The Art of Perfumery, and Methods of Obtaining the Odors of Plants

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." The oil of cloves may be obtained by expression from the fresh flower-buds, but the usual method of procuring it is by distillation, which is carried on to a very great extent in this country. Few essential oils have a more extensive use in perfumery than that of cloves; it combines well with grease, soap, and spirit, and, as will be seen in the recipes for the various bouquets given hereafter, it forms a leading feature in some of the most popular handkerchief essences, Rondeletia, the Guard's Bouquet, &c., and will be found where least expected. For essence of cloves, dissolve oil of cloves in the proportion of two ounces of oil to one gallon of spirit.