470  VARIETIES. 
stances.  The  use  of  charcoal  in  a  pastil  is  merely  for  burning,  producing, 
during  its  combustion,  the  heat  required  to  quickly  volatilize  the  perfuming 
material  with  which  it  is  surrounded.  The  product  of  the  combustion  of 
charcoal  is  inodorous,  and  therefore  does  not  in  any  way  interfere  with  the 
fragrance  of  the  pastil.  lSucIi  is,  however,  not  the  case  with  any  ingredients 
that  may  be  used  that  are  not  in  themselves  perfectly  volatile  by  the  aid  of 
a  small  increment  of  heat.  If  combustion  takes  place,  which  is  always 
the  case  with  all  the  aromatic  woods  that  are  introduced  into  pastils,  we 
have,  besides  the  volatilized  otto  which  the  wood  contains,  all  the  com- 
pounds naturally  produced  by  the  slow  burning  of  ligneous  matter,  spoiling 
the  true  odor  of  the  other  ingredients  volatilized. 
There  are,  it  is  true,  certain  kinds  of  fumigation  adopted  occasionally, 
where  these  products  are  the  materials  sought.  By  such  fumigation,  as 
when  brown  paper  is  allowed  to  smoulder  (undergo  slow  combustion)  in  a 
room  for  the  purpose  of  covering  bad  smells.  By  the  quick  combustion  of 
tobacco,  that  is,  combustion  with  flame,  there  is  no  odor  developed  ;  but  by 
its  slow  combustion,  according  to  the  method  adopted  by  those  who  indulge 
in  "  the  weed,"  the  familiar  aroma,  "  the  cloud,"  is  generated,  and  did  not 
exist  ready  formed  in  the  tobacco.  Now,  a  well-made  pastil  should  not  de- 
velop any  odor  of  its  own,  but  simply  volatilize  that  fragrant  matter,  what- 
ever it  be,  used  in  its  manufacture.  We  think  that  the  fourth  formula  given 
above  carries  out  that  object. 
It  does  not  follow  that  the  formulae  that  are  here  given  produce  at  all 
times  the  odor  that  is  most  approved  ;  it  is  evident  that  in  pastils,  as  with 
other  perfumes,  a  great  deal  depends  upon  taste.  Many  persons  very  much 
object  to  the  aroma  of  benzoin,  while  they  greatly  admire  the  fumes  of  cas- 
carilla. 
The  Perfume  Lamp. 
Shortly  after  the  discovery  of  the  peculiar  property  of  spongy.-platinum, 
remaining  incandescent  in  the  vapor  of  alcohol,  the  late  Mr.  J.  Deck,  of 
Cambridge,  made  a  very  ingenious  application  of  it  for  the  purpose  of  per- 
fuming apartments.  An  ordinary  spirit  lamp  was  filled  with  eau  de  Co- 
logne, and  "  trimmed"  with  a  wick  in  the  usual  manner.  Over  the  centre 
of  the  wick,  and  standing  about  the  eighth  of  an  inch  above  it,  a  small  ball 
of  spongy  platinum  is  placed,  maintained  in  its  position  by  being  fixed  to 
a  thin  glass  rod,  which  is  inserted  into  the  wick.  Thus  arranged,  the  lamp 
is  to  be  lighted  and  allowed  to  burn  until  the  platinum  becomes  red  hot ; 
the  flame  may  then  be  blown  out,  nevertheless  the  platinum  remains  incan- 
descent for  an  indefinite  period.  The  proximity  of  a  red-hot  ball  to  a  ma- 
terial of  the  physical  quality  of  eau  de  Cologne,  diffused  over  a  surface  of 
cotton  wick,  as  a  matter  of  course  causes  its  rapid  evaporation,  and  as  a 
consequence,  the  diffusion  of  odor. 
Instead  of  the  lamp  being  charged  with  eau  de  Cologne,  we  may  use  eau 
de  Portugal,  vervaine,  or  any  other  spirituous  essence  thought  fit.  Se- 
