ammonia better than any other material. Perfumers sell also what is called WHITE SMELLING SALTS, and PRESTON SALTS. The White Smelling Salt is the sesqui-carbonate of ammonia in powder, with which is mixed any perfuming otto that is thought fit,— lavender otto giving, as a general rule, the most satisfaction. PRESTON SALTS, which is the cheapest of all the ammoniacal compounds, is composed of some easily decomposable salt of ammonia and lime, such as equal parts of muriate of ammonia, or of sesqui-carbonate of ammonia, and of fresh-slaked lime. When the bottles are filled with this compound, rammed in very hard, a drop or two of some cheap otto is poured on the top prior to corking. For this purpose otto of French lavender, or otto of bergamot, answers very well. We need scarcely mention that the corks are dipped into melted sealing-wax, or brushed over with liquid wax, that is, red or black wax dissolved in alcohol, to which a small portion of ether is added. The only other compound of ammonia that is sold in the perfumery trade is Eau de Luce, though properly it belongs to the druggist. When correctly madewhich is very rarely the case-it retains the remarkable odor of oil of amber, which renders it characteristic. HENRY'S VINEGAR. 127 If requisite, strain through cotton wool, but it must not be filtered, as it should have the appearance of a milk-white emulsion. ACETIC ACID AND ITS USE IN PERFUMERY.-The pungency of the odor of vinegar naturally brought it into the earliest use in the art of perfumery. The acetic acid, evolved by distilling acetate of copper (verdigris), is the true “aromatic" vinegar of the old alchemists. The modern aromatic vinegar is the concentrated acetic acid aromatized with various ottos, camphor, &c., thus First dissolve the bruised camphor in the acetic acid, then add the perfumes; after remaining together for a few days, with occasional agitation, it is to be strained, and is then ready for use. Several forms for the preparation of this substance have been published, almost all of which, however, appear to complicate and mystify a process that is all simplicity. The most popular article of this kind is— HENRY'S VINEGAR. Dried leaves of rosemary, rue, wormwood, sage, mint, and lavender flowers, each, Bruised nutmeg, cloves, angelica root, and cam oz. Macerate the materials for a day in the spirit; then add the acid, and digest for a week longer, at a temperature of about 14° C. or 15° C. Finally, press out the new aromatized acid, and filter it. As this mixture must not go into the ordinary metallic tincture press, for the obvious reason of the chemical action that would ensue, it is best to drain as much of the liquor away as we can, by means of a common funnel, and then to save the residue from the interstices of the herbs, by tying them up in a linen cloth, and subjecting them to pressure by means of an ordinary lemon-squeezer, or similar device. It is obvious that vinegars differently perfumed may be made in a similar manner to the above, by using other ottos in place of the otto of roses. All these concentrated vinegars are used in the same way as perfumed ammonia, that is, by pouring three or four drachms into an ornamental "smelling" bottle, previously filled with crystals of sulphate of potash, which forms the "sel de vinaigre" of the shops; or upon sponge into little silver boxes, called vinaigrettes, from their French origin. The use of these vinegars had their origin in the presumption of keeping those who carried them from the effects of infectious disease, doubtless springing out of the story of the "four thieves' vinegar," which is thus rendered in Lewis's Dispensatory: FOUR THIEVES' VINEGAR. 129 "It is said that during the plague at Marseilles, four persons, by the use of this preservative, attended, unhurt, multitudes of those that were affected; that under the color of these services, they robbed both the sick and the dead; and that being afterwards apprehended, one of them saved himself from the gallows by disclosing the composition of the prophylactic (a very likely story!!), which was as follows: VINAIGRE DES Quatre Voleurs, OR FOUR THIEVES' Vinegar. wormwood, rosemary, sage, mint, and rue, of Lavender flowers, Garlic, calamus aromaticus, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, each, Camphor, Alcohol or brandy, Strong vinegar, oz. Digest all the materials, except the camphor and spirit, in a closely covered vessel for a fortnight, at a summer heat; then express and filter the vinaigre produced, and add the camphor previously dissolved in the brandy or spirit." A very similar and quite as effective a preparation may be made by dissolving the odorous principle of the plants indicated in a mixture of alcohol and acetic acid. Such preparations, however, are more within the province of the druggist than perfumer. There are, however, several preparations of vinegar which are sold to some extent for mixing with the water for lavatory purposes and the bath, their vendors en |
