THE  FLOWER  FARMS  OF  FRANCE. 
65 
ter,  inedible  fruit,  from  the  rind  of  which  is  expressed  an  inferior 
oil  called  "  essence  bigarade,"  often  used  for  adulterating  the 
finer  oils.  The  tree  requires  ten  years  to  mature,  and  twenty  to 
attain  perfection,  and  yields  an  average  of  17  lbs.  of  flowers  per 
annum. 
Rose-water  is  also  distilled  in  large  quantities.  A  result  of 
its  distillation  is  a  very  minute  proportion  of  otto  of  roses  of  the 
very  highest  quality  ;  it  appears  in  small  supernatant  grains  or 
drops,  which  are  carefully  skimmed  off  and  rectified.  It  is  su- 
perior to  the  famous  Kizanlik  or  Turkish  otto,  and,  like  it,  con- 
geals at  ordinary  temperatures  in  beautiful,  transparent  crystals . 
I  saw,  at  the  celebrated  manufactory  of  Mr.  Antoine  Chiris,  who 
was  in  all  things  the  leader  of  his  profession,  a  bottle  containing 
about  three  pounds,  which  he  valued  at  550  dols.,  or  over  11 
dols.  the  ounce.  It  is  not  an  article  of  export,  the  quantity 
produced  being  very  small,  but  is  reserved  for  use  in  unfavorable 
seasons,  or  a  failure  of  the  flower  crop,  to  give  strength  and  fin- 
ish to  the  pomades  and  oils.  The  "  Rose  de  Mai  "  (Rosa  centi- 
folia  jprovincialis),  or  double  May  rose,  is  the  one  universally 
grown. 
Another  very  costly  article,  of  which  less  than  an  ounce  had 
been  produced  in  Grasse  at  that  time,  is  the  essential  oil  of  jas- 
mine. Its  existence  in  the  flower  was  long  and  stoutly  denied 
by  the  distillers,  although  they  failed  to  prove  what  other  princi- 
ple caused  its  fine  odor.  In  1853,  an  Algerian  chemist  obtained 
a  minute  quantity,  which  cost  him,  we  are  informed,  at  the  rate 
of  17,000  francs  the  kilogramme,  or  nearly  $100  the  ounce.  It 
has,  since  then,  been  produced  at  a  cheaper  rate,  but  still  too 
dear  for  commercial  purposes.  The  wild  Arabian  jasmine  is 
grafted  on  the  cultivated  plant  of  the  same  species,  acclimated, 
and  bears  for  many  years,  if  not  winter-killed,  yfelding  from  90 
to  150  lbs.  of  flower-petals  per  thousand  plants.  It  is  closely 
trimmed  in  spring  and  deeply  covered  in  winter.  The  caterpillar 
is  its  most  formidable  enemy. 
A  most  important  branch,  and  one  in  which  great  rivalry  exists,  is 
the  preparation  of  perfumed  pomades  and  oils,  which  have  a  two- 
fold use  :  first  as  bases  for  the  finer  kinds  of  hair  oils  and  poma- 
tums, and  next  as  a  medium  for  obtaining  spirituous  extracts  for 
5 
