CHAP. 30.—LADANUM: EIGHTEEN REMEDIES.
Diarrhœa may be also arrested by the use of either kind of ladanum.[1149] The kind which, is found in corn-fields is pounded for this purpose, and then passed through a sieve, being taken either in hydromel, or in wine of the highest quality. “Ledon” is the name of the plant from which ladanum[1150] is obtained in Cyprus, it being found adhering to the beard of the goats there; the most esteemed, however, is that of Arabia.[1151] At the present day, it is prepared in Syria and Africa also, being known as “toxicum,” from the circumstance that in gathering it, they pass over the plant a bow,[1152] with the string stretched, and covered with wool, to which the dewlike flocks of ladanum adhere. We have described it at further length, when treating of the perfumes.[1153]
This substance has a very powerful odour, and is hard in the extreme; for, in fact, there is a considerable quantity of earth adhering to it: it is most esteemed when in a pure state, aromatic, soft, green, and resinous. It is of an emollient, desiccative, and ripening nature, and acts as a narcotic: it prevents the hair from falling off, and preserves its dark colour. In combination with hydromel or oil of roses, it is used as an injection for the ears; with the addition of salt, it is employed for the cure of furfuraceous eruptions of the skin, and for running ulcers. Taken with storax, it is good for chronic cough; it is also extremely efficacious as a carminative.