564 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 19()0, 



strengtli, tind renders its Avearor o-niciou.s and elociuent. (Camillus 

 Leonardu.s, Speculum Lapiduni. 1502.) P^fficacious as an amulet 

 against sci-ofula and skin diseases. (Albertus Ma^'nus, De Vertutibus 

 Herbarium, Lapidum, Animalum, etc.) Various properties are attrib- 

 uted to it b}^ Mohammedan authorities. It cured insanitj^ when admin- 

 istered wit!) water or Avith the juice of the fruit Sheit (an apple?); a 

 remed}' for hemorrhage in the genitjil organs or in the rectum; for 

 the spitting of blood; for the unusual discharge of the menstrual fluid. 

 In conjunction with other medicines it cured hard })oils and porous 

 ulcers, gi'avel, spleen, and kidney troubles. It prevented bleeding of 

 the gums and rendered them hard when applied to the parts as a 

 calcined powder. 



Agates having the reddishiiesw (jf the water after washing raw flesh in the shaj^e of 

 finger rings prevent bleeding of all kinds. The wearer strikes terror to the heart 

 of his enemies, obtains his iieart's wishes from the gods, and becomes free from pain 

 in the breast. 



The J A' /A- (agate) confers upon the wearer all the blessings that the use of the turquoise 

 does. Its internal use may do harm to the stomach, but this can be avoided by mix- 

 ing it with Katlra, or, in its absence, with the Basud stone. (Views of Arabic and 

 Persian writers on gems and stones.) 



If taken internally, the agate drives away fear, increases the power of digestion, 

 cures insanity and monomania of that kind which creates the impression of being 

 beaten and abused by others. If worn, it cures stricture and the vomiting of blood 

 coming fro n the chest; worn on the neck, it cures the spitting of blood issuing from 

 the lungs at the time of coughing. Calcined, powdered, and administered with white 

 wine in doses weighing 16 barleycorns, it cured the gravel. If tied about the thighs 

 of a woman under painful labor, it helps to a speedy and easy delivery. The weight 

 of the stone here prescribed should l)e about 120 barleycorns. (Ben Adloulah. ) 



The eye-agate vas considered efficacioits as an anuilet in cases of 

 scrofula and other skin diseases. In great repute to-day in Syria as a 

 curative for "'Aleppo" sores. 



Pierre de Boniface, writing in 1316, said: 



The agate of India or Crete renders its j^ossessor eloquent and prudent, amiable 

 and agreeable. 



Ben Jonson, in the Alchymist, speaking of the medicinal properties 

 of gems, wrote: 



My meat shall come in Indian shells, dishes of agate set in gold, and studded with 

 emeralds, sapphires, hyacinths, and rubies. The tongues of carps, dormice, and 

 camel's heels boiled in the spirit "of Sol, and dissolv'd pearl, apicus diet 'gainst the 

 epilepsy. And I will eat these broths with spoons of amber, headed with diamond 

 and carbuncle. 



Dioscorides, in his Materia Medica, recommends the use of the agate 

 as a preventive of contagion. 



Alahaster. — According to Leonardus, it is the best for vessels to 

 hold ung'uents, which are preserved in them without spoiling. Dios- 

 corides and manj^ other doctors account it good in phj'^sicks. He who 

 carries it will prove victorious in suits at law. 



