5 WEE T- SMELLING PL A NTS 



107 



petals. Martial, Ovid, Propertiiis, and Vii^gil frequently refer in 

 their Avritings to the "Roses of their time that possessed a pleasing- 

 fragrance and high perfume. 



In Tiu'key, a Rose is sculptured on the monimient of all ladies 

 that die unmarried ; and in Poland they cover the coffins of children 

 with Roses, and when the fimeral passes the streets, a number of 

 these Roses are thrown from the window. 



The Turks are great admirers of this beautiful flower, and IMussul- 

 mans in general believe that it first sprang from the perspiration of 

 Mohammed, on which account they will not suffer a rose leaf to lie 

 on the ground, or permit any one to tread upon this sacred flower. 



The island of Rhodes owes its name to the prodigious quantity of 

 Roses with which it abounds. Sir William Ouseley tells us, in his 

 work on Persia, that when he entered the flower-garden belonging 

 to the governor of a castle near Fassa, he was overwhelmed witli 

 scented Roses. In Persia, wine and other liquors are brought to 

 table with a Rose in the bottle instead of a cork. 



Jackson says, that the Roses of the Jinan Nile, or the garden of 

 the Xile, attached to the Emperor of Morocco's palace, are un- 

 equalled, and that mattresses are made of their petals for the men of 

 rank to recline upon ; and we read in Father Catron's Hi^foire de 

 Jfogol a story about the origin of Attar of Roses. The Princess 

 Xourmahal, an Eastern beauty, caused a large tank, in which she 

 used to be rowed about with the Great Mogul, to be filled with 

 rose-water. The heat of the sttn separating the water from the 

 essential oil of the Rose, the latter was observed to be floating 

 on the sm^face. The discovery was mimediately turned to good 

 account. 



Here is another story : Avicenua, an Ai^abian doctor who flourished 

 in the tenth century, is said to have invented the art of extracting 

 the aromatic or medicinal principles of flowers and plants by means 

 of distillation ; liitherto only scented resins and spices had been 

 used in the making of perfumes. He succeeded in producing rose- 

 water, which was soon made in large quantities. It is said that 

 when Saladin entered Jerusalem in 1187. he had the floor and walls 

 of Omar's Mosque entirely washed v^ith it. This delicious scent is 

 still a favourite in the East ; the stranger is welcomed by being 

 sprinkled with rose-Avater, and when again the censer is directed 

 towards the Ai.sitor, it is taken as a hint that the reception is 

 at an end. 



At Ghazipur, the essence, attar, uttar, of.to, or whatever it 

 should be called, is obtained with great simplicity and ease. After 

 the rose-water is prepared it is put into large open vessels which 



