GUM MYRRH. 



311 



We usually receive Scammony from Smyrna^ in the form of 

 small compact cakes about an inch thick and three or four 

 inches in diameter. It is of a dark greenish -black colour^ with 

 a dull surface and a remarkable cheesy smell. But scam- 

 mony^ owing to the adulterations practised upon it by those 

 who collect it, is so varied in appearance that a very long 

 description of all the varieties would be necessary to perfect 

 its history. We receive between 2000 and 3000 lbs. per 

 annum. 



Gum Elemi, or Elemi, is a peculiar resin, the history of 

 which is involved in obscurity. The Dutch furnish the 

 whole supply of this resin, which is consequently thought 

 to be the product of one of their colonies, but both its 

 origin and the locality whence it is brought are, with the 

 characteristic jealousy of that people, kept entirely secret. It 

 is in masses, having a sweet balsamic smell, and a greenish 

 and yellowish-white colour. A few hundredweights only are 

 imported. 



Gum Myrrh. — This gum-resin exudes naturally from the 

 stem of Balsamodendron Myrrha (Nat. Ord. Amj/ridace(x), 

 a small shrub growing on the coast of Abyssinia, and called 

 Kerobeta by the inhabitants. 



Myrrh is frequently mentioned in the Scriptures, even 



