658 Notice of the Ajaib-ul- Muhhhikat [No. 152. 



The ruby, Yakut < " «> Sli Rubies are of different colours ; yellow, green 

 and blue, (the sapphire ?) but the best are red. 



The ruby comes from the Southern cities near the equator. Its 

 beauty is increased by exposure to fire. 



3rd Class. — Oily Minerals, (Duhniat, L »• A JL ^) 



Quicksilver, sulphur, bitumen, naptha, &c. are presumed to be pro- 

 duced by the warmth of the earth's interior acting upon its juices. 

 Ambergris is thrown up by the sea. Some say it is the production of 

 a marine animal, or of a fountain in the sea ; while others assert, that it 

 falls in dew on rocks in the sea. 



Mumiyai, ^U-o^-o is produced like mineral bitumen from the earth, 

 in the land of Mosel and Persia. It is of a more precious nature than 

 pitch, and used extensively in medicine in spasmodic affections, palpita- 

 tions ; and externally, mixed with other substances, for bruises and 

 fractures.* 



Plants, (An-nabat, L " t LlH) 



Here follows a description of plants, which are supposed to be be- 

 tween minerals and animals, and divisible into two great classes, 

 viz. : — 



1st. Those that possess high trunks, as trees. 

 2nd. Those which do not, as grasses. 



Plants are supposed to be endowed with the powers of reproduction, 

 increase, digestion, retention, attraction, &c. 



The descriptions are short and unsatisfactory, containing a number of 

 singular stories, many incredible, regarding the properties and medicinal 

 virtues of plants ; but among which may be easily discerned the glim- 

 merings of a few useful truths. The Persian manuscript contains coloured 

 drawings of many of the trees, which bear but a remote resemblance 

 to nature. Among the trees are enumerated, ebony, oak, the camphor 

 tree, sandal wood, the almond, the orange, the lime, the citron, the 

 filbert, plaintain, cocoa, the palm, the date, the cypress, the balsam, 

 the apple, the mulberry, peach, fig, pomegranate, olive and quince, 



* The Mum-i-Ayi, the Soap of Ayi, is a black bituminous substance that oozes from 

 a cavern in a hill called the Kop-i- Mumiyai, near the village of Ayi, not far from the 

 route from Sheraz to Darabgerd. Formerly the door of the cave was guarded, and 

 opened once a year, and the Mum that had collected during the year (in size not larger 

 than an orange) taken out and deposited in the Shah's treasury. It is valued in 

 Persia at a much higher rate than its weight in gold. 



