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142 C H R O N O LO G IC A L A R R A N G EM E N T
cultivated from Italy throughout middle Europe, and has besides become naturalized in certain localities
in France and England.(Engl. bot. pl. 67, Pers., Wats., and A. Dec.). Eastward from the Black
Sea, was observed by Szovitz “ in the corn fields of Tartary ” (Lindl.) : is called in Hindustanee
‘■kothmir” or “ dhaniya” (D'roz.) ; was observed by Graham “ in gardens ” in the environs of Bombay
the seeds “ much used by Musselmen in their curr ie s;” by Roxburgh, in other parts of Plindustan’;
by Mason p. 495, “ e xo tic ” and called “ nan-nan” in Burmah, often cultivated by the natives
who use the seeds “ as a condiment for curries as well as for medicine.” By European colonists,
was carried prior to 1670 to New England (Josselyn rar. . .), where as throughout our Northern and
Middle States it continues in gardens. Its fruits according to Lindley are “ carminative and aromatic.”
(The English word “ v irtu e ” as pronounced “ virtshu ” maybe compared with the above
Egyptian names).
“ In the third month ” after leaving Egypt (ex. xix. i to xx. 17), the Ten commandments delivered
on Mount Sinai. . .
Moses was of course familiar with Egyptian hieroglyphic writing, and a modification in which
figures of animals and other external objects (the human form excepted) aré a v o i d e d , — has been
discovered in Palestine : the language not ascertained, but possibly Hebrew.
The “ argmn ” to be brought as aa offering (ex. xxv. 4) — is admitted to be sea-ptirplej a dye
procured iroB M urex tnmculus (Wilde in Kitt. cycl. bibl.) and other marine unividve shells of the
Mediterranean. The “ argmn” and garments dyed with it, are also mentioned in Ex. xxvi. to xxxix.
29, Judg. viii. 26, Prov. xxxi. 22, Jer. x. 9, and Ezek. xxvii. 7 ; the “ aliporphiiros,” by Homer od. vi
54- the “ porphura thalassia,” in v Macc. iv. 23, Diodorus iii. 68, and Josephus bell. Jud. v. s ; and
the “ dibapha Tyria ” or Tyrian dye, by Horace, Pliny, and others. This dye continued to be manufactured
in the “ Twelfth century ” at Thebes in Greece, but its use has now become obsolete.
Balsamodendron myndia of Abyssinia. The imported product is^ called in Britain myrrh; m
France “ myrrhe” (Nugent), in Germany “ myrrhe ” or “ mirrhe ” (Gneb), m Latin “ myrtha, in
Greek sometimes “ murra” (Gesen.), in Egypt “ m u r” (Forsk.), in Egyptian “ tsh a i” (transl. 0 pt.
and N. Test.) or “ v a l ” (Plut. is. and osir.), in Sanscrit “ b o la ” (Royle) and in Hindustanee “ bol
or “ mur ” (D ’roz.), in which we recognize the “ mr ” in the anointing oil enjoined through Moses ex.
xxx. 23 ; “ mur” is mentioned also in Prov. vii. 17, Cant. v. 5, Psalm x i v . 8, and Esther ii. 12;
“ smurna” by Herodotus iii. 107, the Hippocratic writings, Theophrastus, ix. 4, Nicander, and Oppian
“ myrra” by Plautus, Virgil, and Ovid am. i. 288; and of myrrh brought to Egypt, a portion
according to Forskal mat. med. comes from Arabia, but the best from Abyssinia. The myrrh tree as
seen under cultivation in Tropical Arabia was described to Theophrastus ix. 4. 3 ; is mentioned as
(zrowinv along the Sabaean or opposite African coast by Artemidorus, Strabo, the Erythraean pen-
plus and Pliriy xii. 33: was ascertained by Ehrenberg and Hemprich to be the “ k a ta f” found by
Forskal p. 80 cultivated at Beit el fakih ; and I learned at Mocha that a portion of the myrrh of commerce
is really produced in Arabia, the main supply coming from the opposite Somali country, where
the tree was observed by Bruce, and Johnson. Eastward, myrrh has long been imported into Hindustan
and is generally known there under the above name “ bol ” (Royle m Kitt. btol. cycl.). 1 he
“ bdellium” seen in Egypt by Forskal mat. med. was ascertained by him to be only imperfect myrrh.
