270 Appendix 



Baillie Grohman's ' Sport in the Alps/ where mention 

 is made of one with a circumference of 8J inches, a 

 size at least equalled by the largest of Mr Stallard's 

 specimens. 



At the close of his letter Mr Stallard states that " these 

 chamois balls are the historic bezoar stones, which were 

 at one time worth nearly their weight in gold." The true 

 Persian bezoar is, however, a very different substance, 

 occurring in the stomach of the wild goat or pasang 

 (Capra cegagrus), often miscalled ibex. On this subject 

 the late Dr W. T. Blanford wrote as follows in the 

 second volume of ' Eastern Persia ' : 



"I believe it is well known that the true bezoar, a 

 calcareous concretion, to which extraordinary virtues were 

 formerly attributed as an antidote to poison, is obtained 

 from the stomach of this animal (the pasang). The 

 Governor of Karman gave specimens to Major St John 

 and myself when we were at that city, and assured us 

 that they were only to be obtained from the ibex inhabit- 

 ing the hills between Karman and Shiraz. They still 

 bear a high value in Persia, being employed not merely 

 as an antidote to poison, but as a universal remedy for 

 all diseases. They are also worn by women, enclosed in 

 cases of filigree gold. The specimen is 075 by 0'65 inches 

 broad, egg-shaped, of a dark olive colour, with a highly 

 polished surface. The size, shape, and colour of these 

 concretions are, however, variable." 



It is added in a footnote, on the authority of Sir Oliver 

 St John, that the word bezoar is Persian, the true name 

 being pa-zahr, a corruption otfa-zahr, "useful for poison." 

 Some authors have supposed it to be derived from pasang, 

 the name for the animal in which it is found, but this is 

 incorrect. 



It would be of interest to ascertain whether the notion 

 of the medicinal value of the chamois balls has been 



