5  H  Medicinal  Gum  Resins  of  Persia.  {^$Z*W*m' 
it  is  called  Heltit  mumtin.  In  former  times  it  was  very  frequently 
found  on  the  Trachyt  mountains,  between  Ispahan  and  Mahiar,  to 
which  place  the  collectors  came  from  Mischhed  in  Khorassan.  At 
the  commencement  of  spring  they  surrounded  the  stem  with  a  wall  of 
stones,  placed  a  pot  over  it,  and  thus  collected  the  resin.  Gradually 
the  collectors  became  fewer  and  fewer,  as  hardly  any 'plants  remained 
for  propagation,  and  at  last  it  was  entirely  deserted.  It  is,  however, 
found  in  abundance  between  Abadeh  and  Murg2b.  Round  about 
Abadeh,  where  in  spring-time  the  sheep  feed  on  the  leaves,  the  milk 
and  the  butter  are  of  such  a  disgusting  odor,  that  only  the  natives  can 
use  them.  It  is  also  abundant  from  Dschendak  in  Khorassan  to  Herat. 
An  Englishman  brought  me  sprouts,  which  were  covered  all  over  with 
asafoetida  tears.  In  the  district  of  Herat  the  gum  is  collected  in  a 
regular  manner  :  in  spring  the  plants  are  dug  round,  about  the  20th  of 
May  the  stalk  near  the  roots  is  cut  through  the  middle,  and  after  three 
days  the  resin  is  scraped  off.  Three  days  later  a  horizontal  segment  is 
again  cut  off,  and  then  the  resin  is  collected  in  three  days.  This  pro- 
cess is  repeated  four  times.  It  appears  that  this  plant  requires  a  warm 
climate  and  a  low  sea  level. 
The  uses  of  the  resin  are  manifold.  The  largest  quantity  is  ex- 
ported to  India,  where  it  is  employed  for  culinary  purposes  ;  it  is  a 
frequent  ingredient  in  the  sauce  for  pillaus.  The  Turcomans  are  very 
fond  of  the  young  shoots  dipped  in  vinegar.  Its  medical  uses  in  Perisa 
are  very  numerous.  I  know  people  there  who  are  so  accustomed  to  the 
anguze  for  nervous  complaints,  that  it  is,  like  opium  to  opium-eaters, 
one  of  the  necessaries  of  life.  Its  excellent  antispasmodic  qualities 
are  too  little  known  in  Europe.  I  have  also  heard  that  in  many  dis- 
tricts the  fields  are  surrounded  with  anguze,  in  order  to  protect  the 
plants  from  the  depredations  of  insects. 
Ferula  Sagapenum. — This  gum  is  called  Sagbinedsch  in  Persian,  from 
which  sagapenum  is  derived.  I  could  only  learn  that  this  plant  is 
common  in  the  mountains  of  Luristan,  and  the  gum  is  collected  at  that 
spot.  The  character  of  the  resin,  which  resembles  the  Asa  dulcis,  as 
well  as  the  seeds  which  are  found  in  the  resin,  is  characteristic  of  the 
family  of  Ferula. — Jour  of  Appl.  Sdn  Aug.  I,  1876. 
