360 
VARIETIES. 
tures  of  violet,  rose,  and  jessamine,  with  verbena  or  vervaine  in  different 
proportions.  In  these  preparations,  as  also  in  Eau  de  Portugal,  and  in 
fact  where  any  of  the  citrine  oils  are  used,  a  much  finer  product  is  obtained 
by  using  grape'spirit  or  brandy,  in  preference  to  the  English  corn  spirit, 
as  a  solvent  for  them.  Nor  do  they  deteriorate  so  quickly  in  French  spirit 
as  in  English.  Whether  this  be  due  to  the  oil  in  the  wine  (oeanthic  ether ) 
or  not  we  cannot  say,  but  think  it  is  so. 
Vitivert,  or  Kus-Rus,  is  the  rhizome  of  an  Indian  grass.  In  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Calcutta,  and  in  the  city,  this  material  has  an  extensive  use  by 
being  manufactured  into  awnings,  blinds,  and  sunshades.  During  the  hot 
seasons  an  attendant  sprinkles  water  over  them ;  this  operation  cools  the 
apartment  by  the  evaporation  of  the  water,  and,  at  the  same  time,  perfumes 
the  atmosphere,  in  a  very  agreeable  manner,  with  the  odoriferous  principle 
of  the  vitivert.  It  has  a  smell  between  the  aromatic  or  spicy  odor  and  that 
of  flowers — if  such  a  distinction  can  be  admitted.'  We  classify  it  with  orris 
root,  not  that  it  has  any  odor  resembling  it,  but  because  it  has  a  like  effect 
in  use  in  perfumery,  and  because  it  is  prepared  as  a  tincture  for  obtaining 
its  odor. 
About  four  pounds  of  the  dried  vitivert,  as  it  is  imported,  being  cut  small 
and  set  to  steep  in  a  gallon  of  rectified  spirits  for  a  fortnight,  produces  the 
Essence  of  Vitivert  of  the  shops.  In  this  state  it  is  rarely  used  as  a  per- 
fume, although  it  is  occasionally  asked  for  by  those  who,  perhaps,  have 
learnt  to  admire  its  odor  by  their  previous  residence  in  "  the  eastern  clime/ 
The  extract  essence,  or  tincture  of  vitivert,  enters  into  the  composition  of 
several  of  the  much-admired  and  old  boquets  manufactured  in  the  early 
days  of  perfumery  in  England,  such  as  "  Mousselaine  des  Indies,"  for  which 
preparation,  M.  Delcroix,  in  the  zenith  of  his  fame;  created  quite  a  furor  in 
the  fashionable  world. 
Marachele  and  Boquet  du  Roi,  perfumes  which  have  also  "  had  their 
day,"  owe  much  of  their  peculiarity  to  the  vitivert  contained  in  them. 
Bundles  of  vitivert  are  sold  for  perfuming  linen  and  preventing  moth, 
and  when  ground,  is  used  to  manufacture  certain  sachet  powders. 
Violet. — 
"  The  forward  violet  thus  did  I  chide  : 
Sweet  thief,  whence  didst  thou  steal  thy  sweet  that  smells, 
If  not  from  my  love's  breath  V3 
The  perfume  exhaled  by  the  Viola  odorato  is  so  universally  admired,  that 
to  speak  in  its  favor  would  be  more  than  superfluous.  The  demand  for  the 
"  essence  of  violets"  is  far  greater  than  the  manufacturing  perfumers  are 
at  present  able  to  supply,  and,  as  a  consequence,  it  is  difficult  to  procure 
the  genuine  article  through  the  ordinary  sources  of  trade. 
Real  violet  is,  however  sold  by  many  of  the  retail  perfumers  of  the  West 
End  of  London,  but  at  a  price  that  prohibits  its  use  except  by  the  affluent 
or  extravagant  votaries  of  fashion.  The  true  smelling  principle  or  essen- 
tial oil  of  violets  has  never  yet  been  isolated:  a  very  concentrated  "solution 
