" 1 "
Extract of vanilla, 1/4 "
" Tolu, 1/4 "
Otto neroli, 10 drops.
" almonds, 5 "

The prime cost of a perfume made in this manner would probably be too
high to meet the demand of a retail druggist; in such cases it may be
diluted with rectified spirit to the extent "to make it pay," and will
yet be a nice perfume. The formula generally given herein for odors is
in anticipation that when bottled they will retail for at least
eighteen-pence the fluid ounce! which is the average price put on the
finest perfumery by the manufacturers of London and Paris.

HOVENIA.--A perfume under this name is sold to a limited
extent, but if it did not smell better than the plant _Hovenia dulcis_
or _H. inequalis_, a native of Japan, it would not sell at all. The
article in the market is made thus:--

Rectified spirit, 1 quart.
Rose-water, 1/2 pint.
Otto lemons, 1/2 oz.
Otto of rose, 1 drachm.
" cloves, 1/2 "
" neroli, 10 drops.

First dissolve the ottos in the spirit, then add the rose-water. After
filtration it is ready for sale. When compounds of this kind do not
become bright by passing through blotting-paper, the addition of a
little carbonate of magnesia prior to filtering effectually clears them.
The water in the above recipe is only added in order that the article
produced may be retailed at a moderate price, and would, of course, be
better without that "universal friend."

JASMINE.--

"Luxuriant above all,
The jasmine throwing wide her elegant sweets."

This flower is one of the most prized by the perfumer. Its odor is
delicate and sweet, and so peculiar that it is without comparison, and
as such cannot be imitated. When the flowers of the _Jasminum
odoratissimum_ are distilled, repeatedly using the water of
distillation over fresh flowers, the essential oil of jasmine may be
procured. It is, however, exceedingly rare, on account of the enormous
cost of production. There was a fine sample of six ounces exhibited in
the Tunisian department of the Crystal Palace, the price of which was
9_l._ the fluid ounce! The plant is the Yasmyn of the Arabs, from which
our name is derived.

In the perfumer's laboratory, the method of obtaining the odor is by
absorption, or, as the French term it, _enfleurage_; that is, by
spre