CAMPHIRE. 



DlPTERACEJE. Laurus camphor a. Linn. 



Drydbalanops campliora of Colebrook. 

 LYTHRARI^E. Lausonia inermis, (Henna.) 



E word &quot;camphire&quot; is but another form of the word 

 &quot; camphor&quot; of the present times. But a very general im- 

 pression prevails among those who have paid attention 

 to the botany of Scripture, that the Hebrew word trans 

 lated &quot;camphire&quot; refers to the fragrant and beautiful plant 

 called &quot;henna,&quot; of which the Hebrew name is caplicr. Before 

 the departure of the Israelites from Egypt, henna seems to have 

 been used as a dye; for mummies have been found with their 

 nails colored with the juice extracted from its leaves. The 

 plant is only a few feet in height, grows abundantly in Egypt 

 and many other parts of the East, and bears clusters of blossoms 

 and delicate flowers which are exceedingly pleasant in their 

 fragrance; and the ladies often gather the branches to decorate 

 their persons, especially by working them into their hair. The 

 leaves are dried, and, when broken up and formed into a paste, 

 are applied to parts of the hands, feet, and face, so as to color 

 the flesh and nails in accordance with Oriental ideas of beauty. 

 I once obtained permission of a little Egyptian girl to scrape 

 her finger-nails, which had been thus colored, and found that 

 the dye had penetrated beneath the surface, so that a con- 



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