December. 1912. 



KNOWLEDGE. 



jacketed pan to 60°C, or by enfletimge, a method 

 of cold extraction, which consists of allowing the 

 flowers to remain in contact with the fat tor a certain 

 time, and replacing them at intervals by fresh ones 

 until the butyraceous mass has acquired a sufficiently 

 strong characteristic odour. 



The pomades obtainable include Jasmin, Rose, 

 Tubereuse. Cassie, Violet, Orange flowers, and so on. 

 The substances, here designated as " primary 

 materials," include many other products of the plant 

 world, of w hich special mention has not been made : 

 such are Tonquin beans {Dyptcryx odorata). \'anilla 

 pods (VcTiiilla plaiiifolia), and Storax [Liqu'uhiinlnir 

 oriental is). 



Our second class of articles (2), c<)mi)rises solutions 

 of the '■ primary materials "" m solvents. No abso- 

 lutely definite rule stands for the exact application of 

 the names there mentioned. Usually, and here, the 

 tinctures mean solutions of vegetable substances, 

 such as benzoin and the soluble constituents of 

 Tonquin beans, in alcohol ; the extraits refer to the 

 alcoholic extracts of pomades : the spirits, to solu- 

 tions of essential oils in alcohol : while the infusions 

 represent liquids containing the soluble constituents 

 of substances such as musk and ambergris, in special 

 solvents. 



With regard to the preparation of these semi- 

 pharmaceutical products very little need be said. 



The extraction of pomades is conducted on a large 

 scale in France, by treating them in a specially 

 designed emulsifying machine with alcohol, the 

 process occupving about a week, while the operation 

 for small quantities is carried out by macerating the 

 fattv substance with the menstruum inclosed vessels, 

 with occasional stirring, for about a month. 



The tinctures and spirits, usually being simple 

 solutions of single substances, offer no difficulties in 

 practice, but the successful manipulation of an 

 infusion requires a little skill ; that of musk, for 

 instance, necessitating trituration or " rubbing down "' 

 of the material with hot water, and digestion for a 

 fortnight with alcohol. Civet is usually mixed with 

 powdered orris root, extracted in a similar manner, 

 and finally improved by the addition of potassium 

 carbonate. 



The pomades and extraits, although far superior 

 to alternative preparations as regards the delicacy of 

 the odours the\' represent, are used only to a small 

 extent in I£ngland, but in France they enjoy 

 practically universal employment. In this country 

 they are replaced by the so-called " concretes "' 

 [mentioned in (3)] , which are essentially pomades 

 without the fat. They are not designated in this 

 treatise as " primary materials " because their 

 methods of manufacture, although usually consisting 

 of extracting the flowers with solvents, often 

 petroleum ether, are guarded as trade secrets, and 

 also because in many instances they are believed to 

 consist, at least partially, of artificial substances. 



These preparations are sent out under various 

 copyright titles, in the form of concentrated semi- 



liquid [jroducts, and are met with representing the 

 flowers alreadv named in our consideration of the 

 floral pomades. 



It is quite possible to make an expensive and, in 

 this respect, good perfume from a simple mixture of 

 only essential oils dissolved in alcohol, but as prepara- 

 tions of this tyi)e are deficient in lasting power, 

 various " fixers " are employed to impart the 

 necessar\- stability. These fixing preparations 

 include the already-mentioned infusions of animal 

 products, and also many synthetic and proprietary 

 articles possessing slow or slight volatility. 

 Although it is impossible to teach, if such were even 

 ever attempted, the art of perfumery in a book, it is 

 quite easy to classify two distinct varieties of 

 materials which give character and permanency to 

 an essence, namely : — 



(1) " Light ■' or delicate odours, f.^'., volatile oils 

 and e.xtraits of pomades respectiveh-. 



(2) " Fixatives," including infusions, tinctures of 

 balsamic resins like benzoin and balsam of Peru (from 

 Myroxylon pareira). and also many proprietary 

 specialities, obtainable under various fantastic names. 



It is in the judicious and minute attention to the 

 blending of the articles of these two classes that the 

 skill of the perfumer manifests itself: for it is only 

 bv the possession of an extremel_\- well developed 

 olfactory sense, and profound knowledge gained by 

 protracted experience, that the odours of particular 

 flowers can be successfully imitated, or the creation 

 of novel and pleasing combinations can be accom- 

 plished. With even a small amount of practice it is 

 possible, however, to acquire the art of such processes 

 as the "softening" of one or the "enriching" of 

 another odour ; but it is by experience alone that one 

 mav become intimately acquainted with the affinity 

 of odours and their incompatibility. 



.\s the latter portion of this article only considers 

 the preparation of the common handkerchief essences, 

 it must not be supposed that this is the only or even 

 the largest branch of the industry. 



It is impo.ssible in a small space to deal with the 

 composition of perfumed waters (Lavender, Aqua 

 Mellis. and so on), Eau de Cologne, powder and 

 solid perfumes, or even to review the widely different 

 methods adopted for ()erfuming toilet soaps and 

 other preparations, such as hair lotions, cosmetics, 

 arid deiitrifices. 



It is hoped, however, that the original object has 

 at least been partially accomplished: that of describ- 

 ing the sources, modes of preparation, and properties 

 of a few of the chief substances employed in per- 

 fumery ; of indicating the methods of manipulation 

 involved in producing the spirituous essences familiar 

 to us all, contained in their attractive cut glass 

 bottles, artistically decorated with smart labels and 

 the inevitable ribbon : and of demonstrating how 

 science has improved upon the ancient methods of 

 extracting the various odoriferous bodies, and has 

 presented an important and continually increasing 

 industry with ingenious apparatus, along with sound, 

 practical and economical processes. 



