CHAT. XI. WOODS AND MEDICINAL PLANTS. 83 



to Egypt by tiie conquered tribes of Ethiopia and 

 the Soodan ; fir and cedar behig imported from 

 Syria. The two last were in great demand for 

 ornamental furniture, for coffins, small boxes, and 

 various objects connected with the dead; and many 

 woods of a rare and valuable kind were brought to 

 Egypt by the people of Asia tributary to the Plia- 

 raohs the beauty and value of which may be esti- 

 mated by the frequent custom of imitating them, 

 for the satisfaction of those who could not afford 

 to purchase furniture or trinkets of so expensive a 

 material. 



There is reason to believe that the ancient 

 Egyptians encouraged, or at least profited by, the 

 growth of many wild plants of the desert, which 

 were useful for medicinal purposes. Many of them 

 are still known to the Arabs, as the Salvadora 

 Persica, Heliotropium inebrians, Lycium Euro- 

 paeum, Scilla maritima. Cassia Senna, Ochradenus 

 baccatus, Ocimum Zatarhendi, Linaria yEgyptiaca, 

 Spartium monospermum, Hedysarum Alhagi, San- 

 tolina fragrantissima, Artemisia Judaica (mono- 

 sperma and inculta), Inula undulata and crispa, 

 Cucumis Colocynthis, &c. : and many others have 

 probably flillen into disuse from the ignorance of 

 the modern inhabitants of the country, who, only 

 know them from the Arabs, by whom the traditions 

 concerning their properties are preserved. From 

 w^hat Homer tells us of " the infinity of drugs pro- 

 duced in Egypt," the use of " many medicines" 

 mentioned by Jeremiah*, and the frequent al- 



* Vide supra. Vol. 111. p. W2. 

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