COUNTRY GENTLEMAN'S COMPANION. 
September 18. 
spoken of by Mr. Alexander Duncan, at one time the 
Assistant-Surgeon and Medical Storekeeper at Nee- 
much. “ This grass is well known as furnishing a 
highly fragrant and stimulating oil. It occurs abun¬ 
dantly in the districts of Meywar and Malwa. I know 
few remedies more useful in the treatment of Rheuma¬ 
tism, local pains, &c. After the rains have ceased, and 
the grass begins to dry, the oil appears to exist in the 
greatest abundance, and the air is perfumed to some 
extent by its odour; and which, though peculiar, is in 
my opinion not unlike that of the Oil of Carraway.”— 
(Journal of Calcutta Medical Society, i., 509.) 
Dr. Royle also thinks that the Kanah Bosem was af¬ 
forded by this species of Andropogon, but he calls it A. 
luarancusa, and thinks that another species, which he 
calls A. calamus aromaticus, is productive of similar oil. | 
(Essay on the Antiquity of Hindoo Medicine, pp. 33, 82.) J 
“ It covers the extensive arid plains of Central India, a 
country interspersed. with large and numerous lakes, and 
therefore resembling that described by Theophrastus as the 
country in which the sweet calamus grows. The present 
plant was first figured in the Philosophical Transactions for 
1790, from a dried specimen sent to Sir Gilbert Plane, by 
his brother at Lucknow. It is there accompanied by such 
information as Sir Gilbert had obtained from his brother, 
who, in his letter, states the occasion on which it was 
brought under his notice. In December, 1786, when on a 
hunting excursion with the Nabob Vizier, towards the 
Northern mountains, he was one day surprised by perceiv¬ 
ing the air perfumed with an aromatic odour, and upon ask¬ 
ing the cause, he was told it proceeded from the grass trod¬ 
den and bruised by the feet of the elephants and horses of 
the Nabob’s retinue. This induced Mr. Blane to collect 
some of the roots and plant them in his garden at Lucknow, 
where they throve, and, in the rainy season, shot up spikes 
six feet in height, one of which was the specimen sent by 
him to his brother. 
“ Mr. Hatchett, F.R.S., has lately issued a paper (‘ On the 
Spikenard of the Ancients ’) describing the precious oil, ob¬ 
tained, as he considered, from this plant Andropogon 
Twarancusa, but more probably from its neighbour, the A. 
calamus aromaticus of Royle, and which he follows Sir 
Gilbert Blane in referring to the spikenard, rather than the 
sweet Calamus of the ancients. This account is interesting 
for its notice of the products for which ‘ the sweet cane of a 
far country ’ was so famed in ancient times. The informa¬ 
tion lie supplies was obtained from Mr. Swinton, who, when 
at Malwah, was attacked by severe rheumatism, and, after 
much suffering, found relief by employing, at the suggestion 
of some of the principal natives, as an embrocation, a pre¬ 
cious oil, called by them Rlionsee ke Teel (oil of grass’). 
This proved to be the product of the plant in question. The 
oil is so highly fragrant that insects will not approach 
it; and the odour of the plant itself is so powerful, that 
although camels will eat almost any vegetable, yet they will 
not browse on this. 
“ The oil is obtained from the spikes, which, when ripe, 
are cut, with a portion of the stem, about one foot in length, 
and are then subjected to distillation. Mr. Swinton was in¬ 
formed that the oil has been prepared by the natives, in and 
about Malwah, from time immemorial, at first, probably, by 
the Parsees ; although, at present, it is entirely in the hands 
of the Boi’alis, a very commercial sect, whose chief resides 
at Surat. Only a small quantity of this precious oil is con¬ 
sumed by the natives, the greater part being now, as was the 
case in very remote times (according to tradition), sent as an 
article of commerce to Arabia. 
“ The gathering is in the month of October, when the seeds 
forming the ears or spikes are become fully ripe. At that sea¬ 
son, however, the jungle fever is so prevalent in the places 
where this plant is produced, that the peasantry who collect 
it will not expose their health and lives to very imminent 
danger, unless tempted hy very high remuneration: this, and 
not the scarcity of the plant, appears to be the cause of the 
441 ! 
high price which the oil bears, and which, consequently, pre¬ 
cludes it from being used by any excepting the superior class 
of natives.” 
The September Meeting of the Entomological Society, 1 
held on the 3rd instant, with the President, J. Curtis, j 
Esq., F.L.S., in the chair, was one of the smallest we j 
have seen for a long time past, many of the members 
being absent from London. A goodly display of new 
works was, however, announced, as having been received, 
since the last meeting, from the Royal Society, the 
Society of Arts, the Entomological Society of Stettin, 
Messieurs Chevrolat, Guerin-Meneville and Jekel, of 
Paris, Mr. F. Walker, &c. 
A case of rare Moths, new to the Society’s collection, 
was also presented by Mr. Bond. 
Mr. Lubbock exhibited a number of Galls of different 
kinds growing upon Oaks in Kent; a number of species 
of Stapliylindce (Rove beetles); and also the rare Lamia 
textor and Apamcea conigera, taken in Scotland, were 
exhibited by Mr. Foxcroft. 
Mr. Douglas exhibited several rare and interesting 
minute Lepidoptera, including a new Elacliista, reared 
from the larvae, which form mining galleries in the 
leaves of Chenopodium vulyare, Lithocolletes comparella, 
reared from the leaves of Poplars since the last meeting; 
thus proving that the species of this genus are double- 
brooded in the course of a year, the first brood having 
appeared in April. Also Gelechia maculiferella, a very 
rare species, which he had taken on the windows of his 
own house, at Lee, in Kent. 
Mr. Waring exhibited some remarkable varieties of 
the following species of Geometridae, namely, Boazmia 
repandaria, Tephrosia crepuscularia, and Anticlcea rubi- 
daria, with the fasciae of the wings confluent, and which 
might easily be regarded as a distinct species. All these 
curious specimens had been taken near Coomb Hurst, 
Croydon. 
Mr. Westwood gave a notice of several entomological 
works recently published by Dr. Burmeister. 1. Upon 
the veins of the wings of the Coleoptera, as affording a 
valuable character for determining the distribution and 
affinities of the different families. 2. A monograph on 
the species of Mutillce inhabiting Brazil, the author 
having taken a number of new species during his travels 
in South America; and, 3rd., A review of the great 
work of Madame Merian, on the Natural History of the 
insects and other objects of nature found by her in 
Surinam, with an identification of nomenclature of the 
species of insects. 
Mr. Westwood also stated, that whilst recently collect¬ 
ing mineral Crustacea on the sea coast at Mount Edge¬ 
combe, he had observed a minute, opaque, white-winged 
Dipterous insect, which he had no doubt was identical 
with Mr. Halliday’s newly-described Irish Clunio mar- ! 
inus. He also gave some account of the Museum of j 
the Natural History Society of Plymouth, which con- | 
tains portions of Dr. Leach’s original collection. 
Mr. Winter exhibited the rare Nonagria musculosa 
(Nervosa. Haer.), taken near Brighton. 
