PERFUMERY

With the exception of a very limited retail sale of the absolute oils, all perfumes consist of fragrant essences in alcoholic solutions. The most expensive are generally based on essences obtained direct from the blossoms or leaves of various plants, but the bulk of those marketed owe their fragrance either wholly or in part to odors of artificial manufacture, for chemistry has devised methods of imitating nearly all natural perfumes at much lower cost than by extraction from the plants, and has also produced many new odors and combinations that are very pleasing to the sense of smell. Perfumes, or extracts, of proprietary or trade titles frequently owe their characteristic fragrance to the blending of a number of odors--drawn from any one, or all, classes--animal, vegetable and artificial. One of the best known brands contains, for example, the blended natural odors of rose, vanilla, musk and violet. Less expensive kinds are produced by similar mixing of cheaper natural or artificial essences.

A few natural essences, as musk, civet, etc., are obtained from animal sources, but the great majority are vegetable in character. All parts of the world contribute to the supply. Considerable quantities of the essential oils of Birch, Cedar, Sassafras, Wintergreen, etc., are produced in the United States. England supplies an especially fine grade of Lavender. Bulgaria is an important source of Rose Oil. Italy furnishes the bulk of the commercial supply of Orris Root extract. Mexico gives, among others, the best Vanilla and Linolea, the fragrant oil of a native myrrh tree. The East Indies, the Philippines and the Orient generally, furnish Patchouli, derived from the leaves and head of the Patchouli Plant, a member of the mint family; Ylang Ylang, from the flowers of a tree of the custard-apple family and a variety of others, including the cheap and popular oils of Lemon Grass, Palma Rosa and Citronella, and Sandalwood and many spicy types. Nine-tenths of the world's supply of natural flower essences is, however, obtained from a stretch of hilly land, about 115,000 acres in extent, situated in Southeast France, spreading in triangular form from the city of Grasse, the center of the industry, in the direction of Nice and Cannes. The surrounding country is protected by mountains on three sides--it is open only to the South and the heat thence is tempered by the waters of the Mediterranean. Perpetual spring reigns and the entire region may be described as one large flower garden, the atmosphere ever laden with the sweet odors arising from millions of blossoms. The late winter and early spring are the principal harvest times for violets, jonquils, etc., gathered for perfumery purposes; the early summer for orange blossoms, carnations and roses; mid-summer for jasmines and tuberoses and the fall for the acacia. These are only a few of the flowers grown--a full list would include the broom, geranium, heliotrope, lavender, mignonette, mimosa, narcissus, rosemary, verbena and a great many others. The annual "crop" averages about 5,000,000 pounds of orange blossoms, 3,000,000 pounds of roses, a million pounds each of jasmines and violets, six to seven hundred thousand pounds of tuberoses, half a million pounds of carnations, etc.--in addition to the large quantities of cut flowers supplied Continental florists.

The greater part of the flower-growing territory is distributed among a large number of peasant owners, who attend personally to the cultivation and gathering. Infinite pains are exercised in the care of blossoming plants. Many kinds, as carnations, are protected at night and during rough weather with straw matting, imposed on framework dividing the beds at regular intervals.

The prices paid for the blossoms vary with the seasons--a fair figure during a good harvest is about six or seven cents a pound for rose leaves or orange blossoms, up to fifty cents a pound for violets--the large difference in the favor of the latter being due to the small quantity obtainable from any given space of land and the much longer time required for gathering. An experienced person can pick fifteen or sixteen pounds of roses in an hour but only about one-tenth of that quantity of violets.

A rose bush of average strength will give annually from ten to fifteen pounds of blossoms and an orange tree about twice that amount.

A great quantity of blossoms is required to produce any appreciable amount of the absolute flower oil. One pound of attar of roses represents about five million roses, and a pound of violet oil, about twelve million blossoms. It is not therefore surprising that genuine high grade attar of roses sells at wholesale for $80 to $110 a pound. The total of the flower crop in the Grasse country may be judged from the fact that Paris perfumers alone purchase annually a million pounds of natural flower oils.

