The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1897-10-12
MAKING ALTAR OF ROSES.
4 GREAT HARVEST TINE IN SOUTH.
EASTERN EUROPE.
Picturesque Sight. in 1;oumeiisn Rose

'"uc OF thc Fragrant Product.
1t is estimated that from the middle
OF May until the middle of July over
three-quarters of million of people,
mostly women aud girls, are employed
IN gathering the roses, md the fact
that this flower, generally esteemed
solely for its beauty, should, by means
OF its petals, furnish employment and
bread To so many people is one of the
most singular phenomena Of our com
plicated civilization. The belle in
Paris, London or New York needs n
perfume, and the gazelle-eyed dauga-
ters OF the Gauges, the lefty colored
women OF Egypt, the yelled wives of
the tawney Arabs in Southern Algeria:
French and Spanish peasant beauties
IN Herault aud Bouchas- du- Rhone.
ltaiiau girls of Lombardy; maids not
exactly of Athens, but of Greece md
It's isles; the wives of turbuned Turks
and shabby capped Bulgarians, all
contribute to fill the demand.
No more charming spectacle il pre-
sented in the world than Roumelian
rose field during the picking season; :
the azure sky above, the gray Balkans
closing the northern landscape, the
plain leading off to the Martha toward
the south aud thousands of acres coy
cred with rose bushes in full bloom
1t is as though the earth had suddenly
burst into blossom. Evervwherc
through the fields in swarms and
armies are the pickers. men. women
and children, boys aud girls, for the
rose harvest must be quickly gathered
IL ~ AZ, and the population finds easy
anu well remuuerated employment
during tho season. The time of the
harvest il known for 400 or 800 miles
IN every direction, and whole families
migrate from Bosnia, Serva, northern
bulgaria, Albania, aud even from
Grec1c, Roumnnia aud Asia Minor to
take part IN gathering the roses. The
harvest lasts, rs already stated. about
eight weeks, and during this time anv
one who can pick roses can find n lob
In the southern Balkans. Coming from
all directions, the pickers. of course.
represent typos Of half n dozen races.
There are Greek women with iauntv
little caps, Albanian women with the
hcaddress peculiar to that region. Tur-
klsh women with nun like hoods. made
on the order of motorman's helmet
with little slit in front, through
which the black eyes of the harem
beauty glitter; Roumanian aud Servian
women, bulgarian aud Russian peasant
girls, with every sort of headdress. and
IN many instances emitting the head
dress altogether. All are alike. how
ever, IN one respect, that they, during
the season, decorate themselves with
roses. The Turkish women present q
grotcS1ue appearance, with clusters of
roses pinned on their huge round
moods. The Greeks aud Bulgarians
make garlands for head, neck and waist.
Everybody wears roses; even the old
TURK or Greek who manages the re-
torts makes himself beautiful with n
boutonniere or bunch of roses fast
ened on his turbln or bearskin cap.
Every picker is equipped with n
basket holding about two bushels. for
rose leaves are light, and there is
considerable difference in weight be-
tween two bushels OF rose leaves and
two bushels Of potatoes. When the
baskets are full they are emptied into
sacks, aud as soon rs possible these
are transported to the houses and
there converted into essence. PICKING
begins at early dawn, when the dew ia
on the leaves, aud is continued until
10 or II O'Clock, or during cloudy
days, all day long. When the sun is
shining brightly labor is discontinued
toward noon, aud recommended Mt 4
or D, aud then work is carried on as
long rs the pickers can see. Labor is
PAID for by the pound, and tally men
are IN attendance to weigh the bags,
which are placed ut the end of the
rows, aud when weighed and recorded
donkey power is used to convey them
to the central stations. Even the dom
keys are not forgotten in the general
desire TO ornament everything and
everybody with glrlands during the
rose season, and the patient asses pre-
sent n singularly homogeneous appear
nuce as they trudge along under the
huge sacks of rose leaves, the woolly
n'cks of the bearers garlanded with
roses, an occasional facetious driver
sometimes oruamenting the ears and
tail of the beast with large punches Of
the flowers that in other countries are
u luxury.
The factories where the altar Of
!oses Is made are primitive. but unite
sufficient for all practical purposes.
They are mere sheds. sometimes the
walls arc Of brick more frequently Of
stone. occasionally Of plank. On one
side stand the rct,rts in rows. conner
aIembics about three feet i'm heigbt.
with % brick furnace underneath. Each
alem'ic has capacity Of 40 Htres.
litre being about standard quart. but
Tor charge only seventy five litrcs of
water are used and ten kilos of roses
kilo3ram being - pounds. or about
sevcuty-iiyc quarts Of water to twenty
t|o pounds Of rose leaves. The pro.
cess of distillation is carried ON for am
hour, when the flask which is used 70
receive the distilled product contains
ten iitres of oil and condensed wator.
1t is removed, the alembic is re-
charged, and the process begun anew.
while the flask with the product is set
aside; the altar Of rose. or oil. which
floats upon the surface is subse.
gu"ntly taken of by cooling and con
densation.
The quantity Of the product MS pr,-
portiOned To- the amount of rose leaves