198 
Among the vegetable specimens, are 
the common moss-rose of the gardens ; 
the protuberance or dur found on the 
wild rose, rosa canina, occasioned by 
an insect depositing its ova thereon— 
this should be plucked with its foot- 
stalk and a few of the leaves—small 
bunches of hops, ears of corn, especi- 
ally millet-seed, and the bearded wheat, 
berries of the holly, fruit of the sloe 
bush, the hyacinth, pink, furze blos- 
som, ranunculus, garden daisy, and 
a great variety of others: in fact there 
are but few subjects in the vegetable 
world that are not eligible to this mode 
of preservation. In the animal king- 
dom, the lizard, large spider, grass- 
hopper, all the beetle kind, the nests of 
small birds, with their eggs, forming 
most beautiful specimens, when neatly 
secured in portions of the branches of 
the tree, &c., in which they are accus- 
tomed to resort. A considerable degree 
of attention is requisite to prevent too 
great a deposit of the alum on some of 
the above-mentioned subjects, by which 
their beauty would be obscured; they 
ought therefore to be frequently in- 
spected while erystalization is going on, 
and removed as soon as it can be ascer- 
tained that they have acquired a suffi- 
cient coating. Various articles of tur- 
nery, &c., intended as chimney orna- 
ments, in almost every diversity of 
form, if first carefully covered over with 
common cotton, wound round them, 
may be submitted to crystalization, with 
the same beautiful result. 
W. H. WerEkgs. 
Sandwich, Aug.10, 1824. 
P.S. If desirable, the crystalized sub- 
jects may be tinged with almost any 
variety of colour, by boiling in the 
alum solution a little indigo, Brazil log- 
wood, French berries, or other vege- 
table and mineral dyes. A little care 
and ingenuity will likewise enable the 
operator to confine his tints to the 
crystal surrounding flower blossoms, 
and other particular parts of plants 
which he may wish to preserve. Among 
the vegetable tribe, the class of lichens, 
especially the cup-moss, are most eligible 
subjects, nor are many specimens of 
fungi less adapted ; the two latter tribes 
of vegetables have moreover the advan- 
tage of permanently retaining their na- 
tive colours, without any aid- whatever 
from art. A thin coating of the crys- 
talizing matter only should be allowed 
to 
The Yssaoois. 
(Oct. 1, 
to obtain on most individuals of the 
eryptogamia, which is adequate to their 
preservation, and much more essential 
to the beauty of the specimens. 
— 
THE YSSAOOIS. 
[Extract from a letter from M. Delaporte, French 
Vice-Consul at Tangiers, to M. de Sacy, dated 
3d Sept.1523. [Journal Asiatique.] 
A aes Yssaoois form here a species 
of congregation, the members of 
which are spread over all Africa, and 
even extend to Asia. I have found 
them in all my journeys, wherever there 
are serpents, scorpions, or other 
noxious animals. They replace the 
ancient Psylli. The chief of the 
order resides at the Quinez, and the 
brotherhood draw their name, not 
from Yssa, Jesus, son of Mary, but 
from an African named Yssa, or Scid- 
ben-Yssa, its founder. The Yssacois 
enchant serpents, take scorpions into 
their hands, and suck the poison of 
these animals. They enter into ex- 
tacies, by dint of repeating what ” 
they call Jadaba iagdoob, the name of 
God, with a howling voice, making 
great and frequent contortions, and go- 
ing to the right and left, backwards and 
forwards. In their extacy they foam, 
turn ofa purple colour, and lose, or 
seem to lose, their senses. They have 
however prudence enough to spare their 
fellows, and especially the soldiers, who 
attend them in the different processions 
they hold at different times of the year, 
commonly during the feasts of Ramad- 
han, the sacrifice, and the Mohammedan 
Christmas (the author probably alludes 
to the Mevlood, or birth-day of Ma- 
hommed). Woe to any Christians, or 
more particularly Jews, who may {fall 
in their way: they are sadly treated. 
I saw at Tripoli two French sailors who 
had their shoulders torn off by the lively 
embraces of two of these Yssaoois, in 
good humour; and they were fortunate 
to have got off so cheaply. If there 
are no Jews or Christians, they will 
attack fowls, cats, dogs, asses, camels, 
not even despising carrion. The sol- 
diers who attend them take care that 
none of the brothers, who might be a 
little too much of the Yssaoois, escape 
from the procession. This community, 
which is purely religious, is divided 
into two branches, who fight with one. 
another whenever they find an oppor- 
tunity of so doing. That is nearly all 
that I know about them. 
For 
