Rose oil

“ It is evident that such a valuable product as rose oil is much subjected to adulteration, it being even said that oils containing scarcely 10 per cent. of genuine rose oil occur in the market. The chief adulterant used by the Bulgarians is the so-called geranium oil, but actually ginger-grass oil derived from India, which is brought by way of Arabia to Constantinople, and prepared for the purpose of adulterating rose oil by treatment with lemon juice and bleaching in the sun. ”

“ A large quantity of rose-water twice distilled is allowed to run off into an open vessel, placed over night in a cool running stream, and in the morning the oil is found floating on the surface in minute specks, which are taken off very carefully by means of a blade of sword-lily. When cool it is of a dark green color, and as hard as resin, not becoming liquid at a temperature about that of boiling water. Between 500 and 600 pounds' weight of leaves is required to produce one ounce of the attar."—Indian Encyclopædia. ”

“ The adulterations are very manifold. Some expensive oils are mixed with cheaper ones having a similar odor—for instance, oil of rose with oil of geranium or oil of geranium grass; oil of orange flowers with the oil from Philadelphus coronarius; oil of verbena with oil of lemon grass; oils of caraway, anise, and fennel with oil of turpentine; oil of cinnamon with oil of cassia, etc. ”

“ French rose geranium oil 121⁄2, oil of cloves 10, cassia oil 5, wintergreen oil 1, orris-root tincture 125, rose-oil tincture from Turkish rose oil 100, musk tincture 121⁄2, civet tincture 10, vitivert tincture 371⁄2, abelmosk tincture 25.
In compiling the abundant choice of receipts for Extraits d'Odeurs given above, the golden mean has been chosen in regard to the quality of these odors, they, when carefully prepared, giving, at a moderate cost of manufacture, a product which in most cases will satisfy the demands of lovers of perfumes. ”

“ EMERSON, IN ESSAY ON "SELF-RELIANCE."
"The American Beauty Rose can be produced in its splendor and fragrance only by sacrificing the early buds which grow up around it."
J. D. ROCKEFELLER, JR., IN AN ADDRESS ON TRUSTS, TO THE STUDENTS OF BROWN UNIVERSITY. ”

“ Oil of lavender two drachms, oil of rosemary one drachm and a half, orange, lemon and bergamot, one drachm each of the oil; also two drachms of the essence of musk, attar of rose ten drops, and a pint of proof spirit. Shake all together thoroughly three times a day for a week. ”

“ All the citron oils (i.e., oils of lemon, bergamot, and those with similar odor) , rose oils (oils of rose, geranium, and rhodium) , and many other sweet scents are most fragrant when dissolved in pure spirit of wine, while the odors from the animal kingdom and those of violet (violet and orris root) smell sweetest when dissolved in grain spirit.
The essences prepared from pomades or huiles antiques usually contain in solution some fat which is best removed by cooling. ”

“ According to their physical qualities, essential oils may be described as fluids of a specific narcotic odor, colorless but very refractive, and easily inflammable. Only a few essential oils can be produced in such a state of purity as to appear perfectly colorless; usually they are more or less dark yellow in color, and some even possess a characteristic tint; thus oil of acacia is reddish-brown, oils of rose and absinth are green, oil of chamomile is blue. ”

“ Take of Oil of Roses nine ounces, Ceruss washed in Rose-water and diligently sifted, three ounces, white Wax two ounces, after the wax is melted in the oil, put in the Ceruss, and make it into an ointment according to art, add two drams of Camphire, made into powder with a few drops of oil of sweet Almonds, so will it be camphorated. ”

“ To make Oil of Jessamine and Violets.
Take sweet almonds well peeled and beat, with as much jessamine as you please; lay them row upon row, and let them lie in a moist place for ten days or more; then take them away and squeeze out the oil in a press. Oil of violets and other flowers may be made in the same manner.
To make Oil of Nutmegs.
Take of the best nutmegs to the quantity of oil you wish to make, cut them in small pieces, and put to them as much malmsey as will cover them; put them in a glass for two or three days, beat them at the fire, and sprinkle them with rose water ”

