HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 
259 
insect which is still a mystery to us, but enough is known to make us 
wish for more. Analysis of these curious nests has shown that they 
contain gum, starch, and sugar in their composition, and when thrown 
into water, at the ordinary temperature, they swell, partly dissolve, and 
become converted into a pasty mass. In Turkey and Syria they are 
collected and employed as food, many being sent to Constantinople and 
other Turkish cities, where they are regularly offered for sale. Some 
of this substance was exhibited in the Turkish department of the Great 
Exhibition of 1851. The insect itself is of an oblong form and black, 
about three-fifths of an inch in length. Its snout is projecting, with the 
antennae attached on either side about half-way down. The elytra or 
wing-cases are marked on the surface by ten punctured lines, which 
commence at the upper edge and unite before reaching the opposite 
extremity. 
Shukhur-ool-ashur, or Skukhur treghal, is a very similar sub- 
stance, and consists of the nests of just such another little beetle. In 
^5SpPr 
Fig. 2. Shukhur-ool- Ashur. 
this instance the country of production is India, where the cases are 
known by the Arabic names already given ; they are far from common, 
but are collected by the natives and employed as a kind of manna. The 
plant on which they are found is the Mudar or Ashur (Calotropis 
gigantea, and probably allied species), whence the name " Sugar of the 
Ashur " is derived. Dr. Royle, in his " Himalayan Botany," says of it : 
" This is a sweetish exudation formed on the plant, in consequence of 
the puncture of an insect called Gultigal." With but little modification 
this paragraph has been repeated by subsequent authors, and is almost 
the whole knowledge we have possessed of this substance or its fabri- 
cator. Having obtained specimens of the Shukhur from India, I sue- 
