part is properly called the eye which is to give birth to the future

bud. It is for this reason that, in the seed-plots even the slips that

are thus planted sometimes bear the same year the fruit that they would

have borne if they had remained upon the tree: this takes place when

they have been planted in good seasons and are replete with fecundity,

for then they bring to maturity the fruits the conception of which was

commenced in another spot. Fig-trees that are thus planted may very

easily be transplanted in the third year. As some compensation for the

rapidity with which this tree becomes[3085] old, it has thus received

the privilege of coming to maturity[3086] at a very early period.

The vine throws out a great number of shoots. In the first place,

however, none of them are ever used for planting, except those which

are useless, and would have been cut away as mere brushwood; while,

on the other hand, every part is pruned off that has borne fruit the

previous year. In former times, it was the custom to plant the slip

with a head at the extremity, consisting of a piece of the hard wood on

each side of it, the same, in fact, that is called a mallet shoot[3087]

at the present day. In more recent times, however, the practice has

been adopted of pulling it off merely with a heel attached to it, as

in the fig;[3088] and there is no kind of slip that takes with greater

certainty. A third method, again, has been added to the former ones,

and a more simple one as well, that of taking the slip without any

heel at all. These slips are known by the name of arrow-[3089]shoots,

when they are twisted before planting; and the same, when they are

neither cut short nor twisted, are called three-budded[3090] slips.

The same sucker very often furnishes several slips of this kind. To

plant a stock-shoot[3091] of the vine is unproductive, and, indeed,

no shoots will bear unless they are taken from a part that has borne

fruit already. A slip that has but few knots upon it, is looked upon

as likely not to bear; while a great number of buds is considered an

indication of fruitfulness. Some persons say that no suckers ought to

be planted, but those which have already blossomed. It is far from

advantageous[3092] to plant arrow-slips, for after being twisted,

they are apt to break in transplanting. The slips when planted should

be a foot in length,[3093] and not less, and they ought to have five

or six knots upon them; with the dimensions above stated, they cannot,

however, possibly have less than three buds. It is considered the most

advantageous plan to plant them out the same day that they are cut; but

if it is found necessary to plant them some time after, they should be

kept in the way that we have already mentioned;[3094] particular care

being taken not to let them protrude from the earth, lest they should

become dried by the action of the sun, or nipped by the wind or frost.

When they have been kept too long in a dry place, they must be put in

water for several days, for the purpose of restoring their verdancy and

freshness.

The spot selected, whether for nursery or vineyard, ought to be

exposed to the sun, and of as great extent as possible; the soil being

turned up to a depth of three feet with a two-pronged fork. The earth,

on being thrown up with the mattock,[3095] swells naturally,[3096]

and ridges are formed with it four feet in height, intersected by

trenches a couple[3097] of feet in depth. The earth in the trenches

is carefully cleansed and raked out,[3098] so that none of it may be

left unbroken, care being taken also to keep it exactly level; if the

ridges are unequal, it shows that the ground has been badly dug. At

the same time the breadth should be measured of each ridge that lies

between the trenches. The slips are planted either in holes or else in

elongated furrows, and then covered with very fine earth; but where it

is a light soil, the grower will lose his pains should he neglect to

place a layer of richer mould beneath. Not less than a couple of slips

should be planted together, keeping them exactly on a level with the

adjoining earth, which should be pressed down and made compact with the

dibble. In the seed-plot there should be intervals left between each

two settings a foot and a half in breadth and half a foot in length:

when thus planted, it is usual, at the end of two years, to cut the

mallet-shoots at the knot nearest the ground, unless there is some

good reason for sparing them. When this is done, they throw out eyes,

and with these upon them at the end of three years the quicksets are

transplanted.

There is another method, also, of planting[3099] the vine, which

a luxurious refinement in these matters has introduced. Four

mallet-shoots are tightly fastened together with a cord in the greenest

part, and when thus arranged are passed through the shank-bone of an

ox or else a tube of baked earth, after which they are planted in the

ground, care being taken to leave a couple of buds protruding: in this

way they become impregnated with moisture, and, immediately on being

cut, throw out fresh wood. The tube is then broken, upon which the

root, thus set at liberty, assumes fresh vigour, and the clusters[3100]

ultimately bear upon them grapes belonging to the four kinds thus

planted together.

In consequence of a more recent discovery, another method has been

adopted. A mallet-shoot is split down the middle and the pith

extracted, after which the two portions are fastened together, every

care being taken not to injure the buds. The mallet-shoot is then

planted in a mixture of earth and manure, and when it begins to throw

out branches it is cut, the ground being repeatedly dug about it.

