512 THE GARDEN AND ITS FRUITS. [Chap. V. 



leaves of the same tree. The price of Neroli varies, with the seasons, from 

 $30 to $45 the pound, and of Pctits Grains from $8 to $12. These two oils 

 are extensively used in the composition of Cologne water, and in combina- 

 tion with bergamot, give it its distinctive character. The orange-flower 

 water is consumed in immense quantities in France, in the ' cau sucree,' so 

 universally drank in the hot season. This, by the way, is the only shape in 

 which a Frenchman will drink water at all. The Bigarade orange-tree re- 

 quires ten years to mature and twenty to obtain perfection, and yields an 

 average of seventeen pounds of flowers per annum. 



" Eose water is also distilled in large quantities. A result of its distillation 

 is an exceedingly small quantity of otto of rose of the very highest quality ; 

 it appears in small supernatant grains or drops, which are carefully skimmed 

 ofl" and rectified. It is superior to the famous Kizanlik, or Turkish otto, 

 and congeals, at ordinary temperatures, in beautiful, transparent crystals. 

 The ' Rose de Mai,' or double May rose, is the one universally grown. 



" Another very costly article, of which less than one ounce had been pro- 

 duced in 1855, is the essential oil of jessamine. Up to that period its exist- 

 ence in the plant was stoutly denied by the distillers, although to what other 

 principle the fine odor of the plant was due, they failed to prove. In that 

 year an Algerian chemist obtained a minute quantity, which cost him, as 

 we were informed, at the rate of 17,000 francs the kilogramme, or $90 the 

 ounce. It has, since then, been produced at a cheaper rate, but still toe 

 dear for commercial purposes. The wild Arabian jessamine is grafted on 

 the cultivated plant of tiie same species, acclimated, and bears for many 

 years, if not winter killed, yielding 90 to 150 lbs. of flowers per thousand 

 plants. It is closely trimmed in spring, and deeply covered in winter. The 

 caterpillar is its most formidable enemy. 



" A most important branch, and one in which great rivalry exists, is the 

 preparation of perfumed pomades and otto, which have a two-fold use : first, 

 as bases for the finer kind of pomatums and hair oils ; and next, as a me- 

 dium for obtaining spirituous extracts for the toilet, such as Lubin's well- 

 known extracts for the handkerchief. Their preparation is the most in- 

 teresting and curious feature of the Grasse establishments, and merits a word 

 of description. For the oils, the inodorous virgin olive oil is used, expressed 

 from olives just before their maturity. 



" The pomade ' body,' which is prepared in winter, is composed of one 

 part of beef suet and two parts of leaf lard, thoroughly hashed, washed in 

 several waters, and among the best manufacturers it is washed several times 

 in rose water to deprive it of all unpleasant odor, and then carefully melted 

 and stored away in huge tin cans in airj', cool vaults, for use in the sea- 

 son of flowers. The busy operations of the year commence with the rose 

 season. 



" There are two processes for impregnating the pomade body and the oils 

 with the floral odors — one by infusion, the other by ' enfleurage.' The 

 first is employed for the strong, less volatile odors of the rose, orange, and 



