|
Main
- books.jibble.org
My Books
- IRC Hacks
Misc. Articles
- Meaning of Jibble
- M4 Su Doku
- Computer Scrapbooking
- Setting up Java
- Bootable Java
- Cookies in Java
- Dynamic Graphs
- Social Shakespeare
External Links
- Paul Mutton
- Jibble Photo Gallery
- Jibble Forums
- Google Landmarks
- Jibble Shop
- Free Books
- Intershot Ltd
|
books.jibble.org
Previous Page
| Next Page
Page 19
JASMINE.--
"Luxuriant above all,
The jasmine throwing wide her elegant sweets."
This flower is one of the most prized by the perfumer. Its odor is
delicate and sweet, and so peculiar that it is without comparison, and
as such cannot be imitated. When the flowers of the _Jasminum
odoratissimum_ are distilled, repeatedly using the water of
distillation over fresh flowers, the essential oil of jasmine may be
procured. It is, however, exceedingly rare, on account of the enormous
cost of production. There was a fine sample of six ounces exhibited in
the Tunisian department of the Crystal Palace, the price of which was
9_l._ the fluid ounce! The plant is the Yasmyn of the Arabs, from which
our name is derived.
In the perfumer's laboratory, the method of obtaining the odor is by
absorption, or, as the French term it, _enfleurage_; that is, by
spreading a mixture of pure lard and suet on a glass tray, and sticking
the fresh-gathered flowers all over it, leaving them to stand a day or
so, and repeating the operation with fresh flowers--the grease absorbs
the odor. Finally, the pomade is scraped off the glass or slate, melted
at as low a temperature as possible, and strained.
Oils strongly impregnated with the fragrance are also prepared much in
the same way. Layers of cotton wool, previously steeped in oil of ben
(obtained by pressure from the blanched nuts of the _Moringa oleifera_)
are covered with jasmine flowers, which is repeated several times;
finally, the cotton or linen cloths which some perfumers use, are
squeezed under a press. The jasmine oil thus produced is the _Huile
antique au jasmin_ of the French houses.
The "extract of jasmine" is prepared by pouring rectified spirit on the
jasmine pomade or oil, and allowing them to remain together for a
fortnight at a summer heat. The best quality extract requires two
pounds of pomatum to every quart of spirit. The same can be done with
the oil of jasmine. If the pomade is used, it must be cut up fine
previously to being put into the spirit; if the oil is used, it must be
shaken well together every two or more hours, otherwise, on account of
its specific gravity, the oil separates, and but little surface is
exposed to the spirit. After the extract is strained off, the "washed"
pomatum or oil is still useful, if remelted, in the composition of
pomatum for the hair, and gives more satisfaction to a customer than any
of the "creams and balms," &c. &c., made up and scented with essential
oils; the one smells of the flower, the other "a nondescript."
[Illustration: Jasmine.]
The extract of jasmine enters into the composition of a great many of
the most approved handkerchief perfumes sold by the English and French
perfumers. Extract of jasmine is sold for the handkerchief often pure,
but is one of those scents which, though very gratifying at first,
becomes what people call "sickly" after exposure to the oxidizing
influence of the air, but if judiciously mixed with other perfumes of an
opposite character is sure to please the most fastidious customer.
JONQUIL.--The scent of the jonquil is very beautiful; for
perfumery purposes it is however but little cultivated in comparison
with jasmine and tubereuse. It is prepared exactly as jasmine. The
Parisian perfumers sell a mixture which they call "extract of jonquil."
The plant, however, only plays the part of a godfather to the offspring,
giving it its name. The so-called jonquil is made thus:--
Spirituous extract of jasmine pomade, 1 pint.
" " tubereuse " 1 "
" " fleur d'orange, 1/2 "
Extract of vanilla, 2 fluid ounces.
LAUREL.--By distillation from the berries of the _Laurus
nobilis_, and from the leaves of the _Laurus cerasus_, an oil and
perfumed water are procurable of a very beautiful and fragrant
character. Commercially, however, it is disregarded, as from the
similarity of odor to the oil distilled from the bitter almond, it is
rarely, if ever, used by the perfumer, the latter being more economical.
LAVENDER.--The climate of England appears to be better adapted
for the perfect development of this fine old favorite perfume than any
other on the globe. "The ancients," says Burnett, "employed the flowers
and the leaves to aromatize their baths, and to give a sweet scent to
water in which they washed; hence the generic name of the plant,
_Lavandula_."
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
|