The Art of Perfumery, and Methods of Obtaining the Odors of Plants Part 4

All the inferior descriptions of oil of lavender are used for perfuming soaps and greases; but the best, that obtained from the Mitcham lavender, is entirely used in the manufacture of what is called lavender water, but which, more properly, should be called essence or extract of lavender, to be in keeping with the nomenclature of other essences prepared with spirit.

The number of formulae published for making a liquid perfume of lavender is almost endless, but the whole of them may be resolved into essence of lavender, simple; essence of lavender, compound; and lavender water.

There are two methods of making essence of lavender:--1. By distilling a mixture of essential oil of lavender and rectified spirit; and the other--2. By merely mixing the oil and the spirit together.

The first process yields the finest quality: it is that which is adopted by the firm of Smyth and Nephew, whose reputation for this article is such that it gives a good character in foreign markets, especially India, to all products of lavender of English manufacture. Lavender essence, that which is made by the still, is quite white, while that by mixture only always has a yellowish tint, which by age becomes darker and resinous.

SMYTH'S LAVENDER.

To produce a very fine distillate, take--

Otto of English Lavender, 4 oz.

Rectified spirit (60 over proof), 5 pints.

Rose-water, 1 pint.

Mix and distil five pints for sale. Such essence of lavender is expensive, but at 10_s._ a pint of 14 oz! there _is_ a margin for profit. It not being convenient to the general dealer to sell distilled lavender essence, the following form, by mixture, will produce a first-rate article, and nearly as white as the above.

ESSENCE OF LAVENDER.

Otto of lavender, 3-1/2 oz.

Rectified spirit, 2 quarts.

The perfumer's retail price for such quality is 8_s._ per pint of 14 oz.

Many perfumers and druggists in making lavender water or essence, use a small portion of bergamot, with an idea of improving its quality--a very erroneous opinion; moreover, such lavender quickly discolors.

LAVENDER WATER.--Take:

English oil of lavender, 4 oz.

Spirit, 3 quarts.

Rose-water, 1 pint.

Filter as above, and it is ready for sale.

COMMON LAVENDER WATER.--Same form as the above, subst.i.tuting French lavender for the British.

Recipes for Rondeletia, Lavender Bouquet, and other lavender compounds, will be given when we come to speak of compound perfumes, which will be reserved until we have finished explaining the method of making the simple essences.

LEMON.--This fine perfume is abstracted from the _Citrus limonum_, by expression, from the rind of the fruit. The otto of lemons in the market is princ.i.p.ally from Messina, where there are hundreds of acres of "lemon groves." Otto of lemons, like all the ottos of the Citrus family, is rapidly p.r.o.ne to oxidation when in contact with air and exposure to light; a high temperature is also detrimental, and as such is the case it should be preserved in a cool cellar. Most of the samples from the gas-heated shelves of the druggists' shops, are as much like essence of turpentine, to the smell, as that of lemons; rancid oil of lemons may, in a great measure, be purified by agitation with warm water and final decantation. When new and good, lemon otto may be freely used in combination with rosemary, cloves, and caraway, for perfuming powders for the nursery. From its rapid oxidation, it should not be used for perfuming grease, as it a.s.sists rather than otherwise all fats to turn rancid; hence pomatums so perfumed will not keep well. In the manufacture of other compound perfumes, it should be dissolved in spirit, in the proportion of six to eight ounces of oil to one gallon of spirit. There is a large consumption of otto of lemons in the manufacture of Eau de Cologne; that Farina uses it is easily discovered by adding a few drops of Liq. Ammoniae fort. to half an ounce of his Eau de Cologne, the smell of the lemon is thereby brought out in a remarkable manner.

Perhaps it is not out of place here to remark, that in attempts to discover the composition of certain perfumes, we are greatly a.s.sisted by the use of strong Liq. Ammoniae. Certain of the essential oils combining with the Ammonia, allow those which do not do so, if present in the compound, to be smelt.

LEMON GRa.s.s.--According to Pereira, the otto in the market under this name is derived from the _Andropogon schoenanthus_ a species of gra.s.s which grows abundantly in India. It is cultivated to a large extent in Ceylon and in the Moluccas purposely for the otto, which from the plant is easily procured by distillation. Lemon gra.s.s otto, or, as it is sometimes called, oil of verbena, on account of its similarity of odor to that favorite plant, is imported into this country in old English porter and stout bottles. It is very powerful, well adapted for perfuming soaps and greases, but its princ.i.p.al consumption is in the manufacture of artificial essence of verbena. From its comparatively low price, great strength, and fine perfume (when diluted), the lemon gra.s.s otto may be much more used than at present, with considerable advantage to the retail shopkeeper.