All flower essences are obtained by Distillation, Extraction by Fixed Solvents or Extraction by Volatile Solvents. Distillation is the most widely used. A mixture of the petals and water is heated in a still and the condensation of the mixed steam and essential oil obtained, shows a layer of oil on the surface of the water. This first separation is followed by refining and cleansing processes. The "water" residue of the distillation is the Orange Water, Rose Water, etc., of commerce. In some sections, portable stills are carried from place to place in the mountains for the treatment of those flowers which will not stand transportation.

Violets, jasmines, tuberoses and a number of other flowers will not, however, readily yield their odors in their native delicacy by the distillation process and they are therefore treated by the "fixed" or "volatile" solvent methods.

Extraction by fixed solvents is performed in two ways, (a) by Hot Maceration and (b) by Inflowering (Enfleurage). In the first named, the blossoms are added to high grade, thoroughly refined melted fat or heated vegetable oil (generally olive oil) and the mixture is allowed to digest, with frequent stirrings, for several hours, the oil being kept fluid and at a uniform temperature. When the flowers have exhausted their aroma, the oil is strained into another pot and fresh blossoms are added, the process being repeated from ten to fifteen times until the fat or oil is thoroughly saturated with the odor. If fats are used, the product is known as "Pomade"; if oils, as "Perfumed Oil." By Inflowering, or the cold process, Pomades are secured by spreading cold fat on both sides of framed sheets of glass known as "chassis." The flowers are placed on top of the fat and the chassis on top of each other, the blossoms being thus pressed between two layers of fat. Fresh flowers are substituted from time to time until the fat is heavily charged with the perfume. Cold Process Perfumed Oils are obtained by substituting thick cloths saturated with oil for the glass sheets.

The essences are later extracted from the pomades or perfumed oils by treating them with alcohol, which absorbs the greater part of the perfume but very little of the fat. Subsequent distillation and washing processes produce the pure essence.

Extraction by volatile solvents consists in bringing petroleum spirit in contact with the blossoms. When thoroughly charged with their odor, the spirit is dissolved, leaving a residue which consists chiefly of the odorous principle. This process presents many difficulties in the attainment of the best results, but, successfully performed, gives absolute flower oils of high quality.

Artificial and Imitation Flower Essences are variously obtained. Some of them--as Carnation, Clover, Heliotrope, Lilac, Rose, Sassafras, Vanillin, Verbena, Violet--are successfully produced, in whole or in part, from other vegetable essential oils. Carnation and Vanillin are both made from eugenol, derived from oil of cloves. Safrol, extracted from essential oil of camphor, gives Heliotropine, the basis of Artificial Heliotrope, and is also sold as Artificial Sassafras Oil. Violet is formed by a combination which includes citral extracted from the East Indian Lemon Grass--which also furnishes an odor closely resembling Verbena and marketed as such. Terpineol, obtained by the action of sulphuric acid on turpentine oil, supplies a strong Lilac odor. Geraniol from the Palma Rosa, an East Indian grass of the geranium order, and Rhodinol, the alcoholic portion of true geranium oil, are the source of the Rose scent of many cheap soaps and perfumes. Amyl Salicylate, produced by treatment of amyl alcohol (see EXTRACTS) and salicylic acid, gives a pleasing Clover odor which is similarly employed.

Coal tar is the most prolific of all sources of artificial perfumes. They are obtained from its numerous products in great variety--some closely imitate the expensive natural essences; others have won popularity as delightful odors not met with in flowers. Many are obtainable at such low cost that they have revolutionized some branches of the perfumery and soap trades. Among the most widely employed are Artificial Musk; the Orange-blossom perfume from naphthol ethers; benzaldehyde or Artificial Oil of Bitter Almonds, and Benzyl acetate, which gives a coarse but pleasing odor resembling Jasmine.

Perfumery Display. Perfumes should be displayed in a glass case of appropriate size and of as elegant appearance as possible--they should never be so exposed to dust or flies as to endanger the dainty appearance of the packages. Bottles and labels of fancy design are always preferable for retail purposes, but it must be remembered that they do not guarantee quality--careful discrimination should be exercised before laying in a stock, if the perfumery department is to meet with continued success. The grades purchased should be commensurate with the living standards of the community.