Cumin

“ The fruits, the so-called seeds, which constitute the cumin of pharmacy, are fusiform or ovoid in shape and compressed laterally; they are two lines long, are hotter to the taste, lighter in colour, and larger than caraway seeds, and have on each half nine fine ridges, overlying as many oil-channels or vittae. Their strong aromatic smell and warm bitterish taste are due to the presence of about 3% of an essential oil. The tissue of the seeds contains a fatty oil, with resin, mucilage and gum, malates and albuminous matter ”

“ The ancients were acquainted with the power of Cumin to cause the human countenance to become pallid; and as a medicine the herb is well calculated to cure such pallor of the face when occurring as an illness. Partridges and pigeons [137] are extremely fond of the seeds: respecting the scriptural use of which in the payment of taxes we are reminded (Luke xi. v. 42) —"ye pay tithe of mint, and anise, and cummin." It has been discovered by Grisar that Cumin oil exercises a special action which gives it importance as a medicine. ”

“ CUMANA, earthen pot or dish; casserole, ℞ 237
Cumberland sauce, ℞ 345
CUMINUM, CYMINUM, cumin; CUMINATUM, —US, sauce or dish seasoned with cumin, ℞ 39, 40. Aethiopian, Libyan, and Syriac cumin are named, ℞ 178
CUNICULUS, rabbit, cony
CUNILAGO, a species of origany, flea-bane, wild marjoram, basilica
CUPELLUM, CUPELLA, dim., of CUPA, a small cask or tun. Ger. KUFE; a “cooper” is a man who makes them
CURCUMA ZEODARIA, turmeric
Custard, brain, ℞ 27; —— nut, ℞ 128, 142; —— of vegetables and brain, ℞ 130; —— of elderberries, ℞ 134; —— rose, ℞ 135 ”

“ Embrocations are to be applied to the affected parts from the oil of cumin, of dill, or Sicyonian oil. Cataplasms are to be applied, composed of the medicine called trispermum with cumin, bay-berries, and parsley-seed. Epithemes are to be applied, namely, that from seeds, that from bay-berries, that from meliot, and the polyarchian. Let the patients sit in a hip-bath of the decoction of fenugreek, marshmallows, chamomile, mugwort, dill, bay, and the like. And they may be made to sit in a hip-bath of warm oil, or in oil and water. ”

“ From a comparison of the statements regarding the composition which are made for Sinkina and for Pam-ala, as well as from the physical characteristics of the preparation, particularly the odor and taste, it seems evident that the essential constituent is oil of cumin. Although definite proof that oil of cumin forms the essential constituent of Pam-ala would have shown the worthlessness of this nostrum for the reason that the clinical investigation of Sinkina proved the worthlessness of oil of cumin, it did not seem worth while to the referee that this be demonstrated by chemical analysis. ”

“ Multicellular multiseriate non-branched hairs occur on cumin fruit and on the tubular part of the corolla of calendula.
The hairs on cumin fruit vary considerably in size. All the hairs are spreading at the base and blunt or rounded at the apex. The cells forming the hair are narrow and the walls are thick. ”

“ Lastly there are representatives of the basalt dikes of Tertiary age with a north-west trend.
CUMIN, or Cummin (Cuminum Cyminum) , an annual herbaceous plant, a member of the natural order Umbelliferae and probably a native of some part of western Asia, but scarcely known at the present time in a wild state. It was early cultivated in Arabia, India and China, and in the countries bordering the Mediterranean. Its stem is slender and branching, and about a foot in height; the leaves are deeply cut, with filiform segments; the flowers are small and white. ”

“ Wild thyme, cumin seeds an acetabulum, just as much honey, laserpitium a magnitude of beans, a cotyla of vinegar in a sextarius of water you dilute to three and through the mouth you pour in and with food through the night you will abstain. If it will not have proceeded, [in] the left side near a most new side through the length of four digits you burn not more for the height of the digits. Having been burned just as you will cure above. ”

