NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL PERFUMES 133 



The above described method of immersing flowers in 

 fatty substances is called "maceration"; it is the most 

 primitive and without doubt the most ancient process, but 

 it has many disadvantages, among which may be reckoned 

 first of all the loss of the oil adhering to the flowers. 

 Efforts have constantly been made, therefore, to replace 

 this method by a more perfect one. In the so-called "en- 

 fleurage" the flowers do not come into direct contact with 

 the liquid or solid fat; frames covered with gauze are 

 placed above one another in cupboards which admit of 

 being closed, and upon these frames are placed alternately 

 a stratum of purified and pulverized fat and a layer of 

 flowers. By means of a current of air, the perfume of 

 the flowers is conveyed to the fat, and after repeated 

 renewals there is obtained a pomade of a strong and 

 natural flower odor, which can be treated with alcohol to 

 make extracts. 



This method not only has many technical advantages, 

 but it permits first of all a more complete utilization of 

 the odorous plants. Since the flowers do not come into 

 contact with the fat, they exhale their fragrance as long 

 as they have any vitality, that is, the fragrant secretions 

 are continued for a time after separation from the stem, 

 and by the "enfleurage" process can be brought into 

 effect. Accurate analytical tests have of late led to the 

 belief that seven times as much of the odorous substance 

 of jasmine can be obtained in this way as by direct extrac- 

 tion with liquid fat which quickly destroys the vital func- 

 tions of the plant. 



In spite of this, the extraction of the odorous elements 

 is still an important process, especially in cases where they 

 exist in tangible quantities, and also where they are to be 

 obtained from dried portions of plants, from seeds or 

 roots, instead of from the plant in bloom. The best of 

 results have been reached here by the use of volatile 

 extracting agents, such as petroleum ether and benzin. 

 With suitable extracting apparatus, the solutions, through 



