Manufacture of Rose^Water and Attar of Roses. 359 



quire a great degree of moisture, and that their growth is much 

 accelerated by it. I observed that the young hybrid plants 

 of C. alata, impregnated with C. speciosa, were 5- or 6-sided ; 

 and that those of C. speciosa, impregnated with C. alata, were 

 from 3- to 4-sided. 



In 1838, at the end of May, I grafted three small twigs of 

 C. alata with a hybrid of C. speciosa, 1 in. long, and ^ in. 

 in circumference, on Opuntia vulgaris. At first I placed the pot 

 in the shade, and then in the course of eight days at a light 

 window, exposed to the sun all day long. In fourteen days the 

 twigs began to grow, and so luxuriantly, that in nine months the 

 three grafts had formed a complete head. Thirteen of the upper 

 shoots were from 10 in. to 14 in. long, and 2^ in. broad. Nine 

 shoots, from 2 in. to 4 in. long, had appeared below, and were dif- 

 ferent from the parent stem ; yet it must be observed that the 

 grafted twigs did not retain their young appearance, because all 

 the shoots were three-cornered below, and winged above; the 

 twigs were thickly beset with small elevations, like C speciosa, 

 and furnished with from 14 to 19 prickles. The twigs are of a 

 brownish red, particularly at the extremities, and the elevations 

 from which the flowers proceed are of a dark red colour, as 

 in C. alata, and from 6 to 10 flower-buds are seen on one twig. 

 The flowers are from 3 in. to 5 in. in diameter, and resemble 

 those of C. alata, but the colour is more of a clear orange red. 



The hybrid C. alata with C. speciosa is now in full flower, 

 and is very splendid, particularly when several flowers are open. 

 I know not what kind of a flower the other hybrid will produce, 

 but I hope soon to see, as I intend to graft it this year, so as 

 to bring it quickly into flower. 



I have ascertained that Opuntia vulgaris is the best stock for 

 grafting on. I formerly grafted many kinds of the Cacti on 

 Opuntia, such as C. speciosa, C. alata, C. grandiflora, C. flagel- 

 liformis, and C. truncata, on which all the grafts became healthy 

 and strong, and were covered with flowers every year. 



Art. XI. On the Manifacture of Rose-Water and Altar, or Otto, of 

 Roses, at Ghazeepore. Abridged from the " Journal of the Royal 

 Asiatic Society of Bengal," for May, 1839. 



The rose trees come into flower at the beginning of March, and 

 continue so through April. In the morning early, the flowers 

 are plucked by numbers of men, women, and children, and are 

 conveyed in large bags to the several contracting parties for 

 distillation. The cultivators themselves very rarely manufac- 

 ture. 



The native apparatus for distilling the rose-water is of the 

 simplest description, and need not be described. The best rose- 



