NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL PERFUMES 139 



resembles vanilla, and is related to it in chemical composi- 

 tion. Other examples of such technical achievements are 

 coumarin, which perfectly reproduces the odor of the fra- 

 grant herb called woodruff (Waldmeister) and lends its 

 characteristic aroma to many a spicy brew, and terpineol, 

 obtained from ordinary turpentine oil, which has an ex- 

 tremely strong odor of lilacs, and is an indispensable 

 adjunct to all modern lilac perfumes; to say nothing of 

 the cheaper and more ordinary perfumes, such as safrol, 

 nitrobenzol, etc. 



To name all would lead us too far ; but we must not leave 

 unmentioned one discovery, that of the artificial violet per- 

 fume, the last important work of Tiemann. Starting from 

 the analyses of orris-root, the rhizoma of a species of lily, 

 Iris florentina, in which he suspected the existence of the 

 genuine aroma of violets, he succeeded through his wonder- 

 ful gift of combination in condensing with acetone the so- 

 called citral contained in lemon-rind and some other 

 volatile oils, and obtained a substance which he called 

 pseudo-ionon. Under the action of dilute sulphuric acid 

 this is changed to the real ionon, which, in a thousand-fold 

 dilution with pure alcohol, exhales a delicious and natural 

 fragrance of violets, and is the foundation of the favorite 

 violet perfumes, whose use has been so widely extended 

 since the discovery. 



Our subject would now be nearly exhausted but for one 

 remarkable substance, which must not be forgotten, arti- 

 ficial musk. Baur, its fortunate discoverer, found, about 

 fifteen years ago, that if toluol and butylic chloride are 

 combined according to the well-known chemical method of 

 Friedel and Craffts, and the resulting oil treated with 

 highly-concentrated nitric acid, the so-called "trinitro- 

 butyl-toluol' ' is obtained in pretty crystals, which have an 

 odor of musk wonderful in quantity and intensity. When 

 we remember that the natural musk a secretion of an 

 animal of the deer family, native to the interior of Asia- 

 is a very costly and extensively used substance, sold for 



