360 



The World's Commercial Products 



•*?f 



"K&O 



By permission of Messrs. Jjhn Jakson & Co., West Croydon 



CUTTING LAVENDER 



In some cases distill a- 

 tion cannot be resorted 

 to as the application of 

 heat destroys the valu- 

 able odorous constitu- 

 ents. Thus, in preparing 

 lemon and similar oils 

 obtained from the rinds 

 of Citrus fruits a process 

 of expression is made 

 use of for the prepara- 

 tion of the best qualities, 

 and only the poorest 

 kinds are obtained by 

 distillation. The fruit 

 is cut into halves or 

 quarters, and the adher- 



H ing acid pulp removed. 



■ The portions of rind 



iMvk\X* ! > are t nen e it ner squeezed 



against a sponge held in 

 the right hand of the 

 operator or in the case 

 of halves are pressed against it and rotated. In this way the small cells in which the essential 

 oil is secreted are broken, and as the oil exudes it is absorbed by the sponge. When the latter 

 becomes saturated the oil is squeezed out into a receptacle. In the West Indies, where lime 

 oil is made on a large scale, the portions of rind are drawn across upright brass needles fixed 

 in the bottom of a bowl, or the whole fruit is gently rolled over the points. The oil cells are 

 thus pricked by the needles, and the oil flows out and accumulates at the bottom of the 

 bowl. These "expression " and " pricking " processes do not remove the whole of the oil from 

 the rind and the rest may be obtained by steam distillation, the distilled products being of 

 inferior quality and selling at lower prices. 



When neither distillation nor "expression" processes are available, "enfleurage" methods 

 are used, 'which consist in soaking the material in warm fat. From this the volatile oil is 

 dissolved out -by pure spirits of wine. This process is used in the preparation of perfumes. 



The volatile oils are used as solvents, perfumes, flavouring agents, or drugs. It will be 

 readily understood, therefore, that a considerable range of these products comes on the 

 market ; attention can, therefore, only be directed to the few, which are of the first 

 importance. 



Oil of Turpentine. The manufacture of this material has been described previously. 

 It is produced chiefly in the United States, France, Russia, and Austria, and is employed 

 principally as a solvent for resins in the preparation of oil varnishes, and as a vehicle for 

 pigments in oil paints. 



Volatile Oils used in Perfumery 



"Otto of Roses." This extremely valuable oil has been in use for centuries in the East 

 as a perfume. It is produced for export almost exclusively at the present day in Bulgaria 

 from. the petals of Rosa damascena, and though considerable quantities are made in Persia, 

 India, and elsewhere, these kinds do not come into European commerce. " Rose water" is 

 made chiefly in the South of France by the distillation of the petals of the "cabbage rose" 

 (Rosa centifolia with water ; it consists of a solution of a small quantity of " otto " in water. 



