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

ESSENCE OF AMBERGRIS Is only kept for mixing; when retailed it has to be sweetened up to the public nose; it is then called after the Parisian name EXTRAIT D'AMBRE. Esprit de rose triple, 1/2 pint. Extract of ambergris, 1 " Essence of musk, 1/4 " Extract of vanilla, 2 ounces. This perfume has such a lasting odor, that a handkerchief being well perfumed with it, will still retain an odor even after it has been washed. The fact is, that both musk and ambergris contain a substance which clings pertinaciously to woven fabrics, and not being soluble in weak alkaline lyes, is still found upon the material after passing through the lavatory ordeal. Powdered ambergris is used in the manufacture of cassolettes--little ivory or bone boxes perforated--which are made to contain a paste of strong-smelling substances, to carry in the pocket or reticule; also in the making of peau d'Espagne, or Spanish skin, used for perfuming writing paper and envelopes, and which will be described hereafter. CIVET.--This substance is secreted by the Viverra civetta, or civet cat. It is formed in a large double glandular receptacle between the anus and the pudendum of the creature. Like many other substances of Oriental origin, it was first brought to this country by the Dutch. When the civet cats are kept in a state of confinement, which at one time was common in Amsterdam, they are placed in strong cages, so constructed as to prevent the animal from turning round and biting the person employed in collecting the secreted substance. This operation is said to be performed twice a week, and is done by scraping out the civet with a small spoon: about a drachm at a time is thus obtained. A good deal of the civet now brought to European markets is from Calicut, capital of the province of Malabar, and from Bassora on the Euphrates.