“ The cumin and coriander seeds are generally used roasted. The various materials are cleaned, dried, ground, sifted, thoroughly mixed and bottled. In the East the spices are ground freshly every day, which gives the Indian curry its superiority in flavour over dishes prepared with the curry-powders of the European market. ”

“ Of the stone pyrites, dr. xij; of native sulphur, dr. xij; of ammoniac perfume, dr. xij; of cumin, dr. xvj; of nitre, dr. xij; add to a little wax and turpentine, and spreading it upon a piece of skin, apply to the whole belly. Let them take the propoma (liqueur) made by boiling the root of vervain-mallow in wine, or macerate the wild cucumber in austere wine, and give every three days, adding a cupful every day, until the dose amount to three cupfuls. The following is a very compound [571] mixture: Of balsam, of nard, of cassia, of cumin, of liquorice, of St. ”

“ In small saucepan, combine undiluted soup, shredded cheese and cumin. Place over low heat and cook until cheese is completely melted, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in sour cream, pimentos and hot pepper sauce to taste, if desired. To serve, keep warm in fondue pot, chafing dish or heatproof bowl set on warming tray. RED PEPPER DIPMakes about 1-1/3 cups 1 jar (7-ounces) roasted red peppers, drained 1 clove garlic, quartered 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1 cup plain lowfat yogurt In blender or food processor, puree red peppers, garlic and cumin. ”

“ Cuming, inhabits sandbanks at the level of the lowest tides. But even in the case of shells having the habits of this Mytilus and Mesodesma, beds of them, wherever the sea gently throws up sand or mud, and thus protects its own accumulations, might be upraised by the slowest movement, and yet remain undisturbed by the waves of each new beach-line. ”

“ Broderip and Sowerby were ready to exhibit and to describe the rich shells of the Pacific. Richard Owen was eager to anatomize the molluscs, and to write their biography. Some of the novelties brought over by Cuming in 1831 were still yielding new information thirty years afterwards; probably are yielding it still.
In 1835, Mr. Cuming returned to America. He devoted four years to an exhaustive survey of the natural history—more especially, but far from exclusively, the conchology and the botany—of the Philippine group of islands, of Malacca, Singapore, and St. Helena. ”

“ With children of tender age, it is sufficient to apply it to the abdomen. In cases of jaundice, it is administered in white wine, immediately after taking the bath.
(15.) The cummin of Æthiopia,1584 more particularly, is given in vinegar and water, or else as an electuary with honey. It is thought, too, that the cummin of Africa has the peculiar property of arresting incontinence of urine. The cultivated plant is given, parched and beaten up in vinegar, for affections of the liver, as also for vertigo. Beaten up in sweet wine, it is taken in cases, also, where the urine is too acrid ”

“ There are many of them known on Cumberland river.
The country westward of the Alleghany abounds with springs of common salt. The most remarkable we have heard of are at Bullet's-lick, the Big-bones, the Blue-licks, and on the north fork of Holston. The area of Bullet's-lick is of many acres. Digging the earth to the depth of three feet the water begins to boil up, and the deeper you go and the drier the weather, the stronger is the brine. A thousand gallons of water yield from a bushel to a bushel and a half of salt, which is about eighty pounds of water to one pound of salt. ”

“ I know of no other mineral productions in the kingdom but the salt deposits. In Hissar, salt is found in hills, not unlike the formations in the salt range of the Punjab. On the plains it is dug out in masses, and, when washed, is ready for the market. There is a bed of salt, about five miles in circumference, called Khwaju Hunfee, two miles from the Oxus, below Charjooee, on the right bank of the river. The salt is imperfectly crystallised, black, and very inferior; a camel load of 500lbs. sells for a quarter of a tilla in Bokhara. ”

“ It was composed by mixing two ounces of cummin seed, one ounce of ginger, one ounce of green rue, and six scruples of nitre, with one ounce of pepper, and twelve scruples of fine dates; nine ounces of honey were then poured over the whole. [XXIII_65]
Sometimes they contented themselves with macerating cummin seed in vinegar, which they left to dry, and then pounded it; that done, it was put into honey. [XXIII_66]
“The honey most esteemed is the white, granulated, and of an aromatic flavour. The honey from the French provinces of Narbonne, the Gatinais, or Britanny, is the most esteemed. ”

