408 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, 1891. 



for sale at the Eampur fair in 1867 ; and Dr. G. Watt saw the dhup 

 being prepared from the roots in Rampur, and also higher up on 

 the neighbouring hills, the plant being collected to be sent to Ram- 

 pur. This substance is also said to be exported from Kashmir to 

 Tibet for use as incense. 



The wood, twigs, and resin of the Himalayan Junipers and of the 

 Himalayan Cypress are used as incense in the Hindu temples of 

 Northern India, and it is interesting to remember that the European 

 species of these trees were used in the Trojan War in burning 

 sacrifices to the gods. 



In Kashmir the root of Morina Coulter iana, belonging to the 

 Dipsacew, is in local demand as an incense. It is said to be some- 

 times mixed with Gostus for export. 



Myrrh and Bdellium are chiefly used as incense in China, but 

 some European receipts for incense contain a little myrrh. The 

 odour of bdellium when burnt is not agreeable, still it appears 

 to have been used in Europe by the ancients, as Pliny states that 

 its quality may be tested by its odour when burning. The refine- 

 ments of civilization have greatly modified our appreciation of 

 perfumes. In England three centuries ago our forefathers placed 

 Valei'ian in their wardrobes and considered it an agreeable perfume ; 

 nowadays we should as soon think of keeping a polecat in our 

 cupboards. In India, which has been stationary as regards refine- 

 ment for the last three thousand years, Valerian is still used as a 

 perfume for clothes, and is considered an agreeable addition to the 

 hair douche. Bdellium has a decidedly musty odour, but Plautus 

 in his "Curculio" uses it as a term of endearment : "Tu crocinum et 

 cassia es, tu bdellium ;" which may be freely translated, " You are a 

 spicy darling." To his taste bdellium cannot have been musty. 

 An idea of Solomon's taste in perfumes may be gathered from his 

 Epithalamium : it would hardly meet with the approval of a 

 modern bride. 



The Rala or Dhuna of India is an interesting substance. I iden- 

 tify it with the Cancamum of the ancients. If we refer to Dioscorides, 

 we find that he speaks of it as an Arabian gum, something like 

 myrrh in appearance, used for fumigation on account of its fragrance 

 and administered medicinally to reduce corpulence and to cure spleen, 



