250 



THE GARDEN AND FIELD. 



November 1913 



Attar of Roses. 



Tlie're does not appear to be 

 hiucli probability of any great de- 

 velopment in the scent industry on 

 iin export basis in view of Mr. 

 French's recent report, but Austra- 

 lia imports considerable quantities 

 of scent, and there would appear 

 to be no reason why tliis cannot 

 be home j^rown. The following 

 article should be of assistance to 

 those who, in a small way, may 

 have opportunity or inclination to 

 take a share : — 



By Joseph Knight, in Journal of 

 Agriculture, Victoria. 



Possibly there is no plant grown 

 which is more popular than the 

 rose, nor any perfume produced 

 which finds more favour than the 

 Oil of Hose, or, as it is generally 

 known, " Attar of Roses." 



Its cultivation is simple. If 

 grown under healthy conditions, 

 the plant adapts itself to almost 

 any soil or climate, and there is 

 but little trouble with insect and 

 fungoid pests. 



The work of gathering the ilow- 

 ers lasts but a few weeks — gener- 

 ally from four to five — after which 

 the plant may be left to itseU. 

 All that is necessary is to prune 

 in the autumn, and cultivate the 

 soil sufficiently to keep weeds in 

 check. It takes about 4 tons of 

 bloom to make lib. of ^oil, and 

 the present • wholesale price of oil 

 in Melbourne is £3 per oz., ot £48 

 per lb. It is well, therefore, to 

 look whether regular labour can 

 be obtained to gather the blooms 

 everv second day, as this is ne- 

 cessary to ensure success. The 

 work is light, and where the 

 united efforts of a family may be 

 utilised, rose cultivation has much 

 to recommend it. This brief paper 

 is written as a guide to those 

 who wish to give rose. growing 

 for essential oil production a trial. 



— Varieties Suitable. — 



In dealing with this question, 

 only tho.se which have been tested 

 in this State, and found to be 

 sati.sfactory, will be considered. 



The late Mr. F. Mellon, who had 

 experience of essential oil ])roduc- 

 tion in the South of France, was 

 employed many years ago by the 

 Department to establish a Scent 

 Farm, and provide plants. He in- 

 troduced the variety known as 

 the " Provence Kose," which s 

 much cultivated in the large rose- 

 jiroducing district of Grasse, in 

 the South of France. 



Mr, Mellon, in giving his evi- 

 dence before the Royal Commis- 

 sion on Vegetable P'roducts, iu an- 

 swer to the question of the suit- 

 ability of Victorian soil and cM- 

 Uiate, stated that it was much 

 better than that of the South of 

 France. He stated that in the 

 town of Grasse, which is said to 

 be the centre of the world's flori- 

 culture, there were 52 distilleries, 

 some of them employing 500 people 

 at a time. With this experience 

 before him, Mr. Mellon was careful 

 to introduce the best rose lor his 

 purpose when stocking th>z first 

 scent farm esta'olished in this 

 State. He discarded all others but 

 the one referred to, this he named 

 " Rose de Grasse," which is iden- 

 tical with " Rosa centifolia, " or 

 " Provence Rose." 



Un Mr. Mellon's departure, the 

 writer took charge of this Farm, 

 and can say that this variety 

 supplies all requirements, as it is 

 hard3' and easily cultivated, and, 

 with proiJcr attention in pruning-, 

 gives a large amount of blooms. 



Another variety of rose will be 

 dealt with separately later on. 



— Soil. — 



Many rose growers assert that 

 special soils with clay, or a "clay 

 bottom," are necessary. Possibly 

 this may be the case with some 

 varieties, but with the " Provence 

 liose " it is not necessary. A 

 warm, dry situation, whether sand,i 

 loam, or clay, answers the pur- 

 pose quite well. The only situa- 

 tian which I have found unsuitable 

 is one with a wet bottom., 



— Climate. — 



Most p'arts of Victoria are suit- 

 able for rose cultivation. Those 

 that do not experience excessive 

 rain, but sufiicient to allow the 

 plant to mature its blooms, give 

 the best results in " oil." Rain on 

 the blooms has a deterimental ef- 

 fect. 



At the DunoUy Flower Farm, 

 North-western District, the crop 

 could be harvested without danger 

 of rain ; while at lyeongatha, 

 Southern District, the reverse was 

 the case, considerable rain falling 

 during the four or five weeks the 

 plants were in bloom ; but under 

 these conditions the plants were 

 more^ vigorous, and gave a much 

 greater yield of blooms. 



As to the yield of oil, I had no 

 op])ortunity of judging, as the farm 

 was closed down before a proper 

 e\i)criment with distillation was 

 made. It is recognised that the 

 more sunshine the greater is the 

 amount of oil, providing there is 



sufficient moisture for the proper 

 de\ elopment of the plant. 



Plants were distributed to al- 

 most every part of Victoria, and 

 so far as growth is concerned, 1 

 know of no place where there has 

 been a " failure. The "Provence 

 Rose " can be recommended by- 

 any part of this State. 



— Plants. — 



Plants may be obtained from 

 shoots, or what is known as 

 " suckers." The latter may be 

 obtained from any plantation 

 which has been established for 

 three or four years, when the plant 

 is being thinned out. When grow- 

 ing from cuttings, pieces 6 or 7 

 inches long are planted out in a 

 well-prepared nursery^^ bed in au- 

 tumn, and left until well rooted ; 

 they may be put out in late 

 spring, or carried over until the 

 following autumn. When well 

 rooted suckers can be obtained, 

 they will be bette:;, as they can be 

 planted out in their permanent 

 place at once. The plants should 

 be well cut back when being plant- 

 ed out, and it is advisable to 

 prune back straggling or wounded 

 roots. The stem and side shoots 

 should be trimmed first of all, 

 both above or below the surface, 

 with the exception of two or three 

 on the top. These should not be 

 more than i foot to 15 inches 

 abo\e the surface, as it is desir- 

 able to have a good strong stem 

 to build the plant on, so that it 

 can till the space allotted to it. 

 In selecting plants, it is well to 

 take only from those that are of 

 healthy growth. 



— Cultivation. — 



The soil for rose culture should 

 be cultivated to some depth. If 

 ploughed, it should be subsoiled, 

 as in most cases it is better to 

 keep the surface soil on the top, 

 and loosen the subsoil to a depth 

 of at least 10 or 12 inches. The 

 soil should be well pulverized be- 

 fore planting, and, where conve- 

 nient, it would be better to lie 

 fallow for a few months before 

 putting plants out. Where drain- 

 age is necessary, it should be at- 

 tended to as early as possible, 

 as a " wet bed " is most objection- 

 able. 'AH that is necessary in the 

 after treatment is surface cultiva- 

 tion by light ploughing — 3 or 4 

 inches deep — and e.\ termination of 

 weeds. 



The ])lants of the " Provence 

 Rose " should be set out in rows 

 about 4 to 5 feet apart, and the 

 space in the rows should be about 

 3 or 4 feet. Where it is intended 