Columella[3101] assures us that the grapes of this plant will have no

stones, but it is a more surprising thing that the slip itself should

survive when thus deprived of the pith.[3102] Still, however, I think I

ought not to omit the fact that there are some slips that grow without

the ordinary articulations of trees upon them; thus, for instance, five

or six very small sprigs of box,[3103] if tied together and put in the

ground, will take root. It was formerly made a point to take these

sprigs from a box-tree that had not been lopped, as it was fancied that

in the last case they would not live; experience, however, has since

put an end to that notion.

The culture of the vineyard naturally follows the training of the

nursery. There are five[3104] different kinds of vine: that with

the branches running[3105] along the ground, the vine that stands

without support,[3106] the vine that is propped and requires

no cross-piece,[3107] the vine that is propped and requires a

single cross-piece, and the vine that requires a trellis of four

compartments.[3108] The mode of cultivation requisite for the propped

vine may be understood as equally adapted to the one that stands by

itself and requires no support, for this last method is only employed

where there is a scarcity of wood for stays. The stay with the single

cross-piece in a straight line is known by the name of “canterius.” It

is the best of all for the wine, for then the tree throws no shadow,

and the grape is ripened continuously by the sun, while, at the same

time, it derives more advantage from the action of the wind, and

disengages the dew with greater facility: the superfluous leaves and

shoots, too, are more easily removed, and the breaking up of the earth

and other operations about the tree are effected with greater facility.

But, above all, by the adoption of this method, the tree sheds its

blossoms more beneficially than under any other circumstances. This

cross-piece is generally made of a stake, or a reed, or else of a rope

of hair or hemp, as is usually the case in Spain and at Brundisium.

When the trellis is employed, wine is produced in greater quantities;

this method has its name of “compluviata” from the “compluvium” or

square opening in the roofs of our houses; the trellis is divided into

four compartments by as many cross-pieces. This mode of planting the

vine will now be treated of, and it will be found equally applicable to

every kind, with the only difference that under this last method the

operation is somewhat more complicated.

The vine is planted three different ways; in a soil that has been

turned up with the spade—the best of the three; in furrows, which is

the next best; and in holes, the least advisable method of all: of the

way in which ground is prepared by digging, we have made sufficient

mention already. (22.) In preparing the furrows[3109] for the vine it

will be quite sufficient if they are a spade in breadth; but if holes

are employed for the purpose, they should be three feet every way.

The depth required for every kind of vine is three feet; it should,

therefore, be made a point not to transplant any vine that is less than

three feet in length, allowing then two buds to be above the ground. It

will be necessary, too, to soften the earth by working little furrows

at the bottom of the hole, and mixing it up with manure. Where the

ground is declivitous, it is requisite that the hole should be deeper,

in addition to which it should be artificially elevated on the edge of

the lower side. Holes of this nature, which are made a little longer,

to receive two vines, are known as “alvei,” or beds. The root of the

vine should occupy the middle of the hole, and when firmly fixed in

the ground it should incline at the top due east; its first support it

ought to receive from a reed.[3110] The vineyard should be bounded by a

decuman[3111] path eighteen feet in width, sufficiently wide, in fact,

to allow two carts to pass each other; others, again, should run at

right angles to it, ten feet in width, and passing through the middle

of each jugerum; or else, if the vineyard is of very considerable

extent, cardinal[3112] paths may be formed instead of them, of the same

breadth as the decuman path. At the end, too, of every five of the

stays a path should be made to run, or, in other words, there should be

one continuous cross-piece to every five stays; each space that is thus

included from one end to the other forming a bed.[3113]

Where the soil is dense and hard it must be turned up only with the

spade, and nothing but quicksets should be planted there; but where,

on the other hand, it is thin and loose, mallet-shoots even may be

set either in hole or furrow. Where the ground is declivitous it is a

better plan to draw furrows across than to turn up all the soil with

the spade, so that the falling away of the earth may be counteracted by

the position of the cross-pieces.[3114] It will be best, too, where the

weather is wet or the soil naturally dry, to plant the mallet-shoots

in autumn, unless, indeed, there is anything in the nature of the

locality to counteract it; for while a dry, hot soil makes it necessary

to plant in autumn, in a moist, cold one it may be necessary to defer

it until the end of spring even. In a parched soil, too, it would be

quite in vain to plant quicksets, and it is far from advantageous to

set mallet-shoots in a dry ground, except just after a fall of rain.

On the other hand, in moist localities, a vine in leaf even may be

transplanted and thrive very well, and that, too, even as late as the

summer solstice, in Spain, for example. It is of very considerable

advantage that there should be no wind stirring on the day of planting,

and, though many persons are desirous that there should be a south wind

blowing at the time, Cato[3115] is of quite a different way of thinking.

