DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.15174#0175
CHAP. !• DISEASES.-CITIES.- POPULATION. 159
khan. The faculty have discovered no remedy for
the cholera morbus.
The inhabitants of Toorkistan are subject to a
constant dryness of the skin: many of them lose
their eyelashes and eyebrows, and their skin be-
comes wrinkled and tawny. Whether the diet, or
dryness of the climate, causes these appearances, I
know not. The Uzbeks seldom eat horse-flesh;
though it is believed that they live upon it. It is
considered heating food, and is, besides, expensive.
Mutton is preferred, and none but the lower orders
eat beef. A sheep is killed, and the entire tail,
however large and fat, is melted up with the meat,
and cooked in a single boiler. They are fond of
every thing oily, and also use much cheese and
sour milk. Ophthalmia is a very common complaint
in Toorkistan. Fevers are rare ; in Balkh, rheum-
atism is prevalent. In the city of Bokhara, rickets
are common ; and the children have generally a
puny and unhealthy appearance, which is not ob-
servable in the grown-up people of the country.
Among their medicines, I heard of an oil extracted
from the dung of sheep ; which is considered a
specific for the sprains, bruises, and hurts of cattle :
it is very pungent, and the flies shun the parts
rubbed with it. I have been assured of the bone
spavins of a horse being reduced by an application
of this oil. They procure it by a distilling process.
There are no large towns in the kingdom of
Bokhara, but the capital. It contains a population
of about 150,000 souls. The ancient cities of Sa-
marcand and Balkh have long since dwindled into
khan. The faculty have discovered no remedy for
the cholera morbus.
The inhabitants of Toorkistan are subject to a
constant dryness of the skin: many of them lose
their eyelashes and eyebrows, and their skin be-
comes wrinkled and tawny. Whether the diet, or
dryness of the climate, causes these appearances, I
know not. The Uzbeks seldom eat horse-flesh;
though it is believed that they live upon it. It is
considered heating food, and is, besides, expensive.
Mutton is preferred, and none but the lower orders
eat beef. A sheep is killed, and the entire tail,
however large and fat, is melted up with the meat,
and cooked in a single boiler. They are fond of
every thing oily, and also use much cheese and
sour milk. Ophthalmia is a very common complaint
in Toorkistan. Fevers are rare ; in Balkh, rheum-
atism is prevalent. In the city of Bokhara, rickets
are common ; and the children have generally a
puny and unhealthy appearance, which is not ob-
servable in the grown-up people of the country.
Among their medicines, I heard of an oil extracted
from the dung of sheep ; which is considered a
specific for the sprains, bruises, and hurts of cattle :
it is very pungent, and the flies shun the parts
rubbed with it. I have been assured of the bone
spavins of a horse being reduced by an application
of this oil. They procure it by a distilling process.
There are no large towns in the kingdom of
Bokhara, but the capital. It contains a population
of about 150,000 souls. The ancient cities of Sa-
marcand and Balkh have long since dwindled into