604  Rose  Cultivation.  { Am •5S'i«?rm' 
After  the  Russo-Turkish  war  in  1877-78,  when  Bulgaria  was 
separated  from  Turkey  and  constituted  into  an  independent  princi- 
pality, the  Turkish  government  spent  thousands  of  dollars  in  trying 
to  replant  the  Kizanlik  rose  in  Asia  Minor  and  many  scores  of  rose 
gardens  were  planted  around  Broussa,  but  to  no  purpose.  The 
gardens  grew,  thrived  and  yielded  plenty  of  flowers,  but  when  dis- 
tilled they  got  only  rosewater,  and  very  little  Otto,  and  the  work  in 
consequence,  could  not  pay.  It  is  the  peculiarity  of  the  soil  and 
chiefly  that  of  the  atmosphere  of  this  special  district  in  Bulgaria, 
caused  by  the  peculiar  formation  of  the  mountain  ranges  surround- 
ing it,  which  make  the  roses  thrive  and  yield  sufficient  Otto  of  Rose 
to  pay  for  the  very  laborious  work  that  the  culture  entails. 
The  roses  we  grow  are  only  of  two  kinds :  red  and  white.  The 
red  rose,  which  affords  the  chief  ingredient  of  the  Otto,  is  of  the 
variety  known  as  Rosa  Damascena,  and  the  white  rose,  is  a  variety 
of  the  musk  rose  (Rosa  Muschattd).  These  two  varieties  are  grown 
nearly  everywhere,  but  nowhere  in  the  world  do  they  resemble 
our  roses. 
Our  red  rose  is  a  semi-double  light  red  rose  like  the  French  rose 
du  roi,  having  from  thirty  to  thirty-six  petals  and  possessing  an 
extremely  rich  and  fragrant  odor.  There  are  now  in  the  entire 
rose  district  over  5,500  acres  of  rose  gardens  scattered  in  150  dif- 
ferent villages,  and  at  the  end  of  May,  when  the  roses  begin  to 
blossom,  the  whole  atmosphere  in  the  district  is  full  of  their 
aroma. 
The  growing  of  the  rose  is  very  much  like  the  growth  of  the  vine, 
and  the  planting  of  a  rose  garden  is  similar  to  that  of  a  vineyard* 
After  the  ground  has  been  prepared  by  tilling  and  manuring,  ditches 
are  made  in  rows,  about  a  foot  and  a  half  in  depth  and  width  and  a 
yard  and  a  half  apart.  At  the  bottom  of  these  ditches  soft  earth 
mixed  with  manure  is  spread,  on  which  the  roots  forming  the  bushes 
of  the  new  rose  garden  and  taken  from  old  bushes  are  firmly  stuck 
vertically,  and  then  well  covered  up  with  the  earth  and  manure. 
This  is  generally  done  in  the  spring,  when  the  rain  showers  abound. 
The  roses  thus  planted  soon  take  root,  and  in  less  than  two  months 
send  up  soft,  glossy,  green  shoots,  which  in  a  year  become  about  a 
foot  high.  In  the  second  year  they  are  over  two  feet  high,  and 
yield  a  few  rose  flowers.  The  first  crop  worth  gathering  is  in  the 
third  year,  and  in  the  fifth  year  they  attain  their  full  growth.  They 
