OF ACCOMPANYING ANIMALS AND PLANTS. 159 



Origanum Creticum of the Mediterranean countries. Also called in Greece " agriorigani " (Sibth.); 

 in which we recognize the " agrian orSiganon " or "panakitha" or " eraklSion " — identified by 

 Diodes with the "konilen" (Petrich. oph., and schol. Nicand.) ; also the "panake" not "leptophul- 

 lon"of Theophrastus ix. 11. 4; the " panaktSion konilen" of Nicander ther. 626; the " cunilam 

 bubulara" called "panacem" by Cratevas, bruised and placed on wounds and taken internally against 

 serpents even by tortoises (Plin. xix. 50 to xx. 61) ; the " agrian origanon " by some called " panakfis '' 

 according to Dioscorides iii. 49, his " agrioriganos," identified with the " konilen " of Nicander, so far 

 as relates to the " 6rigan6 "-like leaves clearly belonging here ; also the "panaces heraclion " of Pliny 

 xxv. 12, attributed to Hercules and by some called " origanum heracleoticum silvestre " from resem- 

 bling "origano," its root useless : O. Creticum was observed by Sibthorp, and Fraas, from Crete and 

 Greece throughout the Greek islands ; is known to grow also in Palestine (Pers.). Westward, is 

 described by Lobel pi. 494, and Tournefort inst. 199 ; was observed by Lenz in Italy, and is known 

 to grow in other parts of Southern Europe (Pers. ; see O. Heracleoticum). 



Hyoscyamus albus of the Mediterranean countries. Called in Greece " gSrouli " or " uosku- 

 am5s," by the Turks " ben tochunni " (Sibth.), in Egypt " beng " (Del.), in which we recognize the" 

 " uoskuamos " supposed to have been discovered by Hercules — (Plin. xxv. 17), mentioned also by 

 Pherecrates, Xenophon oecon. i. 13, Nicander alex. 415, Paulus Aegineta, and the medicinal and 

 mildest kind described by Dioscorides as white-seeded and growing by the seaside and in waste 

 places : H. albus was observed by Forskal, Sibthorp, and Chaubard, in precisely those situations 

 from the Peloponnesus to Smyrna. Farther South, the "hyoscyamus " or "apollinaris" is identified 

 by Pliny with the " altercum " of the Arabs ; H. albus was observed by Delile around Alexandria, 

 but the seeds of " hyoscyamus " or " bindj " employed medicinally in Egypt were found by Forskal 

 mat. med. to be imported from Greece. Westward, "hyoscyamus " is prescribed by Celsus ii. 33 ; 

 seeds of "alterci albi " and roots of "apollinaris herbae," by Scribonius Largus 90 to 121 ; the 

 " apollinaris " of the Romans is mentioned also in Syn. Diosc, and Pliny's description corresponds : 

 H. albus is termed " h. a. major vel tertius Dioscoridis et quartus Plinii " by Tournefort inst. 11S; 

 and is known to grow in Italy and other parts of Southern Europe (Blackw. pi. in, Pers., Spreng., 

 and Lenz). 



Colckicum montanum of the East Mediterranean countries. The " petilio " said to have been 

 named by Hercules, — in the autumn according to Pliny xxi. 25 springing up among brambles and 

 commended for its colour only which is that of " rosae silvestris," the leaves appearing after the 

 nodding flower turns upwards, " parvo calyce at versicolori " enclosing yellow seed, may be compared : 

 C. montanum is described by Clusius hist. i. pi. 200 ; is termed " c. m. angustifolium " by Tournefort 

 inst. 350 ; was observed by Sibthorp on the mountains of Attica, and by D'Urville on the island of 

 Milo (Bory). 



1 124 B. C. (= 1071 + " 23 + 30 years " of Castor in Euseb. i. p. 134, see also Pausan. i. 5. 3). 

 A date possibly marking the accession of Pandion II., son of Erechtheus, and now ninth Attic king. 

 1 123 B. C. = "6th year of Ramessu XII.," on the monuments — (C. Mull. fr. Man. p. 5S9). 

 " 1122 B. C. = 13th year of Wou-wang ; who, vanquishing Cheou-sin." now becomes the head 

 of the new dynasty of the Tcheou. He changed the name of the years from " sse " to " nian," a 

 term havino- reference to harvest-time (commentator of the Li-ki, and Chinese chron. table). Wou- 

 wano- also reformed the calendar : making " the lunation containing the Winter solstice the first one 

 of the year; " and making " the civil day commence at midnight." * 



Khi-tsu of the dethroned imperial family, unwilling to accept office under Wou-wang, was made 

 king of Corea — (geogr. Chin., and Klaproth). 



In this " 13th year " (Chou-king iv. 4. 1), the Hong-fan, a philosophical treatise attributed to the 

 emperor Yu, delivered by prince Ki-tse to Wou-wang. 



* 



Euryale ferox of Southern China. A kind of water-lily having leaves nearly a yard in diam- 

 eter and thorny on the nervures and petiole, called in China "ki-teou : " at this time under cultivation 

 but rare, —has since according to Cibot (mem. Chin, iii.) become more frequent, its seeds yielding 

 farina the pulp around them eaten, and the root used medicinally ; was observed by G. Staunton 

 in the province of Kianang. Westward, was carried at an early period to Hindustan, where it has 

 become seemingly wild in lakes in Chittagong and Eastward of Calcutta and Lucknow, and is called 

 in Hindustanee " machana " (Roxb., Royle, and Drur.). 



Rubus Moluccanus? of Eastern Asia. Called in Bisaya " dagamit " (Blanco), m Japan "fugu 

 itsiigo " (Siebold) ; and the "ronces flexibles " holding back the door of tombs, mentioned in an ode 

 of the kingdom of Tchin — (Chi-King i. 12. 6) may be compared : R. Moluccanus was observed by 

 Rumphius°v pi. 47 on Amboyna (Pers.) ; by Roxburgh, Wallich iii. pi. 234, Wight, and Graham, in 

 Hindustan ; by Mason, in Burmah ; by Blanco, on the Philippines ; by Thunberg, m Japan ; by Sie- 

 bold on Yeso, enumerated among the useful plants. 



