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

JASMINE.-- "Luxuriant above all, The jasmine throwing wide her elegant sweets." This flower is one of the most prized by the perfumer. Its odor is delicate and sweet, and so peculiar that it is without comparison, and as such cannot be imitated. When the flowers of the Jasminum odoratissimum are distilled, repeatedly using the water of distillation over fresh flowers, the essential oil of jasmine may be procured. It is, however, exceedingly rare, on account of the enormous cost of production. There was a fine sample of six ounces exhibited in the Tunisian department of the Crystal Palace, the price of which was 9l. the fluid ounce! The plant is the Yasmyn of the Arabs, from which our name is derived. In the perfumer's laboratory, the method of obtaining the odor is by absorption, or, as the French term it, enfleurage; that is, by spreading a mixture of pure lard and suet on a glass tray, and sticking the fresh-gathered flowers all over it, leaving them to stand a day or so, and repeating the operation with fresh flowers--the grease absorbs the odor. Finally, the pomade is scraped off the glass or slate, melted at as low a temperature as possible, and strained. Oils strongly impregnated with the fragrance are also prepared much in the same way. Layers of cotton wool, previously steeped in oil of ben (obtained by pressure from the blanched nuts of the Moringa oleifera) are covered with jasmine flowers, which is repeated several times; finally, the cotton or linen cloths which some perfumers use, are squeezed under a press. The jasmine oil thus produced is the Huile antique au jasmin of the French houses.