132 
ATTAK  OF  ROSE. 
these  the  situation  of  the  rose-garden  is  one  of  the  most  import- 
ant, and  it  is  doubtless  the  fact  that  the  most  productive  are 
those  occupying  the  southern  and  south-eastern  slopes  of  the 
range.  Plantations  lying  higher  generally  yield  less  attar  and 
that  of  a  quality  that  congeals  more  readily. 
The  nature  of  the  soil  has  an  influence  in  so  far  as  that  when 
it  is  poor  in  humus  and  but  seldom  manured,  the  roses  afford  but 
little  oil,  and  that  more  congeaiable  or,  in  other  words,  richer  in 
stearoptene.  Currents  of  air,  warmth  and  light  exerts  an  in- 
fluence inasmuch  as  that  if  the  rosebuds  develope  slowly  by 
reason  of  cool  damp  weather,  and  are  not  strongly  exposed  to 
the  solar  rays  when  about  to  be  collected,  a  rich  yield  of  attar  of 
low  solidifying  point  is  the  result.  But  if  at  the  time  of  gather- 
ing or  shortly  previous,  the  sky  is  clear  and  the  temperature 
high,  the  quantity  produced  is  diminished  and  the  oil  is  more 
easily  congeaiable.*  The  difference  in  the  congealing  point  may 
certainly  be  taken  at  2°  R.  (=  4-5°  Fahr.). 
The  water  used  for  distilling  is  at  first  (as  stated  previously) 
spring  water,  and  afterwards  the  waste  rose  water.  The  use  of 
hard  spring  water  manifests  an  influence  not  only  in  the  quantity 
but  also  in  the  quality  of  the  oil  yielded,  as  compared  with  that 
of  river  water  or  pure  rose  water.  The  author  has  himself  con- 
ducted distillations  on  the  Balkan  according  to  the  above 
conditions,  on  which  occasions  when  the  operation  was  performed 
with  spring  water  an  oil  rich  in  stearoptene,  but  less  transparent 
and  fragrant,  was  obtained- 
As  to  attar  of  rose  itself,  the  result  of  this  distillation,  the 
author  confines  himself  in  the  present  paper  to  that  which  re- 
lates to  the  production,  falsification  and  examination  of  the 
drug,  reserving  the  subject  from  a  chemical  point  of  view  for  a 
future  communication.    Pure  attar  of  rose,  carefully  distilled,  is 
*  This  fact  is  remarkable.  In  distilling  roses  in  London  I  have  noticed 
that  it  is  when  the  roses  have  been  collected  on  fine,  dry  days,  that  the 
rose  water  has  most  volatile  oil  floating  upon  it ;  when  the  roses  have 
been  gathered  in  cool,  rainy  weather,  but  little  or  no  volatile  oil  sepa- 
rates. The  attar  of  English  roses  has  an  odor  by  no  means  very  agree- 
able ;  it  contains  a  large  proportion  of  stearoptene  and  does  not  become 
fluid  at  a  temperature  much  below  90   Fahr. — D.  H. 