In a soil of medium quality, it is best to leave an interval of

five[3116] feet between every two vines; where it is very fertile the

distance should be five feet at least, and where it is poor and thin

eight at the very most. The Umbri and the Marsi leave intervals between

their vines of as much as twenty feet in length, for the purpose of

ploughing between them; such a plot of ground as this they call by the

name of “porculetum.” In a rainy, foggy locality, the plants ought to

be set wider apart, but in dry spots nearer to one another. Careful

observation has discovered various methods of economizing space; thus,

for instance, when a vineyard is planted in shaded ground, a seed-plot

is formed there as well; or, in other words, at the same time that the

quickset is planted in the place which it is finally to occupy, the

mallet-shoot intended for transplanting is set between the vines, as

well as between the rows. By adopting this method, each jugerum will

produce about sixteen thousand quicksets; and the result is, that two

years’ fruit is gained thereby, a cutting planted being two years later

in bearing than a quickset transplanted. Quicksets, when growing in

a vineyard, are cut down at the end of a year, leaving only a single

eye above ground; some manure is then placed upon the spot, and a

stay driven in close to the plant. In the same manner it is again cut

down at the end[3117] of the second year, and from this it acquires

additional strength, and receives nutriment to enable it to endure the

onerous task of reproduction. If this is neglected, in its over-haste

to bear it will shoot up slim and meagre, like a bulrush, and from not

being subjected to such a training, will grow to nothing but wood.

In fact, there is no tree that grows with greater eagerness than the

vine, and if its strength is not carefully husbanded for the bearing of

fruit, it will be sure to grow to nothing but wood.

The best props for supporting the vine are those which we have already

mentioned,[3118] or else stays made of the robur and the olive; if

these cannot be procured, then props of juniper, cypress, laburnum,

or elder,[3119] must be employed. If any other wood is used for the

purpose, the stakes should be cut at the end each year: reeds tied

together in bundles make excellent cross-rails for the vine, and will

last as long as five years. Sometimes the shorter stock-branches of the

vines are brought together and tied with vine-cuttings, like so many

cords: by this method an arcade is formed, known to us by the name of

“funetum.”

The vine, by the end of the third year, throws out strong and vigorous

stock-branches with the greatest rapidity, and these in due time form

the tree; after this, it begins to mount the cross-piece. Some persons

are in the habit of “blinding” the vine at this period, by removing the

eyes with the end of the pruning-knife turned upwards, their object

being to increase the length of the branches—a most injurious practice,

however; for it is far better to let the tree become habituated to

grow of itself, and to prune away the tendrils every now and then when

they have reached the cross-rail, so long as it may be deemed proper

to add to its strength. There are some persons who forbid the vine

to be touched for a whole year after it has been transplanted, and

who say that the pruning-knife ought never to be used before it is

five years old; and then at that period they are for cutting it down

so completely as to leave three buds only. Others, again, cut down

the vine within a year even after it has been transplanted, but then

they take care to let the stem increase every year by three or four

joints, bringing it on a level with the cross-piece by the fourth.

These two methods, however, both of them, retard the fruit and render

the tree stunted and knotty, as we see the case in all dwarf trees.

The best plan is to make the parent stem as robust and vigorous as

possible, and then the wood will be sure to be strong and hardy. It

is far from safe, too, to take slips from a cicatrized stem; such a

practice is erroneous, and only the result of ignorance. All cuttings

of this nature are sure to be the offspring of acts of violence, and

not in reality of the tree itself. The vine, while growing, should

be possessed of all its natural strength; and we find that when left

entirely to itself, it will throw out wood in every part; for there is

no portion of it that Nature does not act upon. When the stem has grown

sufficiently strong for the purpose, it should at once be trained to

the cross-piece; if, however, it is but weak, it should be cut down so

as to lie below the hospitable shelter of the cross-piece. Indeed, it

is the strength of the stem, and not its age, that ought to decide the

matter. It is not advisable[3120] to attempt to train a vine before the

stem has attained the thickness of the thumb; but in the year after it

has reached the frame, one or two stock-branches should be preserved,

according to the strength developed by the parent tree. The same, too,

must be done the succeeding year, if the weakness of the stem demands

it; and in the next, two more should be added. Still, however, there

should never be more than four branches allowed to grow; in one word,

there must be no indulgence shown, and every exuberance in the tree

must in all cases be most carefully repressed; for such is the nature

of the vine, that it is more eager to bear than it is to live. It

should be remembered, too, that all that is subtracted from the wood

is so much added to the fruit. The vine, in fact, would much rather

produce shoots and tendrils than fruit, because[3121] its fruit, after

all, is but a transitory possession: hence it is that it luxuriates to

its own undoing, and instead of really gaining ground, exhausts itself.

The nature, too, of the soil will afford some very useful suggestions.

