NOvel Industries of Australia.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XVI, Issue 997, 8 December 1883, Page 2 (Supplement)

NOvel Industries of Australia.

HAWKR TiRMTOQ. This branch of industry is one which, although it has frequently spoken Of by persons competent to judge as befnft eminently suited to Australia, has never, to any appreciable extent, been practised in any of the colonies, even in the face of the assurance by suoh experts as M. Piesse, of Piesse and Lubin, and of the representatives of Price and Gosnell and Eugene Hummel, the celebrated perfumers of London, who have visited Australia, and have pointed out that the soil and climate were both admirably adapted to the extensive culture of flowers, etc., for perfumers. True it is that, in a small way, the extraction of essences and consequent production of scents mode from flowers ba» been carried on by a few chemists and others in most of the colonies, but it has been more in an experimental, and if one may be allowed to say so, an amateur manner than as a matter of industry or of commercial interest, and has never been attempted on anything like suoh a scale as to induce floriculturists to turn their attention to the wholesale cultivation of large beds or areas of suitable flowers for the purpose. It most, however, be admitted that at least one practical chemist in Victoria, namely, Mr. Sosisto of Richmond, has opened the way, and haß, to a certain extent, shewn the way in which this branch of industry might be rendered profitable. He has, however, limited himself to one particular branch which hardly touches the matter trader consideration. Everyone knows, and has known, since the country was discovered, that the eucalypti of Australia are rich in gums, essences, and oils whioh possess valuable medicinal and balsamic properties ; and, acting on this knowledge, Mr. Bosisto has extracted essential oils, acids, and liquors from the blue gum, red gum, peppermintgum, mallee, sassafras bark, musk tree, grass ' tree, and other indigenous vegetable growths of tbe colony. Later too, he has manufactured perfumery from native flowers. But, valuable as the researches and successes of this gentleman undoubtedly are in the direction indicated, a vast field of highly remunerative employment is still left open in the systematic cultivation of large quantities of certain flowers, which are in almost inexhaustible demand for the manufacture of the numerous perfumes and other toilet appljtkw/m used in such vast quantities all over tfcworld. From whatever point of view they are regarded, they are replete with interest, and are a source of pleasure and gratification to mankind. There is no heart, savage or civilised, that does not feel their influence in some degree ; they gratify the eye of the painter, they charm the fancy of the poet, and science finds engrossing interest in studying their structure and qualities. That man was not formed for toil alone is evident, and among the many pleasures given him for his enjoyment, flowers are not the least important ; they delight him in childhood, they interest him in manhood, and they accompany him to the grave. How important then is the art of extracting their fragrance; for, while flowers please and gratify the senses while they are fresh, they soon wither and fade. Shakespeare says : — " But flowers distilled, thongli with winter meet, Lose bat their show, their substance still lives sweet." Science teaches us the properties of perfumes, and art gives us the manner of their preparations, for flowers grow and yield their fragrance in all olimates, but those that grow in warm latitudes are most prolific in odor, while those of colder climes are generally the •weetest. What a vast field of speculation as to what can or cannot then be grown in the various climates of Australia, from the cold of the New Zealand ranges to the tropical heat of North Queensland, does this not open to as. * At the present time, the south of Europe is the only reliable source of supply, Cannes, Orasse, and Nice, being the principal seats of flower culture ; although while Cannes excels in the rose, cassie, jasmine, and tuberose, Nismes or Grasse in rosemary or lavender, and Nice in violet and mignonette, to Italy we owe the citric odors, as lemon, bergamot, pedrat, neroli, and petit-grain, to Turkey the indispensible attar or otto of roses, to Algeria the same in a limited decree, to British India cinnamon, cloves, patchouli, santal, ylang-ylang, <&c, to China musk, civet, and ambergris, and to England, lavender and peppermint. In the three first named places, namely Oannes, Grasse, and Nice, all in the south of France, the following statistics of the quantity of flowers annually consumed in the locality, mil give some idea of their commercial importance, and of the value of the industry :— Orange flowers 3,000,000 lbs., £75,000 ; rose 1,000,000 lbs., value £19,000 ; jasmine 250,000 lbs., value £12,500; violet 100,000 lbs., value £9,000; cassie 150,000 lbs., value £12,500; tuberose 50,000 lbs., value £6,250; or a total annual value of £134,250. From this annual produot ate manufactured one million pounds of scented oils and greases, besides quantities of orangeflower and rose-water, and about a thousand pounds of oil of neroli. There are also distilled in these towns, oils of lavender, rose, mary, thyme, geranium, &c. These figures will afford some idea of the gigantic operations carried on in the manufacture of perfumery, and the consequent enormous demand for the suitable flowers, a demand which cannot be anything like supplied, and which necessitates the use of chemicals, frequently deleterious, with which to form imitations, when the natural basis cannot be obtained. Here, then, is an opening for a new industry, which, could it bat be once properly established, and the processes of distillation by maceration and absorption, or, as the French call it, enfleurage, properly understood, would form a "never-failing source of wealth to the individuals embarked in it, and to Australia generally, a country where flowers of one kind or other will, with a little care and -attention, grow almost anywhere. It is not, of course, to be expected that Australia will produce all the vegetable materials used in perfumery, but, besides oranges, bergamot-roses, * jasmines, acacias, tube roses, violets, almonds, geraniums, and jerbena, all most prized by the perfumer, and rzbr which the soil and climate are most favorable, the colonies, one or more of them will, with due attention, freely produce aniseed, bay, cassie, cedar, cedrat, eglantine, elder, heliotrope, honeysuckle, iris or orris, narcissus, laurel, lavender, lemon, lilac, lily, mignonette, mint, myrtle, sweet pea, dianthus, convolvulus, sassafras, and Tfumeroas other plants, all of great value for perfumery purposes. From the bitter orange flower may also be expressed the delicate nerolia, so much prized all over the world, and the perfume known -as petit-grain, while a valuable oil may be obtained also from the rind. In conclusion it may be remarked that while the article on Flower Farmery may, perhaps, not be looked on as so practical in its character as the preceding articles on other novel industries of Australia, it must be remembered that the mere growth of the plants is more or less understood by every gardener, and may easily be learned by anyone who will take the trouble; but that the real difficulty in the way is the introduction of skilled labor for the treatment of the flowers, &c, when grown and gathered. Neither does there seem to be much difficulty in the way in that respect, could our farmers and settlers only be induced to devote some of their time and attention to the extensive growth of flowers, for M. Piesse, before mentioned, has already visited the country with the express object of arranging for the growth of flowers and blossoms here, in order to the production of perfumes, ottos, essences, Ac, on a large scale. Unfortunately he was not met in the liberal manner which such a spirited enterprise, and one bo conducive to the material welfare of the country deserved, and the scheme was, for the time, abandoned. With better inducements, and more generous treatment on the part of those whose duty it is to see that nothing in the interest of the country shall be neglected, there is no doubt that that gentleman, and other firms too, would only be too

glad to establish in oar midst manufactories, the staple} eh we can so readily produce, and which they so urgently need, and which would give employment to numbers ol per•6ns, and be a source of wealth to the comrikunity generally.