128 AURANTIACE^. 



the leaves (Essence de Petit Grain)^ it is sometimes reduced by addition 

 of the less fragrant oil obtained from the flowers of the Portugal or 

 Sweet Orange. In some of these adulterations we must conclude that 

 orange flower water participate : metallic contamination of the latter 

 is not unknown. 



Other Products of the genus Citrus. 



Essence or Essential Oil of Petit Grain — was originally ob- 

 tained by subjecting little immature oranges to distillation (Pomet — 

 1692); but it is now produced, and to a large extent, by distillation of 

 the leaves and shoots either of the Bigarade or Bitter Orange, or of the 

 Portugal or Sweet Orange. The essence of the former is by far the 

 more fragrant, and commands double the price. Poiteau and Eisso^ 

 state that the leaves of the Brigaradier with bitter fruit are by far the 

 richest in essential oil among all the allied leaves ; they are obtained in 

 the lemon-growing districts of the Mediterranean where the essence is 

 manufactured. Lemon-trees being mostly grafted on orange-stocks, 

 the latter during the summer put forth shoots, which are allowed to 

 grow till they are often some feet in length. The cultivator then cuts 

 them off", binds them in bundles, and conveys them to the distiller of 

 Petit Grain. The strongest shoots are frequently reserved for walking- 

 sticks. The leaves of the two sorts of orange are easily distinguished 

 by their smell when crushed. Essence of Petit Grain, which in odour 

 has a certain resemblance to Neroli, is used in perfumery and especially 

 in the manufacture of Eau de Cologne. 



According to Gladstone (1864) it consists mainly of a hydrocarbon 

 probably identical with that from oil of Neroli. 



Essential Oil of Orange Peel — is largely made at Messina and 

 also in the south of France. It is extracted by the sponge-, or by the 

 ebue^Ze-process, and partly from the Bigarade and partly from the 

 Sweet or Portugal Orange, the scarcely ripe fruit being in either case 

 employed. The oil made from the former is much more valuable than 

 that obtained from the latter, and the two are distinguished in price- 

 currents as Essence de Bigarade and Essence de Portugal. 



These essences are but little consiimed in England, in liqueur- 

 making and in perfumery. For what is known of their chemical 

 nature, the reader can consult the works named at foot.^ 



Essence of Cedrat — The true Citron or Cedrat tree is Citrus 

 medica Risso, and is of interest as being the only member of the 

 Orange tribe the fruit of which was known in ancient Rome. The 

 tree itself, which appears to have been cultivated in Palestine in the 

 time of Josephus, was introduced into Italy in about the 3rd century. 



1 Wehavebeeninformedongood authority Journ. of Chem. Soc. xi. (1873) 552, &c. 



that the Neroli commonly sold contains f of We may moreover point out the existence 



Essence of Petit Grain, and \ of Essence of a crystallized constituent of the oil of 



of Bergaraot, the remaining 4 being true orange peel from the island of Cura9ao. It 



Neroli. was noticed as long ago as the year 1771 



^ Loc. c, edition of 1873. 211. byGaubius : " Sal aromaticus, nativus, ex 



'3 Gmelin, Chemislry, xiv. (1860) 305. oleo corticum mali aurei Curassavici," in 



306 : Gladstone, Journ. of Chem. Soc. xvii. his book, " Adersariorum varii argumenti, 



(1864) 1: Wright (and Piesse) in Year- lib. unus." Leidae, 1771. 27. 

 book of Pharmact/, 1871. 546; 1873. 518; 



