Note 319 — PHARMACOLOGIA.

Dr. Maton, in his appendix to Mr. Lambert’s work on the genus Pinus, observes that the Thus of the ancients, (λὶβανος) does not appear to have been the product of any species of Pinus, although we are informed by Dioscorides (Lib. 1. c. 7.) that Pine resin was often substituted for it. He describes, moreover, a method of distinguishing between the two kinds; “Resin of the Pine,” says he, “when thrown into the fire dissipates itself in smoke, whereas Frankincense burns with a brisk flame, and with an odour that serves to detect the imposition.” “Some authors, adds Dr. Maton, have considered the genuine λὶβανος (Thus) to have been obtained from the Juniperus Lycia, and to constitute the Olibanum of our shops, but I cannot find any passage in the ancient authors sufficiently precise to corroborate this conjecture.” Op: citat: