ASAFCliTIDA FERULA.

1043

l(i e off transversely, and, on the third day {i. e. the 27th of May),H ad J e Ce is scraped off and put in the cups. A fresh incision is then^a.vl’ an ,^ Hie juice removed the day bill one following (i. e. the 29th ofagain cut the roots. The cups are from time to time

ay) , . J ,u

the y

>Ptied

ilr '

atd er a ln i° large vessels. The juice is exposed to the sun to becomeacts a ’ ai1 ^ conveyed home in the baskets. The third and the fourthl0 th ® mere repetitions of the second. The third commences about theop e June, the fourth about the 3rd of July. Except after the lastsir, tl , l0n > the roots are carefully defended from the sun, after each inci-

(j’ covering them with the leaves (Kcempfer, op. cit.)fr 0m —Asafoetida is exported from the Persian gulf to Bombay ,

c as es Vtlen ce it is sent to Europe . It comes over usually in casks andlf/ n Hie quantity imported was 106,770 lbs.; in 1830 onlyV s -■ The quantity retained for home consumption is, however,Ono^H- In 1838, duty (6s. per cwt.) was paid on 60 cwts; in 1839,P cvvts.

and Varieties. —Asafoetida ( Asafoetida; Gummi Asa-Vy ’ °®c.) occurs in irregular pieces of variable size. Externallyyellowish- or pinkish-brown. The fracture is a conchoidale Jtp 0 ' ’ or milk-white, translucent, pearly, with a waxy lustre. By^°Urs lfe j° light and air the recently-fractured surface acquires, in a fewlVe ’, a Vl olet-red or peach-blossom red colour, which, after some daysVisin’ c ^ m * n i s l ies i n intensity, and gradually passes into yellowish or*ir witL r ° Wn Asafoetida is fusible and inflammable, burning in the, a "hite flame and the evolution of much smoke. Its taste islH'r Soii ri J bitter, and its odour strong, alliaceous, and peculiar; to mosta 'i'i!ltp S | bein S remarkably disagreeable, whence the Gel-mans have deno-If p, a asafoetida Teufelsdreck, or Stercus Diaboli; in plain English ,s oiu e ^ Un y. However, this dislike to the asafoetida is not universal;^ Hie Asiatics being exceedingly fond of it, taking it with their

en eating it

4 Se a . C( mdiment, or using it to flavour their Sauces, or ev

iN^mice, among some of the older writers, we find it denominatedj ^orum,—Food of the Gods. Captain M. Kinnier (Ainslie, Mat.C ' ,Jt,| irui ^ te ^ s us ’ that in Persia the leaves of the plant are eaten like*'• greens, as is the root w hen roasted: and Lieut . Burnes ( Travels ,h s P e aking of asafoetida, says, “ in the fresh state it has the samef 0 ?“le smell; yet our fellow-travellers greedily devoured it.” ButH red i. ess ^ or Hi is substance is not confined to the Asiatics; for I am5 ' J y an experienced gastronome, that the finest relish which a beef' V ^ c fuL Tl possess, may be communicated by rubbing the gridiron onI ^ e steak is to be cooked with asafoetida.

(eSc rih aC( l ua i n ted with two varieties only of asafoetida, but Martius

, («•) y hl . ee ;-~

Aw;.,. ^"f'Aida in the tear (Asafoetida in granis seu lachrymis).f ,l,tl( lisl ^ le F eru ^ a P ers <-ca — This kind occurs in distinct,

r °tTi q flattened or oval tears, and also in irregular pieces, varying

rtl _ ^ , . i . p . _i , /* i ii

Jol,

°Ur e Sl2e of a pea to that of a w-alnut, of a yellow or brownish-yellow; ^fltik '. ernall y> hut white internally. This kind is comparatively rare.er ent p/ n °t at all improbable that this variety is obtained from a dif-f )(te) 'nali aUt lo H lat which furnishes the lump variety; for its colour,s ls more yellow, its odour is much feebler, and its fresh-frac-ace becomes more slowly and less intensely red by exposure