A Catechism of Familiar Things Part 22

Where is Mount Liba.n.u.s?

Mount Liba.n.u.s, or Lebanon, is situated in Asiatic Turkey; it was anciently famous for its large and beautiful cedar trees. The "Cedars of Lebanon" are frequently mentioned in Holy Writ. There are now scarcely any remaining of superior size and antiquity, but they vary from the largest size down to mere saplings; and their numbers seem to increase rather than diminish, there being many young trees springing up.

How is Manna gathered?

From August to September, the Italians collect it in the following manner, _viz._: by making an incision at the foot of the tree, each day over that of the preceding, about four inches from one another: these cuts, or incisions, are nearly two inches long, and half an inch deep.

When the cut is made, the manna directly begins to flow, at first like clear water, but congealing as it flows, it soon becomes firm: this they collect in baskets. Manna has been found to consist of two distinct substances one nearly resembling sugar, the other similar to a gum or mucilage.

What nation was fed with a kind of Manna?

The Children of Israel, when wandering in the desert wilderness, where no food was to be procured, were fed by a miraculous supply of manna, showered down from Heaven every morning on the ground in such quant.i.ties as to afford sufficient food for the whole host.

What is Opium?

A narcotic, gummy, resinous juice, drawn from the head of the white poppy, and afterwards thickened; it is brought over in dark, reddish brown lumps, which, when powdered, become yellow.

_Narcotic_, producing sleep and drowsiness.

In what countries is it cultivated?

In many parts of Asia, India, and even the southern parts of Europe, whence it is exported into other countries. The Turks, and other Eastern nations, chew it. With us it is chiefly used in medicine. The juice is obtained from incisions made in the seed-vessels of the plant; it is collected in earthen pots, and allowed to become sufficiently hard to be formed into roundish ma.s.ses of about four pounds weight. In Europe the poppy is cultivated mostly for the seeds.

Morphia and laudanum are medicinal preparations of opium.

What is Tobacco?

An herbaceous plant which flourishes in many temperate climates, particularly in North America; it is supposed to have received its name from Tabaco, a province of Mexico; it is cultivated in the West Indies, the Levant, on the coast of Greece, in the Archipelago, Malta, Italy, France, Ceylon, &c. It was not known in Europe till the discovery of America by the Spaniards; and was carried to England about the time of Queen Elizabeth, either by Sir Francis Drake or Sir Walter Raleigh. Tobacco is either taken as snuff, smoked in pipes or in the form of cigars, or chewed in the mouth like opium. There are many different species of this plant, most of them natives of America, some of the Cape of Good Hope and China. Tobacco contains a powerful poison called nicotine.

_Herbaceous_, like an herb or plant, not a shrub or tree.

What part of the plant is used?

The leaves, which are stripped from the plant, and after being moistened with water, are twisted up into rolls; these are cut up by the tobacconist, and variously prepared for sale, or reduced into a scented powder called snuff.

Who was Sir Francis Drake?

Sir Francis Drake was a distinguished naval officer, who flourished in the reign of Elizabeth. He made his name immortal by a voyage into the South Seas, through the Straits of Magellan; which, at that time, no Englishman had ever attempted. He died on board his own s.h.i.+p in the West Indies, 1595.

Who was Sir Walter Raleigh?

Sir Walter Raleigh was also an ill.u.s.trious English navigator and historian, born in 1552. He performed great services for Queen Elizabeth, particularly in the discovery of Virginia, and in the defeat of the Spanish Armada; he lived in honor and prosperity during her reign, but on the accession of James the First, was stripped of his favor at court, unaccountably accused of high treason, tried, and condemned to die; being reprieved, however, he was imprisoned in the Tower of London many years, during which time he devoted himself to writing and study. Receiving, at last, a commission to go and explore the gold mines at Guiana, he embarked; but his design having been betrayed to the Spaniards, he was defeated: and on his return to England, in July, 1618, was arrested and beheaded, (by order of the King, on his former attainder,) October 29; suffering his fate with great magnanimity.

_High Treason_, in England, means an offence committed against the sovereign. In the United States it consists in levying war against the government, adhering to its enemies, and giving them aid and comfort.

_Reprieved_, respited from sentence of death.

_Magnanimity_, greatness of mind, bravery.

What is Gum?

A mucilaginous juice, exuding from the bark of certain trees or plants, drawn thence by the warmth of the sun in the form of a glutinous matter; and afterwards by the same cause rendered firm and tenacious. There are many different gums, named after the particular tree or plant from which they are produced.

_Mucilaginous_, consisting of mucilage.

_Tenacious_, adhering closely.

What is the character of Gum?

Gum is capable of being dissolved in water, and forming with it a viscid transparent fluid; but not in vinous spirits or oil; it burns in the fire to a black coal, without melting or catching fire; and does not dissolve in water at boiling heat. The name of _gum_ has been inaccurately given to several species of gum-resins, which consist of resin and various other substances, flowing from many kinds of trees, and becoming hard by exposure to the air. These are soluble in dilute alcohol. Gum is originally a milky liquor, having a greater quant.i.ty of water mixed with its oily parts, and for that reason it dissolves in either water or oil. Another sort is not oily, and therefore dissolves in water only, as gum Arabic, the gum of the cherry-tree, &c.

_Viscid_, thick, ropy.

_Vinous_, having the qualities of wine.

Are the last-mentioned sorts properly called Gums?

No, though commonly called gums, they are only dried mucilages, which were nothing else than the mucilaginous lymph issuing from the vessels of the tree, in the same manner as it does from mallows, comfrey, and even from the cuc.u.mber; the vessels of which being cut across, yield a lymph which is plainly mucilaginous, and if well dried, at length becomes a kind of gum, or rather, a hardened mucilage.

_Lymph_, transparent fluid.

What is Gum Arabic?

The juice of a small tree of the Acacia tribe, growing in Egypt, Arabia Petraea, Palestine, and in different parts of America.

Are there other plants or trees which produce Gum, besides those already mentioned?

A great number, though not all commonly in use. The leaves of rhubarb, the common plum, and even the sloe and the laurel, produce a clear, tasteless gum; there are also a number of different gums, brought from foreign countries, of great use in medicine and the arts. Most of the Acacias produce gums, though the quality of all is not equally good.

What is Rhubarb?

A valuable root growing in China, Turkey, and Russian Tartary.

Quant.i.ties of it are imported from other parts of the world: that from Turkey is esteemed the best. Rhubarb is also cultivated in our gardens, and the stalks of the leaves are often used in tarts; but the root, from the difference of climate, does not possess any medicinal virtue.