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(42) Scented oils, utr of roses [[200-202]]
[[200]] The lowest and most poverty-struck woman in Bengal,
would consider
herself truly wretched if she could not, now and then, anoint her head
with oil of some kind. The ladies of affluence invariably use scented
oils,
of which those impregnated with the bale, the jasmine, and sandal, are
most in use. Doubtless, custom reconciles the nostrils of an Asiatic to
"the rancid fragrance"; but to an European, nothing can be more
offensive.
A full-dressed Hindoostanee lady is the living type of that sarcastic
couplet
of Swift:
"Enrich'd with all the gay perfume,
She wafts a stench around the room."
The sale of these oils, as also of the missy, is
confined
to a class of men called gundies, who carry their ware [[201]]
about
in small baskets. The missy is applied by both sexes to their
teeth,
and by forming a black coating or varnish, is supposed to preserve
their
enamel from the action of the lime contained in the pawn, or beetle,
which they generally chew. From these gundies is also procured
the
soormah,
or levigated antimony, used for blackening the edges of the eyelids.
The oils, and especially the utr, or ottah of roses,
are very
carefully packed in cottonwool, and made to appear of great value.
Wonderful
are the deceptions practised by this class of hawkers, who are
consummate
in the arts of flattery and intrigue. From the exercise of one or the
other,
not unfrequently from the union of both, they could not fail to become
very rich, but for the dissipated lives they generally lead.
Of the perfumed oils in common use among the Hindoostanee
ladies, the
preparation is very easy, being, for the most part, sweet oils of any
kind,
extracted from linseed, or from the cocoa-nut, or from any plant coming
under the denomination of metah (sweet), perfumed by means of a
small quantity of the essential oil of any fragrant flower,
particularly
the rose, the jasmine, the bale, &c. All these oils are extremely
common.
That highly fragrant oil extracted from the rose, called attar,
or by Europeans ottah, is by no means so common as might be expected,
at
least not in perfection. As to reputed attar, that may be had
of
every
gundy, and at even a few annas per tolah (or half-ounce
weight).
Genuine attar is sold only by particular persons, and at a very
high price; commonly about four guineas (two gold mohurs) per ounce.
The
natives for many years pretended to make a great secret of the process/1/
whereby this valuable oil was extracted; whence they not only retained
the whole profit, hut could practise various deceptions of [[202]]
great
advantage to themselves, but extremely injurious to the extract.
= = = = = = = = = = =
/1/ Although many
gentlemen
had occasionally endeavoured to ascertain the proportions used by the
venders
of attah, it was not till about the year 1781 or 1782, that any
attempt was made, on an extensive scale, to compete with that class of
distillers. The late Lieutenant-Colonel Anthony Polier, who resided for
many years at his beautiful villa some miles from Lucknow, appears to
have
been the first whose researches included the distillation of attah,
in which pursuit he was remarkably successful, considering how much
intrigue,
corruption, and ignorance he had to contend with.
Williamson 1810 vol. 1: ((434))
I have heard that
gentleman declare that in almost every train of experiments he
undertook,
some latent opposition was sure to prevail; often baffling every
effort,
and sometimes compelling him to abandon his design.
This resulted from the jealousy entertained by the
natives of distinction
at the court of the Nabob Vizier of Oudh, Azoph ul Dowlah, with whom
his
extreme urbanity, suavity of manners, ingenuity, and incorruptible
integrity,
rendered him a great favorite. The courtiers apprehended that through
the
united intelligence of Colonel Polier and of Colonel Claude Martine,
whose
genius in every mechanical ((435)) art was on a par with that of the
former
in the polite arts, as well as in most branches of useful science, the
several expensive establishments supported by the Nabob would
ultimately
be set aside as useless, and as devouring a revenue which might be
turned
towards purposes in which they should have no concern; or, at least, no
profit.
Therefore, notwithstanding his highness's positive
orders, most of the
indispensablcs were either withheld or, when furnished at all, proved
of
the worst quality: any man less mild than Polier would have insisted on
a due attention to his requisitions; but he forbore from remonstrance,
except when so closely pressed as to render representation inevitable.
