The orange tree is produced from the pip, which is sown in a sheltered
uncovered bed. When the young plant is about 4 feet high, it is
transplanted and allowed a year to gain strength in its new
surroundings. It is then grafted with shoots from the Portugal or
Bigaradier. It requires much care in the first few years, must be well
manured, and during the summer well watered, and if at all exposed
must have its stem covered up with straw in winter. It is not expected
to yield a crop of flowers before the fourth year after
transplantation. The flowering begins toward the end of April and
lasts through May to the middle of June. The buds are picked when on
the point of opening by women, boys, and girls, who make use of a
tripod ladder to reach them. These villagers carry the fruits (or,
rather, flowers) of their day's labor to a flower agent or
commissionnaire, who weighs them, spreads them out in a cool place
(the flowers, not the villagers), where they remain until 1 or 2 A.M.;
he then puts them into sacks, and delivers them at the factory before
the sun has risen. They are here taken in hand at once; on exceptional
days as many as 160 tons being so treated in the whole province. After
the following season, say end of June, the farmers prune their trees;
these prunings are carted to the factory, where the leaves are
separated and made use of.
During the autumn the ground round about the trees is well weeded, dug
about, and manured. The old practice of planting violets under the
orange trees is being abandoned. Later on in the year those blossoms
which escaped extermination have developed into fruits. These, when
destined for the production of the oil, are picked while green.
The orange trees produce a second crop of flowers in autumn, sometimes
of sufficient importance to allow of their being taken to the
factories, and always of sufficient importance to provide brides with
the necessary bouquets.
Nature having been thus assisted to deliver these, her wonderful
productions, the flowers, the leaves, and the fruits of the orange
tree, at the factory, man has to do the rest. He does it in the
following manner:
The flowers are spread out on the stone floor of the receiving room in
a layer some 6 to 8 inches deep; they are taken in hand by young
girls, who separate the sepals, which are discarded. Such of the
petals 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 production of extracts.
Where fat is employed as the macerating agent, the fat used is a
properly adjusted mixture of lard and suet, both of which have been
purified and refined during the winter months, and kept stored away in
well closed tins.
One cwt. of the fat is melted in a steam-jacketed pan, and poured into
a tinned copper vat capable of holding from 5 to 6 cwt. About 1 cwt.
of orange flowers being added, these are well stirred in with a wooden
spatula. After standing for a few hours, which time is not sufficient
for solidification to take place, the contents are poured into shallow
pans and heated to 60° C. The mixture thus rendered more fluid is
poured on to a tin sieve; the fat passes through, the flowers remain
behind. These naturally retain a large amount of macerating liquor. To
save this they are packed into strong canvas bags and subjected to
pressure between the plates of a powerful hydraulic press. The fat
squeezed out is accompanied by the moisture of the flowers, from which
it is separated by skimming. Being returned to the original vat, our
macerating medium receives another complement of flowers to rob of
their scent, and yet others, until the strength of the pomade desired
is reached. The fat is then remelted, decanted, and poured into tins
or glass jars.
To make the extrait, the pomade is beaten up with alcohol in a special
air tight mixing machine holding some 12 gallons, stirrers moved by
steam power agitating the pomade in opposite directions. After some
hours' agitation a creamy liquid is produced, which, after resting,
separates, the alcohol now containing the perfume. By passing the
alcohol through tubes surrounded by iced water, the greater part of
the dissolved fat is removed.
These are the processes applied to the flowers. The leaves are
distilled only for the oil of petit grain. This name was given to the
oil because it was formerly obtained from miniature orange fruits.
From 1,000 kilos. of leaves 2 kilos. of oil are obtained.
The oil obtained from the fruit of the orange, like that of the lemon,
is extracted at Grasse by rolling the orange over the pricks of an
_ecueille_, an instrument with a hollow handle, into which the oil
flows. The oil is sometimes taken up by a sponge. Where the oil is
produced in larger quantities, as at Messina, more elaborate apparatus
is employed. A less fragrant oil is obtained by distilling the
raspings of the rind.