78  VARIETIES. 
fixing  ingredient  in  other  perfumes,  to  give  permanence  to  a  volatile  odor. 
Customers  requiring,  in  a  general  way,  that  which  is  incompatible,  namely, 
that  a  perfume  shall  be  strong  to  smell,  i.  e.,  very  volatile,  and  that  it  shall 
remain  upon  the  handkerchief  for  a  long  period,  ergo,  not  volatile  !  Small 
portions  of  extract  of  musk,  mixed  with  esprit  de  rose,  violet,  tuberose, 
and  others,  do,  in  a  measure,  attain  this  object?  that  is,  after  the  violet,  &c, 
has  evaporated,  the  handkerchief  still  retains  an  odor,  which,  although  not 
that  of  the  original  smell,  yet  gives  satisfaction,  because  it  is  pleasant  to  the 
nasal  organ.  • 
Ammonia. — Under  the  various  titles  of  "  Smelling  Salts, "  "  Preston 
Salts,"  "  Inexhaustible  Salts,"  "  Eau  de  Luce,"  "  Sal  Volatile,"  ammonia, 
mixed  with  other  odoriferous  bodies;  has  been  very  extensively  consumed 
as  material  for  pleasuring  the  olofactory  nerve. 
The  perfumer  uses  liq.  amm.  fortis,  that  is,  strong  liquid  ammonia,  and 
the  sesqui-carbonate  of  ammonia,  for  preparing  the  various  "salts"  that 
he  sells.  These  materials  he  does  not  attempt  to  make  ;  in  fact,  it  is  quite 
out  of  his  province  so  to  do,  but,  he  procures  them  ready  for  his  hand 
through  some  manufacturing  chemist.  The  best  preparation  for  smelling- 
bottles  is  what  is  termed  Inexhaustible  Salts,  which  is  prepared  thus : — 
Liquid  ammonia  .....  1  pint. 
Essential  oil  of  rosemary  1  drachm. 
"        "     English  lavender        .        .        1  drachm. 
"        "     bergamot  £  drachm. 
"        "      cloves      ....         |  drachm. 
Mix  the  whole  together  with  agitation  in  a  very  strong  and  well-stoppered 
bottle. 
This  mixture  is  used  by  filling  the  smelling-bottles  with  any  porous  ab- 
sorbent material,  such  as  asbestos,  or  what  is  better,  sponge  cuttings,  that 
have  been  well  beaten,  washed,  and  dried.  These  cuttings  can  be  procured 
at  a  nominal  price  from  any  of  the  sponge -dealers,  being  the  trimming  or 
roots  of  the  Turkey  sponge,  which  are  cut  off  before  the  merchants  send  it 
into  the  retail  market.  After  the  bottles  are  filled  with  the  sponge,  it  is 
thoroughly  saturated  with  the  scented  ammonia,  but  no  more  is  poured  in 
than  the  sponge  will  retain,  when  the  bottles  are  inverted  ;  as  if  by  any 
chance  the  ammonia  runs  out  and  is  spilt  over  certain  colored  fabrics,  it 
causes  a  stain.  When  such  an  accident  happens,  the  person  who  sold  it  is 
invariably  blamed. 
When  the  sponge  is  saturated  properly,  it  will  retain  the  ammoniacal 
odor  longer  than  any  other  material ;  hence,  we  presume,  bottles  filled  in 
this  way  are  called  "  inexhaustible,"  which  name,  however,  they  do  not 
sustain  more  than  two  or  three  months  with  any  credit ;  the  warm  hand 
soon  dissipates  the  ammonia  under  any  circumstances,  and  they  require  to 
be  refilled. 
For  transparent  colored  bottles,  instead  of  sponge,  the  perfumers  use 
what  they  call  insoluble  crystal  salts  (sulphate  of  potass).    The  bottles 
