MANNA.
The manna of the south of Europe is the concrete exudation from a species of ash, the Fraxinus ornus, Linn., but sweetish secretions are exuded by some other plants of those regions, and are usually considered to be kinds of manna. F. gargavica and F. rotundifolia, Lam., are also said to yield it. F. florifera, the Ornus florifera or flowering ash tree, grows in the mountains of the south of France, and F. rotundifolia, the Ornus rotundifolia or round-leaved manna ash tree, is a native of Calabria and Sicily. Of the manna obtainable in Central Asia, several kinds are used in native medicine. One of these, in the form of small dark grains, is the turanjabin, said to be derived from the Alhagi maurorum ; another, somewhat whiter, is the shirkhist or shaklu, which is believed to be produced in Kabul by a species of Fraxinus, but Bellew says it is from the Siah chob or blackwood tree. The shirkhist is the best kind known in India.
The shakr-ul-ashar or shakar taghar is a round cell resembling in shape a small gall, and is said to be produced by the puncture of an insect on the Calotropis procera, the akh or mudar ; it has a sweet taste. A fifth kind is mentioned as being obtained on an umbelliferous plant. Manna of the tamarisk, in China is called Ching-ju, CAIN. Turanjabin, in the Kabul bazars, is in small round tears, while shirkhist is in large grains, irregular masses, or flat cakes.
The manna of ancient Assyria (Exodus xvi. 15, 31, 33, and 35 ; Numbers xi. 7), in Turkish called Kudrat-ul-halwassi, or the divine sweet meat, is found on the leaves of the dwarf oak, and also, though less plentifully, and scarcely so good, on those of the tamarisk (the Tarfa of the Arabs), and on several other plants. It is collected in the early part of spring, and again towards the end of autumn ; in either case the quantity depends upon the rain that may have tiqUen, or at least on the abundance of the dews, yucain the seasons which .happen to be quite dry, lithe or none is obtained. People go out before sunrise, and, having placed cloths under the oak, larch, tamarisk, and other shrubs, the manna is shaken down from the branches. The Kurds eat it in its natural state as they do bread or dates, and their women make it into a kind of paste, being in this state like honey, and it is added to other ingredients used in preparing sweetmeats, of which all oriental nations are fond. The
manna is partially cleaned, and carried to the market at Mosul in goat-skins, and there sold in lumps, at the rate of 4,1- lbs. for about 2id. But, before using it, it is thoroughly cleaned from the fragments of leaves and other foreign matter by boiling. In the natural state, it is of a delicate white colour, or, as in the time of the Israelites, like coriander seed (Numbers xi. 7), and of a moderate but agreeable sweetness, and Calmet compares it to condensed honey. Burkhardt, however, says it is of a dirty yellow colour, slightly aromatic, of an agreeable taste, sweet as honey, and, when eaten in any quantity, it is purgative ; he adds that the time of collecting it lasts six weeks. Under the Persian names gaz or gazu (Gaz, PERS., tamarisk), a glutinous sub stance like honey, deposited by a small green insect upon the leaves of the oak tree; is much used for making sweetmeats in Persia. It is a manna of the chemist. Gazanjabin is a manna produced on branches of the Tamarix Indices by the punctures of the Coccus mannifera. This is often called Arabian manna, to distinguish it from turanjabin, Persian manna, and from the shirkhist or Khorasan manna, and from Sicilian manna.
Manna of Australia is obtained from the Eucalyptus the Yarra yarra of the natives. It exudes from the places bored by the Australian Tettigonia. It differs from the European mannas, and is a kind of sugar. Another saccharine secretion occurs in Australia and Tasmania, principally on the leaves of the Eucalyp tus dumosa or mallee tree. It is the Loup of the natives, and forms on the leaves small conical cups of gum covered with white sugary hairs. It is a secretion from an insect of the genus Psylla, and is very nutritive. It assumes a crystalline structure when dried. Dr. T. L. Phipson says (p. 89) a sort of manna is produced in Australia and Tasmania on the Eucalyptus resinifera. A sweet substance exudes from the leaves, and dries in the sun's rays, and a strong wind shakes it down like a snowfall.
A manna from the Pinus cedrus of Lebanon sells for 20 to 30 shillings an ounce.
A manna sugar is obtained from Chamterops humilis, also from Pinus Lambertiana, and from the Quercus mannifera of Kurdistan.— O'Sh.; Powell; Wellsted; Boyle, Ill.; Ferrier, Journal; MacGregor; G. Bennett, Gatherings; Dr. 7'. L. Phipson.