No. 614] THE USES OF INSECT GALLS 167 



Asia on eighteen species of Rosa, and in North America 

 on Rosa canina only. It was highly esteemed by the an- 

 cients, but has received very little mention in more mod- 

 ern times as being of any particular use to man. 



This gall was mentioned by Pliny as being among the 

 most successful applications for the restoration of hair. 

 For this purpose it had to be powdered and mixed with 

 honey. In Italy it has been used, when powdered and 

 laid on the affected parts, to cure the bite of venomous 

 creatures. This use by the Italians may have grown out 

 of the story related by Pliny that the mother of one of 

 the praetorian guard had a dream, after her son had been 

 bitten by a mad dog, in which she was directed to procure 

 the little round balls at the root of the wild rose and apply 

 them to the affected part. Cuvier has recorded the Bede- 

 guar of the rose as among the remedies successfully used 

 against diarrhoea, dysentery, and cases of stones, scurvy 

 and worms, and as late as 1868 the farmers near Harro- 

 gate were known to gather the mossy galls of the rose to 

 make an infusion for diarrhoea in cows, for which Un- 

 claimed to find it very successful. 



Aulax sp. Rubsaanien 



The gall of the sage or "Pomme de sauge" is produced 

 by Aulax sp. Eiibsaamen on Salvia pomifcra and other 

 species of Salvia in the Isle of Crete. 



The earliest available record of the use of these galls 

 is that by Belon in 1558 in which he described them as 

 being large as galls, covered with hair and sweet and 

 pleasant to the taste. They were collected at the be- 

 ginning of May and sold by the people of Candie to neigh- 

 boring villagers. Olivier stated that "they are esteemed 

 in the Levant for their aromatic and acid flavor, espe- 

 cially when prepared with honey and sugar, and form a 

 considerable article of commerce from Scio to Constanti- 

 nople, where they are regularly exposed in the market." 



