Foreign Vegetables. 261 
but being reduced to Powder of a fine Rednefs 
refembling Blood, and appearing pellucid when it 
is fpread into thin Lamina. It is void of Tafte, 
and Smell alfo, except when it is burnt, and then 
it difperfes a Smell not much unlike to liquid Sto- 
rax. In the Shops are two Sorts : The one is in 
hard Drops, or in Lumps an Inch long, and half 
an Inch thick, which are wrapped up in Flags or 
Palm-Leaves. The other Sort is made into Cakes, 
and impure, having a Mixture of Bark, Wood, 
Earth, or other heterogeneous Subftances. We 
fometimes meet with it alfo foft and tenacious, but 
growing hard in Time like the others. . There is 
likewife a fidtitious Sort of Dragon’s Blood, very 
often fold in the Shops, which it is eafy to diftin- 
guifh from the true, as it is made up into round 
flat Cakes of a dull Colour. It is compounded of 
feveral Kinds of Gums, with a certain Proportion 
of the true Refin, or of jSr^/^-Wood, to give it a 
Colour. In the Fire it does not take Flame, but 
rifes up into Bubbles and makes a Crackling •, and 
in Water it grows vifcid, and diflolves in the fame 
Manner as a Gum. This is altogether unfit for 
Ufe. The beft Dragon’s Blood is in pure, fhining 
Drops covered with Leaves, inflammable, and of 
a fine crimfon red Colour, when reduced to Pow- 
der. 
Dragon’s Blood was known to the ancient Greeks 
by the Name of Cinnabar * and the Cinnabar of 
the Moderns was in thofe Ages called Minium. 
In the Time of Diofcorides fome were of Opinion 
that this Drug was the indurated Blood of a Dra- 
gon. Diofcorides indeed rejedts this Notion as falfe, 
though he does not inform us himfelf what it is. 
However, it has long fince been difcovered to be 
the Juice of a Tree. We are told by Monardus 
that this Tree took the Name of Draco from its 
S3 having 
