ASS 



ASS 



myriads of roots are thus prepared, the whole company re- 

 turn homo. 



In about forty days, or towards the end of ^?.ly, the 

 parties return to the moiuitain, arriving tliere at day break. 

 'Die implements which they employ arc a iliarp knife for 

 ■■iitting the root, a broad and flat iron feoop for fcr^ping 

 off the dried juice, a fmall pan faftencd to the thigh fir re- 

 ceiving the contents of the fcoop, and a double bafkel fuf- 

 pended at each end of a pole whieli is flung acrols the 

 flioulders in order to carry the whole crop when they return 

 home. Tlicy now uncover the root, remove the earth to a 

 little depth from the top, and with the knife they cut ofl a 

 fmall tranfverfe fliee. The root, in which the juice that 

 has been collefting for forty days, has been made to ftag- 

 natc bv the previous operation of llrijjping off the boughs, 

 now bleeds ropioufly; and it is immediately again covered 

 with the umbrella of leaves as before, taking care that thefe 

 do not actually touch the furface of the root and rub off 

 the juice. On the enfulng day it is fulTiciently concreted to 

 be fci-aped off, afler whicli another very thin llice is cut off 

 from the furfaec of the root, which bleeds afrefh, and is 

 allowed time to concrete as before. This proeefs is per- 

 formed on half the roots on alternate days, that the employ- 

 ment of the gallierers may be more uniforinly divided. 

 After tliis coileclion has been twice made from each root, 

 3 third (lice is cut off, the root is covered with its umbrella, 

 and the whole company leave the mountain bringing home 

 their firft harvell, which to each party of five or fix men 

 ii about fifty pounds weight of affafictida. 'I'liis firll gum 

 is reckoned of rather inferior llrength to the fubfequent 

 crop, and is called Sjilr. 



In about ten days the company again return to the moun- 

 tain, making their third excurfioii, and they iind on the top 

 of each cut root a quantity of very fine and pure affafcetida, 

 which having had time to concrete very flowly, is elleemcd 

 the bell and molt powerful, and is called Pifftans, and fells 

 .It a much higher price than tlie Sjiir. This latter, how- 

 ever, appears chiefly to owe its infen'ority to a quantity of 

 earth with v.-hich the gatherers adulterate it while yet in a 

 very foft and femifluid Itate, whereas the Pifpatis being con- 

 creted into a hard gum is not liable to this abufe. After 

 this latter is collected, two more fucccffive incifions arc 

 made, the juice is feraped off as before, the root is again cut 

 and covered over, and the company return home. 



The fourth and hill excui fioii is made after an interval 

 only of three davs, for the root, which is exhaulted by fo 

 rnany repeated bleedings, u now on the point of pcrilhiog. 

 'I'he Pifp.uis, or lirll tcraping, is again coUefled, and the 

 root will bear about two or three more incifions, after which 

 it is quite cxhaulled, and is left to die by the heat of the fun, 

 which happens in a fingle day. 



Each root of the four-year-old plants will bear ten or 

 eleven fucccffive cuttings, but the large roots of twenty 

 years Handing or upwards, fuch as are fometimes found in 

 the lefs acccffible parts of the mountains, will yield the gum 

 much oftentr, though not with fuch eafe, fo that the harvell 

 tiom thefe is not finifhed till about the end of December. 



It is not quite afcertained whether the ancients were ac- 

 quainted with this gum refin. Some authors have fuppofed 

 n to be the li^yiov, or 'Oto; a^>.'^lh■, of Diofcorides and 

 Hippocrates, and the Lnferpilium of Pliny, but of this 

 there is confiderable doubt. It may be mentioned that the 

 root of a plant abounding in a milky juice exaftly fimilar 

 to the aflaftttida was fent by profcffor Pallas to Dr. Guth- 

 rie, and tranfmltted by the latter to Dr. Hope, who fuc- 

 eecdcd ill cultivating it ift the botanical garden of Edin- 

 . kurgh fome yean ago. The botanical character of this 



plant, however, was fo different from that given by Kocmp- 

 fer (whi)fe accuracy is much to be depended on), as to 

 make it probable that there may be more than one Ipecics 

 of plants which yield this fa'tid gum. 