(See Amyris commiphora, and Borassus dichotomus). ^ ^
Pandanns odoratissimns oi the seashore of Hindustan. The fragrant sct-ewpine \s ca\\eà irom
Cutch to Bombay “ keura” (Forsk., and Graham), in Malabar “ k a id a ” (Rheede), in Yemen “ kadi
(Forsk.), in which we recognize the “ kthè ” in the anointing oil, — and sold according to Ezekiel
xxvii IQ at T y re : oil scented with the “ kadsi ” of Yemen is mentioned by Abu Hamfa, Rhazes,
Serapion and Ebn Baitar; P. odoratissimns was observed by Forskal p. 172 under cultivation amrog
the ihouiitains of Yemen, and I found its fragrant flowers in the Mocha market but is a maritime
plant and from the character of the coast so far as examined by myself can hardly be indigenous m
Arabia. Eastward, was observed by Rheede ii. pl. i to 8 in Malabar ; by Graham, in the environs
of Bombay, its flowers “ very sweet scented ” and “ generally sold in the bazars ; ” by myself, wild
in the same neighbourhood around Elephanta ; by Roxburgh, on the Coromandel coast; is described
also by Rumphius iv. pl. 74 ; and was observed by Mason “ exotic ” in Burmah and called ' hsat-
T c o r u s calamus of Northern Climates. Called in Britain sweet flag (Prior), in Germany “ kal-
mu s” (Grieb), in Italy “ calamo aromatico” or “ aco ro” or “ acoro v ero” (Lenz), in Greek “ J q o s
(Sibth ), in Egyptian “ okè ” (ms Borg.) or “ akè ” (Zoeg.) ; in which we recognize the “ knS 0 hm
in the anointing o i l , - o r “ k n è ” of Cant. iv. 14, Isaiah xliii. 24, “ from a far country” accorffing to
Jeremiah vi. 20, and according to Ezekiel xxvii. 19 imported and sold at Tyre ; also, the ka amos
in the “ ku ph i” incense mentioned by Manetho (Plut, is, and osir.) ; the “ kalamos murépsikos of
2 Mul. morb. 651 ; the “ kalamos éuóthSs ” of Theophrastus iv. 8, 4 to odor. 34, growing around a
lake in Syria and scentless while fresh, its root marked with interstices ; the “ calamus alexandrinus
of Celsus, and Dionysius Periegetes ; and the “ akoron” of Dioscorides having leaves like the “ iris ”
but narrower, roots jointed at intervals and extending near the surface, acrid to the taste and fragrant,
mentioned also by G a len : A. calamus was observed by Sibthorp in the Peloponnesus; its root is
enumerated by Alpinus among the ingredients of the Egyptian theriac, and by Forskal mat. med. as
imported into Egypt from Greece. Westward, the “ acorns ” is mentioned by Celsus, and Pliny xii.
48 to xxv. too : A. calamus is termed “ a. verus sive calamus aromaticus officinarum ” by C. Bauhin
pin. 34 ; was observed by Lenz in North Italy, and is known to grow throughout middle Europe as
far as Sweden (Engl. bot. pl. 356, Dec., and Wats.). Eastward from Syria, “ kalamos ardmatikos ”
produced in India is mentioned by Dioscorides i. 17 : A. calamus was observed by Rheede xi. pl. 48,
Roxburgh, and Lush, under cultivation in Hindustan, by Nimmo seemingly wild in the Soutlierii
Concan; is called in Hindustanee and Bengalee “ bach,” in Telinga “ v a s a ” or “ vadaja,” in Tamil
“ vashambu ” (Drur.), in the environs of Bombay “ yekund ” and “ employed in medicine as a febrifuge
” (Graham) : was observed by Mason v. 496 “ exotic ” in Burmah, cultivated “ to a small extent
for its medicinal properties ” and called “ len-hre;” by Thunberg, near Nagasaki in Japan; and by
Gmelin, wild throughout Siberia. Farther East, by Drummond on the Saskatchawan river at 54° in
central North America ; by Nuttall on the Arkansas, by Short in Kentucky, by myself from 43° to 38°
along the Atlantic, by Croom at 35°, and is known to grow as far as Florida (Ell., and Chapm ). The
root according to Lindley is in Constantinople “ made into a confection” which is “ eaten freely
during the prevalence of epidemic diseases,” but in Britain is “ chiefly employed by perfumers, in the
manufacture of hair powder.” (See Andropogon Martini).
