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VARIETIES. 
The  extract  of  jasmin  enters  into  the  composition  of  a  great  many  of  the 
most  approved  handkerchief  perfumes  sold  by  the  English  and  French  Per- 
fumers. Extract  of  jasmin  is  sold  for  the  handkerchief  often  pure,  but  is 
one  of  those  scents  which,  though  very  gratifying  at  first,  becomes  what 
people  call  "  sickly"  after  exposure  to  the  oxidizing  influence  of  the  air,  but  if 
j  udiciously  mixed  with  other  perfumes  of  an  opposite  character  is  sure  to 
secure  the  most  fastidious  customer. 
Jonquil. — The  Parisian  perfumers  sell  a  mixture  which  they  call  "  extract 
of  jonquil."    The  plant,  however,  only  plays  the  part  of  a  godfather  to  the 
offspring,  giving  it  its  name.    The  so  called  jonquil  is  made  thus  : 
Spirituous  extract  of  jasmin  pomade        .        .        1  pint. 
"  "        of  tubereuse    "  1  pint. 
"  "        of  fleur  d'orange  .        .        |  pint. 
Extract  of  vanilla  .  .  .  .  .  2  fluid  ounces. 
Laurel. — By  distillation  from  the  berries  of  the  Laurus  nobilis,  and  from 
the  leaves  of  the  Laurus  cerasus,  an  oil  and  perfumed  water  are  procura- 
ble of  a  very  beautiful  and  fragrant  character.  Commercially,  however,  it 
is  disregarded,  as  from  the  similarity  of  odor  to  the  oil  distilled  from  the 
bitter  almond,  it  is  rarely,  if  ever,  used  by  the  perfumer,  the  latter  being 
more  economical. 
Lavender. — The  climate  of  England  appears  to  be  better  adapted  for  the 
perfect  development  of  this  fine  old  favorite  perfume  than  any  other  on  the 
globe.  "  The  ancients  employed  the  flowers  and  the  leaves  to  aromatize 
their  baths,  and  to  give  a  sweet  scent  to  water  in  which  they  washed ;  hence 
the  generic  name  of  the  plant,  Lavandula." — Burnett. 
Lavender  is  grown  to  an  enormous  extent  at  Mitcham,  in  Surrey,  which 
is  the  seat  of  its  production,  in  a  commercial  point  of  view.  Very  large 
quantities  are  also  grown  in  France,  but  the  fine  odor  of  the  British  produce 
realizes  in  the  market  four  times  the  price  of  that  of  Continental  growth. 
Burnett  says  that  the  oil  of  Lavandula  spica  is  more  pleasant  than  that 
derived  from  the  other  species,  but  this  statement  must  not  mislead  the  pur- 
chaser to  buy  the  French  spike  verce.  Half  a  hundred  weight  of  good 
lavender  flowers  yield,  by  distillation,  from  14  to  16  oz.  of  essential  oil. 
All  the  inferior  descriptions  of  oil  of  lavender  are  used  for  perfuming 
soaps  and  greases  ;  but  the  best — that  obtained  from  the  Mitcham  lavender 
— is  entirely  used  in  the  manufacture  of  what  is  called  lavender  water,  but 
which,  more  properly,  should  be  called  essence  or  extract  of  lavender,  to 
be  in  keeping  with  the  nomenclature  of  other  essences  being  prepared  with 
spirit. 
The  number  of  formulae  published  for  making  a  liquid  perfume  of  laven- 
der is  almost  endless,  but  the  whole  of  them  may  be  resolved  into  essence 
of  lavender,  simple  ;  essence  of  lavender,  compound  ;  and  lavender  water. 
There  are  two  methods  of  making  essence  of  lavender — 1.  By  distilling  a 
