April 1, 1865.] 



THE TECHNOLOGIST. 



THE TECHNOLOGIST. 



THE COMMERCIAL USES OF FLOWERS AND PLANTS. 



BY EUGENE RIMMEL* 





NDER this heading, 

 I shall describe the 

 art of perfumery as 

 it is now practised in 

 the South of France, 

 Italy, Spain, Turkey, 

 Algeria, India — in 

 fact, wherever the 

 climate gives to 

 flowers and plants 

 the intensity of odour 

 required for a profit- 

 able extraction. The 

 South of France fur- 

 nishes the most abun- 

 dant supply of per- 

 fumery materials ; 

 most fragrant flowers 

 the rose, jasmine, 

 orange, &c. — are cultivated on a 

 large scale, and form the basis of the finest perfumes. Italy produces 

 chiefly essences of bergamot, orange, lemon, and others of the citrine 

 family, the consumption of which is very great. To Turkey we are in- 

 debted for the far-famed otto of roses, which enters into the composition 

 of many scents. Spain and Algeria have yielded but little hitherto, but 

 will, no doubt, in after times, turn to better account the fragrant trea- 

 sures with which Nature has endowed them. Travelling in the plains 

 of Spanish Estremadura, I have passed through miles and miles of land 



* From Rimmel's 'Book of Perfumes.' 



