MORE ABOUT PERFUME FARMS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1485, 17 February 1887, Page 3

MORE ABOUT PERFUME FARMS.

(By G. Girling Ku-cher In the Press.) In my l«rt letter, Februaiy sth I g*v some figures bb to tho average rct-.>rnt» \w *oie f om two plants, jasmine nn* roe.', and I o mid multiply those ad irifinitum ; hut those few foots alone will nerve t<> rlemoußtrale toe extremely profitable nature of the buaines" ?!;ere flowers of various sorts ara prown m ft systematic manner for the manufacture t £ perfumes md as the expenses are o nip'iratively 'Ight, there seems a great aid prosperou uture m Btore for the Indaßiry iD thip oolony. Of course should a fow land holdors detmraine to embark m tb^ bu>ineßß m a district, the pxp nses cou >- ■>a ralnimißed m a gre*t raoneure, ei'he; by one of them undertaking at a fijai price the distillation or other rrquislie i roieie, as is tho case m England »t th Uvond-r and mint farms at Walling'oi. •nd Mitchain m Surrey, and Hitohin iv Benfordßhire, or by one individual becoming the purchaser and factor of the raw material, as is the case Ixx France and Algeria. Perhaps it may not be out of piaoe here to answer the query pat by "Agrtcola" m hi* letter of the 22nd nit. with regard to the possibility of growing plants here and sending the dried bloom? to the factors m Europe This woul uot be practicable, as one of the mai' points m obtaining both quantity and quality of otto is thxt th ■) fluff re mnnt \>& out whilst the dew is eilhor on theto or barely dry, Bowever, v might b« frorth Ills while to grow the < Trifl (Iris florentlna), a plant the root of which always tnmmands a fair and IncraUvo prfce, anvi which fl mrishes best m a poor, mart-hy. nnd stony ground, requires no manure, mid but little attention. It is harvested every third year, when the root ia dug, and the top growth, which greatly resemblO3 our garden fl g but < n a larger scale, ia cut jußt under the collar and replanted time after timo. The root after being trimmed is laid out m the sir t>> dry, and is then fit for the ma ket. It ib greatly m use amongst perfumers both as an otto, when it ent.rs as a basin in'o the composition of ninny of the manufactured fancy perfumes, »uoh no Jock»y Olub, and also, when ground, for scenting toilet powders, etc. ; m faot the wellknown violet power derives its or3our, ] whioh is S'-.iu to resemble violets, from ] the Oiris root. | The English lavmdor (Lavandola vera) is one of the most promising plants, m my oplnioD, for cultivation m this district. for uho m pe'fuim.- fumi.vg la Jf?r,glniid where ihe climvte is ecatceiy bo favorable ' as here, the lavender plant is grown m large qnan tittcs for *h- sake of ito essential oil, and thou»h it ia crown considerably m Franco and Southern Europe, yet the oil f-om thu grnvrn m S<nr«y and j Hertfordshire m of bo superior quality as , to realise upwards of four ttrrißß the prfc? of the imporled Continental oila. The \ climate of tl:is province Beoniß to ma to have all the a^vantaueo and none of the drawbacks of the Homo climate, so far on the cultivation of this odorouß plant which ia by no means either difficult or expensive. It i* desirable to have a deep Hcht noil where the plants are well oxpoced to the sun and light. In the fall of the year the old plants are divided roughly fnto three or four cutting*, whioh are then planted out m rows about two feet apart each way. Whan the firat signs of young growth npp?ar a f«»ir eupply of short manure is li^itly forked m round about them. The plants are kept well clipped, and not allowed to bloom till the eecood year, and are m their full perfection In their four'h year ; a euccepdon of plants is kept growing, bo or to ensure one plantation being m fullest vig^r each year. At the end of August (England) the bloom is ready f^r the Biokle ; It is cut and laid out on bars m*ts, and after remaining out In the fields for a day or twa to dry it is ready for the still. The distillation 1b the ordinary process, the mats be«ng emptied Into a capacious still wtth about an equal weight of wnt»r, and the stilling then goes on for about six hours, the still being