|
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 33
We have often seen displayed for sale in druggists' shops plain tincture
of orris root, done up in nice bottles, with labels upon them inferring
the contents to be "Extract of Violet;" customers thus once "taken in"
are not likely to be so a second time.
A good IMITATION ESSENCE OF VIOLETS is best prepared thus--
Spirituous extract of cassie pomade, 1 pint.
Esprit de rose, from pomade, 1/2 "
Tincture of orris, 1/2 "
Spirituous extract of tuberose pomade, 1/2 "
Otto of almonds, 3 drops.
After filtration it is fit for bottling. In this mixture, it is the
extract of cassie which has the leading smell, but modified by the rose
and tuberose becomes very much like the violet. Moreover, it has a green
color, like the extract of violet; and as the eye influences the
judgment by the sense of taste, so it does with the sense of smell.
Extract of violet enters largely into the composition of several of the
most popular bouquets, such as extract of spring flowers and many
others.
VITIVERT, or Kus-Kus, is the rhizome of an Indian grass. In the
neighborhood of Calcutta, and in the city, this material has an
extensive use by being manufactured into awnings, blinds, and
sun-shades, called Tatty. During the hot seasons an attendant sprinkles
water over them; this operation cools the apartment by the evaporation
of the water, and, at the same time, perfumes the atmosphere, in a very
agreeable manner, with the odoriferous principle of the vitivert. It has
a smell between the aromatic or spicy odor and that of flowers--if such
a distinction can be admitted. We classify it with orris root, not that
it has any odor resembling it, but because it has a like effect in use
in perfumery, and because it is prepared as a tincture for obtaining its
odor.
About four pounds of the dried vitivert, as it is imported, being cut
small and set to steep in a gallon of rectified spirits for a fortnight,
produces the
ESSENCE OF VITIVERT of the shops. In this state it is rarely
used as a perfume, although it is occasionally asked for by those who,
perhaps, have learnt to admire its odor by their previous residence in
"the Eastern clime." The extract, essence, or tincture of vitivert,
enters into the composition of several of the much-admired and old
bouquets manufactured in the early days of perfumery in England, such as
"_Mousselaine des Indies_," for which preparation M. Delcroix, in the
zenith of his fame, created quite a _furor_ in the fashionable world.
[Illustration: Vitivert.]
Essence of vitivert is also made by dissolving 2 oz. of otto of vitivert
in 1 gallon of spirit; this preparation is stronger than the tincture,
as above.
MARECHALE and BOUQUET DU ROI, perfumes which have also
"had their day," owe much of their peculiarity to the vitivert contained
in them.
Bundles of vitivert are sold for perfuming linen and preventing moth,
and, when ground, is used to manufacture certain sachet powders.
Otto of vitivert is procurable by distillation; a hundred-weight of
vitivert yields about 14 oz. of otto, which in appearance very much
resembles otto of santal. I have placed a sample of it in the museum at
Kew.
VOLKAMERIA.--An exquisite perfume is sold under this name,
presumed, of course, to be derived from the _Volkameria inermis_
(LINDLEY). Whether it has a smell resembling the flower of that
plant, or whether the plant blooms at all, we are unable to say. It is a
native of India, and seems to be little known even in the botanic
gardens of this country; however, the plant has a name, and that's
enough for the versatile Parisian perfumer, and if the mixture he makes
"takes" with the fashionable world--the plant which christens it has a
fine perfume for a certainty!
ESSENCE OF VOLKAMERIA.
Esprit de violette, 1 pint.
" tubereuse, 1 "
" jasmine, 1/4 "
" rose, 1/2 "
Essence de muse, 2 oz.
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
|