MANUFACTURE  OF  THE  OTTO  OF  ROSE. 
325 
The  region  where  the  rose  is  cultivated  is  a  valley  in  the 
Balkan  Mountains,  in  which  is  situated  the  city  of  Kisanlik, 
about  60  miles  north  west  of  Adrianople,  in  latitude  42°  40'. 
It  is  only  within  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  that  the  cultivation 
of  the  rose  has  taken  its  present  development  in  that  region, 
although  for  a  number  of  years  the  otto  has  been  made  there  in 
limited  quantity  especially  for  royal  presents.  The  surface  of 
the  country  is  that  of  an  extensive  plain,  shut  in  by  elevated 
ridges,  and  here  the  rose  is  cultivated  by  the  farmers,  who  sell 
the  roses  to  the  distillers  residing  in  Kisanlik,  seldom  or  never 
distilling  them  on  their  farms. 
The  rose  cultivated  is  of  one  kind,  a  full  red  rose,  that  was 
doubtless  introduced  into  this  region  many  years  ago,  and 
selected  for  its  great  fragrance  and  peculiar  adaptation  to  the 
distillation  of  the  oil.  Its  cultivation  is  attended  with  but  little 
trouble.  The  bushes  are  allowed  to  grow  from  4  to  6  feet  high, 
although  sometimes  much  higher. 
The  roses  are  gathered  during  the  months  of  May  and  June, 
six  weeks  being  the  term  usually  occupied  in  getting  in  the 
crops. 
The  yield  is  on  an  average  about  lj  lbs.  of  rose  leaves  to  a 
bush,  the  roses  being  collected  with  the  calyx. 
They  are  gathered  half  expanded,  and  at  the  dawn  of  day, 
and  not  unfrequently  before  daylight.  They  cannot  be  kept 
advantageously  more  than  a  day  before  being  put  into  the  still ; 
if  obliged  to  do  so,  they  must  be  turned  over  frequently,  as 
otherwise  they  will  ferment,  heat,  and  the  otto  be  lost. 
The  roses  are  placed  in  copper  stills  of  about  30  gallons'  ca- 
pacity, in  proportion  of  60  lbs.  of  rose  leaves  to  15  gallons  of 
water,  and  the  still  immediately  heated.  The  oil  is  in  the  first 
portion  of  the  water  which  comes  over  ;  however,  one  half  the 
water  is  distilled — this  is  collected  in  several  large  bottles ;  this 
water  is  now  placed  into  a  second  still,  and  about  one-fifth  of  it 
distilled,  on  which  all  the  oil  will  float.  The  oil  is  taken  off 
the  surface  with  a  little  spoon  and  placed  in  an  appropriate 
vessel.  All  the  water  distilled  in  both  first  and  second  opera- 
tion is  sent  into  market  as  rose  water. 
The  water  remaining  in  the  still  with  the  rose  leaves  is  strained 
off  and  added  to  a  fresh  portion  of  leaves,  in  the  proportion  al- 
ready mentioned. 
