ON INTRODUCED ANIMALS AND PLANTS. 33 



" red" colour, continues to be a favourite article of diet with the Egyp- 

 tians. 



The " dgn" of Genesis xxvii. 28, Numbers xviii. 27, Deuteronomy 

 xxviii. 51, Lamentations ii. 12, and the " d'hn" of Ezekiel iv. 9, may 

 be compared with " dokhn," the current Egyptian name of the Pen- 

 nisetum (already mentioned), and also of the millet (Echinochloa 

 Italica) . — The " kegchros" is mentioned in the Hesiodic Poems, and 

 Herodotus speaks of its being cultivated both at Babylon and on the 

 Borysthenes ; a geographical range corresponding with that of the 

 millet. I frequently met with fields of millet, both in Upper and 

 Lower Egypt. 



The "lwz" of Genesis xxx. 37, may be compared with "louz," the 

 current Egyptian name of the almond (Amygdalus communis). — The 

 almond is mentioned under its current Greek name by Ctesias, Xeno- 

 phon, and other ancient writers. 



The "lbnh" of Genesis xxx. 37, and Solomon's Song iv. 6 and 14, 

 may be compared with the " libanotis" of Theophrastus and Dios- 

 corides, admitted to be the rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis). — This 

 shrub grows to a large size, and is a favourite in the gardens of Egypt. 



It should be observed, however, that in the Somali country the term 

 "lubanum" is applied to all gum-like articles of commerce : and that 

 in Hosea iv. 13, the "lbnh" appears to be a tree. According to the 

 Septuagint and Arabic Versions, the " lbnh" of Genesis xxx. 37, is the 

 Sty rax officinalis; an indigenous tree, not to be found in irrigated 

 gardens, though perhaps within reach on the neighbouring mountains. 

 — The " styraka" of Herodotus iii. 107, and Pliny xii. 55, according to 

 the received opinion and Greek usage, is gum storax (the product of 

 S. officinalis) : the living tree has been seen by Sibthorp and others, 

 on the mountains of Syria, Cyprus, and Greece. 



The " tzry" of Genesis xxxvii. 25 and xliii. 11, Jeremiah viii. 22, 

 and Ezekiel xxvii. 17, may be compared with " oschar," the current 

 Egyptian name of the Asclepias procera (Calotropis) . — A sugar-like sub- 

 stance is obtained from this plant in Persia (according to Serapion, 

 De temp, simplic. 50, and Ange de Saint-Joseph, as quoted by Delile) . 

 I met with the plant in the Desert of the Thebaid ; and though un- 

 known in Lower Egypt, it reappears (according to Hasselquist and 

 Lynch) in the region around the Dead Sea. 



The "br" of Genesis xli. 35 and 49, Psalm lxv. 13, Proverbs xi. 26, 

 Joel ii. 24, and Amos v. 11, may be compared with the "pyros" of 



