Ball — On the Colloquies of Garcia Be Orta — II. 651 
COLLOQUY XXXIII. 
Da manjsta puegativa, onde, se falla d'outras muitus couzas, que 
sao menos medicijf^s, e sao de histoeia, e boas peea as sabeeem 
ALGUMAS PESSOAS. 
[Of the purgative manna, in wliicli (CoUoqny) many other things 
are spoken of that are not medicinal, but are historical and suitable for 
some persons to know.] 
[Manna is a saccharine exudation from the manna ash, Fraxinus 
ornus, L. It is found in Italy, Sicily, &c., extending to Asia Minor. 
It is also produced by various other trees.] 
Garcia states that although he did not know much about its origin 
he knew of its good effects. Three kinds were, he says, brought from 
Hormuz, from the province of TJsbeque (Tartary). One called xir quest 
or xircast {sJiirlcisht) was a kind of dew or gum produced on quest 
trees ; a second was called tiriumjuhim or trumgihim {taranjulin), is 
produced on thorny shrubs, and is in small pieces of a colour between 
purple and red, a third arrives in large pieces by way of Bassora mixed 
with leaves, and resembles that of Calabria ; still another kind reached 
Goa from Hormuz in leather bottles : it resembled congealed honey. 
[Ainslie has some interesting remarks on the different plants which 
produce Manna. He attributes its formation in the natural condition 
to the action of some species of Coccus {J') ; artificially it is produced by 
incisions on the stems of the plants which yield it.] 
Linschoten's remarks on this subject, as in so many other cases, 
are mainly reproductions of Garcia' s statements. 
The Colloquy contains some observations on the geography of 
Persia and Thibet. 
[References. — Clusius (Acosta), p. 15 ; Zinschoten, ii., p. 100 ; 
Ainslie, i., p. 208 ; Fluclciger and Hanhury, p. 366 ; Khorij, p. 378.] 
coLLOQrr XXXIV. 
Das Mangas. 
[The Mango, Mangifera indica, Linn.] 
Garcia extols the mango fruit above all the fruits of Portugal. He 
says those of Hormuz are so good that when they are in season no 
other kinds of fruit can be sold, save to those who cannot pay the high 
