316 CITRONELLE. 



is obtained from grasses of tlie genus Andropogon, whose 

 species are remarkable for so man\' fragrant oils. Lemon- 

 grass oil is obtained from Andropogon citraLus which is 

 specialh' culti'V'ated in Cevlon and Singapore. Andropogon 

 A'ardiis, yielding the Citronelle oil which smells like 

 Melissa, is cultivated on a still more extensive scale. This 

 oil is increasingly used in the scenting of soaps, and is 

 the chief ingredient in the perfume of Honey-soaps. We 

 can form an idea ol the extent of the production oL 

 Citronelle oil when we realise that on the hill slopes of 

 Ceylon not less than twenty thousand hectares of land 

 is planted with this grass, which grows a yard high. 

 About six hundred distilleries are at work and produce 

 annually about half a million kilogrammes of Citronelle 

 oil. The factory of Schinrmel and Co. make their 

 Geranium oil from this. 



The perfume of Reseda is extracted h\ the process 

 of entleurage and lately the^' have been using Petrol- 

 ether. From Thj-me, Sage, Rosemary, Lavender and 

 Melissa the ethereal oil is extracted by means of distil- 

 lation. Thyme, Rosemary and Lavender are verA' little 

 cultivated on the Riviera; they are gathered in their 

 natural habitats on the slopes of the hills where Rosemar^^ 

 and Thyme form the underwood. Lavender must be sought 

 for in the higher regions of the Maritime Alps, for down 

 on the coast only Lavandula Stoechas is found, and this 

 is of little use to the present perfume factories as it 

 smells much more like Rosemary' than Lavender, To 

 the ancients ho^vcvcr this scent must have been particu- 

 larly agreeable, for Pliny and Dioscorides mention only 



