^oct^'iSi™"}   Flozvers  and  Perfumes  in  the  Riviera.  479 
water,  or  if  a  cistern  cannot  be  had,  a  barrel  is  used  through  which 
a  stream  of  water  continually  flows.  The  condensed  water  and  oil 
are  collected  in  a  peculiarly-constructed  receiver  known  as  a 
"  divider."  This  divider  consists  of  two  vessels,  made  of  tin  or 
copper,  of  convenient  size,  one  fitting  inside  the  other  and  project- 
ing about  an  inch  above  the  top  of  the  outer  one.  The  smaller 
vessel,  provided  with  a  hole  in  the' bottom,  receives  the  mixed  water 
and  oil ;  the  former  being  the  heavier,  sinks  to  the  bottom  and 
passes  through  the  hole  into  the  outer  vessel.  As  the  distillation 
proceeds,  the  water  rises  in  the  outer  vessel  until  it  flows  over  the 
top  while  the  oil  remains  in  the  smaller  one.  From  this  it  can  be 
easily  removed  by  dipping  it  out.  After  filtering,  the  oil  is  ready 
for  the  market. 
The  yield  of  oil  varies  from  0-5  to  1-5  per  cent.,  depending  on  the 
season  and  condition  of  the  herb  when  gathered.  The  freshly- 
distilled  oil  is  colorless,  but  becomes  yellow  and  viscid  upon 
exposure  to  the  atmosphere  and  light. 
THE  CULTURE  OF  FLOWERS  AND  THE  PRODUCTION 
OF  PERFUMES  IN  THE  RIVIERA. 
The  perfumes  produced  in  Nice  are  of  a  very  high  standard. 
One  of  the  most  important  processes  is  the  distillation  for  the  pro- 
duction of  essences. 
So  far  as  the  process  of- distillation  itself  is  concerned:  A  copper 
vessel  is  filled  two-thirds  with  water;  then  the  desired  flowers  are 
thrown  in,  the  vessel  is  tightly  closed  and  placed  on  the  fire.  In 
this  manner,  steam  is  engendered  in  the  vessel,  and  is  conducted  by 
a  tube  through  a  cylinder,  which  is  constantly  filled  with  cold  water 
and  is  supplied  with  an  overflow  cock.  In  this  cylinder  the  tube  is 
bent  spirally,  and  ends  in  a  faucet  at  the  bottom,  from  which  the 
volatile  essence  drops,  after  the  condensation  of  the  steam.  The 
essence  is  collected  in  a  small  glass  vessel,  while  at  the  same  time, 
the  water  takes  up  a  small  portion  of  the  perfume,  and  is  then  dis- 
posed of  as  rose-water  or  orangeflower-water.  It  is  not  feasible  to 
submit  all  flowers  to  this  process :  such  as  yield  no  essence,  like 
jasmin,  cassie-flowers,  tuberoses,  etc.,  must  be  treated  in  a  different 
manner. 
Among  the  flowers  which  contain  essences,  those  of  the  orange 
