57 Alsi.--"Linum Usitatissimum, W. Atasi, S. Tesi, H. Emollient
and demulcent." Grows about 1 1/2 foot high; its leaves are
thin, and its flower of the color of Lapis lazuli. In India it is
supposed to decrease the secretion of semen, and to weaken sight;
it is hot, and said to be discutient; it is useful in phlegm from
cold. A. Buzz˙rkatan.
58 Aoloo.--The owl. Those who eat its flesh may expect to be deprived
of all reasoning faculties, with loss of memory. It produces much wind,
and is called in Persian, Boom.
The women of India frequently give it to their husbands, that by the
mental weakness it produces, they may obtain more liberty of conduct
than might otherwise be agreeable.
59 Alaechee.--A. Kakla. "Amomum Cardamomum, Wild. Amomum Repens,
Wood, vol. II. p. 356." It is of two kinds, and very common. The
tree is very large, its leaves resemble those of the sugar cane, of
the length of a man; it is very fragrant, and both kinds are nearly
alike in properties. The physicians of India call it moderately cool,
aromatic, and bitter; and that it is useful in bilious affections,
rheumatic complaints, and superabundance of mucus; it is likewise
said to decrease Aphrodisia, and to be prejudicial in affections of
the chest The large kind possesses all these properties in a greater
degree than the small; "the latter is called the Guzerattee Alaechee."