PRODUCTS OF THE CITRUS. 243 



PRODUCTS OF THE CITRUS. 



Although there are innumerable varieties of the citrus, 

 which, owing to their inferiority, are worthless for cultivation, 

 yet all, or nearly all, have merit in one way or another. In 

 Europe every part of the tree is utilized for various purposes. 

 The flower, the leaf, the pulp, the rind, the wood— all enter 

 into articles of commerce. R. C. Haldane, in his work, 

 "Subtropical Cultivations and Climate," London, 1886, gives 

 the following formulas, which I quote, with due thanks to the 

 author: 



"Orange -Flower Perfume.— In the early morning the 

 blossoms are collected as soon as the petals begin to fall, by 

 shaking the tree over a sheet spread on the ground. A tree 

 yields from two to ten pounds of flowers. The perfume is 

 generally extracted by enfleurage, as follows: A frame is 

 required six feet high, thirty inches wide, and twenty inches 

 deep; in this grooves are cut to allow trays one and a half 

 inches deep to run. These trays are covered with wire gauze. 

 Between every two trays there is a sheet of stout glass, framed; 

 on this, grease or vaseline is thickly spread. The whole should 

 be as air-tight as possible. Every morning fresh flowers must 

 be put in the wire-gauze traps; and this is continued for a 

 month or two, when the grease is removed. 



"The grease is made as follows: Melt equal parts of beef- 

 suet and lard, or mutton-suet, beef-suet, and lard, well together. 

 Pound well in a mortar and wash until perfectly clean. Melt 

 over a slow fire, adding three ounces of powdered alum and a 

 little salt to each hundredweight. Heat the grease until it 

 begins to bubble, and then strain into a deep pan and let it 

 clarify for two or three hours. The clear grease is then put on ' 

 a charcoal fire, and three quarts of rose water and half a pound 

 of pjowdered gum-benzoin added; it is gently boiled, and all 

 scum taken off till it ceases to appear. Put the grease in deep 

 pans to cool; when solid remove any water there may be in it, 

 liquefy, and pour into vessels for future use. Besides grease. 



