ASAFCTIDA. 49 
something like garlic. This root, when about a year old, is the 
thickness of a man’s thumb, and continues afterwards to increase 
until it shoots up a flowering stem, so that it sometimes reaches 
the size of a man’s leg. It pushes out annually several large : 
root-leaves, which resemble those of the peony, and exhale a 
strong garlic odour like that of the root, but weaker. Rarely in 
its first year, generally, indeed, not till it is many years old, it 
produces a flowering stem, which is between six and nine feet 
tall, about two inches in diameter, and naked, except that it 
bears rudimentary leaves, in the form of the cylindrical bases of 
leaf-stalks. ‘The whole plant dies after it has once flowered 
and ripened to seed.” He describes the following process 
of procuring the gum-resin. ‘“ When the plant is at least four 
years old, and before it produces a flowering stem, the root- 
leaves are twisted off close to the root, in the beginning of April, 
and the soil is removed from the crown of the root. About 
forty days afterwards a slice is cut horizontally from its summit, 
upon which a milky juice, of an overpowering fetid odour, 
gradually exudes. In two days, when the exudation is some- 
what hardened, it is scraped off, and at the same time a fresh 
slice is cut off the top of the root, from which the juice again 
flows, and is collected as before. This process may be repeated 
so often as twelve times in the course of six weeks, before the 
root is altogether exhausted. The roots are carefully kept from — 
the sun, except after the last operation.” The gum-resin, 
gathered from several plants at one time, is united into masses 
about one or two pounds in weight; and when farther hardened 
by keeping, is sent to the ports of Persia for exportation, or 
disposed of for consumption in the country as a condiment, 
many of the Asiatics being extremely fond of it ; and from this 
cause some of the old writers have called it Cibus Deorum— 
food for the gods. 
Asafcetida of commerce occurs in irregular pieces of variable 
size, externally yellowish or pinkish brown. The fracture is con- 
choidal, whitish or milk-white, translucent, pearly, with waxy 
