has been expressed, soi | 
weight i in gold ”. In the ns part of the 19th. century, most of the 
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_orris oil was distilled in Paris, but the center of this industry soon | Hak 
moved to Germany, where some of the finest orris oils and products 
were manufactured until the time of the war. At the present, there — 
are several very excellent orris oils on the market which are distilled 
in France, in England, and in Italy. Some of the very finest are 
distilled in southern France, where they grow, or at least have grown 
a portion of the root they distill. It has been said that the variety 
Clio has been cultivated chiefly, and although the climate is favo- 
rable, the cultivation is small compared to the amount of root used. 
The distillation, and at one time the cultivation too, has been 
attempted in the United States, but the greater portion of the orris | 
oil and orris products are imported, chiefly from France. 
Orris oil is offered to the perfumer in several forms, as orris con- 
erele, the oil as it is distilled from the root, is a fatty substancesolid 
at room temperature; orris liquid, a special distillation product, or | 
in some cases an inferior preparation made by distilling the root 
with oil of cedar or other less valuable essential oils; orris resins or 
balsams, an extraction of the entire root; tincture of orris, made by 
percolating powdered orris root with alcohol, and several other pro- 
ducts put out under trade names. 
To orris root we are indebted for one of the most wonderful disco- 
veries ever made in the perfume industry — the synthesis of Zonone, 
a substance which has a delightful violet odor when highly diluted. 
Violet has always been one of the most highly valued and popular 
of perfumes, but as violet flowers contain so little perfume the true — 
natural violet flower oil is extremely expensive, seven hundred dol- 
lars an ounce. Scientists, noting the violet odor of orris root, 
started extensive research work with the root on the theory that the 
substance producing the violet fragrance in orris root was very 
similar if not the same, as the substance giving fragrance to the 
violet. To prove this, they determined to extract the odorous prin- 
ciple of orris root. After much work, they finally succeeded in 
getting a ketone which, diluted many times with alcohol, gave an 
intense odor of fresh violets, the true natural odor. This product 
was called Irone, but it too was expensive, since such a minute 
quantity was present in the root. Six hundred pounds of orris root 
yielded but one ounce of Irone. However, modern science is ever | 
triumphant. The chemists next succeeded in synthesizing this pro- 
duct, developing it chemically instead of extracting it from orris 
root. This new synthetic violet odor was named Jonone and was 
first introduced by Schimmel and Company, in 1843. From the first 
it gained steadily in favor, until it is now considered as the stan- 
