PERFUMES. 



325 



CHAPTER XII. 



A communication from Lyons 

 to the "Chemikerzeitung" of 1902 states 

 that the yearly turnover in flowers and '' 

 etherial oils at Grasse is thirty millions of 

 francs. This suin is considered bv the 

 initiated to be over estimated; ^^^^^»^' 

 nevertheless it proves that the '^ 



manufacture of chemical scents has not }'et 

 injured that of the natural products. Ac- 

 cording to official reports, 2,000,000 kilo 

 grammes of Orange flowers, 1,500,000 

 kilogrammes of Roses, 1,200,000 of' w' ,, 

 Jasmine, 400,000 of Violets, 300,000 ^;'# 



of Tuberoses, 100,000 of 

 (Mimosa), 60,000 of 



'Cassie' 



Reseda and 50,000 of Jon- ^^'^' •^' ^ 



quils, besides other plants, are '^"' 



•C 



Piissefifia 



annually used at Grasse. 

 Besides this great num- .li- 

 bers of workers leave Grasse 

 every A'ear for the mountains to 

 distil the co\'eted essences from wild plants. And 

 \et the use of scent has much decreased in com- 

 parison with former ^ears. When we use perfume 

 now it is in moderation. Only in hot countries is 

 there still as great a demand as ever for toilet 

 scent. Chief among these countries is the Levant: 

 but the ancients far exceeded even the orientals in 

 their use of scents. What Pliny tells us about Lucius 



