ON THE PERFUMERY TRADE. 185 



to wax in some instances, offer but little novelty. A most interesting 

 exhibition, however, is that of M. Piver, who shows perfumes obtained by 

 two new processes. The first, invented by M. Millon, a French chemist, 

 consists in placing flowers in a percolating apparatus, and pouring over 

 them some ether or sulphuret of carbon, which is drawn off a few minutes 

 after, and carries with it all the aronia of the flowers. It is afterwards 

 distilled to dryness, and the result obtained is a solid waxy mass, possess- 

 ing the Fcent of the flower in its purest and most concentrated form. The 

 other process, which is the invention of M. Piver, consists in placing in a 

 pneumatic apparatus layers of flowers on perforated plates alternately with 

 layers of grease, and causing a current of air to pass through several times 

 until the scent of the flowers becomes fixed into the grease. These two 

 processes have not been used hitherto to any extent ; but they are no 

 doubt both susceptible of commercial application, if not found too expen- 

 sive to work. M. Piver also exhibits drawings of the various mechanical 

 appliances used to simplify labour at his divers manufactories. They com- 

 prise improvements in soap-boilers, lye-tubs, soap-cutting, planing, 

 crushing, and stamping machines, agitators, macerating pans, &c, which 

 are all very ingenious. 



The French colonies only send perfumery materials ; and among them 

 stands pre-eminent Algeria, which bids fair to become soon one of tbe 

 most important marts for that kind of products. The Algerian soil and 

 climate are particularly favourable to most of the flowers grown for per- 

 fumery purposes, such as the rose, jasmine, orange, cassia (Acacia far- 

 nesiana), tuberose, jonquil, geranium, &c, and they are now cultivated on 

 a large scale in the vicinity of Algiers, — at Blidah, Oran, Cheragas, 

 Rovigo, Bone, Philippeville, and other localities. Besides the above, 

 some of the indigenous flowers might be turned to good account, and 

 among others the nessri, or musk white rose, which has a beautiful fra- 

 grance, and grows wild in great abundance. The specimens sent by 

 Algerian distillers are not so complete and numerous as we could have 

 wished^ nevertheless they comprise a fair assortment of perfumed waters 

 and oils. Among the former we noticed one distilled from the verbena 

 plant (Aloysia citriodora), which is a novelty. 



The island of Reunion has a magnificent display of vanilla, contributed 

 by no less than thirteen different exhibitors. This cultivation, which 

 was originally carried on exclusively in Mexico, has been introduced 

 lately into Reunion by M. de Floiis, and has already acquired a wonder- 

 ful extension, the annual production, which in 1849 was only three 

 kilogrammes, having reached, in 1860, 6097 kilogrammes. This has 

 naturally brought down the market price of the article, and will tend to 

 popularise this really excellent aromatic, which is no less grateful as a 

 condiment than as a perfume. The vanilla shown in this department has 

 all the characteristics of the best Mexican species ; it is long, moist, well 

 VOL. III. p 



