234 WILD FLOWERS. 



Persia, many are cultivated in the province called 

 El Fyoom, where much rose-water of excellent qua- 

 lity is made. They are more abundant on the coast 

 of Barbary, where they even grow wild, as about 

 Tunis ; and Captain Kennedy mentions a garden, 

 belonging to the Bash-Memlook, near that city, con- 

 taining upwards of ten thousand rose-trees. Tunis, 

 indeed, is celebrated for its otto of roses, and rose- 

 water, and these are amongst the articles of its com- 

 merce ; the plants which give the otto are said to 

 be the R. damascenes, R. centifolia, R. moschdta, 

 and others; but that from which the otto is ex- 

 tracted at Tunis, is a single white species (called in 

 Arabic nusree) very like our dog-rose. The coast 

 of Barbary was always famed for its roses; and 

 Athenseus 5 (xv. p. 682) says a the rose which has the 

 strongest scent is that of Gyrene, wherefore the 

 ointment from that place is the sweetest." Pliny 

 (XXL 4) says, " the most esteemed kinds of roses 

 among us are those of Prseneste and Campania/' 

 and the latter is supposed to be the same as that of 

 Psestum, famed for its rose-beds mentioned by Virgil, 

 which flowered twice a year. 



The more luxurious amongst the ancient Greeks 

 and Komans made use of rose-leaves to stuff their 

 cushions and mattresses so that the Sybarites were 

 not the only men of old who reposed upon rose- 

 leaves. 



The custom alluded to by Shakespeare of in- 

 creasing the sweet perfume of the rose by " neigh- 

 bouring " it with some ill-smelling herb, is thus con- 

 firmed by Bishop Reynolds ; " they say those roses 



