THE TECHNOLOGIST. [April 1, 1865. 



394 THE COMMERCIAL USES OP 



Company bought from the King of Tydore. I have in my possession a 

 very curious specimen, extracted by a North American whaler from a 

 whale which he killed. Part of it is quite grey, and the remainder still 

 black, which shows that the disease had not yet attained its maturity. 

 Ambergris is not agreeable by itself, having a somewhat earthy or 

 mouldy flavour, but blended with other perfumes it imparts to them an 

 ethereal fragrance unattainable by any other means. Its price varies 

 very much, according to the quantity to be found in the market. I have 

 seen it as low as 10s. and as high as 50s. per ounce. 



The floral series includes all flowers available for perfumery purposes, 

 which hitherto have been limited to eight — viz., jasmine, rose, orange, 

 tuberose, cassie, violet, jonquil, and narcissus. 



Jasmine is one of the most agreeable and useful odours employed 

 by perfumers, and highly valuable are the fragrant treasures which they 

 obtain 



" From timid jasmine buds, that keep 

 Their odours to themselves all da/, 

 But, when the sunlight dies away, 

 Let their delicious secret out." * "1 



It was introduced by the Arabs, who called it Yasmyn, hence its present 

 name. The most fragrant sort is the Jasminum odoratissimum, which is 

 largely cultivated in the South of France. It is obtained by grafting on 

 wild jasmine, and begins to bear flowers the second year. It grows in 

 the shape of a bush from three to four feet high, and requires to be in a 

 fresh open soil, well sheltered from north winds. The flowering season 

 is from July to October. The flowers open every morning at six o'clock 

 with great regularity, and are culled after sunrise, as the morning dew 

 would injure their flavour. Each tree yields about twenty-four ounces 

 of flowers. 



We next come to the queen of the flowers, the rose — the eternal 

 theme of poets of all ages and all nations, and which for the prosaical 

 perfumer derives its principal charms from the delicious fragrance with 

 which Nature has endowed it : — 



" The rose looks fair, but fairer we it deem 

 For that sweet odour which doth in it live."+ 



And well does the perfumer turn that sweetness to account, for he com- 

 pels the lovely flower to yield its aroma to him in every shape, and he 

 obtains from it an essential oil, a distilled water, and a perfumed oil and 

 pomade. Even its withered leaves are rendered available to form the 

 ground of sachet-powder, for they retain their scent for a considerable 

 time. 



The species used for perfumery is the hundred-leaved rose (Rosa 

 centifolia). It is extensively cultivated in Turkey, near Adrianople, 

 whence comes the far-famed otto of roses, and the South of France, 



* ' Light of the Harem.' + Shakspeare's Sonnets, h>. 



