804 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[April 12, 1873. 
of consciousness which come to us through the nose. One 
class of odours, according to Bain, owe their character to 
sympathy of the nose with the lungs, or other vital organs 
connected with the nose; a second class appeals to the 
purely olfactory sensibility, that is the influence of the 
substances which come into this class goes directly from 
the olfactory nerve to our consciousness, and a third class 
involves an excitation of the nerves of touch. Under the 
first head,—smells which owe their character to sympathy 
between nose and lungs or other vital organs,—he places : 
1st. Fresh Odours. —These are such as have a restora¬ 
tive action, and act chiefly on the respiratory organs, 
stimulating them to increased action. Fresh odours are, 
therefore, essentially the refreshing odours, and are com¬ 
parable in their influence to the exhilarating effect of the 
pure cool air after exposure to the stifling effect of a close 
heated room. 2nd. The converse of fresh odours, or close 
or suffocating smells, such as those of overcrowded and ill- 
ventilated rooms, etc. The third class of such odours are the 
nauseous or disgusting smells, of which sulphuretted hy¬ 
drogen is the type, and which depend for their influence 
on some antipathetic action on the stomach, which tends to 
cause nausea and vomiting. In these three are comprised 
the odours which depend for their character on a sympa¬ 
thetic action between the nose and other vital organs. 
Under the second head,—odours which depend for their 
character on an influence exerted on the olfactory nerves 
alone,—are odours which are classed as sweet or fragrant, 
and which convey to the mind purely pleasurable sensa¬ 
tions. The odour of violets is quoted as an instance ; but 
it is the art of the perfumer so to combine his materials, 
that this sensation is usually mixed up with the fresh 
odours to which we have alluded, and thus pure pleasure 
and refreshing stimulus are combined. The opposite of 
the pure, sweet, or fragrant odours are described as the 
mal-odours or stinks, of which the smell of assafoetida is 
a perfect if not pure example. These two—the fragrant 
odours and stinks—are thus, even according to Professor 
Bain, the only two real divisions of odours uncomplicated 
with other effects which do not belong to the functions 
of the nose. Regarding them he says, “ As sweetness 
is the proper pleasure of smell, the effect of a stink is 
the proper pain of the organ, the influence originating 
the peculiar form of misery that we are adapted to receive 
by means of this sense. The sensation may be specified 
as the nose pain. Of an intense rather than a massive 
character, we are stunned and discomposed, but not 
necessarily depressed by it. It resembles in this respect 
a bitter taste, and is contrasted with the massive pains 
of chillness, indigestion, or disgust. The expression is 
in accordance with the acuteness of the sensation, being 
an intense contortion of the features chiefly about the 
nose.” Of the third class of odours—those that excite 
the organs of touch, the sensation of pungency is the type, 
and is produced by the taking of snuff, the inhaling 
of ammoniacal vapours, or of vinegar, and it is sometimes 
experienced in an excessive degree by an unfortunate 
miscalculation of the amount of mustard it is safe and 
pleasant to trust into the mouth. It is properly inde¬ 
pendent of the sense of smell, the effect arising through 
an influence on nerves leading from near the nasal 
orifices, which, besides being excited by pungency, also 
are affected by cold, etc. Ethereal odours, such as the 
odour of alcohol and ether, are a combination of pun¬ 
gency with fragrance, and acrid odours are regarded 
as being compounds of pungency and stinks. Under the 
head of appetizing smells are included those with which 
hungry people are familiar during the maurais quart- 
d’heure which precedes dinner, and also those to which are 
referable the sexual feeling excited in animals, and to the 
possession of which, in the case of two animals, we owe 
the existence of our most highly valued perfumes, musk 
and civet. Finally, under the head of flavours are in¬ 
cluded these odours which are developed through the 
process of mastication, of which cinnamon gives an 
example, it being a substance having little taste, and 
depending for its relish on the odour developed in the 
nostrils in the process of breathing during the swallowing 
of the fragrant bark. 
Of all these varieties of smells, the perfumer has pro¬ 
perly only to deal with the sweet or fragrant class which 
appeal directly from the nose to the mind, and yield un¬ 
mixed pleasure. Other influences such as restorative or 
refreshing action may be mixed up with them, but these 
are the accidents of the classes ; the perfumer having to do 
solely with the nose and its sensations. The series of sub¬ 
stances which chiefly minister to the pure gratification of 
the olfactory sense are hydrocarbons of the terbene or 
turpentine series, or very slightly oxygenated volatile oils, 
of which the oil of cinnamon may be taken as an example. 
The converse series which the perfumer has to avoid, are 
usually found to owe their bad smell to the presence of 
sulphur in their composition ; and the worst of all smell¬ 
ing substances owe their evil odour to the presence of 
arsenic. 
For the elaboration of powerful odours in the great labo¬ 
ratory of nature bright light and strong heat are required. 
Therefore it is that to tropical countries which possess 
both these requisites we must look for our chief supplies 
of the materials of perfumery. The faint odours which are 
begotten among us children of the cold grey north, effec¬ 
tually prevent our cultivation of the materials of per¬ 
fumery, and the only two substances of native growth in 
which our island excels—lavender and peppermint—owe 
their superiority to the fact of the less rank growth of 
these plants with us; which in warmer climates yield 
odours more powerful than pleasant. And as it is in 
warmer climates that the perfume-yielding substances are 
most freely produced, so it is in the same regions that 
their influence is most beneficially felt, and their pleasures 
most eagerly sought. Evil odours are of course as pro¬ 
nounced in hot climates as are the fragrant influences of 
sweet-smelling flowers, and with smells it is as with deeds, 
the best way to avoid the evil is to cultivate the good. 
The sources from which the perfumer draws his raw 
materials are very numerous and varied. Besides several 
substances drawn from the animal kingdom which are 
staples of his art, he ranges over the entire limits of the 
vegetable world, and lays nearly all orders of plants under 
contribution to him ; and of the individual plants he 
makes use of every part in turn. It may be the entire 
plant which serves his purpose, as in the case of many 
labiates, or it may be the roots, as in the khus-khus, the 
root-stocks in ginger, the bark in the cinnamon series, 
etc.; the wood, as in the Virginian cedar or in sandal¬ 
wood ; the leaves, as in the case of patchouli, or the 
various parts of the flower, as is most commonly the 
case. Besides these, there are the numerous instances 
of fragrant balsams, gum-resins, and resins which exude 
from the plants, as balsam of tolu, myrrh, and a great 
variety of similar substances. The laboratory of the chemist 
is also laid under contribution for the benefit of the art of 
the perfumer; and some of the most wonderful triumphs 
of modern chemistry are found in the synthetical elabora¬ 
tion of odours and fruit essences, which, however, are 
more valued by the cook and confectioner than the per¬ 
fumer. 
The list of raw materials of perfumery, which includes 
only three substances from the animal kingdom,—amber¬ 
gris, civet, and musk,—contains between 60 and 70 separate 
substances from the vegetable kingdom, and is capable 
of classification in various ways according to the natural 
affinities of the animals or plants yielding them, the form 
and condition under which they are presented in com¬ 
merce, or the nature and similarity of the odours they 
yield. Thus the materials could be arranged zoologically 
and botanically, or separated into resins, balsams, roots, 
wood, barks, leaves, flowers, and fruits ; or, taking as a 
basis of classification the nature of the odours, we should 
have so many possessed of the rose odour, the violet 
odour, the citrine or orange odour, or the balsamic odour, 
etc. Only one substance the perfumer places in his list as 