Where it is thin and hungry, even though the vine should display

considerable vigour, it should be pruned down below the cross-piece

and kept there, so that all the shoots may be put forth below it. The

interval, however, between the top of the vine and the cross-piece

ought to be but very small; so much so, indeed, as to leave it hopes,

as it were, of reaching it, which, however, it must never be suffered

to do; for it should never be allowed to recline thereon and spread

and run on at its ease. This mode of culture ought, in fact, to be so

nicely managed, that the vine should show an inclination rather to grow

in body than to run to wood.

The main branch should have two or three buds left below the

cross-piece that give promise of bearing wood, and it should be

carefully trained along the rail, and drawn close to it in such a

manner as to be supported by it, and not merely hang loosely from it.

When this is done, it should be tightly fastened also with a binding

three buds off, a method which will greatly contribute to check the too

abundant growth of the wood, while stouter shoots will be thrown out

below the ligature: it is absolutely forbidden, however, to tie the

extremity of the main branch. When all this is done, Nature operates

in the following way—the parts that are allowed to fall downward, or

those which are held fast by the ligature, give out fruit, those at the

bend of the branch more particularly. On the other hand, the portion

that lies below the ligature throws out wood; by reason, I suppose, of

the interception of the vital spirit and the marrow or pith, previously

mentioned:[3122] the wood, too, that is grown under these circumstances

will bear fruit in the following year. In this way there are two kinds

of stock branches: the first of which, issuing from the solid stock,

gives promise of wood only for this year, and is known as the leaf

stock-branch;[3123] while that which grows beyond the mark made by

the ligature is a fruit stock-branch.[3124] There are other kinds,

again, that shoot from the stock-branches when they are a year old,

and these are in all cases fruit stock-branches. There is left, also,

beneath the cross-piece a shoot that is known as the reserve[3125]

shoot, being always a young stock-branch, with not more than three buds

upon it. This is intended to give out wood the next year, in case the

vine by over-luxuriance should happen to exhaust itself. Close to it

there is another bud left, no bigger than a wart; this is known as the

“furunculus,”[3126] and is kept in readiness in case the reserve shoot

should fail.

The vine, if enticed to bear fruit before the seventh year from its

being planted as a slip, will pine[3127] away, become as slim as a

bulrush, and die. It is thought equally undesirable, too, to let an

old stock-branch range far and wide, and extend as far as the fourth

stay from the stem; to such a branch the name of dragon[3128]-branch

is given by some, and of juniculus by others; if these are allowed to

spread, they will run to wood only, and make male vines, as they are

called. When a vine has become quite hard, it is an extremely bad plan

to use it for reproduction by layers. When the vine is five years old

the stock-branches are twisted, but each is allowed to throw out some

new wood; and so from one to another, care being taken to prune away

the old wood. It is always the best plan, however, to leave a reserve

shoot; but this should always be very near the main stem of the vine,

not at a greater distance, in fact, than that already mentioned.[3129]

If, too, the stock branches should throw out too luxuriantly, they must

be twisted, the object being that the vine may put forth no more than

four secondary branches, or even two only, if it happens to be a single

cross-railed vine.

If the vine is to be trained to grow without any stay at all, still it

will stand in need, at first, of some support or other, until it has

learnt to support itself: in all other respects the mode of proceeding

will be the same at first. When pruning, it will be necessary that the

thumb-branches[3130] should be arranged in equal numbers on either

side, in order that the fruit may not overload one side of the tree;

and we may here remark by the way, that the fruit by its weight is

apt to bear down the tree and counteract any tendency to increase in

height. The vine, unsupported, when more than three feet in height,

begins to bend, but the others do not, until they are five feet

high at the least; care should be taken, however, never to let them

exceed the height of a man of moderate stature. Growers are in the

habit of surrounding the vines that creep along the ground with a low

fence[3131] for them to lean upon; and round this fence they dig a

trench by way of precaution, for fear lest the branches in their range

should meet one another and so come into collision. The greater part

of the world, in fact, gather grapes at their vintage, grown in this

fashion, and lying upon the ground—at all events, it is so in Africa,

Egypt, and Syria; throughout the whole of Asia, too, and in many parts

of Europe as well, this method prevails. In such cases the vine ought

to be kept down close to the ground, and the root should be nurtured at

the same time and in just the same way as in the case of the vine that

grows on the cross-piece. Care, too, should be taken to leave only the

young thumb-shoots, together with three buds, where it is a prolific

soil, two where it is poor and thin: it is better, too, that the shoots

should be numerous than individually long. The influences of soil, of

which we have made mention already, will make themselves felt all the

more powerfully the nearer the grapes grow to the ground.

