453 



ON THE ODOROUS SUBSTANCES SENT BY THE FRENCH 

 COLONIES TO THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF 



1862. 



BY EUGENE RIMMEL. 



The perfumery trade in France, has of late year3 considerably in- 

 creased, and has become one of the most important branches of the in- 

 dustry known under the name of " articles de Paris." The exports of 

 perfumery, which from 1827 to 1836 did not rise on the average to more 

 than six million francs per annum, had in 1860, according to the official 

 reports, attained the sum of thirty-one million francs, and if we add to 

 this amount that of the interior consumption, we arrive at a very con- 

 ' siderable total of production. 



It becomes then interesting to learn the sources from which the sub- 

 stances are derived to sustain this industry. For a long time Provence 

 furnished her extraits defleurs^ and essences of aromatic herbs, but per- 

 fumery also requires the aid of the odorous substances which are diffused 

 in such wide profusion in tropical climates. All these products, with 

 some exceptions, are found in the French possessions, and we will now 

 offer a few words of notice upon the splendid collections forwarded to 

 the late Exhibition by the Ministry of Marine, and the Ministry of 

 Algeria. 



Martinique and Guadaloupe produce a great variety of odorous sub- 

 stances. Cloves, nutmegs, and cinnamon are equal in quality to those 

 of the East Indies, but the culture is extremely limited, and is not suf- 

 ficiently large to make them an article of export. The graine d?Am- 

 hrettp-, or musk-seed (Abehnoschus moscliatnH) , the tonquin bean (Dipterix 

 odorata), and Vanillon or Vanilloes ( Vanilla Pompona), of which 

 Guadaloupe alone can furnish a thousand kilogrammes, are very nearly 

 the only products which perfumery obtains from the French West India 

 Islands. 



We remarked the following specimens, however, which might advan- 

 tageously be employed in this industry, if they could be procured in 

 sufficient quantity, the cauang odorant (Uvarid JEthiopica), which is 

 known in Senegal under the name of boulon pepper, the seeds of the 

 hois d'lnde (Myricia pimentoides), and the Jamaica pimento (Pimenta 

 vera), both of which have a very agreeable aromatic odour, and lastly 

 the Ben-oil seed (Moringa pterygosperma), which produces an extremely 

 fine, clear, sweet, and fluid oil, qualities very valuable in perfumery. 



This oil was formerly much sought after by perfumers, but it is now 

 little used on account of its being so difficult to procure genuine. It 

 appears, however, that this tree grows wild in the Antilles, and if the 

 colonists would take the trouble of gathering the seeds and ex- 

 tracting the oil from them, it would be a sure investment. Bay 

 rum is also a product of the Isles, and could be introduced into 

 France with advantage. They make use of it largely in North 



