MATERIA ME DIC A. 299 
Van arrived fafe at Cairo, without any great Iofs 
°f people either by hunger or difeafes. 
Opium. We are told that the Turks formerly 
fonfumed large quantities of this drug, at prefent 
»t is ufed by very few, and fcarcely by any, except 
thofe who ftriftly follow the laws of Mahomed, 
and therefore abftain from wine, and all other 
Spirituous liquors. But there are very few at this 
time who obferve them fo ftricily, efpecially a- 
tfiongft the vulgar ; perhaps there were formerly 
tfiore, and then it is poflible Opium was more 
frequently ufed ; fuch as now make ufe of Opium 
have a trembling of the nerves, are fleepy, and be- 
come very weak, therefore the Turks, who fee 
this, with great reafon, leave off a cuftom fo evi- 
dently deftru&ive. 
Caffia Fiftula. 
The manner of preparing it in Egypt. 
The Pods are colle&ed before they are quite 
tipe, and carried into a very clofe room in which 
has been previoufly prepared a bed of palm leaves 
and ftraw fix inches thick, on this they lay the 
t ods in a heap. The door is then clofely fiiut, and 
l he next day they fprinkle water on the heap, 
j ich is repeated the day following ; thus they 
ay heaped for forty days, ’till they become black. 
thers dig a hole in the ground to put them in, 
this method is much inferior to the former. 
Scammonium. Scammony. 
The beft Scammony in the world is brought 
rom Marafch, the refidence of a Balhaw, about 
*°ur days journey from Aleppo, near the confines 
of 
