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 ladanum1150 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.