262 MYRRH. 
perly called gum Senegal. The latter is imported from 
Senegal, Guinea, and other parts of Africa. It is 
generally seen in large rough pieces, of roundish figure, 
and brownish hue, more or less pure ; possesses similar 
properties to the other, and is much cheaper. 
On account of their mucilaginous qualities, these two 
kinds of gum, under the name of gum arabic, were 
formerly used for several purposes in medicine ; and, 
in coughs and hoarsenesses, were considered of great 
service. They are now principally in request by the 
manufacturers of water-colours ; by dyers, and arti- 
ficers of different kinds. In Africa the latter constitutes 
a principal ingredient in the food of the inhabitants. 
They sometimes dissolve it in milk : and this solution 
of it is esteemed a favourite repast by some of the 
tribes. 
The dried juice of the unripe fruit of Egyptian 
mimosa is called acacia, and is to this day much used 
in medicine by the Egyptians. It is sometimes im- 
ported into this country in roundish masses, wrapped 
in thin bladders ; and is externally of deep brown 
colour, and of a yellowish or reddish brown within. 
274. MYRRH is a gummy, resinous substance, obtained from a 
tree which grows in Abyssinia, Arabia, and oilier countries of the 
East, but respecting which we are hitherto possessed of no certain 
account. Mr. Bruce, however, imagined it to be a species of mimosa. 
This drug is generally imported in a kind of grains, 
of irregular form ; of brownish or reddish yellow co- 
lour, and somewhat transparent. Its smell is aromatic ; 
and its taste is pungent and bitter. In its medicinal 
effects, myrrh, when taken into the stomach, is sup- 
posed to warm and strengthen it, and also to strengthen 
the other viscera. It is believed to resist putrefaction 
in all parts of the body ; and, hence, has been recom<- 
mended as a medicine in malignant, putrid, and pesti- 
lential fevers ; and in small-pox. 
At the East India Company's sales this drug is sold 
at the rate of about twenty pounds per hundred weight. 
