The Division of Aromatic Substances According to their Origin.
The majority of the substances used in perfumery are derived from the vegetable kingdom, but some come from the animal kingdom, and for others which do not occur complete in nature we are indebted to chemistry. As is well known, most blossoms possess a decided odor, which is extremely fragrant in some; yet it is not the blossoms alone, but in different genera various parts are distinguished by agreeable odors. In some plants the fragrant substances are contained in every part, as in different pines and the mints; in others, only in the fruits (nutmeg, vanilla), while the other parts are odorless; in certain plants only the rinds of the fruits contain an aromatic substance (oranges, lemons). In the Florentine Iris the entire plant is odorless—only its root stock possesses an agreeable, violet-like scent; while, for instance, in the camphor-tree an aromatic substance exists in the wood, in the cinnamon laurel in the bark, in the clove-tree mainly in the closed buds.
But taking the aromatic plants all together, we find that it is particularly their flowers which contain the finest odors, and that the majority of perfumes are prepared from their blossoms.
From the animal kingdom we take for the purposes of perfumery only a very small number of substances, among which, moreover, some peculiar relation exists; while, for instance, all men would call the odor of violets, roses, vanilla, etc., agreeable, the odor of some animal substances is decidedly obnoxious to many persons, though others like it—an observation which can be verified often with reference to musk.
With the advancement of science, chemical products find application in ever increasing numbers; among them are substances which owe their origin directly to the vegetable kingdom, while others, such as nitrobenzol and pine-apple ether, are only indirectly derived from it.
From what has been stated, we learn that our attention must be directed particularly to those scents which are derived from the vegetable kingdom. To the manufacturer of perfumery, however, it is a matter of importance whence the plants are obtained which he uses for the preparation of the odors; a very slight change in the soil often makes a great difference in the quality of one and the same species; we see this quite clearly in our ordinary strawberry. While the wild fruit is but small in size it has a delightful aromatic flavor, and the same species transplanted into gardens attains much greater size but possesses only a faint aroma not to be compared with that of the wild variety. The Lombardian violet is large and beautiful, but the German has a much more pleasant odor. On the other hand, the blossoms of the orange-tree obtained from the plants cultivated in pots cannot be compared with reference to their odor with these growing in the Riviera, the strip of coast land of the Mediterranean from Marseilles to Genoa. Altogether the last-named region and the south of France may be called the true garden of the perfumer; in the neighborhood of Grasse, Cannes, Nice, Monaco, and some other towns, extensive plots of ground are set with aromatic plants such as orange-trees, Acacia farnesiana, jasmine, violets, etc., whose products are elaborated in large, well-appointed chemical factories solely devoted to the extraction of their odors. The proximity of the sea-coast, with its favorable climate almost free from frost, permits the cultivation of southern plants, while in the more elevated parts of the country the adjoining Maritime Alps cause a more changeable climate which adapts them to certain other sweet-scented plants.
The great value of the annual production of the French flower farms at Cannes, Grasse, and Nice will be evident from the following figures. The harvesting and elaboration of the flowers at the points named give employment to fifteen thousand persons, and the average annual production is:
| Orange flowers, | 2,000,000 | kgm., | valued at | 2,000,000 | francs. |
| Roses, | 500,000 | " | " | 500,000 | " |
| Jasmine, | 80,000 | " | " | 200,000 | " |
| Violets, | 80,000 | " | " | 400,000 | " |
| Acacia flowers, | 40,000 | " | " | 160,000 | " |
| Tuberoses, | 20,000 | " | " | 80,000 | " |
| 2,720,000 | kgm., | valued at | 3,340,000 | francs. |
From these flowers were manufactured: 500,000 kgm. of pomades and essences, 1,000,000 litres of orange-flower water, 100,000 litres of rose water, and 1,200 kgm. of oil of roses.
Besides, in more northern countries we find here and there quite an extensive cultivation of aromatic plants; this is the case, for instance, in England, where lavender, crisp mint, and peppermint are planted on a large scale solely for their perfume. In northern Germany, too, we sometimes find caraway and sweet flag cultivated, for their peculiar odors only, in special fields.