1^ 



PERESKIA 



Bldo, DC. Fig. 309, Vol. I. St« 

 culent, less branching: Ivs. often 5 in. long by half as 

 wide : spines at first commonly solitary in the axils, 

 later more numerous, all straight: (Is. purple, lJ^-2 in. 

 broad: fr. 2 in. long, pear-shaped. New Granada, Brazil. 

 B.M. 3-178. G.C. III. 20:427. 



subuiata, Muehl. Stem 2 ft. or less high, below half 

 wood, above fleshy and branching: Ivs. persisting a few 

 years, dark green, shiny, as thick as a pencil, about 3 

 in. long, half cylindrical and ending in a spine : areolfB 

 felted, in the young plant with a few hair-bristles 

 later with 2-4 straight, pale yellow spines 3-4 in. long. 

 Chile. — Can be used as stock for Epiphyllum. 



spathulita, Otto. Stem upright, with few horizontal, 

 spatulate, shiny green leaves: the diffuse areolffi at 

 first somewhat woolly, later felted, above with a bunch 

 of short bristles, below with 1-2 yellowish white, straight 

 spines. Mex. Katharine Brandeoee. 



PEEFUMEEY GARDENING. The perfumes of the 

 •market are derived in part from animal secretions 

 (musk, civet), in part from artificial chemical com- 

 pounds, and in part, and chiefly, from the class of vege- 

 table products loosely called essential oils. "Synthetic" 

 or chemical perfumery materials are the more or le.ss 

 perfect artificial reproductions of organic compounds 

 used in perfumery. If it were possible in all cases and 

 with perfect success to compound these substances the 

 production of floral perfumes would soon be at an end, 

 as the chemical process would be sure to be cheaper 

 than the horticultural. But nature knows how to add 

 some touches which the chemist's art cannot imitate, 

 and even where synthetic manufacture is possible, the 

 result is in general regarded as a cheaper substitute. 

 At the same time, sentimental reasons count consider- 

 ably in favor of the natural perfume, and considering, 

 further, that some perfumes cannot be imitated chemi- 

 ■cally, there is no present cause to apprehend the ex- 

 tinction, or, in view of increasing demand, even the 

 decline, of the industry of producing natural perfumery 

 oils. 



The essential oils used in perfumery are secreted in 

 different parts of the plant. The flowers are naturally 

 thought of first, being the seat of the fragrance of the 

 rose, violet, cassie, jasmine, tuberose, the orange in part, 

 and numberless other plants whose perfume is extracted 

 or only enjoyed as naturally exhaled. The oil of laven- 

 der is yielded more by the green ]i:irts nf Tlir tluwer-head 

 than by the corollas. In rose gcr;iiiiiii]i. tliyim', winter- 

 green and patchouli the foliage is tin- t'r;iLri;iiil i)nrt. A 

 number of essences are derived fn.iii w.k.iIs. ;is those 

 of sandalwood, red cedar taid rlKxliiini. Tlie oil of sweet 

 birch comes partly from tin- \V(".il. hut mainly from the 

 inner bark, and the saiiii- is tnu- of sassafras. In the 

 case of the latter, howiv.r. th.- iv.its cnly are used; in 

 the case of the f"-inir tl"' \ jul- t..|i~. Srvprnl hfrbn- 



ceous roots ul-- "■ '■ ■■ ■- n^ .UTi- y.,\, (■■him. In 



snakeroot and ■• ■ ' '■' I i' iinds -tf tlir "r:iu[i'' ;iii'l 



other citrous I'l : ' • : M:|"iii:iiit ]iri-[iMiiiT\ oils, 



and the oil of lur. i u ml- <-.nnr< fn.iii ih.- frriiiriit.a 



kernel of thr iim. 



Tlio stall. hinl niotliiiils of extracting essential oils are 

 four. ii;inirly. iIm- iiso of mechanical means (chiefly ex- 

 pression!, iiistili;itioii, enfleiirage or inflowering. and 

 maceration. Expression appears to be applied only to 

 the rinds of the citrous fruits. These are placed under 

 pressure in a screw press, or sections turned wrong side 

 out are squeezed in the fingers, the oil being taken up 

 with a sponge, or the fi-uit is rubbed in a cup lined with 

 spikes (iciieUe A piquer), the oil collecting in a hollow 

 handle. An eenelle on a larger scale in the shape of a 

 hollow drum has also been used. 



