PERFUMERY-GARDENING 



PERFUMERY-GARDENING 2549 



valleys of the Pacific States do not favor perfume- 

 production, however stimulating local conditions may 

 be to vegetative growth; but direct experiments in 

 this connection appear to be lacking. 



The centifolia and gallica roses have practically but 

 one season of bloom in this country. They are covered 

 with flowers in May or June, according to the latitude 

 in which they are grown, producing only occasional 

 blooms in the' fall, the gallicas being most free in this 

 respect; but the hybrid with R. rugosa has a long bloom- 

 ing season, with repeated crops coming on in late sum- 

 mer and autumn. This peculiarity might be of advan- 

 tage in localities where labor is scarce, as a smaller 

 force of workers could care for the same amount of 

 bloom developing over a longer season. The perfume 

 of the hybrid rugosa is of the most exquisite quality 

 and the yield somewhat greater than of the older types 

 of perfume roses, but there is greater difficulty of 

 propagation, as rugosa varieties are increased only by 

 budding or grafting, while the centifolias and gallicas 

 are freely propagated by means of layers or cuttings. 



the main question being that of efficient labor for 

 promptly collecting the blooms during the relatively 

 short productive season. It requires in this country, 

 as abroad, fully 3,000 pounds of fresh rose petals to 

 produce a pound of oil, valued at the present tune at 

 $125, or more if of really high quality. The value of 

 the rose-water represented by this amount of oil would 

 be considerably greater. 



The oil distilled from the green parts of the common 

 rose geraniums, Pelargonium capitatum (?) and P. 

 Radida, resembles in fragrance the oil of roses and is 

 largely used as a substitute for it. Although generally 

 not sold at retail under its own name, it is in itself a 

 legitimate perfume, and its production should be under- 

 taken in this country only, however, in the South, 

 where the long season admits of three crops of leaves 

 and where the stumps with the soil heaped around them 

 will survive the winter. The largest crop is to be had on 

 rich lowland, but the finest quality is produced on 

 drier and less fertile ground. In France, it is now grown 

 mainly on irrigated land, but the product has to be 

 ameliorated by the admixture of oil from drier loca- 

 tions. The rose geranium is largely grown in Algeria, 

 and in Spain, Sicily, and so on, as well as in France. 



2868. Perfumery plants : Iris florentina, Jasminum grandiflorum, Lippia citriodora. 



The production of high-quality rose-water, rather 

 than attar, appears Likely to be more profitable in this 

 country, as the latter requires repeated distillations, or 

 washing out by ether and subsequent evaporation of 

 the menstruum, and realizes a relatively less price in 

 market on account of competition with adulterated 

 imported oils and synthetic imitations. 



The type of rose bloom best suited for perfume pur- 

 poses is semi-double, with large, thick petals that can 

 easily be collected, rather than the more showy varie- 

 ties with full disks of shorter petals so crowded that 

 they hide the pistils. Many of the latter varieties 

 possess exquisite fragrance and possibly a satisfactory 

 oil-content, but are seldom sufficiently vigorous or 

 free in bloom to offset the added difficulty of manipula- 

 tion. In a field trial of "Princess Bonnie," one of the 

 most fragrant of American-raised hybrid tea roses, 

 not enough blooms could be collected at a given time 

 for a practical distillation. New varieties will be de- 

 veloped especially adapted to the purpose as interest 

 in rose-perfume production increases, and those with 

 peculiarly attractive odors may become available for 

 the grease process, when not altogether suited for 

 distillation. 



The culture of perfume roses and the extraction of 

 their fragrance present no difficulties to American skill, 



Geranium oil, in turn, has its substitutes, among which 

 the oil of lemon-grass from India is conspicuous. 



The European sweet violet, Viola odorata, affords 

 the finest example of a favorite type of odors quite 

 different from the citrine and the rose. The oil of the 

 violet itself is necessarily so expensive as to be little 

 used. The large amount of flowers required and the 

 amount of hand labor necessary for gathering such 

 small flowers, each growing on a separate stem, are 

 apparently insurmountable obstacles to the extensive 

 use of true oil of violet. Still it may be presumed that 

 there will permanently be a class of buyers willing to 

 pay the necessary cost of so choice a perfume. The 

 violet yields its full fragrance only southward, but it 

 must be grown in partial shade. When labor conditions 

 admit, true violet perfume may be produced in Cali- 

 fornia and in the South. An expert grower of violets 

 has even thought that they might be grown under glass 

 for this purpose. 



Of the same general type and in some wise a substi- 

 tute for violet perfume, is that of Acacia Farnesiana, 

 the "cassie" of the French, known in the South as 

 "opopanax." The small yellow balls of flowers are 

 treated by the grease processes, particularly macera- 

 tion. While not ranked so high as violet, the perfume 

 is in entirely good standing and produced in large 



