142 pltnt's natueal histoey. [Book XII. 



and cassia, cancamum 52 and tarum 53 are imported ; but these 

 substances are brought by way of the jSTabatsean Troglodytse, 

 a colony of the Nabatsei. 



CHAP. 45. (21.) — SEEICHATUM AND GABALITJM. 



Thither, too, are carried serichatum 54 and gabalium, aroma, 

 tics which the Arabians rear for their own consumption, and 

 which are only known by name in our part of the world, 

 though they grow in the same country as cinnamon and cassia. 

 Still, however, serichatum does reach us occasionally, and is 

 employed by some persons in the manufacture of unguents. It 

 is purchased at the rate of six denarii per pound. 



CHAP. 46. MYE0BALANT7M. 



In the country of the Troglodytae, the Thebais, and the parts 

 of Arabia which separate Judaea from Egypt, myrobalanum 55 is 

 commonly found ; it is provided by Nature for unguents, as 

 from its very name would appear. From its name, also, it is 

 evident that it is the nut of a tree, with a leaf similar to that 

 of the heliotropium, which we shall have to mention when 

 speaking of the herbs. The fruit of this tree is about the size 

 of a filbert. The kind that grows in Arabia is known as 

 Syriaca, and is white, while, on the other hand, that which 

 grows in the Thebais is black : the former is preferred for the 

 quality of the oil extracted from it, though that which is pro- 



52 A gum resin of some unknown species, but not improbably, Fee 

 thinks, the produce of some of the Amyrides. Sprengel thinks that it was 

 produced from the Gardenia gummifera. 



53 Aloe-wood. 



54 According to Poinsinet, these Arabic words derive their origin from 

 the Slavonic; the first signifying a "cordial drug," or " alexipharmic," and 

 the other a drug "which divides itself into tablets." It is impossible to 

 divine what drugs are meant by these names. 



55 Signifying the "unguent acorn," or "nut." There is little doubt 

 that the behen or ben nut of the Arabians is meant, of Avhich there are 

 several sorts. It is used by the Hindoos for calico printing and pharmacy, 

 and was formerly employed in Europe in the arts, and for medical pur- 

 poses. It is no longer used as a perfume. The " oil of ben " used in 

 commerce is extracted from the fruit of the Moringa oleifera of naturalists. 

 It is inodorous ; for which reason, Fee is of opinion that the name signifies 

 "the oily nut," and quotes Dioscorides, who says, B. iv., that an oil is ex- 

 tracted from this balanus, which is used as an ingredient in unguents, in 

 place of other oils. Fee also says that at the present day it is used by per- 

 fumers, to fix or arrest the evanescent odours of such flowers as the jasmine 

 and the lily. 



