ON  STORAX. 
255 
It  is  somewhat  surprising  that  of  the  many  authors  that  have 
quoted  Petiver's  account  of  Liquid  Storax,  none  appears  to  have 
been  struck  with  the  fact  that  the  drug  is  not  said  to  be  conveyed 
from  "  Cobross"  to  Europe,  but  that  it  is  "  brought  to  Judda, 
and  so  to  Mocha" — that  is  to  say,  it  is  carried  to  a  spot  some 
1300  miles  south  of  Suez. 
So  much  for  the  fallacies  in  Petiver's  account  of  «  The  manner 
of  making  Styrax  Liquida."  In  a  future  part  of  this  notice,  I 
will  endeavor  to  show  what  traces  of  truth  it  contains. 
The  next  statement  on  which  I  propose  to  offer  some  remarks, 
is  that  of  Dr.  X.  Landerer  of  Athens,  as  contained  in  a  communi- 
cation published  in  Buchner's  Repertorium  for  1839. f 
This  communication,  I  translate  thus  : 
The  Storax  plant,  Styrax  officinalis,  is  found  in  various  parts  of  continen- 
tal Greece,  as  well  as  in  some  of  the  islands  of  the  Archipelago.  There, 
however,  it  forms  but  a  small  shrub  and  does  not  possess  the  agreeable 
odor  ascribed  to  it  by  botanists.  The  bark  of  the  plant  occurring  in  Greece, 
has  not  the  slightest  odor,  which  probably  is  due  to  neglect  in  cultivation., 
On  the  contrary,  such  is  not  the  case  with  the  plant  as  found  in  the  Turkish 
islands  of  Rhodes  and  Cos,  and  especially  with  it  as  cultivated  by  the  people 
of  Cos.  (a) 
As  I  obtained  some  time  since  in  Syra  from  a  merchant  coming  from 
Rhodes  some  information  on  the  subject,  I  will  make  it  public,  not  doubting 
that,  though  but  little,  it  will  be  acceptable. 
The  Storax  plant  is  called  in  Cos  and  Rhodes  0ov%o:Jpt  (huchuri.)  At  its 
flowering  season,  it  fills  the  air  with  the  most  agreeable  vanilla-like  per- 
fume. At  the  period  for  the  collection  of  the  bark  and  younger  twigs, 
which  are  employed  for  the  preparation  of  Bucliuri-jag,  i.  e.  Styrax-oil  (oil 
being  called  in  Turkish,  jag),  permission  is  obtained  from  the  Pasha  resid- 
ing at  Rhodes,  a  small  sum  being  paid  for  it.  Those  who  are  provided 
with  the  permission  to  collect,  now  make  with  small  knives  longitudinal  in- 
cisions and  peel  off  from  the  stem  the  fresh  pieces  of  bark  in  the  form  of 
little  narrow  ribons.  Owing  to  their  adhesive  juice  they  easily  stick 
together  [backen  sie  leicht  zusammen  Q  from  them  are  formed  masses  of  one 
oke  weight  (— 21bs.),  which  are  reserved  for  the  preparation  of  jag,  or  are 
immediately  purchased  by  Rhodian  merchants  and  sent  to  Rhodes. 
The  preparation  of  Buchuri-jag  is  effected  by  merely  pressing  the  before- 
mentioned  masses  in  presses  somewhat  warmed,  called  Styrakia,  and  not 
by  boiling.    The  jag  obtained  by  gentle  pressure  is  of  an  unctuous  consis- 
t  Einige  Worte  ilber  die  Gewinnung  des  Storax  liquidus  vom  Prof,  und 
Leibapotheker  X.  Landerer  in  Athens,  Buchner's  Bep.ftird.  Pharm.  Bd. 
18.  s.  359-362. 