It is a very advantageous plan to separate[3132] the various species

of vines and to set them in different compartments—for the mixture of

different varieties is apt to deteriorate the flavour not only of the

must, but the wine even as well. If, again, for some reason or other,

the different kinds must be intermingled, it will be requisite to keep

all those together which ripen at exactly the same period. The more

fertile and the more level the soil, the higher the cross-pieces must

be placed.[3133] High cross-pieces, too, are best suited to localities

that are subject to heavy dews and fogs, but not to those that are

exposed to high winds; on the other hand, where the soil is thin,

parched, and arid, or exposed to the wind, the cross-pieces should

be set lower. The cross-piece should be fastened to the stay with

cords tied as tight as possible, while the bindings used for tying

the vine should be thin. As to the various species of vines, and the

soils and climates requisite for the growth of each, we have already

treated[3134] of them, when enumerating the several varieties of the

vine and the wines which they produce.

With reference to other points connected with the culture of the vine,

there are very considerable doubts. Many persons recommend that the

vineyard should be turned up with the spade after every dew that falls

in the summer. Others, again, forbid this practice when the vine is in

bud; for the clothes, they say, of the people coming and going to and

fro are apt to catch the buds, and either knock or rub them off; it

is for this reason, too, that they are so careful to keep all animals

away from the vines, those with long wool in particular, as it is very

apt to pull off the buds. Raking, too, they say, is very injurious to

the vine while the grape is forming; and it will be quite sufficient,

they assure us, if the ground is turned up three times in the year,

after the vernal equinox—first, at the rising of the Vergiliæ,[3135]

the second at the rising of the Dog-star, and the third time just as

the grape is turning black. Some persons make it a rule that an old

vineyard shall have one turning up between the time of vintage and

the winter solstice, though others, again, are of opinion that it is

quite sufficient to bare the roots and manure them. They turn up the

ground again after the ides of April,[3136] but before the time for

germination, or, in other words, the sixth of the ides of May;[3137]

then again before the tree begins to blossom, after it has shed its

blossom, and, last of all, when the grape is just on the turn. The

most skilful growers say that if the ground is dug up oftener than

necessary, the grapes will become so remarkably thin-skinned as to

burst. When the ground is turned up, care should be taken to do it

before the hot hours of the day; a clayey soil, too, should never be

ploughed or dug. The dust that is raised in digging is beneficial[3138]

to the vine, it is said, by protecting it from the heat of the sun and

the injurious effects of fogs.

The spring clearing ought to be done, it is universally admitted,

within ten days after the ides of May,[3139] and before the

blossoming begins; in addition to which, it should always be done

below the cross-piece. As to the second clearing, opinions differ

very considerably. Some think it ought to be done when the blossoming

is over, others, again, when the grapes are nearly at maturity. This

point, however, may be decided by following the advice of Cato on the

subject; for we must now pass on to a description of the proper mode of

pruning the vine.

Immediately after[3140] the vintage, and while the weather is still

warm, the work of pruning[3141] begins; this, however, ought never to

be done, for certain physical reasons,[3142] before the rising of the

Eagle, as we shall have occasion to explain in the following Book. Nor

should it be done either when the west winds begin to prevail, for

even then there is great doubt whether a fault may not be committed by

being in too great haste to commence the work. If any return of wintry

weather should chance to nip the vines, while still labouring under the

wounds recently inflicted on them in pruning, there is little doubt

that their buds will become quite benumbed with cold, the wounds will

open again, and the eyes, moistened by the juices that distil from the

tree, will become frost-bitten by the rigour of the weather. For who

is there,[3142] in fact, that does not know that the buds are rendered

brittle by frost? All this, however, depends upon accurate calculations

in the management of large grounds, and the blame of precipitation

cannot with any justice be laid upon Nature. The earlier the vine is

pruned, in suitable weather, the greater is the quantity of wood, while

the later the pruning, the more abundant is the fruit. Hence it is that

it is most advisable to prune the poor meagre vines first, and to defer

pruning the more thriving ones to the very last. In pruning, due care

should always be taken to cut in a slanting direction, in order[3143]

that the rain may run off with all the greater facility. The wounds,

too, should look downwards towards the ground, and should be made as

lightly as possible, the edge of the knife being well-sharpened for the

purpose, so as to make a clean cut each time. Care should be taken,

too, to cut always between two buds, and that the eyes are not injured

in the operation. It is generally thought that wherever the vine is

black, all those parts may be cut off, the healthy parts not being

touched; as no useful shoots can be put forth by wood that is bad in

itself. If a meagre vine has not good stock-shoots, the best plan is to

cut it down to the ground, and then to train new ones. In clearing away

the leaves, too, those leaves should not be removed which accompany the

clusters, for by so doing the grapes are made to fall off, except where

the vine happens to be young. Those leaves are regarded as useless

which grow on the sides of the trunk and not from an eye; and so, too,

are the bunches which shoot from the hard, strong wood, and are only to

be removed by the aid of the knife.

