58 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. XI. 



of the Nile, for the excellence of its oil."* Egypt 

 was also famed for its "oil of bitter almonds t ;^' and 

 many other vegetable productions were encouraged 

 for the sake of their oil, for making ointments, or 

 for medicinal purposes, t 



In the length of time each crop took to come to 

 maturity, and the exact period when the seed was 

 put into the ground, much, of course, depended 

 on the duration of the inundation, the state of the 

 soil, and other circumstances ; and in the two 

 accompanying tables I have been guided by ob- 

 servations made on the crops of modern Egypt, 

 which, as may be supposed, differ in few or no 

 particulars from those of former days ; the causes 

 that influence them being permanent and un- 

 varying. 



"The plants of the summer season," as I have 



* Plin. xii. 24., xiii. 1., and xxiii. 4. Atheii. xv. p. 688. 



t Plin. xiii. 1. 



j: Vide S2tp>Yi,Yo\. II. p. 214., and Vol. III. p. 378. In the former 

 place, I have mentioned some ointment preserved in a vase at Ahiwick 

 Castle, upon which I have lately received some observations by Dr. 

 Ure, who says, " In consistence, tliis unguent is intermediate between 

 tallow and hog's lard. It has an orange yellow colour. Its specific gravity 

 is 0'991 ; and this density would seem to indicate the presence of rosin. 

 It gives a greasy stain on paper, not removable by heat. It is soluble 

 in hot oil of turpentine and in hot alcohol, but it precipitates from the 

 latter in the cold. From these results I am of opinion, that it is of the 

 nature of a fixed fat, which may have been flavoured with an essence or 

 volatile oil; but it does not belong to the class of stearopteries, like otto 

 of rose, or the precious oriental perfumes." I may also here introduce 



