R O S 
381 
R O S 
thick and troublesome in the procuring, as it every where 
sticks to the vessels. 
It is to be observed, that the season of the year as to wet 
or dry, makes a very great difference in the essential oils of 
all plants; they are always much finer in dry and hot sea¬ 
sons, than in cold and moist; we find our rose-water in 
England much finer, and more fragrant, though distilled in 
the same proportion, in hot and dry summers, than in cold 
and rainy ones 5 and Mr. Geoffrey gives an account that he 
succeeded, one very hot and dry year, in the making essence 
of roses in France in the following manner. 
As the roses were brought to him fresh gathered, he 
turned them immediately into the still; and drawing over 
the water into a glass matrass, when it had stood by some 
time, and was perfectly cold, he discovered some of the 
essence fixed to the sides of the matrass, and the surface of 
the water covered with a thin reticular pellicle. All the 
contents of the matrass were put to filter through a paper, 
supported by a fine linen cloth; and the filtrated water was 
added to new roses for many succeeding distillations, the 
produce of which was all filtered through the same paper. 
After a long course of distillations, with fresh flowers every 
time, but still with the same vessels and the same water, 
there was found in the paper of the filtre a quantity of thick 
essence; this being carefully washed out of the paper, with 
a small quantity of the most fragrant of the water, and after¬ 
wards separated pure from its surface, was very white and 
extremely fragrant, and as thick as fine butter. This is not 
the only essential oil which naturally concretes into this firm 
state: oil of aniseed, though fluid when distilled, always 
concretes in the same manner on the first approach of cold; 
and another oil of this kind is that of the laurel, which is 
used in some places, though very improperly, to give the 
scent and taste of bitter almonds, or apricot kernels, to foods 
of different kinds. 
Monsieur Hotnberg has taught us how to gain a larger 
quantity of the essential oil of roses than in the usual 
distillation, by the previous addition of mineral acids, as the 
spirit of salt, vitriol, &c. thereto; which increase the fer¬ 
mentation, and joining with the oil, render it more liquid, 
and easier to be raised by heat. He advises a perfumer (who 
before scarcely obtained an ounce of oil from a hundred¬ 
weight of roses) to steep his flowers, for fifteen days, in 
water made sharp with the spirit of vitriol; by which means 
the perfumer, upon distillation, found his quantity of oil in¬ 
creased almost a third. 
The perfumers keep the structure of the vessel they em¬ 
ploy in this distillation a great secret. M. Ilomberg tells 
us, it is a large convenient still, that opens in a tube at the 
top to receive the water, which must often be poured upon 
the roses, to bring over the oil with it; this it does but 
very slowly, and so requires that its quantity be large ; the 
still also opens below, that the flowers, when they will yield 
no more oil, may be easily taken out; but the principal 
contrivance is the figure of the vessel which receives the oil; 
this is made like an ordinary matrass, from the lower part 
of the belly of which comes a tube, as from an old- 
fashioned cruet, and rising to the bottom of the neck of the 
receiver, it bends outward; so that though the vessel usually 
contains but two or three French pints, it conveniently 
receives and lets pass many hundred pints of the rose-water, 
without any necessity of being changed; for a change would 
lose the small quantity of the oil obtained. The water 
distilled runs through a pipe into a second receiver; the oil, 
being lighter than the water, floats upon its surface, and ad¬ 
heres to the neck of the vessel, as high as the aperture of 
the little pipe, while the water runs from the bottom of the 
first receiver into the second. See Mem. de 1’Acad. des 
Sciences, 1700. 
