ON INTRODUCED ANIMALS AND PLANTS 31 



A similar figure occurs in the tomb of a later king of this dynasty. 

 The gourd is distinctly mentioned by Aristophanes, Theophrastus, 

 Cato and Pliny ; is figured by Matthioli ; and is cultivated in Egypt 

 and in the other Mediterranean countries at the present day. 



A portrait of Ramses IV., the third king of the Twentieth Dynasty, 

 has been found on the walls of the temple at Karnak. His name 

 occurs also in his tomb at Bab-el- Meluk ; on the temples at Medinet- 

 Habu, and Elephantine ; and on various movable articles, now in the 

 museums of Europe. 



The name of Ramses V., the fourth king of the Twentieth Djmasty, 

 has been found in his tomb at Bab-el-Meluk ; also, on the temples at 

 Karnak and Medinet-Habu ; on an ^obelisk ; on a stela, at Sarbut-el- 

 Khadem in the Sinai Peninsula; and on movable articles, now in 

 the museums of Europe. 



The tomb of Ramses VI., the fifth king of the Twentieth Dynasty, 

 has been found at Bab-el-Meluk ; and his name is inscribed in the 

 order of succession upon the temple at Medinet-Habu. 



The name of Ramses VII., the sixth king of the Twentieth Dynasty, 

 is inscribed in the order of succession at Medinet-Habu ; and a tomb 

 supposed to be that of this king, has been found at Bab-el-Meluk. 



About this time, other nations begin to furnish historical records. 

 Some of the remains at Nineveh, and also in Greece and Italy, are 

 probably as ancient as the Twentieth Egyptian Dynasty, but none 

 have been traced with certainty so far back. Notwithstanding the 

 variety of sculptures and inscriptions, and the paintings on the ancient 

 pottery, it is surprising how little aid in our immediate inquiry can be 

 obtained from the monumental history of Greece and Nineveh. 



Our principal dependence henceforward, is on transmitted writings, 

 or written history : for we have arrived at the lifetime of individuals 

 whose words are extant; and eye-witnesses are accessible in all suc- 

 ceeding generations down to the present day. 



The " bdlh" of Genesis ii. 12, and Numbers xi. 7, is referred by 

 Josephus and others to the " bdellion." — Pliny speaks of the " bdel- 

 lium" as the gum of a Bactrian tree, and likewise distinguishes " bdel- 

 lium Indicum." Bdellium is an aromatic gum, said to be the product 

 of Amyris commiphora, an indigenous tree of Hindostan. 



