April 2, 1888.J THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST 
659 
THE MANUFACTURE OF PERFUME. 
During this season the factories work to their full 
extent, thougn the treatment is so slow, and in some . 
instances r< quires suoh constant repetition, that How- I 
ers are only received twice a week. If, however, oue 
shouhl happen to visit a factory on a recei" ug day, 
one will had the Honrs of the reception rooms cov, ran, I 
perhaps, with a mass of violets, upou whicii probably re- 
cline two or three young la lies, enjoying the perfume 
ami delighting in the reality of an iinaidnativ. dream. 
Every flower, before arriving »r. the perlumery, is re- 
moved from its stem, when, according to its natura, 
it uudergOfs one of ttie three processes — distillation, 
submersion in hot grease, or absorption by c del grease, 
all utensils used in the manufacture being made of 
ooppor. 
The hist is thy costly but ordinary method of tho 
retort, placed ov. r a small furnace, carrying the vapour 
as it coudf n.-es into a rece ver, with glass tubes on 
the outside, to catch the essential oil. Verbiua, ger- 
anium and laven Icr are treated in this way. Tho 
second is verv curious, and seemingly ought to be 
disastrous. Fl nvers in coitaiu proportions are flung 
into good-sized kettles of hot pork and beef grease, 
kept warm by placing tho vessels in boiling water; 
they are well stirred together, and left still hot for 
twelve hours, after which tho mixture is heavily 
pressed. The flowers are theu thrown away, and the 
operation is repeated with fresh ones, until the liquid 
grease is sufficiently oharged with odor, when it is 
placed in a cold recoivor half-full of spirits of wine, 
which in a few days becomes impregnated with the 
perfume and is drawn off for sale. If the grease is 
not subjected to the spirits of wine on the premi-es, 
it is sold in its congealed state to the Loudou scent- 
makers, who treat it at their leisure, Roses, orango 
blossoms and violets are some of those requiring this 
method. The third, to the eyes of a novice, does not 
appear so hopelessly destructive or so wilfully barbar- 
ous, yet the sacrifice of beauty is the same. A layer 
of olive oil or cold grease carefully prepared, is placed 
upon a frame, the flowers being dotted over it, face 
downward and remaining for twenty-four or thirty 
hours. The process is very tedious, requiring to be 
repeated with the same grease many times, after which 
the perfume is absorbed by spirits of wine, as iu the 
previous manner. The delicate scouts can only be 
caught in this way — will only give out, so to speak, 
their exact salves according to nature. It is no ex- 
traction, but literal absorption, the catching of sweetness 
freely imported to the fresh air of native hillsides. 
Jessamine, tuberose, jonquil and others not of tough 
formation, must be submitted to this treatment. The 
industry is of great value; there are upwards of fifty 
perfumeries, and though the Loudon market is the best 
outlet, yet their pro luots are being gradually shipped to 
almost all parts of the world. There is no toil about 
the work, no grinding poverty, no din or|rattle of machin- 
ery, no emaciated children, everything is quiet and peace- 
ful : iu fact, if it would not be a paradox, one might 
oall life in these factories tho " Nirvaua " of labor. The 
manufacture being a very profitable one, the perfumers 
are naturally the men of the place, and besides posiess- 
iuggood means, are large owners of property at Cannes 
and Nice, as well as at Grasse.— Spectator. 
FLUID EXTRACT OF CINCHONA BARK. 
MY A. C. ABKVIIAM. 
For tho preparation of fluid extract of bark with 
water only I have always advocated the employment 
of that water at or near the boiling temperature. 
This preference, together with a very suggestive 
artiole by Dr. Paul (l'lmr»'.. Jount., vol. xvi., p. 56), 
prompted mo somo time since lo try to effeot the re- 
moval of tho alkaloids soluble in w.iter with water 
only, and the subsequent removal of those insoluble 
in water by means ot an acid menstruum 
The throe following experiment* were tried upon a 
bark bought from a good homo as containing quinine 
101 ; quiuiuu an 1 ciuchouidine 4' 34. Total alkaloid* 
65J. 