m use three timps daring the twenty- four hoar*, one hour being allowed for ch%rg. Ing and bringing to a boil and one hour for discharging and cleaning. The oil, after leaving the worm In company with the condensed vapour, is found floating on the water and Is easily removed from the surface. The oil is of two qualities, that whioh comes over during the first four hours being denominated " frsts," and that produced m the other two houro being technically termed «• seconds " The proportion of "firsts " m about tan to one of i he " seconds " In a fa!r averape Btlllin'. From an acre of land well stocked with lavender bushes at four ybars old an much as six or seven quart b of otto will he produced, though, perhaps the average yield will scarcely be bo great as this. When O"»e coiipidera the ready market and high prfce per pound to be obtained for the otto, the ovop is a re murkably profitable ono, and one that seldom, If ever fails. One of the leading London perfumers recently gave it as his opinion that good Kngltt-h oil of lavender (Bnd I anticipate equally good m the colony) would always keep Us price, a?id the demand would the with the Bupply Auother plant of great value m this district is the roße. Its profusion and odorous qualit : eB, as prown here, admit, of no question The figures given In my last 1< tter admitof no doubt as to the profit attached to the gr< wing m quantity for distillation. Of their treatment and cultivation It Is scarcely necessary to speak, as they are known to nearly everyone The sort moat generally used Is the old Pn ver.ca oabb&ge rose. Tha omall plants of ■ tliia Bort after having been cut back to three or four eyes are placed In rows about Bft distant from enoh other, and about 2ft, given for each plant. During the second year a larg.. quantity of blooms may be cut, but In the fourth year they arrive at their .fnllest state of luxuriance, and In this stage they last till about the tilnth year, when the young plantations which are nlways In course of preparation are ready to take their place. Opinions are nearly equally divided amongst perfume f rmers «s to the desirability of praftinj/ or growing from cuttings, but either way they do well. The petals are ptrippad from the flowers whilst the dew is on them, and thence they ore Immedlate'y tnken to the at 111. Great care is needed, should any delay occur prior to tho roßea being put Into the atlll, that they do not heat, as nothing is more quickly fipolH. Should any delay be unavoidable, a pickle is made m which a bushel of rose leaves, weighing about six pounds, m mixed thoroughly with one pound of common Bait, this takes out all the moisture m the leaves m the form of brine and roduoes the whole to a pasty 1 mixture, which is stowed away In o»&ks, and will keep a considerable lime wit'a- : out lost of odour. It is from this pickle i that the " double distilled rose water "of . oommeroe ia obtained. In my next letter I shall give details of other plants suitable for cultivation In the | district, and a description of the en- ' fleurage and maceration processes ob used : m France.

Statutory DeoJarat Ironbark, Sandhurst, m tho oolony of Victoria, Australia, do Bolemnly and sinoerely declare that on the 25i.h Juno, 1877, my son Alfred, six ynars of age, was accidentally hurt with an axo on th<' knee. lat once look all pains to secure medical assistance. Howf-ver, m ppito of all <■ fl <rts, on tho 27tii August, 1877, the opinion was given by Dr Macgillivray that nn amputation of the injured lim'» had become imperative, m order io iave life. At this juncture I called on Aleß.-rs Sander and Sons, procuring aotne of their Extract of the Eucalyptus Globulus, md by the application of the same I bad the satisfaction of seeing my son within a fortnight out of all danger, and to-day he is recovered. I may just add that it was when orisis had been reaohed that the Extract referred to was first applied. And I make 'his solemn declaration, etc — Franz Itaabe. Declared at Sandhurst, m the colony of Victoria, Australia, this seventeenth day of October, one thousand eii?ht hundred and •<evenfc y-aoven before me, Morita Oohn, J.P.— (Advfc