80 
VARIETIES. 
First  dissolve  the  "bruised  camphor  in  the  acetic  acid,  then  add  the  per- 
fuming oils  ;  after  remaining  together  for  a  few  days,  with  occasional  agi- 
tation, it  is  to  be  iiltered,  and  is  then  ready  for  use. 
Several  forms  for  the  preparation  of  this  substance  have  been  published, 
almost  all  of  which,  however,  appear  to  complicate  and  mystify  a  process 
that  is  all  simplicity. 
The  most  popular  article  of  this  kind  is — 
Henry's  Vinegar. 
Dried  leaves  of  rosemary,  rue,  wormwood,  sage,  mint, 
and  lavender  flowers,  each  \  ounce. 
Bruised  nutmeg,  cloves,  angelica  root,  and  camphor, 
each     .......        5  ounce. 
Alcohol  (rectiQed)       .....        4  ounces. 
Concentrated  acetic  acid        ....       16  ounces. 
Macerate  the  materials  for  a  day  in  the  spirit;  then  add  the  acid,  and  digest 
for  a  week  longer,  at  a  temperature  of  about  14  c.  or  15  c.  Finally,  press 
out  the  now  aromatized  acid,  and  filter  it. 
As  this  mixture  must  not  go  into  the  ordinary  metallic  tincture  press,  for 
the  obvious  reason  of  the  chemical  action  that  would  ensue ;  it  is  best  to 
drain  as  much  of  the  liquor  away  as  we  can,  by  means  of  a  common  funnel, 
and  then  to  save  the  residue  from  the  interstices  of  the  herbs,  by  tying 
them  up  in  a  linen  cloth,  and  subjecting  them  to  pressure  by  means  of  an 
ordinary  lemon  squeezer,  or  similar  device. 
VlNAIGRE  A  LA  ROSE. 
Concentrated  acetic  acid         ...        1  ounce. 
Otto  of  roses  ....         \  drachm. 
Well  shaken  together. 
It  is  obvious  that  vinegars  differently  perfumed  may  be  made  in  a  similar 
manner  to  the  above,  by  using  other  essential  oils  in  place  of  the  oito  of 
roses.  All  these  concentrated  vinegars  are  used  in  the  same  way  as  per- 
fumed ammonia,  that  is,  by  pouring  three  or  four  drachms  into  an  orna- 
mental "smelling"  bottle,  previously  filled  with  crystals  of  sulphate  of 
potash,  which  forms  "the  sel  de  vinaigre  "  of  the  shops;  or  upon  sponge 
into  little  silver  boxes,  called  vinaigrettes,  from  their  French  origin.  The 
use  of  these  vinegars  had  their  origin  in  the  presumption  of  keeping  those 
who  carried  them  from  the  effects  of  infectious  disease,  doubtless  springing 
out  of  the  story  of  the  "four  thieves'  vinegar,"  which  is  thus  rendered  in 
"Lewis's  Dispensatory." 
"  It  is  said  that  during  the  plague  at  Marseilles,  four  persons,  by  the  use 
of  this  preservative,  attended  unhurt  multitudes  of  those  that  were  affected  ; 
that  under  the  color  of  these  services,  they  robbed  both  the  sick  and  the 
dead  ;  and  that  being  afterwards  apprehended,  one  of  them  saved  himself 
from  the  gallows  by  disclosing  the  composition  of  the  prophvlactick  (a  very 
likely  story  ! !),  which  was  as  follows  : — 
