ON  THE  MANUFACTURES  OF  GRASSE  AND   CANNES.  549 
towns  of  Grasse  and  Cannes,  having  given  me  the  opportunity 
of  seeing  something  of  the  manufactures  there  carried  on,  I  have 
thought  that  a  few  lines  on  the  subject  might  prove  acceptable 
to  the  English  readers  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Journal ;  let  it  be 
remembered  they  are  but  the  notes  of  a  passing  stranger,  and 
as  such  not  to  be  taken  for  more  than  they  are  worth. 
Grasse  is  a  town  of  some  13,000  inhabitants,  lying  at  the  foot 
of  a  range  of  mountains,  and  open  to  the  Mediterranean,  from 
which  it  is  distant  about  eight  or  nine  miles.  The  olive  is  culti- 
vated in  great  abundance  in  all  the  adjacent  country,  and  grows 
far  more  luxuriantly  than  in  many  other  olive  districts  of  the 
South  of  France.  The  mildness  of  the  climate  is  still  more  mani- 
fested by  the  orange  trees,  which,  wTith  here  and  there  a  date- 
palm,  form  a  striking  ornament  of  the  little  town  gardens  of 
Grasse.  The  other  plants  that  are  cultivated  are  the  Rose,  the 
Jessamine  (Jasminum  grandiflorum  L.,)  Mignonette  (Reseda 
odorata  L.,)  and  Tuberose  (Polianthes  tuberosa  L.) 
Cannes,  a  small  town  situated  on  the  shore  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean, about  ten  miles  from  Grasse,  enjoys  a  climate  still  more 
favored.  The  orange  is  cultivated  more  extensively ;  the  rose, 
jessamine,  and  other  plants  under  culture  at  Grasse  are  likewise 
grown  on  a  large  scale  at  Cannes  ;  and  in  addition  we  find  the 
Geranium  [Pelargonium  radida,  Ait.,  var.  /?  roseum)  and  Cassie 
(Acacia  Farnesiana,  Willd.,)  the  latter  in  considerable  abundance. 
Two  species  of  orange  are  cultivated  about  Grasse  and  Cannes, 
one  known  as  the  Bitter  Orange  or  Bigaradier,  the  more  es- 
teemed and  more  extensively  grown,  the  other  as  the  Sweet  or 
Portugal  Orange, 
Orange-trees  are  grown  in  all  the  country  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Grasse,  but  especially  in  places  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
coast.  When  the  season  arrives,  the  flowers  are  collected  by 
itinerant  agents  called  Commissionaires,  who  bring  them  from 
the  growers  to  the  distillers,  their  remuneration  being  the  small 
commission  of  one  sou  per  kilogramme,  or  about  \d.  per  lb. 
The  finest  Neroli  and  finest  Orange  Flower  Water  are  dis- 
tilled from  the  flowers  of  the  Bigaradier.  Inferior  Neroli,  not 
worth  more  than  half  the  price  of  the  finest,  is  yielded  by  the 
flowers  of  the  Sweet  or  Portugal  Orange.  The  essential  oil 
called  Essence  de  Petit  Grain  is  distilled  from  the  leaves  of  the 