LILAC.--The fragrance of the flowers of this ornamental shrub is well known. The essence of lilac is obtained either by the process of maceration, or enfleurage with grease, and afterwards treating the pomatum thus formed with rectified spirit, in the same manner as previously described for ca.s.sie; the odor so much resembles tubereuse, as to be frequently used to adulterate the latter, the demand for tubereuse being at all times greater than the supply. A beautiful IMITATION OF ESSENCE OF WHITE LILAC may be compounded thus:--

Spirituous extract from tubereuse pomade, 1 pint.

" of orange-flower pomade, 1/4 "

Otto of almonds, 3 drops.

Extract of civet, 1/2 oz.

The civet is only used to give permanence to the perfume of the handkerchief.

LILY.--The manufacturing perfumer rejects the advice of the inspired writer, to "consider the lilies of the field." Rich as they are in odor, they are not cultivated for their perfume. If lilies are thrown into oil of sweet almonds, or ben oil, they impart to it their sweet smell; but to obtain anything like fragrance, the infusion must be repeated a dozen times with the same oil, using fresh flowers for each infusion, after standing a day or so. The oil being shaken with an equal quant.i.ty of spirit for a week, gives up its odor to the alcohol, and thus extract of lilies _may_ be made. But how it _is_ made is thus:--

IMITATION "LILY OF THE VALLEY."

Extract of tubereuse, 1/2 pint.

" jasmine, 1 oz.

" fleur d'orange, 2 oz.

" vanilla, 3 oz.

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

" rose, 1/4 "

Otto of almonds, 3 drops.

Keep this mixture together for a month, and then bottle it for sale. It is a perfume that is very much admired.

MACE.--Ground mace is used in the manufacture of some of those scented powders called Sachets. A strong-smelling essential oil may be procured from it by distillation, but it is rarely used.

MAGNOLIA.--The perfume of this flower is superb; practically, however, it is of little use to the manufacturer, the large size of the blossoms and their comparative scarcity prevents their being used, but a very excellent imitation of its odor is made as under, and is that which is found in the perfumers' shops of London and Paris.

IMITATION "ESSENCE OF MAGNOLIA."

Spirituous extract of orange-flower pomatum, 1 pint.

" " rose pomatum, 2 pints.

" " tubereuse pomatum, 1/2 pint.

" " violet pomatum, 1/2 "

Essential oil of citron, 3 drs.

" " almonds, 10 drops.

MARJORAM.--The otto procured by distilling _Origanum majorana_, commonly called oil of oringeat by the French, is exceedingly powerful, and in this respect resembles all the ottos from the different species of thyme, of which the marjoram is one. One hundred weight of the dry herb yields about ten ounces of the otto. Oringeat oil is extensively used for perfuming soap, but more in France than in England. It is the chief ingredient used by Gelle Freres, of Paris, for scenting their "Tablet Monstre Soap," so common in the London shops.

MEADOW SWEET.--A sweet-smelling otto can be produced by distilling the _Spiraea ulmaria_, but it is not used by perfumers.

MELISSA. See BALM.

MIGNONETTE.--But for the exquisite odor of this little flower, it would scarcely be known otherwise than as a weed. Sweet as it is in its natural state, and prolific in odor, we are not able to maintain its characteristic smell as an essence. Like many others, during separation from the plant, the fragrance is more or less modified; though not perfect, it still reminds the sense of the odor of the flowers. To give it that sweetness which it appears to want, a certain quant.i.ty of violet is added to bring it up to the market odor.

As this plant is so very prolific in odor, we think something might be done with it in England, especially as it flourishes as well in this country as in France; and we desire to see Flower Farms and organized Perfumatories established in the British Isles, for the extraction of essences and the manufacture of pomade and oils, of such flowers as are indigenous, or that thrive in the open fields of our country. Besides opening up a new field of enterprise and good investment for capital, it would give healthy employment to many women and children. Open air employment for the young is of no little consideration to maintain the stamina of the future generation; for it cannot be denied that our factory system and confined cities are prejudicial to the physical condition of the human family.

To return from our digression. The essence of mignonette, or, as it is more often sold under the name of Extrait de Rezeda, is prepared by infusing the rezeda pomade in rectified spirit, in the proportion of one pound of pomade to one pint of spirit, allowing them to digest together for a fortnight, when the essence is filtered off the pomade. One ounce of extrait d'ambre is added to every pint. This is done to give permanence to the odor upon the handkerchief, and does not in any way alter its odor.

MIRIBANE.--The French name for artificial essence of almond (see ALMOND).

MINT.--All the _Menthidae_ yield fragrant ottos by distillation. The otto of the spear-mint (_M. viridis_) is exceedingly powerful, and very valuable for perfuming soap, in conjunction with other perfumes. Perfumers use the ottos of the mint in the manufacture of mouth-washes and dental liquids. The leading ingredient in the celebrated "eau Botot" is oil of peppermint in alcohol. A good imitation may be made thus:--

EAU DE BOTOT.

Tincture of cedar wood, 1 pint.