PERFUMES 261 



during the following year and a plantation persists in yield- 

 ing condition for 7 or 8 years. The stems of the geranium 

 under these cultivated conditions attain a thickness of I inch. 

 The yield varies greatly, according to conditions. It has been 

 found that the first cutting of leaves yields about i pound of 

 oil per 1,000 pounds of leaves, while the second cutting is 

 nearly twice as rich in percentage of oil. The production of 

 geranium oil in Algeria is perhaps larger than that of any 

 other country. Algerian oil stands next to French oil in value. 

 In Algeria the plants attain a height of 2.^/2. feet and 3 crops 

 of leaves are harvested annually. It appears that the oil 

 obtained from plants grown on dry hillsides is of superior 

 value. 



VETIVER 



A perennial grass known to botanists as Vetvuera sizanoides 

 and occurring in Mysore, Bengal, and Burma in moist, heavy 

 soil along river banks, yields from its roots by distillation the 

 vetiver oil which is used as a basis of perfume. The leaves 

 of this grass are practically without odor and are used for 

 thatching and other purposes. The roots, however, when 

 washed and dried in the sun yield by a slow process of distil- 

 lation a viscous oil less volatile than the most essential oils. 

 It is used in perfumery largely on account of its fixing proper- 

 ties, since it thereby prevents other essential oils from vola- 

 tilizing too rapidly. 



OTTO OF ROSE 



The familiar perfume known as otto of rose has been here- 

 tofore obtained largely from Bulgaria, which country seems 

 to be best adapted to the production of high-grade roses 

 for this specific purpose. The rose commonly cultivated in 

 Bulgaria as a source of perfume is Rosa damascena. R. alba 

 has also been grown for the same purpose but it yields an otto 

 of quite inferior quality. Outside of Bulgaria otto of rose is 



