306 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS obtained corresponds with the degree of difference noticeable in the finished perfume. PLANT SELECTION If one accepts that cultivation of the desired essential oil-producing plants in differing geographical locations gives broadly unrewarding results, there remains the possibility that one may select a strain of plant giving a higher yield of oil and so obtain a lower cost price without the necessity of undertaking capital investment in underdeveloped and most likely, politically unstable, foreign countries. The lavender family has proved particularly suitable for the exercise of plant selection, but results have not always been in accord with expectation. Lavender oil is notorious for the ease with which it can be adulterated, and lavender "to a price" has been, and still is, offered for sale by many com- panies. Some buyers have been quite satisfied to accept these oils providing that they comply with the relevant standard set by the Pharmacopoeia. But to others it has come as a surprise to discover, often following the use of the new analytical techniques, that the oils they had been in the habit of accepting contained little or no true lavender. Consumers' desires to buy nothing but pure oil made it all the more necessary for the producers to select lavender plants giving high yields. Odour evaluation was largely ignored since it was believed that the ester content of the oil was an index of odour quality. The results are, of course, well known. Two selected plants were widely cultivated--these have come to be known as Matherone and Maillette. Both give oils of highly satisfactory physical and chemical constants, coupled with yields per unit area of land two or three times greater than those normally associated with true lavender. Unfortunately, it has since been found that from the purely olfactive standpoint these oils have very limited value and, at the time of writing, individual lots are offered for sale at prices similar to those quoted for Lavandin. Thus in this case, selection has undoubtedly proved a failure. On the other hand, one important French company has studied lavender selection over a long period. Paying due regard to the perfumer's opinion that company has isolated strains of lavender giving superior yields (though not as good, of course, as Matherone and Maillette), and at the same time oils comparable in quality with normal true lavender. One cannot turn from plant selection without mentioning the one out- standing commercial success which has been achieved, i.e. the invention of Abrialis Lavandin. This plant was originally intended to meet the require- ment for a high ester and therefore (it was supposed) a high quality Lavandin giving a larger yield per unit of land cultivated. When offered originally at a price higher than that asked for normal Lavandin it enjoyed little

SOME ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF PERFUMERY 307 success, as indeed might have been expected in view of its coarse borneol-like character. But it was soon found that it gave such a good yield to the farmer that it could be economically sold at a price much lower than that previously associated with normal Lavandin and it quickly became, by virtue of its strength and freshness of character, an ideal substance with which to perfume all manner of household products. The present production of Lavandin, in the vicinity of 800 tons per annum, consisting almost exclusively of the Abrialis variety, testifies to the success of this particular selection. COST REDUCTION BY MEANS OF CHEMICAL SUBSTITUTION We have seen that development in the agricultural field, whether by cultivation of plants in low cost countries or by cultivation of selected strains, is likely to yield oils of inferior olfactive characteristics. There remains the possibility of reproducing the desired odour by chemical means. Broadly there are two ways of achieving this: (a) The exact reproduction of the desired essential oil It is theoretically possible to analyse any oil down to its ultimate con- stituents, and given sufficient time and money to synthesize each constituent, and blend these in the known proportions. Refinements of analytical technique have made possible the identification of many constituents of essential oils which could not be identified twenty years ago. Unfortunately, the same methods have indicated the presence of an even larger number of minor constituents present in trace quantities which undoubtedly have an important effect on the odour of the natural oil. It would be splendid, of course, if one could decide which of the constituents of the essential oil are vital in determining its odour, and which can be ignored, but this decision has proved very difficult to make. In practical terms the problem has become one of synthesis, with the manufacturer making as many as possible of the identified constituents, and hoping that blends of these will be virtually identical with the parent oil. The results obtained have been disappointing to some extent, and I know of no compounded product which reproduces nature so closely that one would have a moment's doubt that it might really be a natural oil. (b) Reproduction of the olfactive effect produced by an essential oil This is the field in which most progress has been made. It is really an extention of (a), but being less ambitious can more easily be deemed success- ful. The principle behind it is that only a small part of an essential oil can be performing an effective function in the end product. All essential oils contain a proportion of inodorous terpenes which can be completely ignored. Other constituents include some which are unstable in conditions