etals as are destined for the production of orange flower water and
neroli are put into a still through a large canvas chute, and are
covered with water, which is measured by the filling of reservoirs on
the same floor. The manhole of the still is then closed, and the
contents are brought to boiling point by the passage of superheated
steam through the coils of a surrounding worm. The water and oil pass
over, are condensed, and fall into a Florentine receiver, where the
oil floating on the surface remains in the flask, while the water
escapes through the tube opening below. A piece of wood or cork is
placed in the receiver to break up the steam flowing from the still;
this gives time for the small globules of oil to cohere, while it
breaks the force of the downward current, thus preventing any of the
oil being carried away.

The first portions of the water coming from the still are put into
large tinned copper vats, capable of holding some 500 gallons, and
there stored, to be drawn off as occasion may require into glass
carboys or tinned copper bottles. This water is an article of very
large consumption in France; our English cooks have no idea to what an
extent it is used by the _chefs_ in the land of the "darned mounseer."

The oil is separated by means of a pipette, filtered, and bottled off.
It forms the oil of neroli of commerce; 1,000 kilos. of the flowers
yield 1 kilo. of oil. That obtained from the flowers of the
Bigaradier, or bitter orange, is the finer and more expensive quality.

The delicate scent of orange flowers can be preserved quite unchanged
by another and more gentle process, viz., that of maceration. It was
noticed by some individual, whose name has not been handed down to us,
that bodies of the nature of fat and oil are absorbers of the
odor-imparting particles exhaled by plants. This property was seized
upon by some other genius equally unknown to fame, who utilized it to
transfer the odor of flowers to alcohol.

Where oil is used it is the very finest olive, produced by the trees
in the neighborhood. This is put into copper vats holding about 50
gallons; 1 cwt. of flowers is added. After some hours the flowers are
strained out by means of a large tin sieve. The oil is treated with
another cwt. of flowers and still another, until sufficiently
impregnated. It is then filtered through paper until it becomes quite
bright; lastly it is put into tins, and is ready for exportation or
for use in the