788 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART III. 



the essence known as attar is procured. This rose, the flowers of which are 

 not so double as those of many others, also flowers later than most of the 

 sorts. According to Desfontaines and Langles, it is cultivated extensively 

 near Tunis, in the neighbourhood of other African cities bordering the 

 Mediterranean, at Fayoum in Upper Egypt, and also in Persia and in India. 

 The hundred-leaved rose is the variety most commonly grown, both in France 

 and England, for its petals. The rose de Provins, however, is cultivated on a 

 large scale in the vicinity of Paris, on account, according to Bosc, of its 

 tonic and astringent properties, which are diametrically opposite to those of 

 most other roses, which are all more or less laxative or purgative. According 

 to an analysis of the petals of the rose de Provins (R. gallica), as grown in the 

 extensive plantations of Fontenay aux Roses, they are found to contain a cer- 

 tain gallic acid and tannin, which accounts for their medical properties. The 

 petals of this rose are also the only ones that increase in fragrance in drying ; 

 all the other sorts being much less fragrant when dry, than when in a 

 recent state. 



The petals of roses ought always to be gathered as soon as the flower is 

 fully expanded ; and the gathering should never be deferred till it has begun to 

 fade ; because, in the latter case, the petals are not only discoloured, but 

 weakened in their medical properties. They should be immediately separated 

 from the calyx, and the claws of the petals pinched off; they are then dried 

 in the shade, if the weather is dry and warm, or by a stove in a room, if the 

 season is humid ; care being taken, in either case, not to spread them on the 

 ground, but on a platform raised 2 ft. or 3 ft. above it. 



The drying should be conducted expeditiously ; because it has been found 

 that slowly dried petals do not exhale nearly so much odour as those which 

 have been dried quickly ; which is, indeed, the case with hay, sweet herbs, and 

 odoriferous vegetables generally. After the petals are dried, they are freed 

 from any sand, dust, or eggs of insects, which may adhere to them, by shaking 

 them, and rubbing them gently in a fine sieve. After this, the petals are put 

 into close vessels, from which the air is excluded, and which are kept in a dry 

 airy situation. As it is extremely difficult to free the rose petals entirely from 

 the eggs of insects, they are taken out of these vessels two or three times a 

 year, placed in sieves, rubbed, cleaned, and replaced. Parmentier states that 

 the petals of red roses keep longer than those of white ones. At one time, 

 the dried petals of the roses of Provins were so celebrated, that, according to 

 Pomel (JERgtoire des Drogues), they were sent as far as India ; and M. Opois, 

 apothecary of Provins, who has written a dissertation upon the roses in the 

 neighbourhood of that town, affirms that, owing to the nature of the soil, and 

 a superior mode of cultivation, the roses 'of Provins are more fragrant when 

 dry, and better adapted for medicinal purposes, than any others whatever. 

 Desfontaines asserts that apothecaries employ both pale and red roses ; and 

 that the petals of the Provins, of the hundred-leaved damask, and of the com- 

 mon damask, are used by them indifferently. 



Rose-water is distilled from the petals of pale roses, in preference to deep 

 red ones, mixed with a small quantity of water; ami, in France, those of the 

 musk rose are preferred when they can be obtained. This product of the 

 rose was known to the Greeks in the time of Homer, and to Avicenna, 

 among the Arabs, A. D. 980. It is more or less in use, in every civilised 

 country, for the toilette, and on occasions of festivals and religious cere- 

 monies. It is still used at the feasts of the corporate bodies' of the city of 

 London. Medicinally, it is applied to sore eyes, either alone, or with Gou- 

 lard's extract, or other medicines. 



Vinegar of Roses is made by simply infusing dried rose petals in the best 

 distilled vinegar. It is chiefly used on the Continent, for curing headachs 

 produced by the vapours of charcoal, or the heat of the sun. For this pur- 

 pose, cloths, or linen rags, moistened with the vinegar, are applied to the 

 head, and left there till they are dried by evaporation. 



Spirit of Roses is procured by distilling rose petals in sand heat, with a 