Some persons are of opinion that it is a better plan to fix the stay

midway between two vines; and, indeed, by the adoption of this method

the roots are cleared with greater facility. It is best, however, where

the vine needs but a single cross-rail, due care being taken that the

rail is a strong one, and the locality not exposed to high winds. In

the case of those vines which require trellissed cross-rails, the stay

should be placed as near as possible to the burden it has to support;

in order, however, that there may be no impediment thrown in the way of

clearing the roots, it may be placed at the distance of one cubit from

the stock, but not more. It is generally recommended to clear the roots

before the pruning[3144] is commenced.

Cato[3145] gives the following general precepts in relation to the

culture of the vine:—“Let the vine grow as high as possible, and fasten

it firmly, but not too tight. You should treat it in the following

manner. Clean the roots of the vine at seed-time, and after pruning

it dig about it, and then begin to labour at the ground, by tracing

with the plough continuous furrows every way. Plant the young vines in

layers as early as possible, and then break up the ground about them.

If the vine is old, take care and prune it as little as possible. In

preference, bend the vine into the ground for layers, if necessary,

and cut it at the end of two years. The proper time for cutting the

young vine, is when it has gained sufficient strength. If the vineyard

is bald of vines, then draw furrows between them, and plant quicksets

there: but let no shadow be thrown on the furrows, and take care and

dig them often. If the vineyard is old, sow ocinum[3146] there, in

case the trees are meagre: but take care and sow there nothing that

bears seed. Put manure, chaff, and grape-husks about the roots, or,

indeed, anything of a similar nature that will give the tree additional

strength. As soon as the vine begins to throw out leaves, set about

clearing them. Fasten the young trees in more places than one, so that

the stem may not break. As soon as it begins to run along the stay,

fasten down the young branches lightly, and extend them, in order that

they may gain the right position. When the grape begins to be mottled,

then tie down the vine. The first season for grafting the vine is the

spring, the other when the grape is in blossom; the last period is the

best. If it is your wish to transplant an old vine, you will only be

able to do so in case it is no thicker than the arm: first, however,

you must prune it, taking care not to have more than two buds upon

the stem. Then dig it well up by the roots, being careful to trace

them, and using every possible precaution not to injure them. Place it

in the hole or furrow exactly in the position in which it has stood

before, then cover it with earth, which should be well trodden down.

You must then prop it up, fasten it, and turn it in the same direction

as before; after which, dig about it repeatedly.” The ocinum that Cato

here recommends to be sown in the vineyards, is a fodder known by that

name by the ancients; it thrives in the shade remarkably well, and

received its name[3147] from the rapidity with which it grows.

(23.) We come now to speak of the method of growing vines upon

trees,[3148] a mode that has been condemned[3149] in the strongest

terms by the Saserna’s, both father and son, and up-held by Scrofa,

these being our most ancient writers on agriculture next to Cato, and

men of remarkable skill. Indeed, Scrofa himself will not admit that

it is beneficial anywhere except in Italy. The experience of ages,

however, has sufficiently proved that the wines of the highest quality

are only grown upon vines attached to trees, and that even then the

choicest wines are produced by the upper part of the tree, the produce

of the lower part being more abundant; such being the beneficial

results of elevating the vine. It is with a view to this that the trees

employed for this purpose are selected. In the first rank of all stands

the elm,[3150] with the exception of the Atinian variety, which is

covered with too many leaves; and next comes the black poplar, which is

valued for a similar reason, being not so densely covered with leaves.

Most people, too, by no means hold the ash and the fig in disesteem,

as also the olive, if it is not overshadowed with branches. We have

treated at sufficient length already of the planting and culture of

these several trees.

They must not be touched with the knife before the end of three years;

and then the branches are preserved, on each side in its turn, the

pruning being done in alternate years. In the sixth year the vine is

united to the tree. In Italy beyond the Padus, in addition to the

trees already mentioned, they plant for their vines the cornel, the

opulus, the linden, the maple, the ash, the yoke-elm, and the quercus;