The ufcs and virtues of alfalectida arc very confiderable. 

 In many parts of Arabia and Peilia it turmu an iinpurlant 

 avtii-le of tlie Materia Medica, and is employed largely as a 

 condiment for food. In its native country, the comniou 

 people refort to it as a fovereign remedy for dropfy, flatu- 

 lent and colicky pains in the bowels, and even as an exter- 

 nal application lo wounds. In the above difiirdei'!., its 

 flrongly llimulant and antilpafmodic power renders it pe- 

 cidiarly valuable, but the fector which tranlpires from the 

 bodies and evacuatii.ms of thofe that ufc it is lo exctfllve, 

 as to be almoll intolerable even to the organs of the natives. 

 The Banian Indians^ who not ufing animal food, have always 

 recourfe to the ilroiigeil and moll acnd condnnents), em- 

 ploy alfafcrtida liberally in their cooking, and even rub 

 their mouth with it before meali to lliniulate tlieir appetite. 

 Another ufe common to this, as to all other ftiniulating 

 and heating fubllances in the Eall, is to excite the venereal 

 appetite. 



With us, affafa'tida is confidcred as a moH powerful ner- 

 vine, antifpafmodic, carminative, and anthelmintic, though 

 the potency of its odour, in which probably confills a large 

 proportion of its medieul vu tuc, prevents its ufe in a variety 

 of cales in which it might prove highly beneficial. It is of 

 the greatell ferviee in hypochondriac affections, in which the 

 ilate of the bowels is always toqiid, and digcllion liable to be 

 deranged. For the true tympanites, a clyller of two drams 

 «f alfafoctida diflolved in water, thrown up once or twice u 

 day, is an excellent remedy. Dr. Millar has introduced the 

 ufe of this gum with great cflciSl againll the fpafmodic 

 allhma, and the fpafmodic Ilate of hooping cough. The dofe 

 of the fohition, even to children, (hould be large ; and it is 

 worthy of remark, that the difgull excited by fo ilrongly 

 fcEtid a remedy is reuch fooner furmounttd than might 

 at firll be imagined, nor, when it \i in the ftoniaeh, does it 

 e\'er excite ficknefs. The flatulent colic attending hyfteric 

 affedlions is much relieved by this gum, exhibited either 

 by the mouth or in glyRers. On account of its heating 

 quality, it Ihould be avoided when general fever is prcfent. 

 Tlie vermifuge property of this gum appears to be verv 

 confiderable. Kccmpfer relates, that the leaves and flalk of 

 the fielh jilant in Perfia, are laid i.i the channels through 

 which the water runs for irrigating t^ardciis, and th.at friiit- 

 trces and plants are thus preferved from ?jl kinds of vermiiu 

 Probably its ])enetrating odour much incommodes thefe 

 animals ; and it has long been known both in the Eall 

 and in Europe as a very powerful anthelmintic, efpecially 

 when combined with the llroiigcr purgatives, or given in the 

 form of glyfler, and followed by them. 



Hulcland has employed this gum internally as a very good 

 remedy in venereal exollofis, and caries of the bone, after the 

 conflitution has received as much mercury as it will bear. 



Affatcctida enters into fome of the compound plaflers 

 for external application, and in this combination is reckoned 

 to be llimwlant and refolvent. 



The'piiarr.iaceutical preparations of affafcetida in aftual 

 ufe, are the following: 



Lac Aj'n-f audit (P.I^ond.); a milky fohition of two drams 

 of^the gum in half a pint of water, formed by the affillancc 

 of trituration. 



Tinilura Af,T-fat\Jie (P. Eoi>d.) ; made by adding tvvQ 

 ounces of affatcctida to a pint of reftified fpirit of wine.^ 

 The fame in the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia, but a quarter 

 of a pint more oi»the fpirit is ufed, 



Reaificd 



I 