“ It is usual to eat cucumbers with salmon, and no other vegetables; the cucumbers to be pared, sliced, laid in cold water, and dressed, and served up by themselves, with a little plate for each person, that the vinegar, &c., of the cucumbers may not impart too much acid to the salmon.
In places remote from the sea, a whole salmon is seldom seen at table but at dinner parties, or at good hotels. In a very hot climate it should not be seen at all. ”

“ Having inquired what use the merchants of Melli made of this salt, the traders of the desert informed me, that a part of it was consumed in that country, which lying near the line, where the days and nights are of equal length, certain seasons of the year are so excessively hot that the blood of the inhabitants would putrify, if it were not for the salt, and they would all die. They have no art or mystery in its use; but every one dissolves a small piece every day in a porringer of water, and drinks it off, which in their opinion preserves their health. ”

“ The curry he produced was admirable, and having secured a cucumber last night, he was enabled to add what the Malays call a sambal, of which there are many kinds; the one he made was of the sliced cucumber, and green and red chillies cut into fine threads; others are of dried salt fish finely powdered, or fish roes, or hard-boiled eggs, or the tender shoots of the bamboo, but with all, or nearly all, red or green chillies are added. ”

“ This is left to stand and give the impurities a chance to settle to the bottom. Then it is allowed to flow into smaller basins, while more water is pumped into the reservoir. When autumn comes, the crop of salt is ready to be harvested. It is in the form of a crust three to six inches thick, some of it in large crystals, and some fine-grained. This crust is broken by ploughs, and the salt is heaped up into great cones and left for the rain to wash clean. Then it goes to the mill for purifying. The water of Great Salt Lake is much more salty than that of the ocean. ”

“ The Kutiah Khonds are the chief offenders in respect of kumeri, to which they confine themselves, as they have no ploughs or agricultural cattle. In the rare instances when they grow a little rice,the fields are prepared by manual and pedal labour, as men, women, and children, assemble in the field, and puddle the mud and water until it assumes the desired consistency for the reception of the seed. ”

“ Most of the common salt (the mineral “halite”) of commercial value occurs in nature in sea or salt lake water; or in beds or strata of rock salt associated with other strata; or as natural brine in openings or pores in certain rocks. Considerable salt is obtained by evaporation of tidewater, as around San Francisco Bay, and of salt lake water, as at Great Salt Lake, Utah. It has been estimated that the Great Salt Lake, whose area is about 2,000 square miles and greatest depth 50 feet, contains several hundred million tons of common salt. ”

“ The miners live in villages among the hills. They have a most unhealthy complexion, but do not appear to be subject to any particular disease. They receive a rupee for every twenty maunds of salt brought to the surface, a task which may be performed by a man, his wife and child, in two days. In those mines where the mineral is near the surface, it is hewn into blocks of four maunds, two of which load a camel, but it is usually broken in small pieces. This salt holds a high reputation throughout India, with native practitioners, from its medical virtues. ”

“ When these salt deposits occur in a flat country with a tufa layer covering the soil, a chemical change takes place in the soil; the tufa is dissolved and the ground kept in a state unfavorable to the growth of plants.
Livingstone discovered one large salt pan with a deposit of salt an inch and a half in thickness. This deposit contained bitter salt in addition, probably the nitrate of lime. In order to make the deposit wholesome and palatable, the natives mix the salt with the juice of a gummy plant. They then place the mixture in the sand and build a fire over it to bake it. ”

“ The cucumbers form one of the staple foods of the people; they are eaten with salt, and are looked on as a fruit; the peasants eat at a sitting five or six pounds’ weight, and find no inconvenience; the Persian cucumber may be eaten with impunity.
Lettuces grow in vast profusion, also the kalam kūmri, a strongly-flavoured kind of nohl-kohl. The Aubergine, or “badinjan,” the fruit of which I have seen weighing three pounds, and carrots and turnips are also grown: the carrots are generally a green-rooted variety. ”