CHAPTER V. 



PERFUMES OF THE ROSE. 



T an early period in the cultivation of 

 the Rose, and after its admission among 

 the luxuries of the wealthy, human skill 

 was exerted to extract its delightful per- 

 fume. 



Several authors have considered the 

 invention of the essence of the Rose very 

 ancient, and have even traced it back as far as the siege of Troy. 

 This however can scarcely be admitted, for nothing relating to 

 the essence, or essential oil of roses can be found in Homer, or 

 in any other author for many subsequent years. The discovery 

 of these valuable articles of commerce was made at a much later 

 period. If the essential oil of roses had been known to the 

 ancient Greeks or Romans, it would probably have been more 

 particularly mentioned by Pliny, and the mode of preparation 

 even would have been described. In speaking, however, of vari- 

 ous perfumes, he says nothing of any distillation from the petals 

 of the Rose, but simply mentions that as early as the siege of 

 Troy, the expressed juice of roses was known, and being mixed 

 with a delicate oil, formed an agreeable perfume. 



In speaking of artificial oils in general, Pliny also observes 

 that the oil of roses was made by simply steeping the rose-petals 

 in oil. According to the same author, oil was the body of nearly 

 all the perfumes used at that day, and for a perfuming substance 



