With. the above-described substances it was evidently a
matter of copying, so to speak, a complex perfume by a



138 MODERN SCIENCE READER

compound of already known odorous substances; and
although this was in a certain degree successful in the
case of jasmine oil, neroli oil, and even oil of roses, yet in
none of these cases was the real odor-bearer detected and
named with certainty. There was only a combination of
several substances, which, with manifold variations of their
compound perfume, imitated more or less perfectly the
fragrance of the orange blossom, the rose and the jasmine.
But Ferdinand Tiemann had already succeeded in produc-
ing, by pure scientific synthesis, the first characteristic
precious perfume, the substance whose delicate lustrous
crystal needles cover the pods of the vanilla bean, and give
it the delicious fragrance especially esteemed by northern
nations. This was recognized as the methyl-ether of the
aldehyde of protocatechu, and Tiemann produced it (an
enigma to the unscientific mind) from the sap or pitch of
our native pine. It was very soon employed technically.
