GYPSUM. 115 



upon hearing it, they congregate and re-enter 

 the boat. The first duck that enters is rewarded 

 with some paddy, the last is whipped for being 

 dilatory ; so that it is ludicrous to see the last 

 birds (knowing by sad experience the fate that 

 awaits them) making efforts en masse to fly over 

 the back of the others, *to escape the chastisement 

 inflicted upon the ultimate duck. 



A large quantity of a kind of alabaster or 

 gypsum is brought down from the northward in 

 large junks to Ca^nton ; it is called in the Chi- 

 nese language Shek, oo, and is used by them, as 

 well as by Europeans, in a pulverized state, 

 as a dentifrice : it is also employed and highly 

 esteemed by the Chinese as a tisan, for the purpose 

 of allaying the ardent thirst in fevers, and is con- 

 sidered by them nourishing as well as cooling. It 

 is pulverized and used in the adulteration of 

 powdered sugar-candy, to which it bears in 

 appearance a very close resemblance ; indeed, it 

 is (except by the taste) not easy to distinguish 

 one from the other. 



Dr. Cox presented me with a specimen in spirits 

 of a very venomous snake, which is not uncom- 

 mon in China; this one had some time since bitten 

 a Chinese servant in the Dutch Hong, and occa- 

 sioned his death in a few hours. The head of the 



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