and covered with water; to the pan a dome-shaped lid is fitted,
terminating with a pipe, which is twisted corkscrew fashion, and fixed
in a bucket, with the end peeping out like a tap in a barrel. The water
in the still--for such is the name of the apparatus--is made to boil;
and having no other exit, the steam must pass through the coiled pipe;
which, being surrounded with cold water in the bucket, condenses the
vapor before it can arrive at the tap. With the steam, the volatile
oils--_i.e._ perfume--rises, and is liquefied at the same time. The
liquids which thus run over, on standing for a time, separate into two
portions, and are finally divided with a funnel having a stopcock in the
narrow part of it. By this process, the majority of the volatile or
essential oils are procured. In some few instances alcohol--_i.e._
rectified spirit of wine--is placed upon the odorous materials in lieu
of water, which, on being distilled, comes away with the perfuming
substance dissolved in it. But this process is now nearly obsolete, as
it is found more beneficial to draw the oil or essence first with water,
and afterwards to dissolve it in the spirit. The low temperature at
which spirit boils, compared with water, causes a great loss of
essential oil, the heat not being sufficient to disengage it from the
plant, especially where seeds such as cloves or caraway are employed. It
so happens, however, that the finest odors, the _recherché_ as the
Parisians say, cannot be procured by this method; then recourse is had
to the next process.

[Illustration: Tap funnel for separating ottos from water and spirits
from oil.]

3. _Maceration._--Of all the processes for procuring the perfumes of
flowers, this is the most important to the perfumer, and is the least
understood in England; as this operation yields not only the most