BOOK XXXV. Lii. 190-LVT. 194 



kinds the alum imported trom Melos is more 

 efficacious. It has been indicated how important § 183. 

 it is for the other requirements of life in giving a 

 finish to hides and woollens. 



LIII. Next to these we will deal with the various usesoi 

 kinds of earth which are connected with medicine. g^^^l^" 

 There are two sorts of Samos earth," called coUyrium, ^^^^^^ 

 ' eve-salve,' and star-earth. The recommendation 

 of the former is that it must be fresh and very soft 

 and sticky to the tongue ; the second is more lumpy ; 

 both are white in colour. The process is to calcine 

 them and then to wash them. Some people prefer 

 the former kind. They are beneficial for people 

 spitting blood, and for plasters made up for drying 

 purposes, and they are also used as an ingredient in 

 medicines for the eyes. 



LIV. Earth of Eretria ^ has the same number of Eretrian. 

 varieties, as one is white and one ash-coloured, the 

 latter preferred in medicine. It is tested by its 

 softness and by its leaving a violet tint if rubbed on 

 copper. Its efficacy and the method of using it as a 

 medicine have been spoken of among the pigments. § 38. 



LV. All these earths — we will mention it in this 

 place — are washed by having water poured over 

 them and dried in the sun, and then after being put 

 in water again ground up and left to stand, till they 

 settle down and can be divided into tablets. They 

 are boiled in cups that are repeatedly well shaken. 



LVI. White earth ^ of Chios is also among chian ana 

 medicaments ; its effect is the same as that of Samos ^* 

 earth. It is specially used as a cosmetic for the skin 

 of women, and Selinunte earth is used in the same 

 way. The latter is of the colour of milk, and it 



" Cf. §§ 30, 38. ^ Some kind of china-day. 



403 



