OLIBANUM. 137 



and one of myrrli. 



/5 



The emperor Constantine made mmierous offerings to the church 

 under St. Silvester, bishor* of Ronift a/d. ^14--^*^.^ of nnftfW ttaccpIc ar^A 



drugs 



omata 



olibanum is to be understood. - 



With re.o'ard to thft ronRiin 



is an interesting fact that the Arabs in their intercourse with the 

 Chinese, which is known to have existed as early as the 10th century, 

 carried Avith them olibanum, myrrh, dragon s blood, and liquid storax,^ 

 chugs which are still imported from the west into China. The first- 

 named is called Jii-siang, i.e. milk perfume, a curious allusion to its 

 Arabic name Luhdn signifying milk In the year 1872; Shangliai 

 imported' of this drug no less than 1,360 peculs (181,383 lb.). 



Collection — The fragrant gum resin is distributed through the 

 leaves and bark of the trees, and even exudes as a milky juice also from 

 the flowers; its fragrance is stated to be already appreciable in a certain 

 distance. Cruttenden/ w^ho visited the Somali Country in 1843, thus 

 describes the collecting of olibanum by the Mijjertheyn tribe, whose 

 chief port is Bunder Murayah (lat. 11' 43' N.)^:— 



' .^^^^^S the hot season the men and boys are daily employed in 

 colleetmg gums, which process is carried on as follows : — About the end 

 ot 1 ebruary or beginning of March, the Bedouins visit all the trees in 

 succession and make a deep incision in each, peeling off a narrow strip 

 <^t bark for about 5 inches below the wound. This is left for a 

 month when a fresh incision is made in the same place, but deeper. 

 77 *'^^^^ month elapses and the operation is again repeated, after which 

 jje gum is supposed to have attained a proper degree of consistency, 

 e mountain-sides are immcdiatelv covered wdtli parties of men and 



boys 



^lity that has 



first taken fr 



immediately covered wdtli par 



e clear globules into a basket, whilst the 



very 



-— V *---* VAA-^^ WA ^--^-^ ^hJ ¥ -VAT ----_ VJ w^>* ^ ^ 



jj,' ■ • *^^'ery fortnight the mountains are visited in this manner, tlie 

 ^l*?! P^^'^^cing larger quantities as the season advances, until the 

 rto.-L . September, when the first shower of rain puts a close to the 

 gathering that year." 



Sn^ V . infOTniations due to J. M. Hildebrandt, who visited the 



. - -^^ 187 



lormer ■ 



1 



»y Vi^!i-™^^.^^^^^^ gifts are enumerated ^ Trans. Bombay Geogmph. Sor. vii. 



l"2i.5V n,!^ ■ .^"'' Pontifical^, Komc, (184G) 121. 



0;»..- '/"'I inchide beside Olibanum, « See sketch of the Somali coast. Phann. 



"orax' a' !"'.""' ^^<^""« Ci/prium, Balmm, Jonrn. viii. (13 Apr. 1878) 806. 



"^ w-on:iZ\ n^' "^'"^'f. Aromala cassia, ^ See my paper on Luban Mati and Oh- 



- The nnt ?^^''- banum, Pharm. Journ. viii. (1878) 805, also 



^'■»mo;ifor;,, .^*"'''^^C'''^PeC!ardafuiwas Hildebrandt's note in the " Sitzunss- 



^^'^d-lSn 19 ' ^""«^' Chinese, &c. Freundczu Berlin," 19th Nov. 1878, 195. 



R^fVi'iii ^f rn , F.A.F. 



I. 