It was a quill bark, and was, therefore, chosen in 
preference to others richer in quinine, which, being in 
the state of scrapings, did no-, answer tho description 
of the Pnarmac '|M. i i. 
It was, as w II bt. hoen, well over the l'harraa- 
copuoia standard, and as i!, . resulting fluid extract had 
to be estimat d, 1 lid not consider it necessary tj 
c infirm, in any way, tho guar-uteed analysis under 
wh/Cti I had bough it. 
1st Experiment -Fiv t lb. treated exactly as ordered 
in the Pharmacopoeia, produced 51-' fluid ounces of 
fluid exti at of the. required strength. 
2nd Experiment— Five, lb. was percolated \ ith 
boiling, dl8til!e I water until <U gallons had pn-sed (the 
same quantity as was collscled in experiment 1), and 
w fieri evaporate! with the quantity of glycerine 
ordered in in the Pharmacopoeia, prod'uoed 43-52 fluid 
ounces of product of the standard strength. 
3rd Experiment, — The residue from the last was 
percolated with 2i gallous distilled water ac.difi >d 
with 2^ fluid ounces of hydrochlprio acid; product 35'88 
fluid ounces of the required strength, viz., 5 per cent. 
Since making these three tests, I hive repeated 
with another bark experiment No. 3. The percolate 
in this cise was natural and consequently of course 
very weak, and I found it necessary to double the 
acid before I could produce any decided effect iu 
the way of taking out the remaining alkaloids. 
It will be seen that by the official process, a pro- 
duct of 5I - 2 fluid ounces was obtained, and that by 
the use of boiling water aud subsequently of the acid, 
the product was altogether 79"4 fluid ounces, show- 
ing an increased yield of 28 - 2 fluid ounces by oper- 
ating in this way. The conclusions which I draw 
from these facts are: — 
1st — That if we want to have a fluid extract re- 
presenting as far as possible the bark from whioh it 
is made in an unaltered state, we should certainly 
let water do what it can, and then, if we wish to 
add an acid solutiou of the cinchona alkaloids to it, 
treat the residue with an acid menstruum. 
2nd — That in the latter case the acid menstruum 
should be at least double the strength of that ordered 
by tho Pharmacopoeia. 1 may say that my preference 
for boiling water is not founded upon any experiments 
with such barks as are now official, but with tho old 
flat calisaya. Nevertheless, I have every reason to 
believe that what holds for the one holds for the 
other, aud that in either case a gircn quantity of 
boiling water will remove more than can be removed 
by an equal quantity of cold ; partly by its superior 
solvent action and partly by removing certain matters 
— which are afterwards thrown out on cooling — which 
interfere with the action of the menstruum.— Oil, 
Paint and Drwj Reporter. 
«•> 
THE BETEL LEAF. 
Some time ago, attention was dra.vn in our col- 
umns to the medicinal virtues of the betel vine. 
Additional information since theu tends to show that 
its curative properties are becoming more and more 
appreciated. It is well known that betel leaves play 
an important medicinal part in this quarter of tho 
world, in combination with lime, arecmuts Rn, l gam- 
bier. But in Europe very few people are aware of 
their healing powers. Hardly any of the pharmaceuti- 
cal handbooks in circulation say anything of its use- 
fulness as a me lical remedy. This orai«sion is tho 
more surprising, considering that, from a n.mitary 
point of view, the betel vine occupies a prommetit 
position in these tropical rogions, and bears a high 
reputation among tho uitive races. To them, chew- 
ing b' tel leaves has become indispensable. They 
would much soonor forego meat and drink than de- 
prive themselves of the enjoyment derivable from 
the highly-prized sirih leaf, which has, indeed, bo- 
came to them a necevwiry of daily life. Several 
Dutch botanists inquiring into the subject have come 
to tho conclusion tint' the chewing of betel lesvo* 
does indeed promote health iu the dump and tnik*- 
matic climate of the«e tropical lands. Aucieut Hiu- 
du writert make meution of the utility of botol 
