582 THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Feb. i, 1S86. 



exposed all night to the cool air, ov fanned. lu the 

 morning, the film of oil, which has collected on the 

 top, is skimmed off by a fe.ither, and transferred to a 

 small phial. This is repeated for several nights, till 

 almost the whole of the oil has separated. The 

 quantity of the product varies much, and thr^-e different 

 authorities give the following figures:— («) -.'n.dUO 

 roses to make 1 rupee's weight (17(5 gr.) of otto; 

 (i) 200,000 to mako the .same weight; (c) 1,000 roses 

 afford less th»n 2 gr. of otto. The colour ranges 

 from green to Ijright-amber, and reddish. The od 

 (otto) is most carefully bottled; the receptacles are 

 hermetically sealeil with wax, and e.\posi d to the full 

 glare of tue sun for several days. Rose-water deprived 

 of otto is esteemed much inferior to that which has 

 not been so treated. When bottled, it is also exposed 

 to the sun for a fortnight at least. 



The Mediterranean countries of Africa enter but 

 feebly into this industry, and it is a little remarkable 

 that the French have not cultivated it iu Algeria. 

 Egypt's demand for rose-water and rose- vinegar is sup- 

 plied from Rledinet Fayum, south-west of (Jairo. 

 Tunis has al.so some local reputation tor similar 

 products. Von Maltzan says that the rose there grown 

 for otto is the <iog-rose (/?. caniiia). and that it is 

 extremely fragrant, 20 lb. of the flowers yielding about 

 1 dr. of otto. Cienoa occasionally imports a little of 

 this product, which is of excellent (luality. In the 

 Bouth of France, rose gardens occupy a large share 

 of attention, about Grasse, Cannes, aud Nice; they 

 chiefly produce rose-water, much of which is exported 

 to England. The essence (otto) obtained by the 

 distillation of the Provence rose ( R. proviiu-iidis) has 

 a characteristic perfume, arising, it is believed, from, 

 the bees transporting the pollen of the orange 

 flowers into the petals of the roses. The French otto 

 is richer in stearoptene than the Turkish, nine grammes 

 crystallising in a litre ( I J pint) of alcohol at the same 

 temperature as 18 grammes of the Turkish. The best 

 preparations are made at Cannes aud Grasse. The 

 flowers are not there treated for the otto, but are 

 submitted to ii process of maceration in fat or oil, 

 ten kdo.s. of roses being required to impregnate one 

 kilo, of fat. The price of the roses varies from 50 o. 

 to 1 fr. 25 c. per kilo. 



But the one commercially important source ot otto 

 of roses is a circumscribed patch of ancieut Thrace 

 or m idern Bulgaria, stretching along the southi-rn 

 slopes of the central Balkans, aud approximately 

 included between the 25th ami 2lith degrees of east 

 longitude, and the 42nd and -liird .legrees of north 

 latitude The chief rose-growing dist; icts nre Philippopli, 

 Ohirpan, Giopcu, Karadshah-Dagh, Kojun-Tepe, Eski- 

 Sara, ,Ieni-S.ara, Bazardshik. and the centre aud head- 

 quarters of the industry, Kazanlik (Kisanlik), situated 

 in a beautiful undulating plain, in the valley of the 

 Tunja. The proiluctiveness of the last-mentioned 

 district may be judged from the fact that, of the 123 

 Thracian localities carrying on the preparation of otto 

 in 1877— thev numbered 140 in 18-W— 42 belong to it. 

 The only place affording otto on the northern side 

 of the Balkans is Traviua. The geological foruiation 

 throughout is syenite, the decomposition of which has 

 provided a soil so fertile as to need but little manuring. 

 The vegetation, according to Baur, indicates a climate 

 differing but slighlly from that of the Pdack Forest, 

 the average summer temperatures being .stateil at.S2~' 

 Fahr. at noon, aud OS" Fahr. in the evening. The 

 rose-bushes flourish best and live longest on sandy, 

 sun-exposed (south ami south-east aspect) slopes. 

 The flowers produced by those growing on inclined 

 "round are dearer an 1 more esteemed than any raised 

 Su level land, being 50 per cent richer in oil, and 

 that of a .stronger quality. Thi-i proves the advantage 

 ot thorough drainage. On the other hand, plantations 

 at high lO'iludes yield less oil. which n of a clnracter 

 that readdy congeals, from an iusuflicieucy of .summer 

 hert The districts lying adjivcent to and in the 

 mountains are sometimi>s visited by hard frosts, which 

 destroy or greatly reduce the crop. Floods also oc- 

 casionally do considerable damage. The bushes are 

 attacked at intervals and in patches by a blight similar 

 to that which injures tha viues ot the couutry. 



