54  BOTANICAL  AND  PHARMACOLOGICAL  INQUIRIES. 
A  third  variety,  distinguished  by  the  Arabs  as  Bissa  Bol,  is  also  collect- 
ed by  the  Somali  tribes  and  sent  by  way  of  Aden  to  India. 
It  is  a  point  of  much  interest  to  determine  with  accuracy  the  plants 
which  afford  these  several  sorts  of  myrrh,  and  for  this  end  it  is  earnestly 
requested  that  those  who  have  any  opportunity  for  investigating  the  sub- 
ject will  not  neglect  to  do  so. 
ASIA  MINOR,  PERSIA,  CENTRAL  ASIA. 
Gum  Tragacanth  is  produced  in  Asia  Minor  by  several  species  of  Astra- 
galus, which  it  is  desirable  further  to  identify.  Travellers  and  others  who 
have  the  opportunity  should  preserve  specimens  of  any  species  seen  to 
yield  the  gum,  as  well  as  specimens  of  the  gum  itself ;  noting  at  the  same 
time  whether  the  latter  was  obtained  from  incision  in  the  stem,  or  whether 
exuded  spontaneously.  Fine  gum  tragacanth  is  produced  at  Caissar  (or 
Kaisarieh)  and  Yalavatz,  in  Asia  Minor,  at  which  places  the  practice  of 
making  longitudinal  incisions  in  the  stem  of  the  shrub  is  adopted ;  the 
gum  is  also  collected  at  Isbarta,  Bourda,  Angora,  &c. 
Gum  tragacanth  is  frequently  adulterated  with  another  gum,  which  has 
been  called  False  Tragacanth,  Hog  Gum,  Bassora  Gum,  or  Gum  Kutera. 
At  Smyrna  it  appears  to  be  known  as  Caraman  Gum.  What  is  its  origin  ? 
One  of  its  properties  is  to  swell  up  into  an  opaque  mass,  upon  being  placed 
in  water,  in  which,  however,  it  does  not  dissolve. 
Storax. — None  of  the  storax  found  in  commerce  in  modern  times  is  de- 
rived from  Styrax  officinale,  L.;  yet  it  is  certain  that  this  tree  is  capable, 
under  favorable  circumstances,  of  yielding  a  highly  fragrant  resin  which 
was  once  much  valued. 
Authentic  specimens  of  this  resin,  which  is  the  original  and  legitimate 
Storax,  are  much  desired.  It  was  formerly  produced  in  the  south  of  Asia 
Minor,  where  the  tree  is  still  found  in  great  abundance. 
Salep. — Obtain  specimens  of  the  different  plants  which  yield  salep  in 
Asia  Minor,  Persia  and  Cashmere,  and  especially  of  those  that  afford  the 
best  kinds. 
What  is  the  plant  which  affords  the  drug  called  Badshah  Saleb,  or  Royal 
Salep  ?  Where  is  it  produced,  and  for  what  purpose  is  it  valued  ?  It  has 
been  exported  to  England  from  Bombay. 
Sumbul  Root. — Nothing  definite  is  known  respecting  the  botanical  origin 
of  this  remarkable  root,  which  is  said  to  come  into  Europe  by  way  of 
Russia.    It  is  probably  produced  somewhere  in  Central  Asia. 
Assafoetida. — Although  the  ordinary  assafoetida  of  commerce  is  doubt- 
less the  produce  of  Nartliex  Assafoetida,  Falc,  there  are  some  varieties  of 
the  drug  which,  it  is  reasonable  to  conclude,  are  derived  from  other  species. 
One  of  those  sent  from  India  to  the  Great  Exhibition  of  1851  was  a  brown 
pellucid  gum  resin  containing  pieces  of  the  stalk  of  the  plant,  and  differing 
considerably  from  ordinary  assafoetida. 
Another  variety,  which  has  long  been  known,  has  been  called  Stony 
