The Art of Perfumery, George William Septimus Piesse [christmas read aloud .TXT] 📗
- Author: George William Septimus Piesse
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Orris, properly Iris.—The dried rhizome of Iris florentina has a very pleasant odor, which, for the want of a better comparison, is said to resemble the smell of violets; it is, however, exceedingly derogatory to the charming aroma of that modest flower when such invidious comparisons are made. Nevertheless the perfume of iris root is good, and well worthy of the place it has obtained as a perfuming substance. The powder of orris root is very extensively used in the manufacture of sachet powders, tooth-powder, &c. It fathers that celebrated "oriental herb" known as "Odonto." For tincture of orris, or, as the perfumers call it,
Extract of Orris,After standing together for about a fortnight, the extract is fit to take off. It requires considerable time to drain away, and, to prevent loss, the remainder of the orris should be placed in the tincture press. This extract enters into the composition of many of the most celebrated bouquets, such as "Jockey Club," and others, but is never sold alone, because its odor, although grateful, is not sufficiently good to stand public opinion upon its own merits; but in combination its value is very great; possessing little aroma itself, yet it has the power of strengthening the odor of other fragrant bodies; like the flint and steel, which though comparatively incombustible, readily fire inflammable bodies.
Palm.—The odor of palm oil—the fat oil of commerce—is due to a fragrant principle which it contains. By infusion in alcohol, the odoriferous body is dissolved, and resembles, to a certain extent, the tincture of orris, or of extract of violet, but is very indifferent, and is not likely to be brought into use, though several attempts have been made to render it of service when the cultivation of the violets have failed from bad seasons.
Patchouly.—Pogostemon patchouly (Lindley), Plectranthus crassifolius (Burnett), is an herb that grows extensively in India and China. It somewhat resembles our garden sage in its growth and form, but the leaves are not so fleshy.
The odor of patchouly is due to an otto contained in the leaves and stems, and is readily procured by distillation. 1 cwt. of good herb will yield about 28 oz. of the essential oil, which is of a dark brown color, and of a density about the same as that of oil of sandal wood, which it resembles in its physical character. Its odor is the most powerful of any derived from the botanic kingdom; hence, if mixed in the proportion of measure for measure, it completely covers the smell of all other bodies.
Extract of Patchouly.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 fashionable run, yet when smelled at in its pure state, it is far from agreeable, having a kind of mossy or musty odor, analogous 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-fashioned 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:—
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 passes into another odoriferous body, benzoic acid; which is seen in crystals to form over the dry parts of the flask. This is a natural illustration 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.
is not, however, at present applied in perfumery, except in name.
Imitation Essence of Clove Pink.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 principally 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.—
And waft its spoils, a sweet perfume,
In incense to the skies."
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 principally the Christian inhabitants of the low countries of the Balkan, between Selimno, and
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