EXTRACTION  AND  PRESERVATION  OP  AROMATA.  49 
as  to  be  much  injured,  if  not  entirely  destroyed,  by  the  appli- 
cation of  heat.  When  such  is  the  case,  the  extraction  of  the 
perfume  by  glycerine  may  be  substituted  for  the  process  of  en~ 
fleurage  as  now  carried  on  to  such  a  large  extent  in  the  Var 
district  of  France.*  The  process  would  then  become  one  of 
cold  maceration,  no  heat  being  employed.  After  digesting  the 
flowers  for  some  considerable  time  in  the  glycerine,  the  latter 
is  expressed  and  again  treated  with  fresh  flowers  until  the  ex- 
cipient  is  thoroughly  saturated  with  the  volatile  oil ;  the  extrac- 
tion seems  perfect,  as  the  glycerine  evidently  has  a  great  affinity 
for  the  odoriferous  essences.  (Fresh  mint  placed  over  a  thin 
layer  of  glycerine  imparts  in  a  short  time  a  considerable  odor 
to  that  fluid,  although  it  may  not  be  in  actual  contact.)  The 
saturated  glycerine  is  diluted  with  water  and  shaken  with  a 
small  quantity  of  chloroform  ;  after  well  agitating,  the  latter 
is  allowed  to  subside ;  it  carries  down  with  it  nearly  the  whole 
of  the  essential  oil.  The  chloroformic  solution,  after  being 
separated  by  a  funnel,  should  be  filtered,  if  necessary,  and 
allowed  to  evaporate  spontaneously  in  a  shallow  vessel.  The 
residual  matter  dissolved  in  spirit  forms  the  spirituous  extract 
of  the  flower,  whatever  that  may  be.  If  operating  upon  large 
quantities  it  becomes  desirable  to  economize.  Therefore,  in  such 
a  case,  the  greater  part  of  the  chloroform  may  be  drawn  off  in 
a  still,  the  last  portion  being  allowed  to  evaporate  spontane- 
ously ;  the  boiling-point  being  so  low  that  even  the  most  deli- 
cate perfumes  would  hardly  be  deteriorated  by  the  heat  em- 
ployed. Even  the  offensive  smelling  bisulphide  of  carbon,  from 
its  ready  volatility,  may  be  used ;  but  it  must  be  quite  pure,  or, 
in  other  words,  it  must  be  perfectly  free  from  all  after  smell  on 
evaporation. 
The  glycerine  maybe  used  over  and  over  again  after  diluting, 
passing  it  through  charcoal,  and  then  evaporating  it  to  the  de- 
sired gravity. 
As  regards  the  application  of  glycerine  to  the  preserving  of 
*  The  commercial  importance  of  this  branch  of  trade  may  be  indicated 
by  the  quantity  of  flowers  annually  grown  in  France,  i.e.  2,284,000  lbs. 
This  only  includes  orange,  cassia,  jasmine,  and  such  like  blossoms,  the 
perfumes  of  which  are  extracted  by  the  aid  of  fats.  {Vide  Exhibition 
Record,  1862.) 
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