The Best Preparation For Inexhaustible Salts
The perfumer uses liq. amm. fortis, that is, strong liquid ammonia, and the sesqui-carbonate of ammonia, for preparing the various "salts" that he sells. These materials he does not attempt to make; in fact, it is quite out of his province so to do, but he procures them ready for his hand through some manufacturing chemist.
The best preparation for smelling-bottles is what is termed Inexhaustible Salts, which is prepared thus:
Liquid ammonia, 1 pint.
Otto of rosemary, 1 drachm.
Otto of English lavender, 1 drachm.
Otto of bergamot, 1/2 drachm.
Otto of cloves, 1/2 drachm.
Mix the whole together with agitation in a very strong and well-stoppered bottle.
This mixture is used by filling the smelling-bottles with any porous absorbent material, such as asbestos, or, what is better, sponge cuttings, that have been well beaten, washed, and dried. These cuttings can be procured at a nominal price from any of the sponge-dealers, being the trimming or roots of the Turkey sponge, which are cut off before the merchants send it into the retail market.
After the bottles are filled with the sponge, it is thoroughly saturated with the scented ammonia, but no more is poured in than the sponge will retain, when the bottles are inverted; as, if by any chance the ammonia runs out and is spilt over certain colored fabrics, it causes a stain.
When such an accident happens, the person who sold it is invariably blamed.
When the sponge is saturated properly, it will retain the ammoniacal odor longer than any other material; hence, we presume, bottles filled in this way are called "inexhaustible," which name, however, they do not sustain more than two or three months with any credit; the warm hand soon dissipates the ammonia under any circumstances, and they require to be refilled.
For transparent colored bottles, instead of sponge, the perfumers use what they call insoluble crystal salts (sulphate of potass). The bottles being filled with crystals, are covered either with the liquid ammonia, scented as above, or with alcoholic ammonia.
The necks of the bottles are filled with a piece of white cotton; otherwise, when inverted, from the non-absorbent quality of the crystals, the ammonia runs out, and causes complaints to be made.
The crystals are prettier in colored bottles than the sponge; but in plain bottles the sponge appears quite as handsome, and, as before observed, it holds the ammonia better than any other material.
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