Iff 



HOPES. HIOIDITT OF. 



its 



rap* and win rope for the standing rigging of 

 hiw a* determined by the corporation testing-machine at King's 

 Dock.' All the rupee wore nude by Moon. Oarnock and Bibby, with 

 |iuj ore. The foUowing_resulU were obtained : 



mcb filnabed >re **t bo trmln of 

 lech JUnilU hemp rope 



inch Ruda b*mp rope 



lock nlTUUwd Iran wlr* ropt ., 



. 



i 



II 

 I 



ton*. 



The advantage of iron is here very obvioiu ; indeed thin metal is 

 found to be, for a pvcn strength, less heavy, len bulky, one-fourth 

 ThTtrrr and le affected by the atmonpliere, than hemp. Bon win- 

 lakes the moct pliable ru|w for splicing; but hardwire is stronger. 

 Three-fourth* of all the ships now rigged at Liverpool are provided 

 with iron wire standing rigging. 



Some of the machines for making wire rope act in the following 

 way. The wire ia wound in bobbins mounted in frames sot on the 

 periphery of a larger frame like a cage. The cage revolves round an 

 axis on the bottom of which is a fixed spur-wheel ; and the lower end 

 of the vertical axis of each bobbin-frame carries a spur-wheel gearing 

 into this. There is thus obtained a sort of ' sun-and-planet ' motion, 

 the cage carrying the bobbin round the central axis, and each bobbin- 

 frame revolving also on its own axis. The wires, in their progress 

 from the bobbins, pass through holes in the top of the central axis, and 

 are there united to form the strand or rope. In Mr. Newall's patent 

 of 1857, the strand wire for electric cables is drawn through dies or 

 between rollers after the twisting, to bring it to a close cylindrical 

 form, and thereby aid the electric conduction. 



The demand for wire rope being now very extensive, for shipping 

 and for telegraphic cables, the patents are or have been regarded as 

 valuable property. Mr. Newall's first patent, which expired in 1854, 

 was a subject of many legal contests, arising out of infringements. 



BOPES, RIGIDITY OF. [RIGIDITY OF ROPES.] 



KOSA, Matiral Proprrtia of. Of the numerous species or varieties 

 of this genus, three only are indicated in the ' Pharmacopoeia ' as the 

 sources of the officinal articles ; but a very considerable number of 

 them contribute the different materials. Those indicated in the 

 ' Pharmacopoeia ' are : the {iota canina, or common dog-rose ; Rosa 

 yaJlira, the French or red rose ; and Rum centifulia, the hundred-leaved 

 or cabbage-rose. Of the first, the so-called fruit (hips) is the officinal 

 part. This is truly the enlarged persistent calyx, enclosing the real 

 fruits, which are numerous small achenia, clothed, as well as the inside 

 of the calyx, with silky hairs. The hairs and achenia are to be care- 

 fully removed, and the fleshy calyx beaten into a pulp, to which 

 gradually thrice their own weight of white sugar is to be added. The 

 employment of heat in the preparation of this conserve, though directed 

 by the ' Pharmacopoeia,' is better omitted. The pulp consists chiefly 

 of malic and citric acids, in combination mostly with some salts, tannin, 

 resins, a small quantity of volatile and fixed oils, fibre, and a large 

 quantity of sugar. The action on the stomach is slightly refrigerant 

 and aperient, its sweetness recommending it to children, and as a 

 vehicle for other medicines. It is apt to candy or concrete by keeping. 

 The fresh hips, freed from the fruits and hairs, bruised, and having a 

 little sugar added, yield, by pouring warm water upon them, a cooling 

 mildly astringent drink, which would be grateful to the poor suffering 

 from autumnal fevers. 



The petals of both the ROM yatlica and R, damatcena are supplied 

 to herbalists for medical and chemical purposes. The latter is most 

 extensively cultivated at Mitcham for the London market. The buds 

 are collected before they expand, and the calyx and lower part of the 

 petal*, termed claw*, being cut off, they are quickly dried. If this last 

 process be conducted slowly, 'it impairs both their astringency ami line 

 Mudena colour Their astringency and odour ore greatest when col- 

 lected before the process of anthesis, or bursting of the anthers. 

 About 20110 flowers yield 100 Ibs. of fresh petals, which when dry 

 weigh only 10 Ibs. After drying the odour is faint, the taste bitter 

 and astringent. As by exposure to the light and air they lose their 

 fine colour, and soon become mouldy or worm-eaten, they must be 

 carefully preserved in well-stopped bottles or canisters. 



According to the analysis of Cartier, they consist of volatile oil, 

 colouring matter, fatty matter, gallic acid, tannin, albumen, soluble 

 alt* of potash, insoluble salts of lime, silica, and oxide of iron. The 

 Unnic and gallic acids are the cause of the astringency, and also of the 

 dark colour, which resulU on adding a solution of any salt of iron to 

 an infusion of roses, and of a slight precipitate when a solution of gela- 

 tine is added to the infusion. The property of forming a black com- 

 l>und with iron is taken advantage of by beating the petals with 

 doves and other spices in an iron mortar, till a thick block paste. is 

 (armed, which hardens on exposure to the air, and is then polished or 

 turned, so as to form the perfumed beads for necklaces or rosaries. 