while in Venetia they grow willows for the purpose, on account of the

humidity[3151] of the soil. The top of the elm is lopped away, and

the branches of the middle are regularly arranged in stages; no tree

in general being allowed to exceed twenty feet in height. The stories

begin to spread out in the tree at eight feet from the ground, in

the hilly districts and upon dry soils, and at twelve in champaign

and moist localities. The hands[3152] of the trunk ought to have a

southern aspect, and the branches that project from them should be

stiff and rigid like so many fingers; at the same time due care should

be taken to lop off the thin beardlike twigs, in order to check the

growth of all shade. The interval best suited for the trees, if it is

the grower’s intention to keep the soil turned up with the plough, is

forty feet back and front, and twenty at the side; if it is not to be

turned up, then twenty feet[3153] every way will do. A single tree is

often made to support as many as ten vines, and the grower is greatly

censured who attaches less than three. It is worse than useless to

attach the vine before the tree has gained its full strength, as in

such case its rapidity of growth would only tend to kill the tree. It

is necessary to plant the vine in a trench three feet in depth, leaving

an interval of one foot between it and the tree. In this case there

is no necessity for using mallet shoots, or for going to any expense

in spading or digging; for this method of training on trees has this

advantage in particular, that it is beneficial even to the vine that

corn should be sown in the same soil; in addition to which, from its

height, it is quite able to protect itself, and does not call for the

necessity, as in the case of an ordinary vineyard, of enclosing it with

walls and hedges or ditches, made at a considerable expense, to protect

it from injury by animals.

In the method of training upon trees, reproduction from quicksets

or from layers is the only mode employed of all those that have

been previously described; the growing by layers being effected two

different ways, as already mentioned. The plan, however, of growing

from layers in baskets set upon the stages[3154] of the tree is the

most approved one, as it ensures an efficient protection from the

ravages of cattle; while, according to another method, a vine or else

a stock-branch is bent into the ground near the tree it has previously

occupied, or else the nearest one that may be at liberty. It is

recommended that all parts of the parent tree that appear above ground

should then be scraped, so that it may not throw out wood; while at the

same time there are never less than four buds on the part that is put

into the ground for the purpose of taking root; there are also two buds

left above ground at the head. The vine intended for training on a tree

is planted in a furrow four feet long, three broad, and two and a half

in depth. At the end of a year the layer is cut to the pith, to enable

it to strengthen gradually at the root; after which, the end of the

branch is pruned down to within two buds from the ground. At the end of

two years the layer is completely separated from the stock, and buried

deeper in the ground, that it may not shoot at the place where it has

been cut. As to the quicksets, they ought to be removed directly after

the vintage.

In more recent times, a plan has been discovered of planting a dragon

branch near the tree—that being the name given to an old stock-branch

that has become hard and tough in the course of years. For this

purpose, it is cut as long as possible, and the bark is taken off

from three-fourths of its length, that being the portion which is

to be buried in the ground; hence it is, too, that it is called a

“barked”[3155] plant. It is then laid at full length in the furrow,

the remaining part protruding from the ground and reclining against

the tree. This method is the most speedy one that can be adopted for

growing the vine. If the vine is meagre or the soil impoverished, it

is usual to keep it cut down as near to the ground as possible, until

such time as the root is strengthened. Care, too, should be taken not

to plant it covered with dew,[3156] nor yet while the wind is blowing

from the north. The vine itself ought to look towards the north-east,

but the young stock-shoots should have a southern aspect.

There should not be too great haste[3157] in pruning a young vine, but

a beginning should be made by giving the wood and foliage a circular

form, care being taken not to prune it until it has become quite

strong; it should be remembered, too, that the vine, when trained upon

a tree, is generally a year later in bearing fruit than when grown on

the cross-piece. There are some persons, again, who altogether forbid

that a vine should be pruned until such time as it equals the tree in

height. At the first pruning it may be cut to within six feet from the

ground, below which a shoot must be left, and encouraged to run out by

bending the young wood. Upon this shoot, when pruned, there should not

be more than three buds left. The branches that take their rise from

these buds should be trained in the following year upon the lowermost

stages of the tree, and so in each successive year taught to climb to

the higher ones. Care, too, should always be taken to leave one hard,

woody branch at each stage, as well as one breeding shoot, at liberty

to mount as high as it pleases. In addition to these precautions, in

all pruning, those shoots should be cut off which have borne fruit the

last year, and after the tendrils[3158] have been cut away on every

side fresh branches should be trained to run along the stages. In Italy

the pruning is so managed that the shoots and tendrils of the vines

are arranged so as to cover the branches of the tree, while the shoots

of the vine in their turn are surrounded with clusters of grapes. In

Gallia, on the other hand, the vine is trained to pass from tree to

tree. On the Æmilian Way, again, the vine is seen embracing the trunks

of the Atinian elms that line the road, while at the same time it

carefully avoids their foliage.[3159]

