MYRRH. 
wards of two thousand years. The best Myrrh is said to be brought 
from Troglodytitia, a province of Abyssinia, on the borders of the 
Red Sea ; but what we receive comes from the East Indies, and is 
said to be the product of a tree growing in Arabia Felix. Accord- 
ing to Bruce, the tree which produces this substance resembles the 
Acacia Vera, both in the leaf and the bark. Hence he conjectures it 
to be a species of Mimosa,* and that it grows behind Azab, along 
the coast towards the Straits of Babelmandel. It appears to have 
been known both to Dioscorides and Pliny ; and we are told that 
"Alexander's array found vast numbers of Myrrh trees growing in the 
territory of the Gadrossi.f Modern botanists, however, appear to 
be totally unacquainted with the tree ; but we trust, that through the 
exertions of the Medico-Botanical Society of London, this desidera- 
tum in botanical knowledge will, ere long, be satisfactorily made 
known. 
Qualities, &c. This gum resin, when pure, is la tHe form of 
tears, of « r«tI<ll«)K ydlow colour, brittle, pellucid, shining, and of an 
unctuous feel. The taste is bitter and aromatic, with a peculiarly 
strong odour. It is partially soluble both in water and alcohol, and 
in a less proportion in sulphuric ether. According to Braconnot, 
100 parts of Myrrh consist of 23 resin and 77 gum, J Neumana 
obtained from 7680 parts of Myrrh, 6000 watery extract, 720 alco- 
holic and 180 volatile oil; and inversely, 2400 alcoholic, and 4200 
watery. Myrrh is soluble in alkalies, forming with them tenacious 
fluids. 
Medical Properties, &c. Myrrh is tonic and stimulating; 
in moderate doses it promotes diaphoresis, and the fluid secretions 
in general, and proves serviceable in many diseases arising from in-^ 
activity of the system. It is thought to act especially upon the 
uterine system j hence it is generally prescribed (and with success) 
in amenorrhcea, chlorosis, &c. As a topical remedy, the spirituous 
solution is often applied to vitiated ulcers ; and, diluted with water, 
it is used as a gargle to ulcers of the throat, and as a lotion in a 
spongy state of the gums. Myrrh may be exhibited in substance, in 
* Dr. A. Duncan, Junior, observes, that all the Mimosas with which we are ac- 
quainted famish a pure gum, not a gum resin, and observes that Forskahl's opinion 
that it is the produtjt of the Amyris Kataf is more probable. — 'Edinburgh N*u> 
Disp. Uth ed. 
f Vide Rooke's Arrian, toI. ii. pp. 115, 180. 
t Annates de Chimie, Ixviii. S2. 
VOL. II. J x. 
