656 
Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 
COLLOQUY XLI. 
Do AmFIIo, ditto ASSIM COEEOMPEOIDAMENTE POEQUE 0 SETT 
NOME " OPIO." 
[Of the Amfiao corruptly so called, since its correct name is 
opium.] 
[Opium, the prepared juice of Papaver somniferum, Linn.] 
Called ojium or afium by the Arabs and Moors, who altered the 
opium oith.Q Greeks by putting / for ^. A small variety was called 
caxcux by the Arabs. 
Garcia says there are many different kinds ; that from Cairo, which 
is white, is called meceri {misseri) ; that from Aden and other localities 
in the Red Sea is black and hard ; that from Cambay (grown in 
Malwa, which is still a centre of poppy cultivation), Mandwa, and 
Chitor is soft and yellow : the prices of these varieties vary with the 
localities according as they happen to be usually eaten, 
Garcia describes the reason why opium is so much used by the 
natives, but adds that if taken in excess it is liable to produce 
impotence. The usual amount taken daily was from 20 to 50 grains 
of wheat in weight ; but a certain Khorasani, Secretary of the Mzam, 
ate three tollahs and a-half, or ten cruzados' weight every day, and 
notwithstanding that this produced stupor, he was, when roused, a 
most able and learned man. 
[Eeferences. — Clusius (Aeosfa), p. 12; Zinschoten, ii., p. 112; 
Bonfius and Piso, lib. iv., p. 41 ; AinsUe, i., p. 271 ; Fluchiger and 
Hanhury, p. 40 ; Khory, p. 145.] 
COLLOQUY XLII. 
Do PAO DA COBEA E DE TEES MaNEIEAS. 
[Snake-wood, three kinds.] 
The identity of these is very doubtful, as the descriptions are 
rather vague. It is possible, however, that they may be identical with 
the following : — 
Cocculus acuminatus, D'C. 
Semidesmus indicus, E. Brown. ^ 
Strychnos coluhrina^ Linn. 
^ See Fluckiger and Hanbury, p. 379, n. 
