OLEUM BERGAMOTTiE. 



121 



1877 the export of these essential oils from Messina amounted to 

 306,948 kilogrammes, valued at 6,130,960 lire. 



Uses — Essence of lemon is used in perfumery, and as a flavouring 

 ingredient '; and though much sold by druggists is scarcely employed 

 in medicine. 



Adulteration — Few drugs are more rarely to be found in a state 

 of purity than essence of lemon. In fact it is stated that almost all 

 that comes into the market is more or less diluted with oil of turpen- 

 tine or with the cheaper distilled oil of lemons. Manufacturers of the 

 essence complain that the demand for a cheap article forces them to 

 this falsification of their product. 



OLEUM BERGAMOTTiE. 



Oleum Bergamii ; Essence or Essential Oil of Bcrgamot ; F. Essence 



de Bergamotte ; G. Bergamottdl. 



Botanical Origin — Citrus 



Poiteau,^ a small 

 Bitter Orannre. Its 



yamia var. vulgaris Risso et 



tree closely resembling in flowers and foliage the 

 i fruit is 2^ to 3 inches in diameter, nearly spherical, 

 or slightly pear-shaped, frequently crowned by the persistent style ; ^ it 

 is of a pale golden yellow like a lemon,^ with the peel smooth and thin, 

 abounding in essential oil of a peculiar fragrance ; the pulp is pale 

 yellowish green, of a bitterish taste, and far less acid than that 

 of the lemon. 



The tree is cultivated at Recro-io in Calabria, and is unknown in a 

 wild state. 



History— The bergamot is one of the cultivated forms which 

 abound in the genus Citrus, and which constitute the innumerable 

 varieties of the orange, lemon and citron. Whether it is most nearly 

 related to the lemon or to the orange is a point discussed as early as 

 the beginuing of the last century. Gallesio' remarks that it so evi- 

 dently combines the characters of the two that it should be regarded 

 ^_ a hybrid between them. 



The bergamot first 



appeare 



1 



the 



er part of the 17th century. It is not mentioned in the grand 



latt 



jyork on orange trees of Ferrari,^ published at Rome in 1646, nor iri 

 Jfie treatise of Commelyn" (1676), nor in the writings of Lanzoni 

 (1690)," or La Quintinie (1692).7 So far as we know, it is first noticed 

 U'n ^^^^^^ ^^°^ called Le Farfanieur Frangois, printed at Lyons m 

 1093. The author who calls himself Le Sieur Barhe, j>arfiimeur says 

 that the Essence de Cedra ou Bcrga-motte is obtained from the fruits 



^i a lemon-tree 



has ^^^.. ^ 



1 81 f *'!!''' i'^ ,w«(ure«e (Z^., Orcmgcrs, Paris, 



2 Fig, 



hew r»ii." ^^9 ^* *'-'A^ siimu vvuiii, 



We r T' ^^ I^^l^i-euil, 1873, p. 82. 



definitpn ^ ^' convenience and 



iu thp^ ^^^^ ^"*^ ^°* because we concnr 

 8en-elT ^^^"^^^^ that the Bergamot de- 

 speciea '^'^"^'''^ ""^ "^ distinct botanical 



& 



iu Beutley and Trimcn, 3fcfL 



riants^ p^vt 31. 



8 Traile du Citrus, 1811. 118. 



* Jfesjyeriile.^ sea de maloramj aureorum 



cuhura ei usa, , -t ^n^^ 



5 Nederlantze Hesperides^Am^i^rd. IbiO. 



fol. (an English translation in 1683). 



6 CUrolo'jia, Ferrarioe, 1690. 

 '^Instruction pour les Jardins fruitiers.., 



avec vn traitd des Grangers, ed. 2, 1692. 



