A practical treatise on the manufacture of perfumery

by C. Deite

Maceration is employed for the flowers of the orange (citrus aurantum), of the mock orange (Philadelphus coronarius), of the acacia (acacia Farnesiana), of the violet (viola odorata), of the mignonette (réséda odorata), etc.

The process of absorption, or "enfleurage," as it is called by the French, is chiefly made use of for procuring the odoriferous principle of very delicate flowers, the delicious odor of which would be greatly modified, if not entirely spoiled, by the application of heat. The older apparatus employed for the purpose consists of a number of shallow wooden frames of about 15×18 inches, inclosing at half their depth a sheet of glass. The edges of the frame rise about an inch above each surface of the glass, and, being flat, the frames stand securely upon one another, forming often considerable stacks. These frames are called "chassis," those just described being termed "chassis aux vitres," or "chassis aux pomades," to distinguish them from a different form, which is used where oil has to be submitted to the process of absorption. The process in the case of pomade is as follows: Each sheet of glass is uniformly coated with a thin layer of purified grease, care being taken that the grease does not come in contact with the woodwork of the frames. The flowers are then thinly sprinkled, or rather laid, one by one, upon the surface of the fat, where they are allowed to remain one or two days, when they are removed and replaced by fresh ones. The operation is thus continued for twenty-five or thirty days, until the fat is saturated with aroma. The frames charged with fat and flowers are stacked one upon the other, forming, in fact, a number of little rectangular chambers.

For perfuming oils a metal sieve, Fig. 17, is substituted for the glass plate. Upon the sieve a piece of thick cotton cloth saturated with oil is laid, and upon this the flowers are scattered, and left there until fresh ones have to be substituted. The operation is repeated until the oil is sufficiently impregnated with aroma, when the cloth is subjected to pressure and the expressed oil filtered.

Fig. 17.

This process is very tedious, requiring much labor and a long time for the impregnation of the fat or oil, but, notwithstanding its faults, it is still pursued to a great extent, some French firms using 3000 such frames during the season.

With the apparatus, shown in Fig. 18, the process of absorption can, however, be conducted with very little expense of labor and time. It has the further advantage that the flowers do not come in direct contact with the fat, whereby a saving of the latter is effected, and it is less liable to rancidity.

The apparatus consists of a tall wooden box provided with doors which can be hermetically closed. In the box are placed upon brackets a number of glass plates, g, so arranged one above the other that, for instance, those with uneven numbers are on the left side, leaving an open space to the right, while those with even numbers are arranged on the right side with an open space to the left.

From the bottom of the box a pipe passes into a sheet-iron cylinder, K´, filled loosely with flowers, and provided with lateral openings, O and O´. From the lid of the box K ascends a pipe, e, which is connected with a small ventilating apparatus kept in motion by a clockwork and weights. This ventilator when in motion sucks a current of air through the apparatus. The air enters the cylinder K´ at O, and after ascending through the flowers and becoming impregnated with the vapors of the volatile oil enters through the opening O´ into the box K and, in passing in the direction indicated by arrows, over the plates coated with fat, yields its aroma to them.