FERULA ASSAFOiTIDA. 
271 
milky juice ; the stalk is simple, erect, straight, round, smooth, 
striated, herbaceous, about six or seven inches in circumference at 
the base, and rises to the height of two or three yards : the radical 
leaves are six or seven, nearly two feet long, bipinnate ; the pinnae 
are alternate, variously sinuated, lobed or lanceolate, smooth, of a 
deep green colour, and foetid smell ; the umbels are compound, plano- 
convex, terminal, and consist of many radii ; the seeds are oval. 
Hat, foliaceous, of a reddish brown colour, rough, marked with 
three longitudinal lines, have a porraceous smell, and a sharp bitter 
taste. 
This plant is said to vary according to the situation and soil in 
which it grows, not only in the shape of the leaves, but in the 
nauseous quality of the juice with which they are impregnated, 
sometimes becoming so mild as to be eaten by the goats. The gum 
resin known in commerce under the name of Assafoetida, is the 
concrete juice of the root of this plant.* When the plants are 
about four years old, the roots are sufficiently vigorous to yield the 
Assafoetida. In the provinces of Chorasaan it is procured in the 
following manner: at the season when the leaves begin to decay, the 
oldest and most vigorous plants are selected, the earth from the 
upper part of the root is cleared away, the stem and leaves twisted 
off; it is then left in this state for forty days, being previously 
screened from the sun by covering it over with the decayed leaves : 
at the expiration of this time the covering is removed, and the top 
of the root cut off transversely, and left for forty-eight hours for 
the juice to exude, when it is scraped off by a proper instrument, 
and exposed to the sun to harden. This operation is repeated three 
times, after which the root is again covered up, and suffered to 
remain for eight or ten days, when it is again uncovered and another 
transverse section is made as before. In this way the Assafoetida is 
collected eight times, when the root becomes exhausted of its juice, 
and soon after perishes. The collecting of the Assafoetida is per- 
formed by the peasants who live in the neighbourhood of the moun- 
tains; the juice from a number of roots is collected at the same 
time, put together, and exposed to the sun to harden. 
Sensible and Chemical Properties. Assafoetida comes 
to market in large irregular masses of a heterogeneous appearance, 
* It is probable that Assafoetida is obtained from different species of Ferula, as the 
plant cultivated by Dr. Hope, in a botanical garden near Edinburgh (the Ferula 
Persica) produced a similar juice. 