 The petals of It. centifolia are often preferred. The exact nature of 

 the colouring principle has not been ascertained, but it is not owing to 

 oxide of iron, as the quantity of iron is much greater in white than 

 red roses, ( 'artier having obtained from 1000 grains of white roses 99 

 grain* of ashen, containing 1 -' 4 of iron, while a similar quantity of 

 red roses yielded only 60 grains of ashes, containing only 4 grains of 

 



The petals of the Rota damatcena are the most laxative, except 

 perhaps the R. tem/ierjloreni, but it is seldom that they are used as 

 aperirnts, though the petals of the 11. i/nllini are formed into a con- 

 feet ion which has the advantage over that of the R. canina, inasmuch 

 as it neither candies nor becomes mouldy. In forming this or the 

 other preparations, a stone (not an iron) mort.ir must be used. The 

 chief employment of the conserve of the Gallic rose is as a vehicle for 

 other medicines and as the basis of blue pill. 



The infusion of roses is made by pouring boiling distilled water on 

 the petals, and adding dilute sulphuric acid, which are allowed to 

 macerate for six hours, and when strained, refined sugar is to be added. 

 The vessel in which this process is conducted should not be glazed 

 with lead. By this means is obtained an elegant, fragrant, and 

 mildly astringent tonic and refrigerant liquid, which is of great utility, 

 either alone, especially to check the wasting perspirations of consump- 

 tion, or as a vehicle for most salts which are formed with sulphuric 

 acid. It is likewise employed as a gargle, alone, or with \ 

 adjuncts, one of the best of which is the inel rosarum, or honey of 

 roses, made with the petals of this kind of rose. A syrup is some- 

 times made with them, which is only used to sweeten and colon i 

 medicines. 



The Rum eaitlfuliu, hundred-leaved rose, especially the variety of 

 it termed the Provence or cabbage rote, is cultivated both on account 

 of its exquisite perfume and the uses to which it, with its product.*, 

 can be applied. The petals are the officinal article. They are directed 

 to be collected when the flower is full blown; and to be plucked off, 

 not allowed to fall off. It is better to collect them before the flower 

 is fully expanded, as the odour rapidly diminishes as the anthesis 

 proceeds ; 100 parts dry into 18 only. They are to be dried in the 

 open ah-, and not in an oven, as desiccation impairs their fragrance,, 

 while it heightens that of the R. yallica. Their odour is said to be 

 singularly exalted by iodine. When dried, they are of a pale red, 

 with a faint rose odour, and au astringent taste. They easily part 

 with their colour, and are therefore to be protected from air and 

 light : if salted, they may be preserved unimpaired for years. With 

 the addition of salt, pepper, and cloves, they are used to form the rose- 

 pots which adorn the apartments of the rich, but which may equally 

 be made to contribute to the enjoyment of the poor, as the expense of 

 this perpetual feast is so small as not to be felt by the poorest occupier 

 of a room. The colouring matter extracted by alcohol furnishes a most 

 delicate test for the presence of alkalies. 



A syrup is also made of this sort, but the chief use of it in England 

 and France is to yield by distillation rose-water, the medical properties 

 of which are too slight to merit further notice here. That to which 

 spirit of wine has been added is unfit for medical purposes. In hot 

 countries a large quantity of volatile oil is elaborated by the flowers of 

 this and several other species, such as the Runt tnoscltata, Rosa damas- 

 ccna, and in Italy the Rom lanperrireiu, which constitutes the atkar, 

 atlier, attar, utter, or oltu of roses. [ATTAR OF ROSES.] 



(Pereira's JUateria Medica.) 



ROSAHY. [BEADS.] 



ROSE, Culture of the. To obtain roses in their full perfection they 

 require a situation open to the south, and free from buildings, trees, 

 and the effects of smoke. They must also be sheltered from the wind. 

 The tenderer sorts should be trained on a wall ; the hardier dwarfs in 

 beds or on the lawn, and standards arranged in lines along the walks. 

 In planting, care should be taken to give room for the roots. A hole 

 three feet in diameter and two feet deep should be filled with rich 

 loamy soil, or a mixture of leaf mould, or rotted cow or pig manure, 

 the straggling rootlets removed, and the plant be fixed in the centre, 

 supported by a stake to prevent it being loosened by the wind. 

 November and December are the general mouths for planting, but 

 February is perhaps better in moist soils if the holes are made pre- 

 viously and exposed to a winter's frost. Standards should be at least 

 three feet apart, dwarfs may be one-third closer. When planting in 

 pots, the same soil should be prepared, taking care to have the bottom 

 of the pot well supplied with broken crocks, and, to ensure sufficient 

 drainage, the hole for the pot should be made of such a size aud such a 

 depth, that on pressing the pot into it, till about an inch below the 

 surface, it may drive some of the sid soil down so as to form a 

 shoulder, and leave a vacancy of an inch or two below the pot. This 

 not only ensures drainage, as the plant requires good watering, but is 

 less likely to attract the roots to the adjacent soU. Roses are all the 

 better for such surface-manuring during the autumn, either with 

 compost of night-soil, or guano and wood ashes. 



In raising roses from seed, the hips, gathered when quite' ripe, 

 should be kept dry and whole till February, then broken and sown 

 in a seed-pan about 8 or 9 inches deep, filled with rotten manure 

 mixed with sandy loam or peat, covering the seed with about half an 

 inch of the mould. Care must be taken to guard the seed from the 

 attacks of mice ; this is best done by covering with a wire web, which 

 also preserves the pan moist. Water occasionally, and the young plants 

 will begin to appear in April or May. After having made three or four 

 leaves, pot them in small pots, and in about a month they will be lit 

 to remove to the border ; and the free-growers by August will have 

 made shoots sufficient to take buds from. The stocks must be cut 

 down and budded, aud they will then flower in the following summer 

 if left unprunod. 



