48 PERFUMES OF THE ROSE. 



the hair, and is generally sold in perfumers' shops, both in 

 France and England, under the name of Vhuile mitique de RoseJ^ 



Spirit of roses is made by distilling rose-petals with a small 

 quantity of spirits of wine, and forms an agreeable article for 

 external applications. The green leaves of the sweet briar are 

 sometimes, in France, steeped in spirits of wine, to impart a fra- 

 -/ grance ; and in England they are frequently used to flavor cow- 



slip wine. 



As the petals of the rose preserve their fragrance for a long 

 time after being dried, many are in the habit of making annu- 

 ally little bags filled with them. These, being placed in a 

 drawer or wardrobe, impart an agreeable perfume to the linen 

 or clothing with which they may come in contact. The petals 

 can be obtained from almost any garden, in sufficient quantity 

 for this purpose, and can be dried by the process mentioned here- 

 after. The confectioners, distillers, and perfumers, of France, 

 draw from the Rose the greater part of their perfumes, particu- 

 larly from damascena and centifolia, in fixing their sweet odors 

 in sugar-plums, creams, ices, oils, pomatum, essences, and fra- 

 grant powders. 



The petals of the Rose, after being freshly picked and bruised 

 in a marble mortar, until they are reduced to a sort of paste, are 

 employed in the preparation of different kinds of confectionary. 

 Of this paste the French also make little perfume balls, of the 

 size of a pea. They are made round in the same manner as 

 pills, and before becoming hard, they are pierced with a needle 

 and thread on a piece of silk. In a little while they become hard 

 like wood, assume a brownish color, and emit a delightful per- 

 fume. This rose scent continues very long, and one writer re- 

 marks, that he has known a necklace, made in this style, possess, 

 at the end of 25 years, as strong a perfume as when first made. 



In Great Britain, in the vicinity of the large cities, and in many 

 private gardens, the flowers are gathered for making rose-water 

 or for drying as perfumes. In Holland, the Dutch hundred- 

 leaved and common cahhage-rosc are grown extensively at 

 Noordwich, between Leyden and Haarlem, and the dried leaves 



