309 
from the Arabic translation of Qaitsami’s great work which, again 
according to Meyer, was probably written in the 2nd or 3rd 
century of our era. How far this is correct, I must leave 
others to decide, but the statement about the origin of the 
‘ Schoenanthus’ is quite consistent with Dioscorides’ and 
Plinius’ accounts, whilst the mention of the Hedjas, where the 
grass has actually been collected, satisfactorily fixes the home of 
the Nabataean ‘cyoivoc. Ishag Ben Amran* of Bagdad (died 903 or 
905 A.D.) also mentions the Hedjas as the country producing the 
best Izkhir. It comes next to that of Antiochia, whilst the African 
isthe worst. The Jzkhir of Antiochia is evidently the ‘ Babylonian’ 
variety, Antiochia being merely the market whence it was distri- 
buted. Avicennat (980-1037 A.D.) too distinguishes two kinds, 
the Arabian and an inferior ‘foreign’ (Ajami) kind. As may be 
expected there is more freedom in the way in which the Arab 
writers treated the subject, as some of them must have known 
the grass in the field or at any rate had first-hand evidence. Thus 
Abu Hanifadtt (died 895 A.D.) gives a description of it which 
could only have been made from autopsy. I quote it: “ [zkhir is 
a plant with a root deep down in the ground and slender, very 
fragrant culms, like rush or papyrus, but finer and with smaller 
joints. It has tufted infructescences (fruits) like the panicles of 
the reed, but more delicate and smaller. It is pounded and mixed 
with perfumes. It rarely grows solitary. Where it has settled, 
it may be seen to spread and cover the ground ; it inhabits plains 
and desert land. When it dries up, it turns white.” Like the old 
Greek doctors the Arabs prescribed it for the preparation of 
unguents, theriacs—among them the famous Electuarium 
Mithridatis—and oils. Ibn Baithar$ quotes from the ‘ Books 
of Experience’ the method of preparing the latter thus: “Take 
of the flowers of the grass, put them in double the quantity of oil 
of unripe olives .-. . press the whole well and throw the 
flowers away ; take another lot of flowers and put them in the oil. 
Repeat this three times in the hot season.” From the Arab 
writers the drug passed naturally into the Persian pharmacopoeias, 
as for instance the ‘Ulfaz Udwiyeh’ of Mohammed Abdullah 
Shirazi (1450 A.D.), and the ‘Pharmacopoea Persica’ of Frater 
Angelus (1681 A.D.). Whence the Persians got their supply of 
‘Izkhir’ is not quite certain. So far the grass has been found 
only in a few localities in Persia and nowhere in quantity. It 
was probably mostly Arabian. Still Kaempfer** speaks of a 
“Persian and an Arabian Schoenanthus.” Considering the 
part which Arabian and Persian doctors played at the courts 
of the Mahometan princes of India it would be surprising if the 
ingredient of so many theriacs, electuaries and other preparations 
had not also found its way into the Indian dispensaries. We 
possess a fairly full account of an instance of import of ‘lzkhir’ 
under rather remarkable circumstances in Garcia de Orta and 
* See Ibn Baithar ; transl. Sontheimer, vol. i., 
+ Avicenna, Lib. Canon. ed. A. Alp. Bellun. Cisse, p. 160. 
t See Ibu Baithar, transl. Sontheimer, l.c. 
§ Ibn Baithar, transl. Sontheimer, l.c. 
|| Ulfaz Udwiyeh, transl. Gladwyn, 
@ Pharmacopoea Persica (F. Angelus), Bp. 108, 109, 301, 302, 307, 312. 
** Kaempfer, Amoen, Exot. (1712), p. 772 
