ORANGE-FLOWER WATER. 309 



In the month of Ma\' the town of Grasse reeks with 

 the o\'erpowerin^ odour of Orange blossoms. From two 

 to three hundred thousand kilogrammes of flowers of the 

 bitter-fruited Orange tree {Citrus Bigaradia) are then 

 used in the factories for making perfumes. The flowers 

 smell stronger and more delicious than those of the sweet- 

 truited Orange and are therefore almost exclusively 

 employed. A tree from t\^'cnt^' to thirty }'ears old will 

 \'ield from fifteen to twenty kilogrammes of blossoms. 

 \')\ distillation a hundred kilogrammes =\'ields about fort\' 

 kilogrammes of Orange-flower ^\'ater. and a hundred 

 grammes of Orange-llower oil, ("Essence de Xeroli")_ 

 ^riieir scent can also be extracted bv maceration in fat, 

 and the Petrol-ether process is also used with these 

 llowers. Orange-flower oil continues to be dear as it 

 only exists in minute e|uantities in the flowers. The intro- 

 duction of artificialh' prepared Neroli oil by the Leipzig 

 lirm of Schimmel and Co. does not appear to have affected 

 the manufacture of the natural product. Orange- 

 llower oil came into fashion abont the a ear lliSU under 

 the patronage of the Duchess Flavio Orsini, , Princess 

 Neroli, and Orange-llo\\-er water (Acjua Naphae) also 

 became increasingh' popular as a toilet requisite as well 

 as for flavouring foods, confectionery and drinks. During 

 our stay in Grasse the)' were complaining that, owing to 

 o\'er-production, the price of flowers had recently been 

 much reduced. Indeed during the last decade a strono- 

 tendenc\' to speculate has possessed the inhabitants (.)f the 

 Riviera. The rapidh' increasing demand lor Iresh tiowers 

 had impelled man^• land owners to fell their Olive trees and 



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