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foreign body in the centre of the bczoar. The fubfiances 

 which ufiially ferve for nuclei to thefe concretions are draw, 

 hair, finall pebbles, nius, hard fetds, ftones of fruit, &c. 

 but the mod frequent nucleus of the real ori enta\ bezoar, is 

 the pod of a fruit, much like that of tlie Acacia -vera 

 £g\l>tiica: though it at firlt fight rcfembles a cajjia, or 

 tamarind Hone. In fome of the bezoar ftones formed on this 

 fruit, the outer membrane of the bean having periflied, and 

 the bean flKiuik in drying, there remains a vacuity between 

 it and the inner furface of the bezoar, fo that it rattles within 

 it, when fliakcn, in the manner of an utiles, or eagle Jlone. 

 It is of little moment what the figure or nature of the body 

 may be, which is to ferve the purpofe of a nucleu?, as it 

 cannot in the flighttd degree afTeA tiie quality of the cal- 

 culous fubftance which u to be coUeiSed on its furface; any 

 extraneous matter will fuffice for this pnrpofe, which may 

 happen by any accident to be long enough detained in 

 the llomach or intellines. The formation of bezoars ap- 

 pears to be effected in a manner riniilar to that obferved in the 

 produ£lion of the calculi of the urinary bladder of the hu- 

 man fubjeft. We may prefumc that the bezoar is only 

 formed when there is a tendency in the animal to generate 

 an extraordinary quantity of calculous matter ; for ii it were 

 otherwife, as tliat thefe fubllances were produced by any 

 combination of the ordinary contents ot the ilomach and 

 inteftinep, what animal, that is liable to fuch colledionp, 

 could ever be without them? whereas, on the contrary, they 

 are fo fcarce in the Eall Indie?, that thofe which are brought 

 into this country are fuppofed to be in general artificial com- 

 pofitions ; nay, fome have doubted if we ever meet with a 

 genuine oriental bezoar in this country. 



The feafon of the year alfo appears to infl\ience their 

 produftion. Camerarius remark;-', that thele bodies begin to 

 form towards the month of November : and when the Pari- 

 fian anatomills difcovired a bezoar in the llomach of the QtiTi- 

 Tttoh [AnlUope Rupkiipra,) it was the month of December. 



The number of bezoar ftones varies, in different animals, 

 from one to fix ; hence, it is faid to be cuftomary, previous 

 to purchafing a bezoar animal, to reckon the number of 

 flones it contains, which can be afcertaincd by feeling ex- 

 ternally, and by this the price of the animal is regulated. 



V'elchius aflerts, that the Bezoar is only found in the firft 

 or fccond ftomachs of ruminant animal?, but the anatomifts 

 of the French academy ftate, that they met with it in the 

 third ftomach ; and others have mentioned its being fome- 

 timcs fituattd in the intellines. 



All bezoars are made of concentric layers, or by ftratum 

 fuper ilratum, after the manner of the common urinary cal- 

 culus. This proves their formation to be gradual ; and as 

 tjiis mode of increafe cannot be eafily imitated, it is proba- 

 bly one of the beft marks for dillinguifliing the genuine be- 

 zoar from that which is counterfeited. 



The Oriental bezoar is fmooth and glolTy on the furface, 

 th-; colour a dark green or olive ; on removing the outer 

 coat, that which hcs next it appears likcwife fmooth and 

 (hining; it is generally lefs than a walnut; it is moll efteemcd 

 for its medicinal properties, and is the only fort retained by 

 the London college. The Edinburgh college, in fome of 

 the former editions of their pharmacopoeia, direftcd both this 

 and the occidental bezoar, but they now feem to allow them 

 to be ufed promifcuoufly, retaining in their catalogue only 

 the name of lapii bezoar. 



The imitations of this Hone have been carried to fuch per- 

 feftion, that as farus refpecis form, colour, or other external 

 charaiflers, the deception cannot well be detefted. Mr. 

