is no organic matter which so rapidly absorbs oxygen, and becomes heated spontaneously, as a ma.s.s of freshly gathered roses.

To preserve these roses, the London perfumers immediately pickle them; for this purpose, the leaves are separated from the stalks, and to every bushel of flowers, equal to about six pounds' weight, one pound of common salt is thoroughly rubbed in. The salt absorbs the water existing in the petals, and rapidly becomes brine, reducing the whole to a pasty ma.s.s, which is finally stowed away in casks. In this way they will keep almost any length of time, without the fragrance being seriously injured. A good rose-water can be prepared by distilling 12 lbs. of pickled roses, and 2-1/2 gallons of water. "Draw" off two gallons; the product will be the double-distilled rose-water of the shops. The rose-water that is imported from the South of France is, however, very superior in odor to any that can be produced here. As it is a residuary product of the distillation of roses for procuring the attar, it has a richness of aroma which appears to be inimitable with English-grown roses. There are four modifications of essence of rose for the handkerchief, which are the _ne plus ultra_ of the perfumer's art. They are,--esprit de rose triple, essence of white of roses, essence of tea rose, and essence of moss rose. The following are the recipes for their formation:--

ESPRIT DE ROSE TRIPLE.

Rectified alcohol, 1 gallon.

Otto of rose, 3 oz.

Mix at a summer heat; in the course of a quarter of an hour the whole of the otto is dissolved, and is then ready for bottling and sale. In the winter season beautiful crystals of the otto--if it is good--appear disseminated through the esprit.

ESSENCE OF MOSS ROSE.

Spirituous extract from French Rose pomatum, 1 quart.

Esprit de rose triple, 1 pint.

Extracts fleur d'orange pomatum, 1 "

" of ambergris, 1/2 "

" musk, 4 oz.