“ Specific gravity at 15° C., 1.040-1.060; optical rotation, slightly lævo-rotatory up to -4°; refractive index at 20° C., 1.529-1.536; phenols, estimated [Pg 105] by absorption with 5 per cent. potash solution, 68-86 per cent.; soluble in 1-2 volumes of 70 per cent. alcohol.
The oil contains eugenol, methyl eugenol, cineol, phellandrene, and caryophyllene.
Rose oil (otto of rose) , distilled from the flowers of Rosa damascena, though occasionally the white roses (Rosa alba) are employed. ”

“ We are able to imitate not only the pure rose odor, but also those of its several varieties such as the tea rose, moss rose, etc., both as to character and intensity. Fine rose odors can be produced in their full fragrance only from pomade extracts; the various rose oils furnish inferior products. ”

“ Prep. 1. Essence (oil) of bergamotte, essence (oil) of lemon, and oil of cloves, of each 1 dr.; otto of roses, 10 drops; rectified spirit, 1 pint.
2. To the last add, of oil of lavender, 1 dr.; neroli, 15 drops. A very fashionable and agreeable perfume.
Essence of Rose′mary. Syn. Essentia rosemarini, L. Prep. From oil of rosemary, as ESSENCE OF ALLSPICE. Used as a perfume; also to make extemporaneous rosemary water.
Essence of Ro′ses. Syn. Essentia rosæ (odorata) , L. Prep. 1. Attar of roses (genuine) , 2 dr.; alcohol, 1 pint; agitate frequently until they unite.
2. Attar of roses, 1 oz. ”

“ It sometimes happens that different parts of the same plant contain different oils; the orange, for example, furnishes three different oils, one of which resides in the flowers, another in the leaves, and a third in the skin or epidermis of the fruit. The quantity of oil varies not only with the species, but also in the same plant, with the soil, and especially the climate; thus in hot countries it is generated most profusely. ”

“ To the chemical philosopher, the study of perfumery opens a book as yet unread; for the practical perfumer, on his laboratory shelves, exhibits many rare essential oils, such as essential oil of the flower of the Acacia farnesiana, essential oil of violets, tubereuse, jasmine, and others, the compositions of which have yet to be determined.
The exquisite pleasure derived from smelling fragrant flowers would almost instinctively induce man to attempt to separate the odoriferous principle from them, so as to have the perfume when the season denies the flowers. ”

“ A sufficient quantity of the essential oil of the plant, or of the concentrated essence of the substance, if it does not furnish an oil, is added to the fixed oil which it is desired to perfume, until the latter becomes agreeably fragrant ”

“ And the mower, if he has an eye for beauty, admires the flowers, even though he says nothing about it, and cuts them down to order. A boat-load of cut hyacinth flowers, with their beauty, and their scent, and their cutting off at highest perfection may touch the imagination more than a four-ounce bottle of heavy red-brown oil, which represents the life and fragrance of half a square mile of jasmine flowers. ”

“ The fixed oils used in painting are linseed, walnut, and poppy, purified and rendered drying by the addition of litharge. They should be pale in colour, limpid, and transparent, and should dry quickly: nut oil in a few hours, linseed in a day, and poppy oil in thirty-six to forty hours. The essential oils used in painting are turpentine, for diluting the pigments ground in oil, and spike, or lavender, for wax and enamel painting. ”

“ You see, there's just one little wee speck, essence, or whatever it is, in a gallon of cotton-seed oil, that give it a smell, or a flavor, or something--get that out, and you're all right--perfectly easy then to turn the oil into any kind of oil you want to, and there ain't anybody that can detect the true from the false. Well, we know how to get that one little particle out--and we're the only firm that does. And we turn out an olive-oil that is just simply perfect--undetectable! ”

“ When the flowers have yielded all they can, I remove them and put fresh ones, and so on until the fat is so fully charged with their fragrance that it can hold no more. I then scrape off the grease, heat it until liquid, then strain it and pour it into bottles, ready for treatment by the perfumers, with their—with their alcohol.”
“Capital. Madonna has my certificate. And now about macération?”
“That is steeping the flowers in cold olive oil. Some, like cassia, answer better to such treatment.” ”

