Sir William Jones (Asiat. Res. ii. 416, 8vo) was the first to ascertain that the above Hindee and Sanscrit synonyms referred to the true spikenard, and that the Arabs described it as being like the tail of an ermine. The next step was of course to attempt to get the plant which produced the drug. This he was not successful in doing, because he had not access to the Himalayan mountains, and a wrong plant was sent him, which is that figured and de scribed by Dr. Roxburgh (Asiat. Res. iv. 97, 438). The author of this article, when in charge of the East India Company's botanic garden at Seha runpore, in 30° of N. latitude, about 3o miles from the foot of the Himalayan mountains, being favour ably situated for the purpose, made inquiries on the subject. He there learnt that jatanzansi, better known in India by the name balchur, was yearly brought down in considerable quantities, as an article of commerce, to the plains of India, from such mountains as Shalma, Kedar Kanta, and others, at the foot of which flow the Ganges and Jumna rivers. Having obtained some of the fresh brought-down roots, he planted them, both in the botanic garden at Seharunpore and in a nursery at Mussooree, in the Himalaya, attached to the garden. The plants produced are figured in his Illustrations of Himalayan Botany, t. 54, and a reduced figure is given in the accompanying woodcut (No. 4o1). The plant produced was found to belong to the natural family of Valerianece, and has been named nardostachys jatamansi by De Candolle, and for merly patrinM jatamansi, by Mr. Dow, from plants sent home by Dr. Wallich from Gossam tham, a mountain of Nepal (Penny Cyclopedia, art. Spikenard; and Royle, !That. Rimed. Botany, p. 242).
Hence there can be no doubt that the jatanzansi of the Hmdoos is the sunbul kina'ee of the Arabs, which they compare to the tail of an ermine. This
would almost be sufficient to identify the drug: the appearance to which it refers may be seen even in the woodcut (402, fig. but very conspicuously in the specimens of the drug which the author has deposited in the Museum of Materia Medico. in King's College. This is produced in consequence of the woody fibres of the leaf and its footstalk not being decomposed in the cold and comparatively dry climate where they are produced, but remain and form a protection to the plant from the severity of the cold. There can be as little doubt that the Arabs refer to the descriptions of Dioscorides ; and both they, and the Christian physicians who assisted them in making translations, had ample opportunities, from their profession and their local situation, of becoming well acquainted with things as well as words. There is as little reason to doubt that the peipSos of Dioscorides is that of the other Greek authors, and this will carry us into ancient times. As many Indian products found their way into Egypt and Palestine, and are mentioned in Scripture—indeed in the very passage with nard we have calamus, cinnamon, and aloes (ahalim)—there is no reason why spikenard from the Himalayas could not as easily have been procured. The only difficulty appears to arise from the term picpaos having occasionally been used in a general sense, and therefore there is sometimes confusion between the nard and the sweet cane [KANEH BosEm], an other Indian product. Some difference of opinion exists respecting the fragrance of the jatamansi : it may be sufficient to state that it continues to be highly esteemed in Eastern countries in the present day, where fragrant essences are still procured from it, as the unguentuni nardinum was of old. J. F. R.