The Art of Perfumery, and Methods of Obtaining the Odors of Plants: With Instructions for the Manufacture of Perfumes for the Handkerchief, Scented Powders, Odorous Vinegars, Dentifrices, Pomatums, Cosmetics, Perfumed Soap, Etc., to which is Added an Appendix on Preparing Artificial Fruit-Essences, Etc.Piesse, G. W. Septimus (George William Septimus)
History
The Art of Perfumery, and Methods of Obtaining the Odors of Plants: With Instructions for the Manufacture of Perfumes for the Handkerchief, Scented Powders, Odorous Vinegars, Dentifrices, Pomatums, Cosmetics, Perfumed Soap, Etc., to which is Added an Appendix on Preparing Artificial Fruit-Essences, Etc.
Piesse, G. W. Septimus (George William Septimus)
Cosmetics; Perfumes
The tincture smells agreeably of the wood, from which it can readily be
made. Its crimson color, however, prohibits it from being used for the
handkerchief. It forms an excellent tincture for the teeth, and is the
basis of the celebrated French dentifrice "eau Botot."
CEDRAT.--This perfume is procured from the rind of the citron
fruit (_Citrus medica_), both by distillation and expression; it has a
very beautiful lemony odor, and is much admired. It is principally used
in the manufacture of essences for the handkerchief, being too expensive
for perfuming grease or soap. What is called extract of cedrat is made
by dissolving two ounces of the above essential oil of citron in one
pint of spirits, to which some perfumers add half an ounce of bergamot.
CINNAMON.--Several species of the plant _Laurus cinnamomum_
yield the cinnamon and cassia of commerce. Its name is said to be
derived from _China Amomum_, the bark being one of the most valued
spices of the East. Perfumers use both the bark and the oil, which is
obtained by distillation from it. The ground bark enters into the
composition of some pastilles, tooth powders, and sachets. The essential
oil of cinnamon is principally brought to this country from Ceylon; it
is exceedingly powerful, and must be used sparingly. In such compounds
as cloves answer, so will cinnamon.
CITRON.--On distilling the flowers of the _Citrus medica_, a
very fragrant oil is procured, which is a species of neroli, and is
principally consumed by the manufacturers of eau de Cologne.
CITRONELLA.--Under this name there is an oil in the market,
chiefly derived from Ceylon and the East Indies; its true origin we are
unable to decide; in odor it somewhat resembles citron fruit, but is
very inferior. Probably it is procured from one of the grasses of the
_Andropogon_ genus. Being cheap, it is extensively used for perfuming
soap. What is now extensively sold as "honey" soap, is a fine yellow
soap slightly perfumed with this oil. Some few use it for scenting
grease, but it is not much admired in that way.
CLOVES.--Every part of the clove plant (_Caryophyllus
aromaticus_) abounds with aromatic oil, but it is most fragrant and
plentiful in the unexpanded flower-bud, which are the cloves of
commerce. Cloves have been brought into the European market for more
than 2000 years. The plant is a native of the Moluccas and other islands
in the China seas. "The average annual crop of cloves," says Burnett,
"is, from each tree, 2 or 2-1/2 lbs., but a fine tree has been known to
yield 125 lbs. of this spice in a single season, and as 5000 cloves only
weigh one pound, there must have been at least 625,000 flowers upon this
single tree."
[Illustration: Clove.]
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