PETIVER AND LANDERER. 



135 



1857. 



Cobross, 



of 



Although I am unable to find a Cdbross in the Ked Sea, I 

 must state that D'Herbelot in his BiblioMqiie Orientale gives 

 Cdbros, as a synonym of Cyprus : and also, that Pliny mentions 

 an island of Coboris or Covoris, which has been identified as one 

 of the Sohar Isles, near Burka, a town situated on the East 

 coast of Arabia, near the entrance to the Persian Gulf. 1 The 

 position of either of these islands is, of course, perfectly irre- 

 concilable with that of Petiver's Cobross. 



It is somewhat surprising that of the many authors who have 

 quoted Petiver's account of Liquid Storax, none appears to 

 have been struck with the fact that the drug is not said to be 

 conveyed from " Cobross " to Europe, but that it is " brought to 

 Judda and so to Mocha" that is to say, it is carried to a spot 

 some 1300 miles south of Suez. 



So much for the fallacies in Petiver's account of "The 

 manner of making Styrax Liyuida." In a future part of this 

 notice, I will endeavour to show what traces of truth it 

 contains. 



The next statement on which I propose to offer some remarks, 

 is that of Dr. X. Landerer, of Athens, as contained in a com- 

 munication published in Buchner's Repertorium for 1839. 2 



This communication, I translate thus : 



The Storax plant, Styrax officinale is found in various parts of Account by 

 continental Greece, as well as in some of the islands of the 

 Archipelago. There, however, it forms but a small shrub and 

 does not possess the agreeable odour ascribed to it by botanists. 

 The bark of the plant occurring in Greece has not the slightest 

 odour, which probably is due to neglect in cultivation. On 

 the contrary, such is not the case with the plant as found in 

 the Turkish islands of Khodes and Cos, and especially with it as 

 cultivated by the people of Cos. (a) 



As I obtained some time since in Syra from a merchant 

 coming from Rhodes some information on the subject, I will 

 make it public, not doubting that, though but little, it will be 

 acceptable. 



1 Forster's Historical Geography of Arabia, Lond. 1844. Vol. ij. p. 230. 



2 Einige Worte, uber die Gewinnung des Storax liquidus vom Prof, und 

 Leibapotheker X. Landerer in Athen, Buchner's Rep.fiir d. Pharm. Bd. 18. 

 s. 359-362. 



Dr - x - 



