228 ENGLISH BOTANY. 
the East the Rose has ever been a favourite flower, and in the imaginative language of 
the poet its praises have been set forth. It is the Musk Rose, R. moschata, which we 
are told in Eastern story is the chosen flower of the nightingale, among the branches 
of which he is supposed to sit and sing his love-tale, and the delicate petals of which 
constitute his only food :— 
“ For there the Rose, o’er crag and vale, 
Sultana to the nightingale, 
Blooms blushing to her lover’s tale, 
His queen, his garden queen, his Rose.” 
Moore alludes to this legend with his usual fervour :— 
“O! sooner shall the Rose of May 
Mistake her own sweet nightingale, 
And to some meaner minstrel’s lay 
Open her bosom’s glowing veil, 
Than love shall ever doubt a tone, 
A breath of the belovéd one.” 
But it is not only when in all its blushing beanty that the Rose possesses its 
fragrant charms : even when about to wither and fall away, the scent remains ; and 
large quantities of Roses are cultivated for the sole purpose of making extracts of 
different sorts. In hot countries a large quantity of volatile oil is elaborated by the 
flowers of the species of Roses which grow in those climates, — such as R. moschata, 
RR. Damascena, and others. The valuable and delicious perfume known as “ attar” or 
“ottor of Roses,” is said to be procured in the following simple manner :—A large 
vessel is filled with the picked petals of Roses ; they are covered with spring-water, 
exposed to the sun daily for a week ; oily particles gradually rise to the top and come 
together : these are carefully removed by a piece of cotton, and tightly corked in 
small bottles. A perfumer in Paris, who made this costly preparation for Louis XVL., 
declares that four thousand pounds weight of rose-leaves yielded only seventeen ounces 
of the oil. We can estimate in this way the costliness of the scent and the great 
_ temptation there is to adulterate it with other oils. Rose-water is made by distillation, 
and was at one time in extensive use among the great and rich, and on state occasions 
was always presented in silver-gilt ewers :— 
“ Attend him with a silver basin 
Full of rose-water.” 
This custom is now almost entirely confined to our City feasts, and goes in company 
with the loving-cup, and some other remnants of an age when the pleasures of the table 
were regarded in quantity rather than quality. 
The old-fashioned compound called pot powrri preserves much of the original 
freshness of the scent of the flower ; but for this purpose the Wild Rose and the new 
varieties which fill our gardens are alike useless ; no kind should be used but the old 
sweet-scented damask, cabbage, or moss Roses. The Rose petals should be strewn on — 
sheets of paper and carefully.dried in the sun, and should then be put in a large China — 
jar with bay-salt between the layers. Lavender-flowers and other ingredients may be 
added at discretion. The flowers generally used are clove-pinks, violets, orange-flowers, 
Jessamine, and rosemary ; but only a small quantity of each, so as not to overpower the a 
