COMMEECIAL ASPECT OF THE INDUSTRY. 43 



COMMERCIAL ASPECT OF THE INDUSTRY. 

 VALUE ANI> CONSUMPTION OF VOLATILE OILS. 



Mention has already been made of the vaUie in general of volatile 

 oils as industrial products, which commercially have not been manu- 

 factured in the United States to any extent, the mint oils being 

 singular exceptions. Lack of interest in the growth and develop- 

 ment of perfumery plants is principally responsible for the inactive 

 condition now existing in this important phase of industrial enter- 

 prise. Possibly a lack of experience with regard to the growth of 

 the plants concerned and the methods necessary for success has been 

 largely instrumental in preventing the upbuilding of this branch 

 of industry. 



It must be conceded that very large quantities of volatile oils are 

 at present consumed in the United States in the several uses to which 

 they are applied. In the manufacture of perfumes the role played 

 by volatile oils is all important. A large proportion of the amounts 

 consumed enters the channels of the perfumery trade. Usually per- 

 fumes consist of blends of odors brought about by a skillful com- 

 bining of several oils in varying proportions through a medium 

 capable of holding in' solution these oils and odoriferous ingredients. 

 The manufacture of perfumes has shown but little development in 

 the New World. Perfumery products are largely imported in the pre- 

 pared condition, chiefly from France, where the skillful art of com- 

 pounding has been scientifically developed. 



The use of volatile oils in flavoring and in the manufacture of 

 flavoring extracts is very extensive, but it is restricted to a compara- 

 tively small number of oils, principal among which are lemon, orange, 

 wintergreen, peppermint, and others of this type. 



For scenting purposes, such as aromatizing soaps and toilet prep- 

 arations in general, volatile oils have been employed very extensively 

 in the United States. Their use in this line of application has in- 

 creased with the increase in the manufacture of these much-demanded 



articles. 



On the other hand, the medicinal value of certain oils and of cer- 

 tain constituents which can be isolated from them has created a de- 

 mand which in part has been supplied by home production and in 

 part by foreign production. The separation of important thera- 

 peutic ingredients, chiefly antiseptics, has been highly serviceable 

 in the treatment of many ailments, a striking instance of this kind 

 being the separation of camphor from the oil of camphor, this ingre- 

 dient playing an important role in medicine as well as in the arts. 

 Other oils deserving mention in this connection are those of euca- 

 lyptus and thyme, the former yielding the vahiable eucalyptol and 

 the latter thymol. Another example is peppermint oil, from which 



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