Of pepper, set sail in the Hector
for England on the 4th October, 1609; on which occasion I embarked in
that ship to return home, having been four years, nine months, and
eleven days in the country.
Sec. 8. Rules for the Choice of sundry Drugs, with an Account of the
Places whence they are procured.[136]
Lignum aloes, a wood so called by us, is called garroo by the
Mallays. The best comes from Malacca, Siam, and Cambodia,[137] being in
large round sticks and very massy, of a black colour interspersed with
ash-coloured veins. Its taste is somewhat bitter, and odoriferous; and
when a splinter is laid upon a burning coal it melts into bubbles like
pitch, continuing to fry till the whole is consumed, diffusing a most
delightful odour.
[Footnote 136: Purch. Pilgr. I. 389, being a continuation of the
Observations by Mr Saris. - E.]
[Footnote 137: In the Pilgrims this last place is called Cambaya, but
which we suspect of being an error of the press. - E.]
Benjamin, or Benzoin, is a gum called Minnian by the Mallays. The
best kind comes from Siam, being very pure, clear, and white, with
little streaks of amber colour. Another sort, not altogether so white,
yet also very good, comes from Sumatra.
