ALOE. 
109 
and to deposit its faeculent parts. Next day the 
clear liquor is drawn off by a cock, and again com- 
mitted to the large iron vessel. At first it is boiled 
briskly; but towards the end the evaporation is slow, 
and requires constant stirring to prevent burning. 
When it becomes of the consistence of honey, it is 
poured into gourds or calibashes for sale, where it 
gradually acquires the necessary hardness. 
The caballine or horse aloes is an inferior drug, 
supposed to be obtained from the same plant as the 
hepatic, and is chiefly distinguished by its strong 
and rank smell. 
The Mahometans respect the aloe as a plant of a 
superior nature. In Egypt, it may be said to bear 
some share in their religious ceremonies, since who- 
ever returns from a pilgrimage to Mecca hangs it 
over his street-door as a proof of his having per- 
formed that holy journey. The superstitious 
Egyptians believe that this plant hinders evil spi- 
rits and apparitions from entering the house ; and, 
on this account, whoever walks the streets in Cairo 
will find it over the doors both of Christians and 
Jews. 
The leaves of the different species of aloe, as 
well as those of the agave, are highly serviceable to 
the natives of the countries where they grow. The 
negroes in Senegal make excellent ropes of them, 
which are not liable to rot in water ; and of two 
kinds mentioned by sir H. Sloane, one is manu- 
factured into fishing-lines, bow-strings, stockings, 
and hammocks ; while the other has leaves, which, 
