258 
PRESERVATION  OF  ROSES  AND  ORANGE  FLOWERS. 
position,  M.  Carrie,  a  pharmacien  in  Paris,  has  conceived  the 
idea  of  insuring  its'  solubility,  and  particularly  of  preserving  it, 
by  the  addition  of  ammonia.  The  following  is  the  mode  of  pre- 
paration recommended  by  the  author  : — 
Take  sixteen  ounces  of  bitartrate  of  potash  ;  dissolve  one-half 
in  three  quarts  of  warm  distilled  water ;  saturate  this  solution 
with  pure  sesquicarbonate  of  ammonia ;  add  the  remainder  of 
the  bitartrate ;  raise  to  a  moderate  heat,  adding  by  degrees,  and 
to  excess,  recently  precipitated  and  still  moist  peroxide  of  iron; 
afterwards  filter,  to  separate  the  uncombined  oxide ;  evaporate 
at  the  heat  of  a  water-bath,  until  the  cold  liquor  marks  seven 
degrees  on  the  saccharometer ;  add  a  few  drops  of  liquid 
ammonia ;  shake  ;  allow  it  to  deposit  during  twenty-four  hours  ; 
filter  again,  and  preserve  for  use. 
The  preparation  of  tartrate  of  potash,  ammonia,  and  peroxide 
of  iron  thus  obtained,  is,  according  to  M.  Carrie,  a  liquid  of  an 
agreeable  taste,  possessing  a  reddish-brown  color,  keeping  for 
an  indefinite  period,  and  containing  one  part  of  iron  in  nine  of 
water. — Bulletin  General  de  Therapeutique,  15th  July,  1858, 
p.  13,  Dublin  Hospital  Gazette  and  Pharm.  Journ. 
PRACTICAL  OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE  PRESERVATION  AND  DIS- 
TILLATION OF  ROSES  AND  ORANGE-FLOWERS. 
By  M.  Stanislaus  Martin. 
The  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans,  surfeited  with  the  excesses 
of  the  table,  had  recourse  to  perfumes  to  stimulate  their  blunted 
senses.  At  Rome,  the  odor  of  the  rose  was  in  such  request, 
that  Lucullus  expended  fabulous  sums,  in  order  to  be  able  to 
have  it  at  all  seasons.  During  the  past  century,  the  odor  of  orange- 
flowers  was  so  much  in  vogue,  that  the  cultivation  of  Louis  the 
Fourteenth's  orange-trees  was  a  source  of  considerable  expense, 
for  the  great  king  would  have  one  of  these  favorite  shrubs  in 
each  of  his  apartments.  In  our  days  too,  Fashion,  that  despotic 
and  capricious  queen,  who,  as  Montaigne  says,  twists  and  turns 
the  understanding  of  the  French,  also  demands  perfumes.  The 
poor  will  have  them,  as  well  as  the  rich ;  and  their  consumption 
is  such,  that  the  perfumers  of  large  cities,  particularly  those  of 
