306 ODOKOGRAPHIA. 



winds of the preceding days have blown dust upon the shrubs 

 which sticks to the clear shining drops which sweat through the 

 texture like a fatty dew. A good worker will gather about 

 three pounds two ounces per day.* 



The description of the collection of Ladanum, given by 

 Dioscoridesf who lived in the first century, equally applies at the 

 present day, i.e. (according to Tournefort's statement), the Ladanum 

 was gathered not only with whips, but by carefully combing off 

 such of it as was found sticking to the beards and thighs of the 

 goats, which fed principally upon the leaves of the Cistus. 



Pierre Belon, a French physician and traveller of the 16th 

 century, in his " Observations de Phisievrs Singvlaritez et Choses 

 Memorables tronuees en Grece, Asie, Judee, Egypte, Arable, et 

 autres pays estranges," Paris, 1555, faithfully narrates the mode of 

 collecting the drug in the Island of Crete, in which account he is 

 entirely confirmed by Tournefort, who was an eye-witness of the 

 operation in July, 1700. 



The descriptions given by Belon, Tournefort, and Landerer, 

 confirm in an interesting manner the accuracy of older writers, 

 and strikingly exemplify the persistent character of Eastern 

 customs. 



The authorities of Kew considered it worth while to endeavour 

 to obtain for the Kew Museum a specimen of the singular instru- 

 ment called " Ladanisterion," and, with the help of the Foreign 

 Office and H.M. Consul in Crete, an excellent example was 

 obtained and placed in the Museum. A drawing of that instru- 

 ment, with some descriptive notes, was contributed by Mr. Thiselton 

 Dyer to the Pharmaceutical Journal of 18th Oct., 1884.J The 

 extreme width of the specimen is 25 inches ; the length of the 

 handle is 45 inches, and that of the straps from 36 to 39 inches. 

 The illustration on opposite page represents its appearance. 



In Tournefort's figure the arms which carry the straps are less 

 curved than in the modern example, and the straps are longer. 



These instruments are also known under the name " Ergatiri." 



The best Ladanum is in dark masses of the consistence of soft 



* Tournefort's " Voyage to the Levant," i., pp. 56-60 ; London, 1718. 



t Pedacii Dioscoridis Anazarhei de Medicinali Materia, fol. 1516, lib. i, 

 cap. 130. 



t Pliarm. Journ. [3] xv., p. 301. 