The bushes are planted iu hedge-like rows in gardens 

 and fields, ai convenient distances apart, for the 

 fathering ot the crop. They are seldom maniu-ed. 

 The planting takes place in spring and autumn ; the 

 flowers attain perfection in April aud May, and the 

 harvest lasts from May till the beginning of June. 

 The expanded flowers are gather^-d before sunrise, 

 often with the calyx attached ; such as are not 

 required for immediate distillation are spread out in 

 cellnrs, but all are treated within the day on which 

 they are plucked. Baur states that, if the buds develop 

 slowly, by reason of cool damp weather, and are not 

 much exposed to sun-heat, when about to be collected, 

 a rich yield of otto, having a low solidifying point, is 

 the result, whereas, should the sky be clear and the 

 temperature high at or shortly before the time of 

 gathering, the product is dimiuished and is more 

 easily congealable. Hanbury, on the contrary when 

 distilliu!? rose iu London, noticed that when they had 

 be<-n collected on fine dry days the rose-water had 

 most volatile oil floating upon it, and that, when 

 gathered iu cool rainy weather, little or no volatile 

 oil separated. 



The flowers are not salted, nor subjected to any 

 other treatment, before beiug coneyed in baskets, on 

 the heads of men aud women, and backs of animals, 

 to the distilling apparatus. This consists of a t4uuod- 

 copper still, erected on a semicircle of bricks, and 

 heated by a wood fire ; from the top passes a straight 

 tin pipe, which obliquely traverses a tub kept con- 

 stantly filled with cold water, by a spout, from some 

 convenient rivulet, and constitutes the condenser. 

 Several such stills are usually placed tngetlier, often 

 beneath the shade of a large tree. The still is charged 

 with 25 to -W lb. of roses, not previously deprived of 

 their calyces, aud double the volume of spring water. 

 The distillation is carried on for about IJ hour, the 

 result being simply a very oily rose-water {i/Iii/u/snyti). 

 The exhausted flowers are removed from the still, and 

 the decoction is used for the next distillation, instead 

 ot fre.sh water. The first distillates from each apparatus 

 are niixul and distilled by themselves, one-sixth being 

 drawn off ; the residue replaces spring water for sub- 

 sequent operations. The distillate is received iu long- 

 necked b.)ttles, holding about IJ gallon. It is kept in 

 them for a ilay or two, at a temperature exceeding 

 59' Fahr.. by which time, mo.st of the nil, fluid and 

 bright, will have reached the surface. It is skimmed 

 oHE by' a small, loug-haudled, fine-oriftced tin funnel, 

 and is then ready for sale. The last-run rose-water 

 is extremely fragrant, and is much prized locally for 

 culinary and medicinal purposes. The quantity .ind 

 (piality of the ott.i are much inflnenceil by the 

 character of the water used in distilling. When hard 

 spring water is emploved, the otto is rich in stearoptene, 

 but less transparent .and fragrant. The average quantity 

 of the pr.xluot is estimated by Baur at 0-037 to O-04(J 

 per cent; another authority says that 3,200 kilos, 

 of roses give 1 kilo, of oil. 



Pure otto, carefully distilled, is at first colourless, 

 but speedily becomes yellowish ; its specific grarity is 

 0-87 at 72'5° Falir. ; its boiliuiJ-point is 444' Fahr.; 

 it solidifies at 51-8° to dO-S' Fahr., or still higher; 

 it is soluble in absolute alcohol, and in acetic acid. 

 The most usual aud reliable tests of the quality of 

 an otto are (1) its odour, (2) its congealing point, 

 (3) its crystallisation. The odour can be judged only 

 after long expeiieiice. A good oil should congeal 

 well in five minutes at a temperature of 54-.5'' Fahr.; 

 fraudulent additions lower the congealing point. The 

 crystals of rose-stearoptene are light, feathery, shining 

 plates, filling the whole liquid. AUno.st the only 

 material use.! for artificially heightening the apparent 

 proportion of stesroptene is said to be spermaceti, 

 which is easily recognisable from its liahility to settle 

 down in a s /lid cake, and from its meltuv at 122° 

 Fahr whereas stearoptene fuses at 01 r lahr. 

 Possibly paralhn wax would more easily escape 



detection. ... ,.• , -i 



The adulterations bv means of other essential oils 

 are much more <iiflicult of discovery, aud much more 

 general ■ in fact, it is said that none of the Bulgarian 



