272 
royle's manual of materia medica, etc. 
where it seems to have been met with by Sir Alex. Burnes,* 
and on the other to stretch across from Beloochistan, through 
Candahar and other provinces of Afghanistan to the eastern 
side of the valley of the Indus, where it stops in Astore, and 
does not occur in great abundance. The whole of this region, 
which constitutes the head-quarters of the gum-bearing Um- 
belliferae, possesses the common character of an excessively 
dry climate, indicated in Berghaus\s hygrometric map in John- 
son's Physical Atlas by a belt of white. 
Besides the gum-resin, the fruit of JVarthex Jlssafoetida is 
imported into India from Persia and Afghanistan, under the 
name of " Anjoodan," being extensively employed by the 
native physicians in India : li Anjoodan" being the epithet 
applied to the seed of the " Heengseh," or u Hulteet," by 
Avicenna, also quoted by Kaempfer, and used by the Indo- 
Persian and Arabic writers generally in describing the Assa- 
foetida plant. Another Umbelliferous fruit is also imported 
with it, and sold under the name of "Dooqoo" (a word evi- 
dently connected with the bavxo$ of the Greeks,) being recom- 
mended as an excellent substitute for " Anjoodan," which it 
closely resembles in its general appearance. This I found to 
be the fruit of a species of true Ferula ; it is one of the two 
Assafoetida-like fruits mentioned by Dr. Royle as occurring in 
the bazaars of northern India. The species of Ferula yielding 
this fruit may furnish some one of the obscurely-known gum- 
resins resembling Assafoetida produced in Persia. 
I have examined another kind of Umbelliferous fruit in the 
collection of Dr. Royle. labelled as " the seed of the wild 
Assafoetida plant collected and brought to England by Sir J. 
Macneill from Persia," which differs widely from the fruit 
both of Narthex and of Ferula, and belongs to another tribe 
of the order." H. F. 
The above description of the genus Narthex, is accompa- 
nied with beautiful illustrations of form and structure. 
The author appears to be perfectly at home, and speaks 
with authority from observation wherever the products of 
the East Indies are discussed. 
* Burnes mentions the plant as'an annual, probably in consequence 
of the annual decay of the stems. He states that sheep browse on. 
the young shoots. 