 Neumann fuppofed thatihofe which come neareft the genuine 

 bezoar, are a compofition of plafter of Paris, chalk, or 



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other earths ftained of the proper colour by fome vegetable 

 tinfture. Thofe which are palpably counterfeited, are com- 

 pofed chiefly of fome refinous fubllance, and may be eafily 

 difcovered by their Hquefying in the fire, and being foluble 

 in fpirits of wine ; he never could difcover any mark of an 

 animal nature in any of ihefe. Chemical works, by Dr. 

 Lewi?, p. 533, &c. 



The modes of trying if bezoar be genuine arc, ift. To im- 

 merfe a portion of it, for fome hours, in moderately warm 

 water, when the water ought to remain untinged, and the 

 ilone undiminilhed in its weight : 2d. to apply to it a (harp 

 red hot iron, which it Hiould refill without frying or IhriveU 

 ling: the 3d. which is confidered the moft certain experi- 

 ment, ii to rub the bezoar over a paper which has been pre- 

 vioully fmeared with chalk or quicklime: if it leave a yellow 

 tint on the former, or a green one on the latter, there is no 

 doubt of its being genuine. 



The occklctilal te-zoar is uneven on the furface ; of a dirty 

 green colour; it is heavier and more brittle than the oriental, 

 to which it is confidered much inferior in value ; it is of a 

 lool'er texture, and when fractured, the layers appear thicker, 

 and exhibit a number of ftriuE curioufly interwoven. It is 

 alfo found of a much greater fize ; fometimes being as large 

 as a goofc's egg. 



The occidental bezoar has been found in fome of the camel 

 tribe, efpecially i\v: guanaeo{CameIus Huanaciu) and the Vicuna 

 [Camelus Vicugna,) which are inhabitants of South America. 



This kind of bezoar, Mr. Neumann apprehends, is more 

 likely to be an animal production than the other, becaufe it 

 yielded, on diftillation, a fmall portion of volatile urinous 

 matter. Chem. Works, p. 537. 



The analyfis of bezoar ftones, as related by different 

 chemirts, is veiy contradiftory, which has given rife to the 

 opinion of the fpecimens which they fubmitted to experi- 

 ment, being fpurious. Thofe ftones examined by Slare, as 

 oriental bezoar, did not diffolve in acids. Thofe which 

 Grew and Boyle made trial of, did, Thofe employed by 

 GeofTroy (in fome experiments related in the French Me- 

 moirs, 1710,) did not feem to be afted on by fpirits of wine, 

 whilft thofe fpecimens examinedby Neumann, at Berlin, almoil 

 entirely diffolved in fpirits. For an account of the analyfis 

 and chemical properties of the bezoar and fimilar fubftances ; 

 fee Calculus. 



In the early ages, when a knowledge of difeafes was con- 

 fidered an occult and myllerious fciencc, rare and unknown 

 plants, or unufual, and what were confidered wonderful 

 animal pioduftions, were chiefly employed in the way of 

 medicines ; at this period we accordingly find the bezoar- 

 tic ftone poffeffed great reputation as a remedy for many dif- 

 eafes ; it ow^cd, no doubt, much of its fame to the fabulous 

 accounts which were related with refpedl to its origin. 



It was not known to the Greeks. The firft pcrfon who 

 has mentioned it was ylven-zoar, an Arabian phyfician. He 

 defcribes it to be generated of the tears, or gum, of the 

 eyes of ftags, who, after eating fcrpents, were accuftomed to 

 run into the water up to the nofe, where they flood tillthtir 

 eyes began to ooze a humour, which colleding under their 

 eye-lids, gradually thickened and coagulated, and when it be- 

 came quite hard was thrown oft' by the animal rubbing itfelf 

 againft the trees. Other ftorics concerning the hiftory of 

 the bczoar, equally wonderful and ludicrous, were credited, 

 until the time of Garcias al Horto, phyfician to the Portu- 

 guefe viceroy of the Indies, who gave the firft true account 

 of the origin of this fubftance. Kempfcr afterwards gave 

 a defcription of it with fome new particidars. 



The bezoar was firll employed to prevent the fatal con- 

 fequences of poifon. This is expreifcd by the very name 



7 which 



