622  News  Items  and  Personal  Notes.    {  Al^u^[-  f£g*' 
Grasse,  France,  their  American  representative  Mr.  Burton  T.  Bush 
has  compiled  an  interesting  succinct  history  of  their  activities.  This 
brochure  of  forty-two  pages,  with  the  cover  plate  "  a  monument  to 
Leon  Chiris  erected  by  the  citizens  of  Grasse,  March  29,  1914,"  is  a 
magnificent  example  of  the  printer's  art,  in  style,  paper,  type,  illus- 
trations, press  work  and  presentation  of  data. 
In  1768,  Antoine  Chiris  converted  an  old  monastery,  that  had 
been  built  in  1600,  into  a  factory  to  distill  oils  from  the  flowers  and 
plants  growing  so  prolifically  in  the  vicinity  of  Grasse.  One  of  the 
illustrations  is  a  photographic  reproduction  of  the  first  price-list 
issued  in  August  of  that  year. 
Through  five  generations  this  business  has  continued  in  the  same 
family  and  has  been  progressively  developed  along  scientific  lines. 
Leon  Chiris  who  at  the  age  of  eighteen  in  1862  succeeded  his  father 
Leopold  in  the  management  of  the  business  appears  to  have  been 
especially  active  in  the  development.  He  purchased  18,000  acres  in 
Algeria  and  established  there  an  important  branch  of  their  manu- 
facturing. To  him  is  attributed  the  earliest  adoption  of  steam  boilers 
in  the  distillation  of  natural  perfume  oils.  Despite  his  business 
energy  and  extensive  industrial  operations,  he  took  an  active  interest 
in  civic  and  political  matters  and  served  as  a  Senator  from  the  Alps 
Maritimes,  and  was  a  Knight  and  Officer  of  the  Legion  of  Honor. 
In  addition  to  its  Grasse  and  Cannes  factories  in  France  and  its 
extensive  plantations  and  factory  in  Algeria,  other  factories  have 
been  established  at  Reggio,  Italy,  and  Messina,  Sicily,  for  the  pro- 
duction of  citrus  oils  and  many  agencies  throughout  the  French 
colonial  possessions  for  the  collection  of  essential  oils  and  perfume 
products. 
The  establishment  of  an  American  factory  at  Delawanna,  N.  J., 
has  been  one  of  the  most  recent  achievements  of  this  house.  At  this 
location,  14  acres  have  been  acquired  and  since  November,  1914, 
their  factories  situated  here  have  been  producing  American  essen- 
tial oils,  synthetic  aromatic  chemicals  and  some  pharmaceutical 
products  and  "  Capes  Viscose "  which  as  a  capping  material  are 
growing  in  favor  with  our  manufacturers. 
The  past  illustrious  history,  the  scientific  basis  on  which  the 
business  has  been  established,  and  the  business  aspirations  of  the 
house  of  Chiris,  all  bespeak  continuous  progressive  developments 
for  many  generations  in  the  future. 
