MYRRHA 219 



It is of a lively red colour when fresh, but grows paler 

 with age. It envelops the shell which contains the nut- 

 meg. It is dried in the sun upon hurdles, which are 

 fixed one over another, and then it is sprinkled with sea- 

 water to prevent its crumbling in carriage. It hath a 

 pleasant aromatic smell, and a Warm, pungent, bitterish 

 taste. Its qualities are similar to that of nutmeg, both 

 as the subject of medicine and of pharmacy. The 

 principal difference is, that mace is warmer, more bitter, 

 less unctuous, and sits easier on weak stomachs; in its 

 yielding, by expression, a more fluid oil; and, in distilla- 

 tion with water, a more subtile volatile one." 



What is called in the shops expressed oil of mace, is 

 pressed from nutmegs. See Nutmegs. 



MYRRHA (Myrrh) 



Official in each edition of U. S. P., from 1820 to (including) 

 1910. The U. S. P., 1910, directs the gum-resin of one or more 

 species of Commiphora. 



Myrrh, a gum-resin from Commiphora Myrrha, has 

 been a constituent of incense, perfume, and such, in 

 ceremonial religious life, as well as an article employed 

 by the common people from the days of the most re- 

 mote antiquity. It was one of the rare and precious 

 gum-resins in the days of the Bible, being mentioned in 

 connection with such substances as frankincense and 

 olibanum. That it was highly valued in the days of 

 Solomon is evident from the fact that it is mentioned 

 conspicuously in connection with the gifts brought by 

 the Queen of Sheba to that monarch. It is yet obtained 

 from Arabia, the present writer finding it in the bazaars 

 of old Aden and bazaars in adjacent Oasis villages. In 

 this connection it may be stated that the term "old 

 Aden," a city that had an existence as a port of export 