The process for making attar, or essential oil of roses, 
so much esteemed as a perfume, is related in the “ Asiatic 
Researches,” (vol. i. p. 332.) by Lieutenant-colonel Polier, 
and is as follows. “ Forty pounds of fresh roses, with their 
calyces, but the stems cut close, are put in a still with sixty 
pounds of water. The mass is then well mixed together 
. Vol. XXII. No. 1509. 
with the hands, and a gentle fire is made under the still 
When the water begins to grow hot, and fumes to rise, the 
cap of the still is put on, and the pipe fixed; the chinks 
are then well luted with paste, and cold water put on the re¬ 
frigeratory at the top. The receiver is also adapted at the 
end of the pipe; and the fire is continued under the still, 
neither too violent nor too weak. When the impregnated 
water begins to come over, and the still is very hot, the fire 
is lessened by gentle degrees, and the distillation continued 
till thirty pounds of water are come over, which is generally 
done in about four or five hours. This rose-water is to be 
poured again on a fresh quantity (forty pounds) of roses; 
and from fifteen to twenty pounds of water are to be drawn 
by distillation, following the same process as before. The 
rose-water thus made and cohobated, will be found, if the 
roses were good and fresh, and the distillation carefully per¬ 
formed, highly scented with the roses. It is then poured 
into pans either of earthenware or of tinned metal, and left 
exposed to the fresh air for the night. The attar, or essence, 
will be found in the morning congealed, and swimming on 
the top of the water. This is to be carefully separated, 
and collected, either with a thin shell or a skimmer, and 
poured into a vial. When a certain quantity has thus been 
obtained, the water and feces must be separated from the 
clear essence, which, with respect to the first, will not be 
difficult to do, as the essence congeals with a slight cold, and 
the water may then be made to run off. If, after that, the 
essence is kept fluid by heat, the feces will subside, and may 
be separated; but if the operation has been neatly per¬ 
formed, these will be little or none. The feces are as 
highly perfumed as the essence, and must be kept after as 
much of the essence has been skimmed from the rose-water as 
could be. The remaining water should be used for fresh distil¬ 
lations, instead of common water; at least as far as it will go. 
“ The above is the whole process of making genuine attar 
of roses. But, as the roses of this country give but a very 
small quantity of essence, and it is in high esteem, various 
ways have been thought of to augment the quantity, though 
at the expense of the quality. In this country it is usual 
to add to the roses, when put in the still, a quantity of 
sandal-wood raspings, some more, some less, from one to 
five tolahs, or half ounces. The sandal contains a deal of 
essential oil, which comes over freely in the common distilla¬ 
tion, and mixing with the rose-water and essence, becomes 
strongly impregnated with their perfume. The imposition, 
however, cannot be concealed; the essential oil of sandal 
will not congeal in common cold; and its smell cannot be 
kept under, but will be apparent and predominate, in spite 
of every art. In Cashemire they seldom use sandal to adul¬ 
terate the attar; but I have been informed, to increase the 
quantity, they distil with the roses a sweet-scented grass, 
which does not communicate any unpleasant scent, and gives 
the attar a high clear green colour. This essence also does 
not congeal in a slight cold, as that of roses.” 
The quantity of essential oil to be obtained from the roses 
is very precarious, as it depends not only on the skill of the 
distiller, but also on the quality of the roses, and the fa¬ 
vourableness of the season. In order to obtain four mashes 
(about 11 drachm) from 80 pounds, which deducting the 
calyces, amounts to something less than 3 drachms per 100 
pounds of rose-leaves, the season must be very favourable, 
and the operation carefully performed. The colour of the 
attar of roses is no criterion of its goodness, quality, or 
country. In the year 1787, Col. Polier had attar of a fine 
emerald green, of a bright yellow, and of a reddish hue, 
from the same ground, and obtained by the same process, 
only of roses collected at different days. The calyces, he 
observes, do not in any degree diminish the quality of the 
attar, nor impart any green colour to it; though perhaps 
they may augment the quantity; but the trouble necessary 
for stripping them must, and ought, to prevent its being 
ever put in practice. 
ROSE, St. a parish in the south side of the island of St. 
Domingo. It formerly contained about 2000 inhabitants, 
for the most part people of colour. 
5 E 
ROSE 
