BERGAMOT, Oil of, an essential oil obtained from the rind of the fruit of a species of Citrus, regarded by Risso as C. bergamia, but not generally believed to constitute a distinct species. The bergamot is a small tree with leaves and flowers like the bitter orange, and a round fruit nearly 3 inches in diameter, with a thin lemon-yellow smooth rind. The tree is cultivated in the neighbourhood of Reggio, in Calabria, whence the entire supply of bergamot oil is drawn. The oil is contained in small vesicles in the rind, from which it can be expressed by simple pressure in the hand. An old method of obtaining the oil, now almost superseded, is by skinning the fruit, and pressing the outside of the rind against a sponge. The rind being turned over so that the outside becomes concave, the vesicles are. easily ruptured by hand pressure against the sponge, which absorbs the oil as it escapes. The oil is now obtained by placing several fruits in a saucer shaped apparatus, the surface of which is cut into radiating sharp-edged grooves. Against the sharp edges of this dish the fruits are rapidly revolved by means of a heavy cover placed above it, which is moved by a cog wheel. The oil vessels are raptured by pressure against the knife edges, and the oil which exudes falls through small perforations in the bottom into a vessel placed underneath. It is allowed to rest till a greasy substance—bergamot camphor—deposits, after which it is bottled for use. Bergamot oil is a limpid greenish-yellow fluid of a specific gravity of 0’869, of a powerful but pleasant citrine odour and an aromatic bitterish taste. It consists of a mixture of two essential oils, the most volatile of which is a pure hydrocarbon isomeric with oil of turpentine; the other, containing oxygen, being regarded as ...