Chap 55.] 
STORAX. 
151 
vessel, whereas, if it is adulterated, it will float upon the sur- 
face like oil, and if it has been drugged with metopion or 
hammoniacum, a white circle will form around it. But tlie 
best test of all is, that it will cause milk to curdle, and leave 
no stain upon cloth. In no commodity are there practised 
more palpable frauds than in this, for a sextarius of balsamum 
which is sold by the fiscal authorities at three hundred denarii, 
is sold again for a thousand, so vast is the profit to be derived 
from increasing this liquid by sophistication. The price of 
xylobalsamum is six denarii per pound. 
CHAP. 55. STORAX. 
That part of Syria joining up to Judsea, and lying above 
Phoenicia, produces storax, which is found in the vicinity of 
Gabala and Marathus,"^^ as also of Casius, a mountain of Se- 
leucia. The tree^^ bears the same name, and has a strong 
resemblance to, the quince. The tear has a harsh taste, with a 
pleasant smell ; in the interior it has all the appearance of a reed, 
and is filled with a liquid juice. About the rising of the Dog- 
star, certain small winged worms hover about this substance 
and eat it away, for which reason it is often found in a rotten 
state, with worm-holes full of dust. The storax next in esti- 
mation after that already mentioned, comes from Pisidia, 
Sidon, Cyprus, and Cilicia ; that of Crete being considered the 
very worst of all. That which comes from Mount Amanus, 
in Syria, is highly esteemed for medicinal purposes, and even 
more so by the perfumers. Prom whatever country it coraes, 
that which is of a red colour is preferred, and it should be 
both unctuous as well as viscous to the touch ; the worst kind 
is that which crumbles like bran, and is covered all over with 
a whitish mould. This substance is adulterated with the resin 
of cedar or with gum, and sometimes with honey or bitter al- 
These localities are mentioned in B. v. 
^ The Storax officinalis of Linnaeus, a tree found in the south of 
Europe and the Levant. The variety found in France, and known as the 
Ahboufier, produces no storax, or at least a very small proportion. The 
storax of commerce appears in three states — grain storax, with which Pliny 
does not appear to have been acquainted ; amygdalite, which is perhaps 
the sort which he speaks of as adulterated with bitter almonds; and lump 
storax, of reddish brown colour, which is frequently mixed with wood dust, 
or worm dust, as mentioned by Pliny, and is but little esteemed. The tree 
is also called Liquidambar styraciflua. 
