468 
VARIETIES. 
It  is  remarkable  how  very  much  this  mixture  resembles  the  odor  of  the 
flower,  and  the  public  never  doubt  its  being  the  "  real  thing." 
Rose. — 
Cf  Go,  crop  the  gay  rose's  vermeil  bloom, 
And  waft  its  spoils,  a  sweet  perfume, 
In  incense  to  the  skies." — Ogilvie. 
This  queen  of  the  garden  loses  not  its  diadem  in  the  perfuming  world. 
The  oil  of  roses,  or,  as  it  is  commonly  called,  the  otto,  or  attar,  of  roses,  is 
procured  (contrary  to  so  many  opposite  statements)  simply  by  distilling 
the  roses  with  water. 
The  otto  of  rose  of  commerce  is  derived  from  the  Rosa  centifolia  provin- 
cialis.  Very  extensive  rose  farms  exist  at  Adrianople  (Turkey  in  Europe,) 
at  Broussa,  now  famous  as  the  residence  of  Abd-el-Kader ;  and  at  Uslak 
(Turkey  in  Asia  ;)  also  at  Gliazepore,  in  India. 
The  cultivators  in  Turkey  are  principally  the  Christian  inhabitants  of  the 
low  countries  of  the  Balkan,  between  Selimno  and  Carloya,  as  far  as  Philip- 
popolis,  in  Bulgaria,  about  200  miles  from  Constantinople.  In  good  sea- 
sons, this  district  yields  75,000  ounces  ;  but  in  bad  seasons  only  20,000  to 
30,000  ounces  of  attar  are  obtained.  It  is  estimated  that  it  requires  at 
least  2,000  rose  blooms  to  yield  one  drachm  of  otto. 
The  otto  slightly  varies  in  odor  from  different  districts ;  many  places 
furnish  an  oil  which  solidifies  more  readily  than  others,  and,  therefore,  this 
is  not  a  sure  guide  of  purity,  though  many  consider  it  such.  That  which 
was  exhibited  in  the  Crystal  Palace  of  1851,  as  "  from  Ghazepore,"  in  India, 
obtained  the  prize.  Pure  otto  of  roses,  from  its  cloying  sweetness,  has  not 
many  admirers  ;  when  diluted,  however,  there  is  nothing  to  equal  it  in 
odor,  especially  if  mixed  in  soap,  to  form  rose  soap,  or  in  pure  spirit,  to 
form  the  esprit  de  rose.  The  soap  not  allowing  the  perfume  to  evaporate 
very  fast,  we  cannot  be  surfeited  with  the  smell  of  the  otto. 
The  finest  preparation  of  rose  as  an  odor  is  made  at  Grasse,  in  France. 
Here  the  flowers  are  not  treated  for  the  otto,  but  are  subjected  to  the  process 
of  maceration  in  fat,  or  in  oil,  as  described  under  jessamine,  heliotrope,  &c. 
The  rose  pomade  thus  made,  if  digested  in  alcohol,  or  pure  uncolored, 
unsweetened  brandy,  yields  an  "  esprit  de  rose"  of  the  first  order,  very  su- 
perior to  that  which  is  made  by  the  addition  of  otto  to  spirit.  It  is  difficult 
to  account  for  this  difference,  but  it  is  sufficiently  characteristic  to  form  a 
distinct  odor.  See  the  articles  on  fleur  d'orange  and  neroly  (pp.  462,  463), 
which  have  similar  qualities,  previously  described.  The  esprit  de  rose 
made  from  the  French  rose  pomade  is  never  sold  retail  by  the  perfumer  ;  he 
reserves  this  to  form  part  of  his  recherche  bouquets. 
Some  wholesale  druggists  have,  however,  been  selling  it  now  for  some 
time  to  country  practitioners,  for  them  to  form  extemporaneous  rose-water, 
which  it  does  to  great  perfection.  Hoses  are  cultivated  to  a  large  extent  in 
England,  near  Mitcham,  in  Surrey,  for  perfumers'  use,  to  make  rose-water. 
In  the  season  when  successive  crops  can  be  got,  which  is  about  the  end  of 
