220 



ON THE ANCIENT 



spice, which though in flavour and taste similar to, is coarser 

 than cinnamon. The real cinnamon is indigenous to the 

 country of Somali on the eastern coast of Africa, and was 

 afterwards introduced to Ceylon, whence the Arab traveller 

 Ibn Batuta reports on it. It grows about 30 feet, has like- 

 wise a white flower and a small berry, which yields a useful 

 oil. Its inner bark produces the famous cinnamon, the bark 

 contains the precious cinnamon oil, its leaves furnish the 

 mace oil, and its roots camphor. The Bible (Exod. xxx. 

 23-24) knows both Cassia and Cinnamon, so does also Hero- 

 dotos and Theophrastos. The real cinnamon came originally 

 from Ethiopia^ and cassia from Malabar. The Roman 

 Digesta distinguished between Cinnamomum, Xylocinnamo- 

 mium Cassia tantum and Xylocassium. The price of cinna- 

 mon fluctuated much between 25 and 300 dinars or between 

 7\ and 90 rupees the pound ; and of cassia between 5 and 50 

 dinars or \\ to 15 rupees. Cinnamon and cassia were also 

 esteemed physics. The leaves of the cassia and other laurel 

 trees yielded the highly esteemed Malabathron, the Tamalapa- 

 tra of the Indians. The Alexandrian merchant tells us a 

 peculiar story how this precious spice was obtained. There 

 exists, he says, a barbarous race of men with short, figures, 

 broad faces and flat noses, who are called Sesatai (Besadai). 

 Every year they come, together with their wives and children, 

 to the frontiers of the Thinae. There they encamp, resting 

 on mats made of rushes, tendrils and leaves, which they 

 carried from their home with them. As soon as they are gone 

 away people, who have watched them, gather the mats, 

 which these Besadai had left behind, extract the fibres from 

 the reeds, and collect the leaves. Out of these they gain the 

 Malabathron, of which exist three varieties, and bring it to 

 the harbour Grange on the mouth of the river of that name. 

 It came also from Further-India and was as highly valued as 

 cinnamon. 