Whenever, in spite of all direct hostility and of underhand resistance,
the Colonel fulfilled his wishes, displaying the complete success of
his
ingenuity and learning, then all was cried down as j'haddoo, as
witch-craft;
and the whole body of Mahomedan ecclesiastics joined to crush the
growth
of science.
Being provided with an ample still, and having very
extensive plantations
of roses, in which I have often passed a leisure hour, admiring equally
their fragrance, and the amiable qualities of their planter, the
Colonel
made a shift to carry on his operations, but not with invariable
success;
the native distillers having frequently influenced his servants, by
means
of bribes, to ((436)) mix various ingredients, which either tainted or
otherwise deteriorated, the produce of his stil.. At length, after a
great
variety of experiments, in which he of course experienced many most
mortifying
and equally unaccountable disappointments, he hit upon the just
proportions,
and the most favorable process.
His method was as follows. To a maund (i.e. 82lb.) of
roses, he put
about a maund and a half of water: the roses being entire, and having
their
stems cut away close under the chalices. These being all duly mixed, by
hand, in the still, a gentle fire was made under it; the head not being
applied until the water began to throw off a vapor; after that it was
put
on, and carefully luted down. The fire was, throughout the
distillation,
kept rather slow than fierce: especially after about a tenth part of
the
water had come over into the receiver: in about five hours, half the
water
had come over tolerably clear.
The rose-water thus obtained, was again put to another
maund of roses,
which were subjected to the same operation, until about half its
quantity
had passed into the receiver. As the former was called single
rose-water,'
so was this designated 'double rose-water;' but it is evident that the
term 'quadruple' would be more appropriate, since double the quantify
of
perfume was brought into half the former space. The produce of the last
distillation was put into broad pans, either ((437)) of earthen
ware,
or of tinned metal, and left exposed, dining the night, to the cold
air.
Here, I should remark that the roses generally bloom
early in the year,
and that during the month of January, sometimes also in February, ice
is
produced by pouring hot water into shallow pans of porous crockery; to
which, being placed on beds of loose sand, in exposed situations,
during
the whole night, generally yield a substantial pellicle, and in very
favorable
instances, sometimes cause the whole of the water to be congealed. The
colonel's object in exposing the rose-water, as above shewn, was to
congeal
the essential oil, called attar, which has the peculiar propeity of
becoming
compact and flaky, when exposed to a degree of cold far above [the]
freezing
point; in this instance, bearing some affinity to animal oils in
general.
Now, it is evident that such an exposure subjected the
attar, which
floated on the surface as it became cold, to the access of dust at
least,
if not of other grosser rubbish; therefore the plan was certainly
injudicious:
this the Colonel soon perceived, for the quantity of what he considered
to be faeces proved that there was some mismanagement. Accordingly, he
took a hint, and while the rose-water was yet lukewarm, poured it into
a large caraboy, or glass bottle, so as to fill it completely. The
caraboy
was then subjected to a refrigerating ((438)) process; by which the
attar
was condensed on its surface in its neck, whence it was easily removed
into a large-mouthed phial, furnished with a ground stopper. What
little
adhered to the neck of the caraboy, did not come away with the
rose-water
as it was poured off, but on the vessel being reversed, and subjected
to
a considerable degree of heat, dropped slowly into a phial placed below
it, but protected from the action of the fire.
The products in attar have been widely different. The
natives rarely
obtain more than a drachm and a half from a maund of roses; whereas
Colonel
Polier obtained full two drachms from a hundred pounds troy. In Europe,
we find that some continental chemists have extracted half an ounce:
Hamberg
succeeded so far as to draw a whole ounce, and Hoffman was rewarded
with
no less than two ounces. All these persons, however, rejected the
chalices,
using only the petals; which necessarily made a great difference, the
perfume
being principally, if not wholly, confined to them,
The rose-water, even after the attar has been completely
separated,
is rich in fragrance, but is far more so, when the attar is suffered to
remain united with it, as may be effected by the addition of various
menstrua,
which keep it suspended in the fluid. The general price of such ((439))
rose-water as is ordinarily sold under the designation of 'double,' and
of course passes for the very best, may be from twenty to forty rupees
per maund, according as the season may have been productive, or as the
purchase may be made from the distiller himself, or through a second or
a third hand....
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