24 APPENDIX. 



a doubt that the whole plants in thefe two countries, and 

 Arabia alio, had been loft in the defolation occaiioned by 

 the Mahometan conqueit; and a warm difpute arofe between 

 the Venetians a id Komans, whether the drug ufed by the 

 former in the Theriac was really and truly the old genuine 

 opobalfamum ? The matter was referred to the pope, who 

 directed proper inquiry to be made in Egypt, which turn- 

 en out entirely in favour of the Venetians, and the opo*- 

 balfamum continuing as formerly. 



A very learned and tedious treatife was publifhed by 

 Vefltngius, in the year 1643, ar Padua, where th s affair 

 was difcufifed at full length. As both parties of the difpu- 

 tants feem to argue concerning what it is from the mifun- 

 derftood reports of what it was, 1 mall content mv;e f brief- 

 ly with flaring what the qualities of the opobalfamum are, 

 without taking pains to refute the opinions of thofe that 

 have reported what the opobalfamum is not. 



The opobalfamum, or juice flowing from the balfam- 

 tree, at firft when it is received into the bo r le or vafe 

 from the wound from whence it ifhies, is of a light, yel- 

 low colour, apparently turbid, in which there is a wh fh 

 call, which I apprehend are the globules of air that pervade 

 the whole of it in its firft ftate of fermentation ; it then ap- 

 pears very light upon fhaking. As it fettles and cools, it 

 turns clear, and lofes that milkinefs which it firft had when 

 flowing from the tree into the bottle. It then has the co- 

 lour of honey, and appears more fixed and heavy than at 

 firft. After being kept for years, it grows a much deeper 

 yellow, and of the colour of gold. I have fome of it, which, 

 as I have already mentioned in my travels, I got from the 

 3 Cadi 



