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Page 25
[Illustration: Patchouly.]
The odor of patchouly is due to an otto contained in the leaves and
stems, and is readily procured by distillation. 1 cwt. of good herb will
yield about 28 oz. of the essential oil, which is of a dark brown color,
and of a density about the same as that of oil of sandal wood, which it
resembles in its physical character. Its odor is the most powerful of
any derived from the botanic kingdom; hence, if mixed in the proportion
of measure for measure, it completely covers the smell of all other
bodies.
EXTRACT OF PATCHOULY.
Rectified spirit, 1 gallon.
Otto of patchouly, 1-1/4 oz.
" rose, 1/4 oz.
The essence of patchouly thus made is that which is found in the
perfumers' shops of Paris and London. Although few perfumes have had
such a fashionable run, yet when smelled at in its pure state, it is far
from agreeable, having a kind of mossy or musty odor, analogous to
Lycopodium, or, as some say, it smells of "old coats."
The characteristic smell of Chinese or Indian ink is due to some
admixture of this herb.
The origin of the use of patchouly as a perfume in Europe is curious. A
few years ago real Indian shawls bore an extravagant price, and
purchasers could always distinguish them by their odor; in fact, they
were perfumed with patchouly. The French manufacturers had for some time
successfully imitated the Indian fabric, but could not impart the odor.
At length they discovered the secret, and began to import the plant to
perfume articles of their make, and thus palm off homespun shawls as
real Indian! From this origin the perfumers have brought it into use.
Patchouly herb is extensively used for scenting drawers in which linen
is kept; for this purpose it is best to powder the leaves and put them
into muslin sacks, covered with silk, after the manner of the
old-fashioned lavender-bag. In this state it is very efficacious in
preventing the clothes from being attacked by moths. Several
combinations of patchouly will be given in the recipes for "bouquets and
nosegays."
PEA (SWEET).--A very fine odor may be abstracted from
the flowers of the chick-vetch by maceration in any fatty body, and then
digesting the pomade produced in spirit. It is, however, rarely
manufactured, because a very close
IMITATION OF THE ESSENCE OF SWEET PEA.
can be prepared thus:--
Extract of tuberose, 1/2 pint.
" fleur d'orange, 1/2 "
" rose from pomatum, 1/2 "
" vanilla, 1 oz.
Scents, like sounds, appear to influence the olfactory nerve in certain
definite degrees. There is, as it were, an octave of odors like an
octave in music; certain odors coincide, like the keys of an instrument.
Such as almond, heliotrope, vanilla, and orange-blossoms blend together,
each producing different degrees of a nearly similar impression. Again,
we have citron, lemon, orange-peel, and verbena, forming a higher octave
of smells, which blend in a similar manner. The metaphor is completed by
what we are pleased to call semi-odors, such as rose and rose geranium
for the half note; petty grain, neroli, a black key, followed by fleur
d'orange. Then we have patchouli, sandal-wood, and vitivert, and many
others running into each other.
From the odors already known we may produce, by uniting them in proper
proportion, the smell of almost any flower, except jasmine.
The odor of some flowers resembles others so nearly that we are almost
induced to believe them to be the same thing, or, at least, if not
evolved from the plant as such, to become so by the action of the
air-oxidation. It is known that some actually are identical in
composition, although produced from totally different plants, such as
camphor, turpentine, rosemary. Hence we may presume that chemistry will
sooner or later produce one from the other, for with many it is merely
an atom of water or an atom of oxygen that causes the difference. It
would be a grand thing to produce otto of roses from oil of rosemary, or
from the rose geranium oil, and theory indicates its possibility.
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