ESSENCES AND PERFUMES Perfumes.— The subject of per fumery is perhaps not so important as it was formerly, because the use of strong perfumes appears to be going out of fashion. The natural fragrance of flowers, spices, and per fumed woods—the sources of the in gredients used in perfumery — is, however, so delightful that those sub stances are likely always to be em ployed to at certain extent in the toilet.
The various forms in which per fumes are placed upon the market are, according to the degree of dilu tion, the attar or essential oil, the es sence or extract, and the perfumed toilet water. Innumerable com pounds are sold under various fanci ful titles, as colognes, scents, spirits, (French esprit), and the like. The substances from which these per fumes are obtained may also in some cases be purchased, as the dry leaves or flowers of plants, various kinds of wood or roots, ambergris (supposed to be a morbid secretion of the sperm whale), and the like.
Perfumes are also used in the form of sachets or dry powder, to be placed among garments or linen, either in sachet bags or scattered loosely in chests and drawers. They are likewise employed to perfume the atmosphere of a room by put ting them in open jars, or burning them in the form of pastilles and incense.
Generally speaking, the most con venient form in which to obtain per fumes is the attar, otto, or essential oil. A few drops of these concen trated substances, usually about 5 or 6 drops to the pint or pound, will yield any desired odor. When the essence, the perfumed water, or the original substances themselves are prescribed in recipes, the essential oil can be substituted in most cases by a little careful experimenting. The process of extracting essences and es sential oils, however, is not difficult, and can be carried on at home by anyone who is interested enough to procure suitable apparatus. Several methods of preparing homemade ex tracts are given below which can be employed successfully by anyone.
Volatile Oils. — These are found naturally in plants, and are usually obtained by distillation. They are distinguished by their pungent odor and also by the fact that they are not capable of uniting with alkalies to form soaps. They are used prin
cipally in perfumery, with the excep tion of turpentine, which is employed in mixing paints and varnishes. This oil is obtained from various cone bearing trees, and exudes from the bark mixed with rosin and other vegetable juices, from which it is ex tracted by distillation.
The volatile oils upon being ex posed to air absorb oxygen and crys tallize into substances having the ap pearance of rosin, balsam, or gum camphor. The perfumed oils, if not tightly corked, gradually lose their delicate scent. Most volatile oils are obtained by distillation in the pres ence of water or alcohol, but other., are obtained by mechanical processes without heat. The essential oils in solution with water are known as es sences, as essence of pennyroyal or of mint, and the like. These are often prepared by distillation with water, forming the distilled perfumed wa ters of commerce. The bath in which perfume-bearing substances are dis tilled should be slightly acidulated with sulphuric acid. Use a few drops only—just enough to give a sour taste to the tongue. All the essen tial oils are soluble in alcohol and ether.
To Test Essential Oils.—As many of the essential oils are expensive, they are frequently adulterated. Ob tain a drop of the pure oil and de termine the presence of substitutes by placing a drop of each on sepa rate pieces of paper and comparing them carefully. The attar of roses is often adulterated with the oils of rhodium, sandalwood, camphor, sper maceti, etc. The pure article has a sweet, smooth taste. A bitter taste indicates the oil of rhodium or san dalwood; a pungent flavor, the oil of geranium or camphor; a greasy stain on paper, spermaceti.
Or mix a drop of the attar of roses with a drop of sulphuric acid. The pure attar will not be affected, but the adulterated article will become dark colored, and the characteristic odors of the different substances with which it may have "been adulterated can easily be discerned.