“ We should then have otto of lavender instead of essential oil of lavender, &c. &c. In this work it will be seen that the writer has generally used the word otto in place of "essential oil," in accordance with his views. Where there exists a solution of an essential oil in a fat oil, the necessity of some such significant distinction is rendered obvious, for commercially such articles are still called "oils"—oil of jasmine, oil of roses, &c. It cannot be expected that the public will use the words "fat" oil and "essential" oil, to distinguish these differences of composition. ”

“ But just as the texture of linen is infinitely finer and more beautiful than that of broadcloth or flannel, so is vegetable oil clearer and more inodorous than animal oil, for which reasons the former, instead of the latter, is almost invariably used by perfumers in concocting what is sold by them as "hair oil," which, when extracted from almonds, olives, or any other vegetable substance, is, although highly scented, exactly as injurious to hair as it would be to harness ”

“ You must not suppose that the sweet scent of flowers is for our pleasure alone. The perfumes are of great use to the plants themselves, and to the insects that live on honey."
"Of what use can they be to the plants?" asked Mary.
"The perfume is chiefly due to a kind of oil found in the blossoms of plants, and sometimes in the leaves as well. Lavender, rosemary, thyme, and herbs used in cooking, are examples of plants whose leaves as well as flowers possess this ethereal oil, as it is called. Caterpillars do not like the taste of these oils, and leave these highly-scented plants alone. ”

“ Thus, from Africa we have geranium and clove oils; from America, bay, bois de rose, Canadian snake root, cedarwood, linaloe, peppermint, petitgrain, and sassafras; from Asia, camphor, cassia, cinnamon, patchouli, sandalwood, star anise, ylang-ylang, and the grass oils, viz., citronella, lemongrass, palmarosa, and vetivert; from Australia, eucalyptus; while in Europe there are the citrus oils, bergamot, lemon, and orange, produced by Sicily, aspic, lavender, neroli, petitgrain, and rosemary by France, caraway and clove by Holland, anise by Russia, and otto of rose by Bulgaria. ”

“ Production of Essential Oil—Rosemary is cultivated on a very small scale in English herb-gardens, and though a little oil has been occasionally distilled from it, English oil of rosemary is an article practically unknown in commerce. ”

“ In the arts, the oil is employed for the same purposes as the olive-oil, and forms the basis of kalydor, macassar oil, Gowland's lotion, and many other articles of that kind vended by perfumers. In medicine, it is considered a nutritive, laxative, and an emollient. ”

“ Whenever the flowers have given out all their volatile oil to the fixed oil upon the fibrous matter, they are replaced by fresh flowers in succession, till the fat oil has become saturated with the odorous particles. The cotton or wool wadding being next submitted to distillation along with water, gives up the volatile oil. Perfumers alone use these oils; they employ them either mixed as above, or dissolve them out by means of alcohol. In order to extract the oils of certain flowers, as for instance of white lilies, infusion in a fat oil is sufficient. ”

“ As the plant, Heliotropium peruvianum, the source of this delightful odor, is frequently cultivated in our gardens, the preparation of the oil by this method is to be recommended, being less expensive and more rapid than by the use of fat, while the product obtained with petroleum ether is as fine as that extracted by alcohol from the pomade. ”

“ Secondly, it must be observed, that the Essential Oils of plants are, as it were, the chief residence and reservoir of their odorous principle; that they are to be found wherever that principle exists, and never where it is not: so that what we said concerning the Spiritus Rector of plants is applicable here. It must be remembered, that all the parts of some vegetables are odoriferous. Such plants may be put into the alembic all together, and the Essential Oil distilled from all their parts at once. ”

“ The smaller the circle, the more difficult it is to keep the point-leg from slipping out of the centre, and the more difficult it is to draw a clear line and true circle; hence the points should be shaped to the best advantage for drawing these small circles, by oil-stoning the pen, as already described, and then finishing it as follows:
After the oil-stoning, open the two valves of the pen-leg wide enough to admit a piece of 000 French emery paper wrapped once around a very thin blade, and move the pen endwise as described for the straight-line pen. ”

“ Most of the oil of the world is at present extractd by the oil trust, which, in order to secure a slightly increased output, subjects the seed under pressure to a high heat, with the result that in addition to the oil there is pressed out of the mash a variety of resins and essential oils, whose ultimate chemical effect on our colors we cannot as yet determine. ”