226 Linncean Society, 



bited from the extensive collection of His Grace the Duke of Bed- 

 ford at Woburn Abbey. 



Mr. Lambert, V.P., exhibited specimens of the Tamarix ma7inifera, 

 a species nearly related to T.gallica, and of tlie sweet gummy sub- 

 stance which exudes from the wounds occasioned by a species of 

 CoccHSy said by Ehrenberg and Hemprich to be peculiar to the 

 valley at the foot of Mount Sinai, where the substance is collected, 

 which is called " Man" by the Arabs, and supposed to be identical 

 with the manna recorded in Scripture. The specimens were col- 

 lected by Lieutenant Wellsted. 



Read a continuation of Mr. Westwood's paper on Affinity and 

 Analogy. 



Feb. 21. — Head, Some Observations on the Manna of Mount Sinai, 

 and the Dragon's Blood Tree and Aloe Plant of Socotra. By Lieut. 

 Wellsted. 



It is in Wady Hebron that the Manna is obtained by the Bedouins, 

 who collect it early in the morning, and after straining it through 

 cloths they put it into skins or gourds. The quantity collected 

 in the most favourable seasons does not exceed 700, pounds. A 

 considerable quantity is consumed by the Bedouins themselves, but 

 a portion is sent to Cairo, and some is disposed of to the monks of 

 the convent at Mount Sinai, who retail it to the Russian pilgrims, 

 by whom it is received with much reverence as an incontestible proof 

 of the truth of the event recorded in Scripture. The substance is 

 only collected in seasons after heavy rains, for it has been known to 

 be wanting for a period of seven years. When recent it has the 

 consistence and flavour of honey, and is of a deep amber colour. 



The Dragon's Blood Tree of Socotra appears to be identical with 

 that of the Canary Islands, which is the Draccena Draco of Linnaeus. 

 In Socotra it is rarely met with below the altitude of 800 feet, and 

 it is frequently seen growing on the granite peaks at an elevation of 

 4000 or 5000 feet above the level of the sea. The gum exudes spon- 

 taneously, or from artificial incisions in the trunk. The season most 

 favourable for obtaining it is in June, immediately after the setting of 

 the S.W. monsoon. 



The island of Socotra has been famous from the earliest period 

 for its Aloes ; but that article of export has of late years fallen into 

 neglect, so that not more than two tons were exported in 1833. 

 The plant abounds all over the island, and is most probably identi- 

 cal with the Aloe officinalis of Forskal, FL ^gypt. Arab. cent. 3. p. 73. 

 The leaves are short and stained with a reddish-brown colour, and 

 the flowers are red. The species belongs to the same group of 

 the genus with the Aloe vulgaris. 



Mr. IlifF, F.L.S., exhibited a portion of the trunk of an oak 

 which was blown down in Windsor Park during the late hurri- 

 cane, which upon being split was found to contain the letters 

 W. B. and the year 1670 carved on it. 



Read, the commencement of a paper by Joseph Woods, Esq., 

 F.L.S., entitled <' Observations on the European Genera of Grasses." 



