pipe; which, being surrounded with cold water in the bucket, condenses the vapor before it can arrive at the tap.  With the steam, the volatile oils—­i.e. perfume—­rises, and is liquefied at the same time.  The liquids which thus run over, on standing for a time, separate into two portions, and are finally divided with a funnel having a stopcock in the narrow part of it.  By this process, the majority of the volatile or essential oils are procured.  In some few instances alcohol—­i.e. rectified spirit of wine—­is placed upon the odorous materials in lieu of water, which, on being distilled, comes away with the perfuming substance dissolved in it.  But this process is now nearly obsolete, as it is found more beneficial to draw the oil or essence first with water, and afterwards to dissolve it in the spirit.  The low temperature at which spirit boils, compared with water, causes a great loss of essential oil, the heat not being sufficient to disengage it from the plant, especially where seeds such as cloves or caraway are employed.  It so happens, however, that the finest odors, the recherche as the Parisians say, cannot be procured by this method; then recourse is had to the next process.

[Illustration:  Tap funnel for separating ottos from water and spirits from oil.]

3. Maceration.—­Of all the processes for procuring the perfumes of flowers, this is the most important to the perfumer, and is the least understood in England; as this operation yields not only the most exquisite essences indirectly, but also nearly all those fine pomades known here as “French pomatums,” so much admired for the strength of fragrance, together with “French oils” equally perfumed.  The operation is conducted thus:—­For what is called pomade, a certain quantity of purified mutton or deer suet is put into a clean metal or porcelain pan, this being melted by a steam heat; the kind of flowers required for the odor wanted are carefully picked and put into the liquid fat, and allowed to remain from twelve to forty-eight hours; the fat has a particular affinity or attraction for the oil of flowers, and thus, as it were, draws it out of them, and becomes itself, by their aid, highly perfumed; the fat is strained from the spent flowers, and fresh are added four or five times over, till the pomade is of the required strength; these various strengths of pomatums are noted by the French makers as Nos. 6, 12, 18, and 24, the higher numerals indicating the amount of fragrance in them.  For perfumed oils the same operation is followed; but, in lieu of suet, fine olive oil or oil of ben, derived from the ben nuts of the Levant, is used, and the same results are obtained.  These oils are called “Huile Antique” of such and such a flower.

When neither of the foregoing processes gives satisfactory results, the method of procedure adopted is by,—­