VARIETIES 
467 
answer  the  same  purpose  of  giving  permanence  to  the  more  volatile  ingre- 
dients :  because,  the  vanilla  strikes  the  same  key  of  the  olfactory  nerve  as 
the  orange  blossom  ;  and  thus  no  new  idea  of  a  different  scent  is  brought 
about  as  the  perfume  dies  off  from  the  handkerchief.  When  perfumes  are 
not  mixed  upon  this  principle,  then  we  hear  that  such  and  such  a  perfume 
becomes  "  sickly"  or  "  faint"  after  they  have  been  on  the  handkerchief  a 
short  time. 
Pine-Apple.— Both  Dr.  Hoffman  and  Dr.  Lyon  Playfair  have  fallen  into 
some  error  in  their  inferences  with  regard  to  the  application  of  this  odor 
in  perfumery.  After  various  experiments  in  the  practical  way  conducted 
in  a  large  perfumatory,  we  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  cannot  be  so 
applied,  simply  because  when  the  essence  of  pine-apple  is  smelled  at,  the 
vapor  produces  an  involuntary  action  of  the  larynx,  producing  cough,  when 
exceedingly  dilute.  Even  in  the  infinitesimal  portions,  it  still  produces 
disagreeable  irritation  of  the  air  pipes,  which,  if  prolonged,  such  as  is  ex- 
pected, if  used,  upon  a  handkerchief,  is  followed  by  intense  head-ache.  It 
is  obvious,  therefore,  that  the  legitimate  use  of  the  essence  of  pine-apple 
(butyric  ether)  cannot  be  adopted  with  benefit  to  the  manufacturing  per- 
fumer, although  invaluable  to  the  confectioner  as  a  flavoring  material. 
What  we  have  here  said  refers  to  the  artificial  essence  of  pine-apple,  or 
butyrate  of  ethyloxide,  which,  if  very  much  diluted  with  alcohol,  resembles 
the  smell  of  pine- apple,  and  hence  its  name;  but  how  far  the  same  obser- 
vations are  applicable  to  the  true  essential  oil  from  the  fruit  or  epidermis  of 
the  pine-apple  remains  to  be  seen  when  we  procure  it.  As  the  West  Indian 
pine-apples  are  now  coming  freely  into  the  market,  the  day  is  probably  not 
distant  when  demonstrative  experiments  can  be  tried  ;  but  hitherto,  it  must 
be  remembered  our  experiments  have  only  been  performed  with  a  body  re- 
sembling in  smell  the  true  essential  oil  of  the  fruit.  The  physical  action  of 
all  ethers  upon  the  human  body  is  quite  sufficient  to  prevent  their  applica- 
tion in  perfumery,  however  useful  in  confectionery,  which  it  is  understood 
has  to  deal  with  another  of  the  senses,  not  of  smell,  but  of  taste.  The 
commercial  "  essence  of  pine-apple,"  or  "  pine-apple  oil,"  and  "jargonelle 
pear  oil,"  are  admitted  only  to  be  labelled  such,  but  really  are  certain  organic 
acid  ethers.  For  the  present,  then,  the  perfumer  must  only  look  on  these 
bodies  as  so  many  lines  in  the  "  Poetry  of  Science,"  which,  for  the  present,  . 
are  without  practical  application  in  his  art. 
Pink. — Dianihus  Caryophyllus. — The  clove  pink  emits  a  most  fragrant 
odor,  "  especially  at  night,"  says  Darwin. 
"  The  lavish  pink  that  scents  the  garden  round,"  is  not,  however,  at 
present  applied  in  perfumery,  except  in  name. 
IMITATION  ESSENCE  OF  CLOVE  PINK. 
Esprit  rose 
Esprit  fleur  d'orange  . 
Esprit  fleur  de  cassie  . 
Esprit  vanilla 
Oil  of  cloves 
1  pint. 
£  pint. 
£  pint. 
2  oz. 
10  drops. 
