According to a treatise written by Narahari, a physician of Kashmir, about 1240 A.D., the pearl cures diseases of the eyes, is an antidote to poisons, cures consumption and morbid disturbances, and increases strength and general health.[354] In China, as well as in other Asiatic countries, a distinction was made in the therapeutic effects of so-called “virgin” pearls and of those pierced or bored for stringing. The Chinese natural history of Li Shi Chin, completed about 1596, states that bored pearls will not serve for medicine, for which unpierced ones should be used. It further adds that the taste is saltish, sweetish, and cold; and that they benefit the liver, clear the eyes, and cure deafness. Dr. T. Nishikawa informs us that at the present time many Mytilus seed-pearls are exported from Japan to China for medicinal purposes. Quoting principally from Ahmed Teifashi, Whitelow Ainslie wrote in 1825 that Arabian physicians suppose the powder of the pearl to have virtues in weak eyes; and they credit it with efficacy in palpitations, nervous tremors, melancholia, and hemorrhage. Also they have this strange notion, that when applied externally and while in the shell, it cures leprosy.[355] Statements of the curative properties of pearls come also from Japan at a somewhat recent date. The catalogue of the National Exhibition at Yedo in 1877, Part V, page 78, notes that they soothe the heart, lessen phlegm, are an antidote to poison, and cure fever, smallpox, and blear-eyedness. The popular modern idea in India as to the therapeutic value was thus expressed by a native prince, Sourindro Mohun Tagore, Mus. Doc., the Maharajah of Tagore, in 1881: The use of pearls conduces to contentment of mind and to strength of body and soul. The burnt powder of this gem, if taken with water as sherbet, cures vomiting of blood of all kinds. It prevents evil spirits working mischief in the minds of men, takes off bad smell from the mouth, cures lunacy of all descriptions and all mental diseases, jaundice and all diseases of the heart, intestines and stomach. Burnt pearl mixed with water and taken into the nostrils, as a powder, takes away headsickness, cures cataract, lachryma and swelling of the eyes, the painful sensation such as is caused by the entry of sand into them, and ulcers. Used as a dentifrice, it strengthens the gums and cleanses the teeth. Rubbed on the body with other medicines, it cures all skin diseases. It stops bleeding from cuts and ultimately heals them up. Whether taken internally or externally, it is a sure antidote to poison. It drives away all imaginary fears and removes all bodily pain. To prevent its tendency to affect the brain, it should always be used with the burnt powder of basud, and in its absence with that of white mother-of-pearl. The dose of pearl-powder should not exceed 2¼ mashas [19.68 grs.].[356]