Vinaigre Virginal

This mild and refreshing liquor is excellent to remove prickly heat, but, before being Used for such purpose, must be diluted with water.

Take benzoin pulverized, two ounces; alcohol, eight ounces; vinegar, two pounds.

Digest the benzoin in the alcohol for a week, decant the liquor, and to the residue add the vinegar; after six days' infusion, this too is decanted, and it and the alcoholic tincture are mixed together, and filtered the next day. This vinegar weakened with water is a most excellent cosmetic, and is in fact a remedy for the ill effects of pernicious rouges and paints upon the skin.

Of Vinegars By Infusion

These are either vinegars of flowers or aromatic vinegars.

Vinaigre De Toilette, By Sinfar, Park

Alcohol eight quarts; white vine-gar, two quarts; cologne water, one pint; extract of benzoin, two ounces; extract of storax, two ounces; acetic acid, four ounces; essence of lavender, one ounce and a half; essence of cinnamon, one drachm; essence of cloves, one drachm; ammonia, one drachm.

Mix together the alcohol, lavender, cinnamon and cloves, and macerate for eight days; then add the vinegars, cologne, extracts, and ammonia; color, and filter through paper.

Vinaigre Rosat

Dry rose leaves, red, half a pint; good vinegar, eight quarts. Macerate for two weeks in a closed vessel, and after that filter.

Vinaigre A La Fleur D' Oranger

Fresh orange flowers, one and a half pounds; vinegar, eight quarts; brandy a la fleur d'oranger. one quart. Macerate for twelve days, and filter.

Vinaigres Infusees A La Lavande, De Sauge, Thyme, Etc

One pound of fresh flowers to twelve quarts of vinegar.

Vinaigre Scillitique, For Clearing The Voice

Among speakers and vocalists, it is desirable, before commencing the exercises of their vocation, that the throat be freed from all pituitous hoarseness. This vinegar accomplishes that object, and besides imparting a tone to the glottis and all the organs, it serves to develop and perfect the voice. Put five or six drops of the preparation in a glass of warm water,, and gargle therewith morning, noon, and night of the days on which the voice is to be exerted. Take of dried squills, one part; good vinegar, twelve parts; alcohol, half a part. After two weeks' maceration in a close vessel, press out and filter.

Vinaigre Alcoholique, For Fits And Swoons

Mix together equal parts of strong concentrated vinegar and alcohol; and, to increase its force, add two drops of ether to the quart. This composition is most excellent in cases of fainting and swooning.

The best preparation for smelling-bottles is what is termed Inexhaustible Salts, which is prepared thus: Liquid ammonia, one pint; otto of rosemary, one drachm; otto of English lavender, one drachm; otto of bergamot, half a drachm; otto of cloves, half a 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 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.

Preston Salts, which is the cheapest of all the ammoniacal compounds, is composed of some easily decomposable salt of ammonia and lime, such as equal parts of muriate of ammonia, or of sesqui-car-bonate of ammonia, and of fresh-slaked lime. When the bottles are filled with this compound, rammed in very hard, a drop or two of some cheap otto is poured on the top prior to corking. For this purpose otto of French lavender, or otto of bergamot, answers very well. We need scarcely mention that the corks are dipped into melted sealing-wax.

Cassolettes And Printaniers

Cassolettes and printaniers are little ivory boxes of various designs, perforated in order to allow the escape of the odors contained therein. The paste used for filling these "ivory palaces whereby we are made glad," is composed of equal parts of grain musk, ambergris, seeds of the vanilla-pod, otto of roses, and orris powder, with enough gum acacia, or gum tragacanth, to work the whole together into a paste. These things are now principally used for perfuming the pocket or reticule, much in the same way that ornamental silver and gold vinaigrettes are used.

Sachet A La Frangipanne

Orris-root powder, three pounds; vitivert powder, a quarter of a pound; santal-wood powder, a quarter of a pound; otto of neroli, one drachm; otto of rose, one drachm; otto of santal, one drachm; musk-pods, ground, one ounce.

The name of this sachet has been handed down to us as being derived from a Roman alchemist of the noble family of Frangipani.

Heliotrope Sachet

Powdered orris, two pounds; rose leaves, ground, one pound; tonquin beans, ground, half a pound; vanilla beans, a quarter of a pound; grain musk, a quarter of an ounce; otto of almonds, five drops. Well mixed by sifting in a coarse sieve, it is fit for sale.

It is one of the best sachets made, and is so like in its odor to the flower from which it derives its name, that no person unacquainted with its composition would, for an instant, believe it to be any other than the "real thing."

Lavender Sachet

Lavender flowers, ground, one pound; gum benzoin, in powder, a quarter of a pound; otto of lavender, a quarter of an ounce.

Sachet A La Mousselaine

Vitivert, in powder, one pound; santal-wood, half a pound; orris, half a pound; black currant leaves, half a pound; benzoin, in powder, a quarter of a pound; otto of thyme, five drops; otto of roses, half a drachm.