earth-pitch; a fluid, opaque, mineral body, of a thick consistence, strong smell, readily inflammable, but leaving a residuum of greyish ashes after burning. It arises out of the cracks of the rocks, in several places in the island of Sumatra, and some other places in the East Indies, where it is much esteemed in paralytic disorders. There is a remarkable mine of it in the island of Bua, (see Bua), of which the following curious description is given us by the Abbé Fortis. "The island is divided into two promontories between the north and west, crossing over the top of the latter, which is not half a mile broad, and descending in a right line towards the sea, one is conducted to a hole well known to the inhabitants. This hole extends not much above 12 feet, and from its bottom above 25 feet perpendicular, arise the marble strata which sustain the irregular masses that surround the top of the mountain.

"The place seemed to me (continues our author), so worthy of observation, that I caused a drawing of it to be taken. The hole AAA is dug out of an irregular stratum of argillaceous sandy earth, in some parts whitish, and in others of a greenish colour; part of it is half petrified, and full of nummulites of the largest kind, lenticular, and fragments, with here and there a small branch of madreporites, and frequently of those other fossil bodies called Gefner cornua ammonis candida, minima, &c. The mass B is fallen from the height of the rock, and lies isolated. The excavation, made by some poor man in the softer matter, reaches a little below the extremity CC of the stratum DD. This is separated by the line EE from the stratum FF, which is of hard common marble, with marine bodies without flints. The upper part aa is of hard lenticular stone, interspersed with flints full of lenticulars. The mass H does not discover the divisions of its strata on the outside, and transpires very small drops of pissaphalium, scarcely discernible; but the tears III of the same matter, which flow from the fissures and chinks of the whitish stratum DD, are very observable. They come out most abundantly when the sun falls on the marble rock in the heat of the day. This pissaphalium is of the most perfect quality, black and shining like the bitumen judaicum; very pure, odoriferous, and cohesive. It comes out almost liquid, but hardens in large drops when the sun sets. On breaking many of these drops on the spot, I found that almost every one of them had an inner cavity full of very clear water." Pisselatum, "The greatest breadth of the tears that I saw was two inches, and the common breadth is half an inch. The chinks and fissures of the marble, from whence this bituminous pitch tranfudes, are not more than the thickness of a thread; and for the most part are so imperceptible, that were it not for the pitch itself, whereby they are blackened, they could not by any means be distinguished by the naked eye. To the narrowness of these passages is, no doubt, in part owing the small quantity of piffalpahltum that tranfpires."

After some conjectures about the origin of this mine, our author proceeds to inform us that the piffalpahltum of Bua is correspondent to that fossil production which by Hasselquist, in his Travels, is called mumia mineraie, and mumia nativa Persiana by Kempfer, which the Egyptians made use of to embalm their kings (A). It is found in a cave of mount Caucasus, which is kept shut, and carefully guarded by order of the king of Persia. One of the qualities assigned by M. Linnæus to the finest bitumen is to smoke when laid on the fire, as ours does, emitting a smell of pitch not disagreeable. He believes it would be very good for wounds, as the oriental mumia is, and like the pitch of Castro, which is frequently used by the Roman chirurgeons for fractures, contusions, and in many external applications.

See Mineralogy.

Pisselatum indicum, Barbadoes Tar; a mineral fluid of the nature of the thicker bitumens, and of all others the most approaching, in appearance, colour, and consistence, to the true piffalpahltum, but differing from it in other respects. It is very frequent in many parts of America, where it is found trickling down the sides of mountains in large quantities, and sometimes floating on the surface of the waters. It has been greatly recommended internally in coughs and other disorders of the breast and lungs.

