The Art of Perfumery | Page 5

burned:--

"Lumina cerates adolentur odora papyris."
A perfume in common use, even to this day, was the invention of one
of the earliest of the Roman nobles, named Frangipani, and still bears
his name; it is a powder, or sachet, composed of every known spice, in
equal proportions, to which is added ground iris or orris root, in weight
equal to the whole, with one per cent. of musk or civet. A liquid of the
same name, invented by his grandson Mercutio Frangipani, is also in
common use, prepared by digesting the Frangipane powder in rectified
spirits, which dissolves out the fragrant principles. This has the merit of
being the most lasting perfume made.
"The trade for the East in perfume-drugs caused many a vessel to
spread its sails to the Red Sea, and many a camel to plod over that tract
which gave to Greece and Syria their importance as markets, and
vitality to the rocky city of Petra. Southern Italy was not long ere it
occupied itself in ministering to the luxury of the wealthy, by
manufacturing scented unguents and perfumes. So numerous were the
UNGUENTARII, or perfumers, that they are said to have filled the
great street of ancient Capua."--HOFMANN.
As an art, in England, perfumery has attained little or no distinction.
This has arisen from those who follow it as a trade, maintaining a
mysterious secrecy about their processes. No manufacture can ever
become great or important to the community that is carried on under a
veil of mystery.
"On the subject of trade mystery I will only observe, that I am
convinced that it would be far more to the interest of manufacturers if
they were more willing to profit by the experience of others, and less
fearful and jealous of the supposed secrets of their craft. It is a great
mistake to think that a successful manufacturer is one who has carefully
preserved the secrets of his trade, or that peculiar modes of effecting
simple things, processes unknown in other factories, and mysteries
beyond the comprehension of the vulgar, are in any way essential to
skill as a manufacturer, or to success as a trader."--PROFESSOR
SOLLY.

If the horticulturists of England were instructed how to collect the
odors of flowers, a new branch of manufacture would spring up to vie
with our neighbors' skill in it across the Channel.
Of our five senses, that of SMELLING has been treated with
comparative indifference. However, as knowledge progresses, the
various faculties with which the Creator has thought proper in his
wisdom to endow man will become developed, and the faculty of
Smelling will meet with its share of tuition as well as Sight, Hearing,
Touch, and Taste.
Flowers yield perfumes in all climates, but those growing in the
warmer latitudes are most prolific in their odor, while those from the
colder are the sweetest. Hooker, in his travels in Iceland, speaks of the
delightful fragrance of the flowers in the valley of Skardsheidi; we
know that winter-green, violets, and primroses are found here, and the
wild thyme, in great abundance. Mr. Louis Piesse, in company with
Captain Sturt, exploring the wild regions of South Australia, writes:
"The rains have clothed the earth with a green as beautiful as a
Shropshire meadow in May, and with flowers, too, as sweet as an
English violet; the pure white anemone resembles it in scent. The
Yellow Wattle, when in flower, is splendid, and emits a most fragrant
odor."
Though many of the finest perfumes come from the East Indies, Ceylon,
Mexico, and Peru, the South of Europe is the only real garden of utility
to the perfumer. Grasse and Nice are the principal seats of the art; from
their geographical position, the grower, within comparatively short
distances, has at command that change of climate best fitted to bring to
perfection the plants required for his trade. On the seacoast his Cassiæ
grows without fear of frost, one night of which would destroy all the
plants for a season; while, nearer the Alps, his violets are found sweeter
than if grown in the warmer situations, where the orange tree and
mignionette bloom to perfection. England can claim the superiority in
the growth of lavender and peppermint; the essential oils extracted
from these plants grown at Mitcham, in Surrey, realize eight times the
price in the market of those produced in France or elsewhere, and are

fully worth the difference for delicacy of odor.
The odors of plants reside in different parts of them, sometimes in the
roots, as in the iris and vitivert; the stem or wood, in cedar and sandal;
the leaves, in mint, patchouly, and thyme; the flower, in the roses and
violets; the seeds in the Tonquin bean and caraway; the bark, in
cinnamon, &c.
Some plants yield more than