In distillation, the oil-bcarine: nuiterial is heated with 

 water or sulijei'te.l to hot st.-atii, :iimI tin- oil, hiim; vohi- 



if the vapor woro not .■..iHlmso.l, :iimI tliis is :HToiii|ilisli,',l 



bypassing it tiit-ou-li : il ..r .MiniNaloiit nff;ni-oi,iriir 



of pipe kept cool l,y :i llow of w.Ai-v. TI n.lonsi.l 



steam and oil fall into ■, " I'lorontino rocipi.iit ,' a v.s-, I 



with a spout cotnili-diit at tin- lia-o I. lit fisiiiLr to III.- 



level of the top, s,, tiuu tin- lii-a\i.-i- li.|inil, som.-tini.-s 



PERFUMERY GARDENING 



1275 



poured off separately. After the water and oil have 

 mainly separated, the water will still contain enough 

 oil to make it highly fragrant, and in this state it goes 

 to market as rosewater, orange-flower water, etc., or is 

 returned to the still to be redistilled with the next 

 charge. 



The remaining two methods depend on the fact that 

 grease has the power of absorbing essential oils. In 

 enfleiirage the grease, without heating, is spread over 

 both surfaces of panes of glass which m.- s.t in fianics 

 {chiissis), so that they can be piled ..n. o\.-i- ,-iii..ili,-r 

 with spaces between. In these spaces ai-.- [.l.i.-.-.l 1 1 1. dow- 

 ers, the charge being renewed daily miDl il..- i;i-.-as.- is 

 sufficiently impregnated, when if .-..listi! -., ;,■• |„,ina.le." 

 "Extracts"are made by ditri-sti.- .i. i i .i. in alcohol, 

 which has a still stronger ;.i ., i ih,- perfume 



than has the grease. The al. . . I n. i i i > i l.e deodor- 

 ized to save perverting the iLnal [.. iiuni. , and is then 

 known as "Cologne spirit." The grease used in this 

 and the next process, moreover, must be freed from all 

 corruptible matter by a special process. Tallow and 

 lard, commonly mixed, and sometimes the fat of the 

 deer and other animals, are employed. 



In maceration the pomade is produced by immersing 

 repeated charges of the flowers in melted grease or fine 

 olive oil. 



In recent times various chemical processes for ex- 

 tracting perfumery have been tried, apparently with 

 some practical success; but they have not yet sup- 

 planted the old methods. Carbon bisulfid and pe- 

 troleum ether are among the solvents employed. These 

 methods would be less easily practiced by beginners 

 and amateurs than the ordinary ones. 



The art of distilling is not only not difficult to learn, 

 but is already in practice in this country in the case of 

 peppermint, sweet birch, sassafras, eucalyptus, etc. 

 More care and better apparatus would be required for 

 distilling roses and other flowers, but the process is 

 essentially the same. Nor do the grease processes in- 

 volve any difficulties which may not be overcome by 

 the application of a little American ingenuity and 

 capital. In fact, the production of the raw materials 

 of perfumery might proceed almost at once, so far as 

 the dilHculty of the processes is concerned. But can 

 we grow the requisite plants? 



That many of the standard perfumery plants will 

 grow in this' country needs no proof, and there is no 

 reason to doubt that tlieir fragrance in properly chosen 

 localities will equal that of the same plants in the 

 European centers. In general, success in this line 

 must be looked for only southward, even in dealing 

 with hardy plants, though there may be exceptions to 

 this rule. Cool trade-winds and fogs at flowering time 

 are to be shunned. The natural conditions in Florida 

 seem not very different from those of the south of 

 France, the great center of perfumery farming in 

 Eufoi.e. and in fact the feasibility of sti.-cossfnl per- 



ing 



Flor 



tory lietween these two points is available for some 

 lines of the industry. 



Among the particular plants to be noticed, the citrous 

 fruits deserve a leading place. Nearly or quite all of 

 the trees of this f;i-oii| , ii . ;i,.niij iln- sweet, the bitterer 

 Seville, and the 1. i i ■ , the sweet and sour 



limes, the lemon, til. , i I i In- shaddock, contain 



valuable perfumi-s . ill.. I m i... | ■ .1 of their fruit, or in 

 their flowers, or in il.. ii 1. a\. s, or in more than one 

 of these. Of the fruit oils, that of lemon is imported 

 into this country in largest quantity, followed by oil of 

 bergamot, oil of orange bitter and sweet, oil of limes 

 an<l "ccdrat" or citron oil, the last two in very small 

 .|uaiititi..s, l.iif tl.o ,-,-.li-at at a vor>- lii-h J. vice. These 

 oils Mil- .■\ir;..-t.-.l l.\ . \].i-.ss],,,i, till- ilistilied being 



III. ..ili.r 'III.- oil of the hitter orange is superior to 

 ilii' .-t ill. ... . . t ; the oil of bergamot is far more val- 



ni.il. iliin . iili.r, but can rarely be had in an unadul- 

 t. rai..l still. . The flowers of the orange treated by 

 distillation vu-lJ"ueroli." The scent of neroli, however. 



