148 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 



LJuly 1, 1SG7. 



The giant of all the roses is said to have 

 flourished some few years since at Toulon, with a 

 stem two feet eight inches in circumference at the 

 surface of the soil, and when in full bloom bears 

 the enormous quantity of from fifty to sixty thou- 

 sand roses, and 



The last rose of summer left blooming alone 



does not fall to the ground till chilled by the cold 

 of November. 



And who has not heard of the Otto or Uttur* of 

 Rose ? This valuable and delicious perfume is ad- 

 mired both in the East and in the West. The 

 " Utturs" of India and Persia are highly esteemed 

 both in the broker's sale-room and the lady's 

 boudoir. And not to possess a soul for Otto of 

 Eose is equivalent to vulgarity, or worse. Let any 

 rash mortal confess that he doesn't care for " straw- 

 berries and cream" or " otto of roses," the surnmum 

 bonum of two of the senses, and he will at once be 

 regarded as " out of his senses" altogether. And 

 there is also that delicate luxury of the East called 

 " Rose-water," so refreshing in sultry weather, 

 that one cannot wonder that it is almost one of the 

 necessaries of life with the Hindoo. Avicenna, an 

 Arabian physician of the tenth century, is said to 

 have invented the method of extracting and pre- 

 serving the odour of flowers, and to him the merit 

 of distilling the first rose-water is attributed by 

 those matter-of-fact men who seek for causes in the 

 regions of science rather than in the realms of 

 mystery and romance. 



Around one station in India, that of Ghazeepore, 

 in Bengal, there are about 150 acres of ground laid 

 out in small detached fields as rose-gardens. These 

 gardens are let out for about three pounds sterling 

 per thousand rose-trees for the season, and the cost 

 of cultivation is about another sovereign. The 

 value of the roses yielded should be nearly double 

 this sum, or from six to eight pounds. The culti- 

 vators seldom distil their own flowers, but dispose of 

 them to contractors. Erom the beginning of March 

 to the end of April is the great rose harvest. 

 Early in the mornmg men, women, and children 

 swarm about the rose-trees like a colony of bees, 

 plucking the flowers, and carrying them in bags to 

 the contractors. The " still" is of the simplest 

 and rudest construction ; its boiler will hold from 

 eight to twelve gallons ; into this are cast from 

 12,000 to 16,000 roses, about fifteen to twenty 

 quarts of water are added, and the result will be 

 about one quart of rose-water from each thousand 

 of roses. After distillation the rose-water is placed 

 in a glass carboy and exposed to the sun for several 

 days to ripen, or mix well the floating attar with 

 the water. The value of one still of rose-water is 



* Written as Attur, Attar, Uttur, and Otto ; the last, 

 perhaps, least correct. 



about 245. to 30?. on the spot. This is for the pure 

 unadulterated rose-water. Adulteration is duly 

 appreciated and resorted to in the East, and neither 

 rose-water nor attar of roses are exceptions. It is 

 difficult to obtain either of them pure. The great 

 medium of adulteration is oil of sandal-wood, and 

 the native does not appear to trouble much whether 

 he gets the odour of the rose or the sandal. At 

 the commencement of the rose season, people 

 arrive from all parts at Ghazeepore to purchase 

 their rose-water, and large quantities are prepared 

 and sold. The value of the roses sold in this 

 district for the manufacture of rose-water has been 

 estimated at from 15,000 to 20,000 rupees a year, or 

 1,500/. to 2,000/., and the value of the rose-water 

 made therefrom is about double this sum. 



We had almost forgotten the most valuable pro- 

 duct, but the "attar" must share a little of our 

 attention; and, at the risk of being regarded as 

 tedious, a brief notice of how it is obtained. 



The origin of this delicious perfume is thus 

 chronicled in the romantic stories of the East : — 

 Noorjehan Begum, the favourite wife of Jehan- 

 Geer, was once walking in her garden, through 

 which ran a canal of rose-water, when she remarked 

 some oily particles floating on the surface. These 

 were collected, and their aroma found to be so 

 delicious, that means were devised to produce the 

 precious essence in a regular way.* 



The roses are distilled just in the same manner 

 as for rose-water, and the product, which is indeed 

 " rose-water," is transferred to a large metal basin, 

 and tied over with wet muslin to keep out the 

 insects. This vessel is let down into a hole in the 

 ground about two feet deep, and allowed to stand 

 quiet all night. The attar is always made early in 

 the season when the nights are cool. In the morn- 

 ing a little film of attar has risen to the surface of 

 the rose-water. This is skimmed off with a feather, 

 and placed in a bottle. When obtained only three 

 or four days it is of a pale greenish hue, but in a 

 few weeks' time it subsides into a pale yellow 

 colour. It requires the produce of 1,000 rose-trees 

 to obtain a tolah, or 180 grains of attar. The attar 

 obtained in the Indian bazaars is always adulte- 

 rated, as not even the richest native will give the 

 price for pure attar, which is only sold to Europeans. 

 The price ranges between £5 and £10 per tolah, or, 

 according to our English weights and measures, 

 from £13 to £25 per ounce. So that a vial of the 

 best Indian attar of roses the size of that which 

 contains a " black draught," would be worth nearly 

 £50. 



Attar of roses made in Cashmere is con- 

 sidered superior to any other, a circumstance not 

 surprising, as, according to Huge], the flower is 



* Lieut. -Col. Palier in " Asiatic Researches." 



