30 
ON GALBANUM. 
plants of galbanum, because they do not possess the slightest 
odor of that gum resin. 
With greater probability, this drug is attributed to the 
Ferula G alb an if era, Lobel. M. Ludwig does not think 
that all the galbanum is procured from this plant, but that 
a quantity is also yielded by the Galbanum Officinale, 
which is found in great abundance in the Levant and Syria; 
this origin is not yet proved, and requires to be confirmed 
by local observations. 
Three kinds of galbanum are distinguished in com- 
merce: — 
1. Galbanum in Grains (Galbanum in grant's.) — In 
separate grains, but attached to one another, from the size of 
a small pea to that of a nut, of a yellowish, whitish, or 
greenish color. The odor is strong, penetrating, and pecu- 
liar, but not disagreeable ; the taste is sharp, resinous, and 
rather bitter; sp. gr. 1.212; it softens between the 
fingers. 
2. Galbanum in Masses (Galbanum in massis.) — Large 
pieces of a variable color, yellow, greenish, &c, mixed with 
hairs and other foreign matters, or stalks and petioles. 
The odor resembles that of the preceding sort, but is 
sometimes more penetrating ; it is also of a softer con- 
sistence. 
These two kinds are called by M. Ludwig, Levantic gal- 
banum, and they are essentially distinct from the fol- 
lowing: 
3. Persian Galbanum. — Commerce furnishes it in large 
masses, packed in the skins of animals. This gum has a 
reddish brown color, with white lines ; it is so soft that it 
becomes liquid at a low temperature. It is very impure. 
Its odor is quite different from that of the preceding : it 
is more penetrating and disagreeable, resembling that of as- 
safcetida. The taste is disagreeable, bitter, and resinous. 
From the following considerations, M. Ludwig infers 
