112 



MANDRAKE. 



But science has triumphed over ignorance and superstition, 

 and the mandrake is now eaten as harmless and even whole 

 some food. Its soothing and soporific powers were of service 

 before the juice of the poppy superseded it; and so late as the 

 time of James I. the narcotic virtues of the mandragora were 

 known and applied. It has been found in Galilee and in Judea. 

 Burckhardt speaks of it. and Maundrell heard of it as growing 

 in Samaria. By the Arabs this plant is called &quot;tufah al 

 Sheitan,&quot; the devil s apple. It is represented in color and 

 shape in Plate V. 



