VARIETIES. 
177 
mificant  name  to  that  large  class  of  substances  known  as  the  a:')ma  of 
plants  ! 
When  the  chemical  nomenclature  was  last  revised,  the  organij  bodies 
were  little  dealt  with.  We  know  that  we  owe  this  universal  "  oil  "  to  the 
old  alchemist,  much  in  the  same  way  as  "  spirit  "  has  been  used,  but  a  little 
consideration  about  the  matter  quickly  indicates  the  folly  of  its  continued 
use.  We  can  no  longer  call  otto  of  rosemary,  or  otto  of  nutmegs,  essential 
oil  of  rosemary  or  nutmegs,  with  any  more  propriety  than  we  can  term 
sulphuric  acid  "  oil "  of  vitriol.  All  the  chemical  works  speak  of  the 
odoriferous  bodies  as  "  essential "  or  "  volatile  "  oils,  and  of  the  greasy 
bodies  as  "fat"  or  "unctuous"  oils.  Oils,  properly  so  called,  unite  with 
salifiable  bases,  and  form  soap  ;  whereas,  the  essential  or  volatile  oils,  i.  e., 
what  we  would  please  to  call  the  ottos,  do  no  such  thing.  On  the  contrary,, 
they  unite  with  acids  in  the  majority  of  instances. 
The  word  oil  must  hereafter  be  confined  to  those  bodies  to  which  its 
literal  meaning  refers — fat,  unctuous,  inodorous  (when  pure),  greasy  sub- 
stances— and  can  no  longer  be  applied  to  those  odoriferous  materials  which 
possess  qualities  diametrically  opposite  to  oil.  We  have  grappled  with 
4<  spirit,"  and  fixed  its  meaning  in  a  chemical  sense;  we  have  no  longer 
"  spirit"  of  salt,  or  "  spirit"  of  hartshorn.  Let  us  no  longer  have  almond 
oil  "  essential,"  almond  oil  "  unctuous,"  and  the  like. 
It  remains  only  for  us  to  complete  the  branch  of  perfumery  which  relates 
to  odors  for  the  handkerchief,  by  giving  the  formulae  for  preparing  the  most 
favorite  "boquets"  and  "  nosegays."  These,  as  before  stated,  are  but  mix- 
tures of  the  simple  ottos  in  spirit,  which,  properly  blended,  produce  an 
agreeable  and  characteristic  odor,  an  effect  upon  the  smelling  nerve  similar 
to  the  mixture  that  harmonious  sounds  produce  upon  the  nerve  of  hearing, 
that  of  pleasure. 
Bouquet  D'Amour. 
Esprit  de  rose 
"    jasmin    |     from    }  ,  .  . 
....     >  ,   >    of  each    .        .         1  pint. 
"    violette  j  pomade )  r 
"    cassie  J 
Extract  of  musk  )  ,  . 
,       .  >  of  each    .  5  pint. 
"      ambergris  3  t 
Mix  and  filter. 
Bouquet  des  Fleurs  du  Val  d'Andorre. 
Extrait  de  jasmin  "| 
rose  I  from 
of  each         .        1  pint. 
"     violette      [  pomade, 
"      tuberose  J 
Extract  of  orris      ,        .        .        .        ,        1  pint 
Otto  of  geranium    .        .        ,        .        .        4  oz. 
12 
