THE SPIKENARD OF THE ANTIENTS. 453 



or hairs which surround the short petiols of these 

 leaves, I find it consists of numerous sheaths, of 

 which one, two, or three of the upper or interior ones 

 are entire, and have their fibres connected by a light- 

 brown coloured *nembranous substance, as at b ; but 

 in the lower exterior sheaths, where this connecting 

 membrane is decayed, the more durable hair-like 

 fibres remain distinct, giving to the whole the appear- 

 ance of an Ermine's tail : this part, as well as the root, 

 are evidently perennial*. The root itself (beginning 

 at the surface of the earth where the fibrous envelope 

 ends) is from three to twelve inches long, covered 

 with a pretty thick light-brown coloured bark : from 

 the main root, which is sometimes divided, there issues 



* The above described perennial hairy portion of the plant, is 

 clearly the Indian spikenard of our shops ; but whether the nar- 

 dus of the antients or not, I leave to better judges to determine ; 

 however, I believe 1 fewr will doubt it after having read Sir William 

 Jones's Dissertations thereon, and compared what he fays with the 

 accompanying drawings of the perennial hairy part of the stem of 

 this plant, which are taken from the living plants immediately un- 

 der my own eyes : the drawing of the herbaceous, or upper part of 

 the plant, is out of the queftion in determining this point, and only 

 refers to the place the plant bears in our botanical books. While 

 writing the above, I desired an Hindu servant to go and buy me from 

 their apothecaries shops a little Jatamanii. Without saying more 

 or less, he immediately went and brought me several pieces of the 

 very identical drug I have been describing : a drawing of one of 

 the pieces is represented afFig. 4, and agrees not only with those I 

 have taken from the living plants, but also exceedingly well with 

 Garcias ab Orta\ figure of the n:\rdus indica, which is to be found 

 at page 129 of the fourth edition of Clusim's Latin translations of 

 bib History of Indian D>ugs t published in 1693. 



several 



