324 UBTIOAGEJE. 



a skin, but it occurs in Persian with the primary signification 

 of a piece of leather or cloth, the four corners of which are tied 

 up so as to form a wallet, such as beggars carry ; in Hindi it 

 signifies a leather bag for holding water, &c. The Charas 

 collected in Central Asia is stored in leathern bags by the cul- 

 ti^'ators. Among European writers in the East, Eheede and 

 Eumphius figure and describe the Indian plant ; the latter states 

 that the kind of mental excitement it produces depends upon 

 the temperament of the consumer. He quotes a passage from 

 Galeuj lib, I. {de aliment, facult.), in which it is asserted that in 

 that great writer's time it was customary to give hempseed to 

 the guests at banquets, as a promoter of hilarity and enjoy- 

 ment (the seeds are still roasted and eaten in the East). 

 Eumphius adds, that the Mahometans in his neighbourhood 

 frequently sought for the male plant from his garden, to be 

 given to persons afflicted with virulent gonorrhoea or with 

 asthma, and the affection which is popularly called " stitches in 

 the side." He tells us, moreover, that the powdered leaves 

 check diarrhoea, are stomachic, cure the malady named Fitao, 

 and moderate excessive secretion of bile. He mentions the use 

 of hemp smoke as an enema in strangulated hernia, and of the 

 leaves as an antidote to poisoning by orpiment. 



In the Bulktm de Phannacie (1810, p. 400), we find it briefly 



described by M. Houyer, apothecary to IS'apoleon, and member 



of the Egyptian Scientific Commission, in a paper on the 



popular remedies of Egypt. With the leaves and tops, he tells 



us, collected before ripening, the Egyptians prepare a conserve, 



which serves as the base of the hei'ch, the dkmnouk, and the 



hcmaouij. Hemp leaves reduced to powder and incorporated 



with honey, or stirred with water, constitute the berch o£ the 

 poor classes. 



^ AinsHe notices M&jun, a confection made with hemp leaves 

 to be used as a sweetmeat, the composition of which varies in 



intoxiTf ^<!?' ""^ ^^"^ f ''"*' """'^ ^"^ "^^'"^ ^^^ ^^^^'^ ^^'^^"^ °*^'''' 

 IS 10 ^^^ ^^ y"^^' ^'^^^^^ig^iTiessy in the Bengal Dispensatory 

 1812 gives a detailed account of its preparation! Calcutta. 