Cinnamomum aromaiicum of Mindanao. Imported cinnamon is called in Arabic “ dar-sini”
(Sontheim.), in Hindustanee and Bengalee “ dar-chini” (D’roz), in Sanscrit “ dhal-kinna” China-
wood ( . . . ) : the “ knmwn” in the anointing oil, — and of Prov. vii. 17, and Cant. iv. 14, is referred
here by writers : “ the best cinnamon of any ” according to Pigafetta 121 grows on Mindanao, is
called there “ cainmana ” from “ cain ” wood and “ mana ” sweet, “ is a small tree not more than three
or four cubits high,” and “ its wood and leaves when they are green have the taste and force of the
bark its e lf: ” C. aromaticum, furnishing according to Nees von Esenbeck the valuable Chinese cinnamon,
was seen by Roxburgh, and Wight, under cultivation in Hindustan; by Graham, “ in gardens
Bombay, rare.”
The name however seems to indicate the route of transmission of the earliest-known article, and
that the Hebrew “ kn ” really means China or possibly Siam, appears from the Sanscrit “ kinna ” —
occurring in the Greek words “ kinnambmon ” and “ kinnavar ” (another product of China, and mentioned
by Ctesias). China is called in Egyptian “ ielopon ” (Mar., and Kirch.)
The concluding Hebrew syllable “ mwn ” is perhaps the Tamil “ maun” signifying tree, in
accordance with the above Sanscrit name; and if so, may prove the earliest specimen known of the
Tamil language.
Cinnamomum cassia of Java and Ceylon. A tree furnishing the cinnamon of commerce or Ceylon
cinnamon; probably the “ knmwn ” of Moses, — and Solomon, “ kinnambmon ” of Herodotus iii.
I l l , Hippocrates, Theophrastus, Strabo, Dioscorides, and Galen, “ cinnamomum” or “ cinnamnm”
of Ovid, Pliny, and Claudian, and “ dar-sini” of Ishak ben Amran, Avicenna, and Ebn Baitar. The
bark of the roots and coarser branches according to Marshall is the cassia of commerce, and according
to Galen antid, i. p. 70 the two spices are from the same tree : the “ k a s ia ” brought by the
Arabs is mentioned also by Herodotus iii. i n , Theophrastus ix. 5. i, Agatharchides, Strabo xvi. 4,
Dioscorides, Pliny xii. 42, and Dionysius Perigetes 939 : C. cassia is known to be “ cultivated to a
great extent in C eylon” (Graham); and a degenerate variety according to Nees von Esenbeck
was by Europeans carried to the neighbouring portion of Hindustan, where it has become naturalized
(Wight pl. 123). By European colonists also, C. cassia was carried to various places within the
Tropicks, and is now cultivated even in America (Lindl.).
Galbanum ojficinale of central Asia. The imported gum-resin galbanum is called in Egypt
“ qanavascheq ” (Forsk.), in Egyptian “ kakbnia ” (Edw.) ; and the “ hlbnb,” an ingredient of the
perfume enjoined ex, xxx. 34, — is referred here by writers : “ halvane” is regarded by Theophrastus
ix. 7.2 as the product of a Syrian plant called “ panakbus,” of a “ narthekos” according to Dioscorides,
of a “ ferula” called “ stagonitin ” according to Phny xii. 56, and “ halvanis r iz a ” is mentioned
by Nicander ther. 938: “ galbanum” is mentioned by Celsus, and Juvenal; and its odour
driving away reptiles and insects, by Nicander ther. 555, Virgil geor. iii. 415, and Pliny xix. 58:
“ kinnah ” is mentioned by Ebn Baitar, the “ narthex ” of the Greeks being called “ kana” (Son-
Iheim.) ; and “ galbanum” was found by Forskal mat. med. imported into Egypt “ from Persia.”
Farther East, the drug is called in Hindustanee “ qanna ” or “ birzad ” or “ barija ” (D ’roz.) ; and
Royle learned that the plant is called “ kinneh ” or “ n afee l: ” but according to LindFey, “ nothing is
known of this plant except ” the imbedded seed described by Don (which may belong elsewhere),
“ the drug comes from Smyrna and India.”
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