PATCHOULI. 



299 



an inch in lengthy shaped somewhat like a thin almond, 

 covered with a shining black skin, and of an agreeable and 

 powerful odour, resembling newly-made hay; the odorife- 

 rous principle resides in a substance called courmarine. It 

 is a native of Guiana, and is used almost only for scenting 

 snuff; a few hundredweights are imported annually. 



Patchouli or Pucha-Pat. — A herb named Pogostemon 

 PatcJiouU (Nat. Ord. Lahiatd), (Plate XVI. fig. 84.) The 

 dried tops with leaves and flov/ers are imported in bundles 

 about one foot in length ; they yield, by distillation, an essen- 

 tial oil, in which form the perfume exists, and, by digestion 

 in weak alcohol, a tincture called Essence of Patchouli or 

 Patchonly. This peculiarly-scented vegetable product is 

 only used in perfumery, but the odour it yields, though 

 dehghtful to many, is to others very offensive. It is im- 

 ported from India, in chests and half-chests, the former 

 weighing 110 lbs. each. In the description of the Pat- 

 chouli plant in ^ Hooker^s Journal of Botany,^ a writer in 

 the ^ Gardeners^ Chronicle^ is quoted, who states that the cha- 

 racteristic smell of Chinese Indian Ink is owing to an ad- 

 mixture of patchouli in its manufacture. This is however 

 manifestly erroneous : the Sepia, from which the Indian ink 

 is manufactured, has naturally a strong musky odour, so 



