312 



POPULAR ECONOMIC BOTANY. 



as early as Genesis xxxvii. 25, where we find the Ishmaelites, 

 to whom Joseph was sold by his brethren^ were merchants 

 dealing in " myrrh, balm, and spicery )^ its name in all 

 probability is derived from the Hebrew word Mur, which 

 signifies hitter , — a name very expressive of its bitter taste. 

 It has always been highly esteemed, on account of its sweet 

 balsamic odour and presumed medicinal virtues. Two kinds 

 are imported, one from the East Indies, the other from 

 Turkey ; the latter is the better variety. Myrrh is in small 

 masses about the size of a walnut, sometimes larger, very 

 irregular in shape, and of a reddisli-brown colour (darker 

 in the East Indian variety), slightly translucent, and ap- 

 pearing to be covered with yellowish-brown dust. About 

 15 or 16 tons are annually imported, the greater portion 

 from the East Indies, 



Manna. — A concrete juice which exudes from the branches 

 of the European Flowering Ash, Omus EitropcEa (Nat. Ord. 

 Oleace(£), (Plate XYIII. fig. 93.) It is usually produced 

 by making incisions in the stem and branches of the tree ; 

 it is a peculiar kind of sugar, called Mannite ; when it first 

 oozes from the longitudinal incisions it is a yellowish-white 

 liquid, which concretes on the bark, and is removed in long 

 strips, called flakes; there are other varieties, but Flake 



