es have not driven out
the natural perfumes, but, on the contrary, have aided and stimulated
the growth of flowers for essences. The otto or attar of roses, favorite
of the Persian monarchs and romances, has in recent years come chiefly
from Bulgaria. But wars are not made with rosewater and the Bulgars for
the last five years have been engaged in other business than cultivating
their own gardens. The alembic or still was invented by the Arabian
alchemists for the purpose of obtaining the essential oil or attar of
roses. But distillation, even with the aid of steam, is not altogether
satisfactory. For instance, the distilled rose oil contains anywhere
from 10 to 74 per cent. of a paraffin wax (stearopten) that is odorless
and, on the other hand, phenyl-ethyl alcohol, which is an important
constituent of the scent of roses, is broken up in the process of
distillation. So the perfumer can improve on the natural or rather the
distilled oil by leaving out part of the paraffin and adding the missing
alcohol. Even the imported article taken direct from the still is not
always genuine, for the wily Bulgar sometimes "increases the yield" by
sprinkling his roses in the vat with synthetic geraniol just as the wily
Italian pours a barrel of American cottonseed oil over his olives in the
press.

Another method of extracting the scent of flowers is by _enfleurage_,
which takes advantage of the tendency of fats to absorb odors. You know
how butter set beside fish in the ice box will get a fishy flavor. In
_enfleurage_ moist air is carried up a tower passing alternately over
trays of fresh flowers, say violets, and over glass plates covered with
a thin layer of lard. The perfumed lard may then be used as a pomade or
the perfume may be extracted by alcohol.

But many sweet flowers do not readily yield an essential oil, so in such
oases we have to rely altogether upon more or less successful
substitutes. For instance, the perfumes sold under the names of
"heliotrope," "lily of the valley," "lilac," "cyclamen," "honeysuckle,"
"sweet pea," "arbutus," "mayflower" and "magnolia" are not produced from
these flowers but are simply imitations made from other essences,
synthetic or natural. Among the "thousand flowers" that contribute to
the "Eau de Mille Fleurs" are the civet cat, the musk deer and the sperm
whale. Some of the published formulas for "Jockey Club" call for civet
or ambergris and those of "Lavender Water" for musk and civet. Th