1. Myrrh proper.—

Mr. Wykeham Perry sent two large plants of the kinds which yield true Myrrh. They have lived, as he hoped would be the case, to reach England, but having no roots can hardly be expected to survive or put out any growth. They had before their last journey made others of many weeks without earth, and had sprouted after being placed in sand in Capt. Hunter's garden. One came from the Somali Coast near the 47th meridian of longitude. Its gum is called by the Arabs môr, by the Somal mulmul, and by Indians Hîrabol. The tree itself is called Didthin by the Somal. The same plant was collected by Hildebrandt in Somali land in 1873; it has been identified by him with the Balsamo-dendron Myrrha of Nees von Esen-beck, who collected it at Ghizan, on the Arabian coast of the Red Sea (see Trimen, Pharma. Journ., 3rd ser., vol. ix., pp. 893-894). The other specimen was sent as "the true Myrrh tree of Arabia." It came from the hills in the Fadthli district, some 60 miles from Aden. "It was believed to be the same species as the Somali plant." This may be so, but it is wanting in the excessive spininess of B. Myrrha, and a small flowering branch previously received from Mr. Wykeham Perry appeared to agree with B. Opobalsamum, Kth., found in Abyssinia by Schweinfurth, page 41 and which is believed to be identical with the B. Ehrenbergianum, Berg, from the Arabian coast of the Red Sea. According to Hanbury, B. Opobalsamum is a Myrrh-yielding plant, and if it affords the Myrrh of Southern Arabia, that would account for the difference of quality which is found in Arabian Myrrh as compared with the African, which is doubtless the produce of B. Myrrha. It will be obvious that good dried herbarium specimens of Myrrh-yielding plants are still a desideratum to botanical science.

2. Bêsabol.—"This drug," says Hanbury (1. c., p. 129), "is of African origin, but of the plant which yields it nothing is known." Mr. Wykeham Perry has sent us two specimens of it, and these fortunately have produced abundance of foliage. They cannot be botanically identified with any certainty at present, if indeed the species be not hitherto undescribed. It, however, is evidently allied to Balsamodendron Kataf Kth., a species first described by Forskal under the name of Amyris Kataf. He had only seen it in Arabia in a cultivated state.

Mr. Wykeham Perry informs me that the plant sent by him is called by the Somal Hâdi, and its gum Habaz Hâdi; it is purchased almost entirely by Indian merchants for export to Bombay, and is by them called Bêsabol. It is found only in the centre of the Somali promontory, and not in Arabia at all. Forskal relates that the gum of Balsamodendron Kataf is used by Arab women for washing their hair, which is precisely the purpose for which that next to be mentioned is employed in Somaliland.

3. Hodthai.—This is a plant (Balsamodendron Playfairii, HK. f.) of which the Kew Herbarium possesses excellent specimens, for which it is indebted to Col. Playfair, who collected them on the Somali coast. The use of this gum is said to be confined to the Somal themselves, who use it, as stated above, as a hair detersive.