Pistacia, Turpentine-tree, Piftachia nut and Mastich-tree; a genus of the pentandria order, belonging to the dioecia class of plants. There are nine species; of which the most remarkable are, 1. The terebinthus, or pistachia-tree. This grows naturally in Arabia, Persia, and Syria, whence the nuts are annually brought to Europe. In those countries it grows to the height of 25 or 30 feet; the bark of the stem and old branches is of a dark ruffet colour, but that of the young branches is of a light brown. These are garnished with winged leaves, composed sometimes of two, at other times of three, pair of lobes, terminated by an odd one; these lobes approach towards an oval shape, and their edges are turned backward; and these, when bruised, emit a smell similar to that of the shell of the nut. Some of these trees produce male and others female flowers, and some have both male and female on the same tree. The male flowers come out from the sides of the branches in loose bunches or catkins. They have no petals, but five small stamens crowned by large four-cornered summits filled with farina; and when this is discharged, the flowers fall off. The female flowers come out in clusters from the sides of the branches; they have no petals, but a large oval germen supporting three reflexed styles, and are succeeded by oval nuts. 2. The lenticus, or common mastich-tree, grows naturally in Portugal, Spain, and Italy. Being an evergreen, it has been preferred in this country in order to adorn the green-boules. In the countries where it is a native, it rises to the height of 18 or 20 feet, covered with a grey bark on the stem; but the branches, which are very numerous, are covered with a reddish-brown bark, and are garnished with winged leaves, composed of three or four pair of small spear-shaped lobes, without an odd one at the end. 3. The orientalis, or true mastich-tree of the Levant, from which the mastich is gathered, has been confounded by most botanical writers with the lenticus, or common mastich tree, above described, though there are considerable differences between them. The bark of the tree is brown; the leaves are composed of two or three pair of spear-shaped lobes, terminated by an odd one; the outer lobes are the largest; the others gradually diminish, the innermost being the least. These turn of a brownish colour towards the autumn, when the plants are exposed to the open air; but if they are under glasses, they keep green. The leaves continue all the year, but are not so thick as those of the common fort, nor are the plants so hardy.

Culture. The first species is propagated by its nuts, which should be planted in pots filled with light kitchen-garden earth, and plunged into a moderate hot-bed to bring up the plants; when these appear, they should have a large share of air admitted to them, and by degrees they should be exposed to the open air, which at last they will bear in all seasons, though not without great danger of being destroyed in severe winters. The second fort is commonly propagated by laying down the branches, though it may also be raised from the seed in the manner already directed for the pistachia-nut tree; and in this manner also may the true mastich-tree be raised. But this being more tender than any of the other forts, requires to be constantly sheltered in winter, and to have a warm situation in summer.

(A) "Mumiahi, or native Persian mummy. It proceeds from a hard rock in very small quantity. It is a bituminous juice, that tranfudes from the stone superficies of the hill, resembling in appearance coarse shoe-makers wax, as well in its colour as in its density and ductility. While adherent to the rock it is less solid, but is formed by the warmth of the hands. It is easily united with oil, but repels water; it is quite void of smell, and very like in substance to the Egyptian mummy. When laid on burning coals, it has the smell of sulphur tempered a little with that of naphtha, not disagreeable. There are two kinds of this mummy; the one is valuable for its scarcity and great activity. The native place of the best mummy is far from the access of men, from habitations, and from springs of water, in the province of Darasab. It is found in a narrow cave, not above two fathoms deep, cut like a well out of the mafa, at the foot of the rugged mountain Caucasus."—Kempfer. Amen. Peri.

This description agrees perfectly with the piffalpahltum or fossil mummy of Bua, differing only in the preservation of smell, which it is difficult to imagine is totally wanting in the Persian mummy. Pistachia nuts are moderately large, containing a kernel of a pale greenish colour, covered with a redish skin. They have a pleasant, sweet, unctuous taste, resembling that of almonds; and they abound with a sweet and well-tasted oil, which they yield in great abundance on being pressed after bruising them: they are reckoned amongst the analeptics, and are wholesome and nutritive, and are by some esteemed very proper to be prescribed by way of restoratives, eaten in small quantity, to people emaciated by long illness.