466 
VARIETIES. 
this  state  it  is  very  efficacious  in  preventing  the  clothes  from  being  attacked 
by  moths.  Several  combinations  of  patchouly  will  be  given  in  the  recipes 
for  "bouquets  and  nosegays." 
Pea  (Sweet.) — A  very  fine  odor  may  be  abstracted  from  the  flowers  of 
the  chick-vetch  by  maceration  in  any  fatty  body,  and  then  digesting  the 
pomade  produced  in  spirit.  It  is,  however,  rarely  manufactured,  because 
a  very  close  Imitation  of  the  Essence  of  Sweet  Pea  can  be  prepared 
thus  : — 
Extract  of  tuberose  pint. 
"  "  fleur  d'orange  ;  .  .  .  £  pint. 
"        "    rose  from  pomatum    .        .  £  pint, 
"        "    vanilla    .        .        .        .        .         1  oz. 
Scents,  like  sounds,  appear  to  influence  the  olfactory  nerve  in  certain 
definite  degrees.  There  is,  as  it  were,  an  octave  of  odors  like  an  octave 
in  music;  certain  odors  coincide,  like  the  keys  of  an  instrument.  Such 
as  almond,  heliotrope,  vanilla,  and  orange  blossom  blend  together,  each 
producing  different  degrees  of  a  nearly  similar  impression.  Again,  we 
have  citron,  lemon,  orange  peel,  and  verbena,  forming  a  higher  octave  of 
smells,  which  blend  in  a  similar  manner.  The  metaphor  is  completed  by 
what  we  are  pleased  to  call  semi-odors,  such  as  rose  and  rose  geranium 
for  the  half  note  ;  petty  grain,  neroli  a  black  key,  followed  by  fleur  d'orange. 
Then  we  have  patchouly,  sandal  wood,  and  vitivert,  and  many  others  run- 
ning into  each  other. 
From  the  odors  already  known  we  may  produce,  by  uniting  them  in 
proper  proportion,  the  smell  of  almost  any  flower. 
The  odor  of  some  flowers  resembles  others  so  nearly,  that  we  are 
almost  induced  to  believe  them  to  be  the  same  thing,  or,  at  least,  if  not 
evolved  from  the  plant  as  such,  to  become  so  by  the  action  of  the  air-oxi- 
dation. It  is  known  that  some  actually  are  identical  in  composition, 
although  produced  from  totally  different  plants,  such  as  camphor,  turpen- 
tine, rosemary.  Hence  we  may  presume  that  chemistry  will  sooner  or 
later  produce  one  from  the  other,  for  with  many  it  is  merely  an  atom  of 
water  or  an  atom  of  oxygen  that  causes  the  difference.  It  would  be  a 
grand  thing  to  produce  otto  of  roses  from  oil  of  rosemary,  or  from  the  rose 
geranium  oil,  and  theory  indicates  its  possibility. 
The  essential  oil  of  almonds  in  a  bottle  that  contains  a  good  deal  of  air- 
oxygen,  and  but  a  very  little  of  the  oil,  spontaneously  passes  into  another 
odoriferous  body,  benzoic  acid  ;  which  is  seen  in  crystals  to  form  over  the 
dry  parts  of  the  flask.  This  is  a  natural  illustration  of  this  idea.  In  giv- 
ing the  recipe  for  "  sweet  pea"  as  above,  we  form  it  with  the  impression 
that  its  odor  resembles  the  orange  blossom,  which  similarity  is  approached 
nearer  by  the  addition  of  the  rose  and  tuberose.  The  vanilla  is  used  mere- 
ly to  give  permanence  to  the  scent  on  the  handkerchief,  and  this  latter  body 
is  chosen  in  preference  to  extract  of  musk  or  ambergris,  which  would 
