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