ON THE PERFUMERY TRADE. 181 



the operation and increases the distillate, but sadly at the expense ot 

 quality. This evil could, however, be easily obviated. Gingelly, or 

 sesamuin oil, is largely used by Indian perfumers for drawing the per- 

 fumes of flowers, and for making hair oils ; but the specimens shown 

 have a rank flavour which would unfit them for such purposes in 

 Europe. 



The whole of this collection reflects great credit on the various official 

 and private individuals engaged in the task. 



The colony of Victoria shows some very interesting specimens of new 

 essential oils distilled by two Melbourne chemists under the superintend- 

 ence of Dr. Mueller, the able director of the Botanical Gardens. These 

 oils are principally extracted from the leaves of the trees of the 

 Eucalyptus family which abound in Australia, and from a variety of native 

 plants, including some of the mint tribe. Although they are represented 

 as intended to be used for dissolving resins and making varnishes, it 

 appeared to us that some of them possessed a sufficiently grateful frag- 

 rance to render them available for perfumery purposes. If such be the 

 case, it will prove a great boon to perfumers, on account of their abund- 

 ance and cheapness, for in the course of time the supply can be un- 

 limited ; and the price quoted for some of them now — viz., six shillings 

 per gallon, is about one-fourth of the cost of the commonest essential oil 

 used for scenting soap. Among the numerous specimens shown, the 

 following seemed the most fragrant : — the Eucalyptus amygdalina (Tas- 

 manian peppermint), the Eucalyptus odorata (peppermint tree), the 

 Eucalyptus globulus (blue-gum), the Atherosperma moschatum, the 

 Melaleuca ericifoh'a and the Ariostemos squameus. We tried an experi- 

 ment with the essential oil of Eucalyptus amygdalina, which has a strange 

 flavour, partaking at the same time of nutmegs and peppermint, and we 

 obtained the following results : — 



Three ounces of the oil were sufficient to scent very strongly eight 

 pounds of soap, at a cost of about one farthing per pound. The per- 

 fume produced by this oil alone would, however, be considered by some 

 more peculiar than agreeable, and we obtained a much better result by 

 combining it in a second experiment with oils of cassia, cloves, and 

 lavender, which mixture yielded a very pleasant fragrance. We have, 

 therefore, every reason to think that soap-makers would find great ad- 

 vantage in using those new essential oils, and especially that of the 

 eucalyptus amygdalina, which is yielded most abundantly by that trie, 

 three pounds of oil being the result of the distillation of a hundred 

 pounds of leaves. The specimens of essential oil of peppermint {Mentha 

 Australis) is very fair, and could find a market in Europe provided it can 

 compete with others for price. We were shown besides a sample of emu 

 fat, a grease of very fine grain, which could be adapted to perfumery 

 purposes, if procurable in quantities worth exporting. 



From New South Wales we have a small but interesting collection of 

 essential oils, comprising that of orange and orange flowers, made from 



