serious competition with the natural products, yet it is merely a question of time when the latter need no longer be depended upon. The increasing demands for the staple articles used by the perfumer have also caused a large increase in the cultivation of many important plants in various parts of the world, and have led to the establishment of new plantations, in some cases to such an extent that the commercial relations have been entirely revolutionized, new territories producing larger crops and a finer product than the old home of the plant. The exploration of hitherto unknown or imperfectly known countries has also largely added to the perfumer’s art, and is likely to continue to do this for a long time to come, since it is now well known that vast districts, more particularly in tropical Africa, are inhabited by a flora abounding in new odoriferous plants. In spite of all this expansion of the perfumer’s stock of trade, however, which results in the periodical introduction of new compounds, there is a very large number of popular odorous mixtures which remain in steady demand, having taken such firm root among civilized nations that they are not likely to be displaced. It is more particularly with a view to afford information regarding these latter that a work like the present is desirable and necessary. A treatise on perfumery is expected to place into the hands of the purchaser reasonably reliable processes for preparing the most generally approved simple or compound perfumes, as well as accurate information concerning the origin and properties of the various ingredients, together with practical hints regarding the determination of their genuineness and purity. It is a frequent complaint of those who make preparations after formulas published in works like the present, that they do not succeed in obtaining fully satisfactory products. Another complaint of purchasers of such works is this: that they fail to find formulas yielding preparations identical in every respect with certain celebrated perfumes which have made the reputation and fortune of certain firms. Regarding the first complaint, we would say that the failure lies generally with the complainant himself, through carelessness in the selection of the materials or disregard of the given directions. Concerning the second complaint, a moment’s reflection must convince any one that formulas which are the result of the study and experimentation of years, and the products of which are the main stock of trade of certain firms, are carefully guarded, and not likely to be communicated to others. Moreover, in many cases even a publication of the component parts would not be of much avail, for the manufacturer on the large scale has facilities for blending and seasoning his products which the maker on a small scale does not possess, and it is this part of the art particularly upon which the quality of the products depends.