230 
ON  THE  DRUGS  OBSERVED  AT  ADEN,  ARABIA. 
biscuit  may  be  prepared  for  use  in  a  few  minutes,  even  in  a  chafing-dish, 
over  a  few  coals  or  a  spirit  lamp.  This  invention  presents  another  advan- 
tage,— the  meat  biscuit  can  be  made  in  the  colonies  and  other  countries 
where  meat  is  abundant  and  cheap  ;  and,  by  reason  of  its  concentration 
and  portability,  can  be  exported,  at  comparatively  small  cost,  to  countries 
where  meat  is  dear  and  less  abundant. — Sealed  Sept.  5,  1851. — London 
Chem.  Gaz. 
NOTES  UPON  THE  DRUGS  OBSERVED  AT  ADEN,  ARABIA. 
By  James  Vaughan,  Esq. 
Member  of  the  Royal  College  of  Surgeons  of  England,  Assistant  Surgeon  in  the  Bombay  Army, 
Civil  and  Port  Surgeon  at  Aden,  Arabia. 
Communicated  by  Daniel  Hanbury. 
(Continued  from  page  154.) 
Aloes,  called  Sibr  by  the  Arabs,  and  Elid  by  the  natives  of 
India.  But  very  little  of  the  best  description  of  aloes  is  brought 
to  Aden  ;  the  port  of  Maculla  being  much  nearer  to  Socotra,  nearly 
the  whole  produce  of  the  island  is  carried  thither,  whence  it  is 
transhipped  to  Bombay.  The  price  of  the  drug  here  is  four  rupees 
six  annas  (86*.  9d.)  the  maund.  An  inferior  description  of  aloes, 
called  here  Black  Aloes,  is  brought  to  Aden  in  large  quantities 
from  the  interior.  This  sells  for  two  rupees  the  maund,  and  1600 
pounds  are  reported  to  have  passed  the  Custom-house  last  year 
(1851.)* 
Senna. — Cassia  elongaia  (Lemaire-Lisancourt)  is  the  species  of 
Cassia  which  grows  commonly  in  southern  Arabia  and  on  the 
opposite  coast  of  Africa.  Senna  Mekki  is  the  name  by  which  it 
is  known  here  and  in  India.  Of  late  years  the  trade  in  this  drug 
has  considerably  increased,  a  large  quantity  being  taken  by  the 
Americans  in  exchange  for  their  cotton  long-cloths,  the  principal 
material  used  for  domestic  purposes  by  the  Arabs  of  the  interior. 
Little  or  no  senna  is  sent  from  the  Somali  country  for  exportation, 
though  the  plant  is  common  there  and  grows  close  to  the  sea- 
beach.  The  Somalis  seem  to  be  ignorant  of  its  purgative  proper- 
ties. Senna  abounds  throughout  Yemn  and  Hadramaut ;  from 
thence  it  is  transported  to  Mocha  and  other  ports  of  the  Red  Sea 
*  Three  samples  of  Aloes  accompanied  this  notice  : 
1.  Aloes  from  Hadramaut. 
2.  Soootrine  Aloes. 
3.  Aden  or  Black  Aloes. 
The  last  named  has  a  foetid,  sulphurous  odor. — D.  H. 
