KNOWLllDC.l-; 



OlXKMBER, 1912. 



Ilcliotiopin.C,; H., 



CHO 



O 



O 



. ,jj possesses a |)o\\fr 



odour of Heliotrope, and is obtained by the oxidation 

 of safrol. C,„ H,o O,: aubepine or anisic aldehyde, 

 C„ Hi (OC"H.,) (CHO). reproduces the odour of May 

 blossom; while "I(Mione," an artificial violet perfume, 

 for which a patent was taken out by Tiemann and 

 Kruger, is prepared by a complicated series of 

 reactions, b)' the condensation of citral with acetone. 



Another product in extensive use is artificial 

 musk, which fairly successfully imitates the odour 

 of the natural article, although the chemistry of 

 the latter is quite unknown. 



The constitution of tliis 

 substance, which has been tiie 

 subject of numerous patents 

 (Baur, and so on), varies, but the 

 commercial article consists of 

 a nitrated hydrocarbon, often 

 but\l-x\l\l-proi)yl-ketone 



(C, H- • CO • C,; H,, 



CH, 

 CH., 



Figure 488. Figure 489. 

 Cassia 

 flask. 



Ladenburg 

 Flask. 



Other "'synthetics'" inchide 

 compounds to represent natural 

 Xeroli, Rose, Hyacinth, and Lilac, 

 the odour of the last named being 

 closclv imitated by the well-known 

 body teri)ineol (CmHi^OH). This 

 chemical is inexpensive, and being unaffected by 

 heat and alkalies, constitutes one of the most 

 valuable perfumes for toilet soaps, although it is an 

 ingredient of many of the best spirit perfumes on 

 the market. The compound sunthesised b\- Baeyer 

 has the chemical formula : — 



C(OH)(CH,,) 



/\ 

 CHa CHa 



[ I 



CH., CHa 

 ■^^ / 

 C:C(CH;,)2 

 With regard to artificial rose oil, almost innumerable 

 attempts have been made to imitate the " smooth- 

 ness " and delicacy of the natural otto, but none 

 have met w-ith any great success. During the last 

 year, however, great advances have been made in 

 this direction by emjjloying various substitution pro- 

 ducts of the alcohols of the geraniol series, and also 

 by using plienyl-ethyl alcohol and its acetate. The 

 natural constituents of Otto de Rose (see Table 50) are 

 geraniol, citronellol, and so on, and mixtures of these 

 naturally occurring principles constitute such prepara- 

 tions as " rhodinol," " roseol," and so on, which are 

 supposed to approach in fragrance the aroma of 

 the genuine oil. 



In the foregoing paragraphs of this article we 



have become acquainted with the names and elcmen- 



tar\' properties of some of the more common 



constituents of the essences retailed in the shops. 



\\'e w ill now proceed to study the relations of the 



Sprengel 

 tube. 



jiroperties of these substances to each other, when 

 fnl used to imitate the odours of fresh flowers and in 

 making ordinary " bouf|uct " perfumes. The solu- 

 tions of nuirierous blended simi)le materials popularly 

 known as " scents "' or " iierfumcs " seem to have 

 become invested with a certain air of sanctity, and 

 it is hoped that the follow ing outline of the methods 

 em|)loyed in their manufacture will detract from 

 them some small amount of the mystery they so 

 obstinately retain. 



It is not intended here, however, to in any measure 

 deprecate the perfumer's art, which is one of the 

 oldest known, and one from which chemistry has not 

 reinoved much empiricism, but 

 mereh' to remove from the average 

 mind its ignorance of the nature 

 of floral essences, probablv caused 

 by many mythical terms of 

 description. 



In stud\ing the art of the 

 perfume industry, we can clearly 

 and conveniently differentiate be- 

 tween the following classes of 

 substances which are in constant 

 use : — 



(1) " Primary mati.-rials.'" which 



for our purpose include essential 



oils, artificial perfumes, various 



animal and plant substances, and 



pomades (to which reference will 



be made later). All these constitute 



the foundations of other intermediate preparations, 



which are included in the subsequent synopses (2, 3, 



and 4). 



(2) The so-called tinctures, extraits, S[)irits and 

 infusions. 



(3) The specialities of different firms, "'Concretes," 

 and other substances, the formulae of which are not 

 published ; the last-named being, in many cases, 

 liquids possessing the characteristic odours of defined 

 fiowcrs, and which are intended to be softened, fixed 

 or othcrw isc modified with other materials. 



(4) Compound preparations of more or less know n 

 or evident composition, or which can be imitated 

 with a fair degree of accuracy. These could have 

 been classed as " primary materials," except for the 

 fact that they are of com[)lex constitution, whereas 

 the term is conveniently reserved for substances 

 representing the properties of one particular plant. 

 These complex compounds are blended mixtures of 

 simple substances (essential oils, synthetics), which 

 constitute useful bases of constant composition, and 

 which ha\e usually been at some previous time 

 secret preparations similar to those included in (3). 

 The pomades, vide (1). which have been mentioned 

 on two previous occasions, are prepared in the south 

 of France by two distinct methods, involving the 

 removal of the odorous constituents of flowers by 

 means of a mixture of fats, usually suet and lard, 

 although olive oil and other fixed oils are sometimes 

 used. The impregnation is either conducted b\' 

 warming the mixture of flowers and fat in a steam- 



