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

LEMON.--This fine perfume is abstracted from the Citrus limonum, by expression, from the rind of the fruit. The otto of lemons in the market is principally from Messina, where there are hundreds of acres of "lemon groves." Otto of lemons, like all the ottos of the Citrus family, is rapidly prone to oxidation when in contact with air and exposure to light; a high temperature is also detrimental, and as such is the case it should be preserved in a cool cellar. Most of the samples from the gas-heated shelves of the druggists' shops, are as much like essence of turpentine, to the smell, as that of lemons; rancid oil of lemons may, in a great measure, be purified by agitation with warm water and final decantation. When new and good, lemon otto may be freely used in combination with rosemary, cloves, and caraway, for perfuming powders for the nursery. From its rapid oxidation, it should not be used for perfuming grease, as it assists rather than otherwise all fats to turn rancid; hence pomatums so perfumed will not keep well. In the manufacture of other compound perfumes, it should be dissolved in spirit, in the proportion of six to eight ounces of oil to one gallon of spirit. There is a large consumption of otto of lemons in the manufacture of Eau de Cologne; that Farina uses it is easily discovered by adding a few drops of Liq. Ammoniæ fort. to half an ounce of his Eau de Cologne, the smell of the lemon is thereby brought out in a remarkable manner.