It is a mark of ignorance in some persons to suspend the vine with a

cord beneath the branches of the tree, to the great risk of stifling

it; for it ought to be merely kept up with a withe of osier, and not

tightly laced. Indeed, in those places where the willow abounds, the

withes that it affords are preferred, on account of their superior

suppleness, while the Sicilians employ for the purpose a grass, which

they call “ampelodesmos:”[3160] throughout the whole of Greece, rushes,

cyperus, and sedge[3161] are similarly employed. When at any time the

vine has been liberated from its bonds, it should be allowed to range

uncontrolled for some days, and to spread abroad at pleasure, as well

as to recline upon the ground which it has been looking down upon the

whole year through. For in the same manner that beasts of burden when

released from the yoke, and dogs when they have returned from the

chase, love to roll themselves on the ground, just so does the vine

delight to stretch its loins. The tree itself, too, seems to rejoice,

and, thus relieved from the continuous weight which has burdened it,

to have all the appearance of now enjoying a free respiration. Indeed,

there is no object in all the economy of Nature that does not desire

certain alternations for the enjoyment of rest, witness the succession

of night and day, for instance. It is for this reason that it is

forbidden to prune the vine directly the vintage is over, and while it

is still exhausted by the process of reproduction.

Directly the vine has been pruned, it ought to be fastened again to

the tree, but in another place; for there is no doubt that it feels

very acutely the indentations that are made in it by the holdfasts. In

the Gallic method of cultivation they train out two branches at either

side, if the trees are forty feet apart, and four if only twenty; where

they meet, these branches are fastened together and made to grow in

unison; if, too, they are anywhere deficient in number or strength,

care is taken to fortify them by the aid of small rods. In a case,

however, where the branches are not sufficiently long to meet, they

are artificially prolonged by means of a hook, and so united to the

tree that desires their company. The branches thus trained to unite

they used to prune at the end of the second year. But where the vine

is aged, it is a better plan to give them a longer time to reach the

adjoining tree, in case they should not have gained the requisite

thickness; besides which, it is always good to encourage the growth of

the hard wood in the dragon branches.

There is yet another method,[3162] which occupies a middle place

between this mode of propagation and that by layers. It consists of

laying the entire vine in the earth, and then splitting the stock

asunder by means of wedges; the fibrous portions are then trained out

in as many furrows, care being taken to support each of the slender

plants by fastening it to a stake, and not to cut away the branches

that shoot from the sides. The growers of Novara, not content with

the multitude of shoots that run from tree to tree, nor yet with an

abundance of branches, encourage the stock-branches to entwine around

forks planted in the ground for the purpose; a method, however, which,

in addition to the internal defects arising from the soil, imparts a

harshness to the wine.

There is another fault, too, that is committed by the people of

Varracina,[3163] near Rome—they only prune their vines every other

year; not, indeed, because it is advantageous to the tree, but from

a fear lest, from the low prices fetched by their wines, the expense

might exceed the profits. At Carseoli they adopt a middle course, by

pruning away only the rotten parts of the vine, as well as those which

are beginning to wither, and leaving the rest to bear fruit, after thus

clearing away all superfluous incumbrances. The only nutriment they

give it is this exemption from frequent pruning; but unless the soil

should happen to be a very rich one, the vine, under such a method of

cultivation, will very soon degenerate to a wild state.

The vine that is thus trained requires the ground to be ploughed very

deep, though such is not the case for the sowing there of grain. It is

not customary to cut away the leaves in this case, which, of course,

is so much labour spared. The trees themselves require pruning at the

same period as the vine, and are thinned by clearing away all useless

branches, and such parts as would only absorb the nutriment. We have

already[3164] stated that the parts that are lopped should never look

north or south: and it will be better still, if they have not a western

aspect. The wounds thus made are very susceptible for a considerable

time, and heal with the greatest difficulty, if exposed to excesses of

cold or heat. The vine when trained on a tree enjoys advantages that

are not possessed by the others; for the latter have certain fixed

aspects, while in the former, it is easy to cover up the wounds made

in pruning, or to turn them whichever way you please. When trees are

pruned at the top, cup-like cavities should be formed[3165] there, to

prevent the water from lodging.

CHAP. 36.—HOW GRAPES ARE PROTECTED FROM THE RAVAGES OF INSECTS.

Stays, too, should be given to the vine for it to take hold of and

climb upwards, if they are taller than it. (24.) Espaliers[3166]

for vines of a high quality should be cut, it is said, at the

Quinquatria,[3167] and when it is intended to keep the grapes, while

the moon is on the wane. We are assured, moreover, that those which

are cut at the change of the moon, are exempt from the attacks of all

insects.[3168] According to another system, it is said that vines

should be pruned by night at full moon, and while it is in Leo,

Scorpio, Sagittarius, or Taurus: and that, in general, they ought to be

planted either when the moon is at full or on the increase. In Italy,

ten workmen will suffice for one hundred jugera of vineyard.

CHAP. 37.—THE DISEASES OF TREES.

Having now treated sufficiently at length of the planting and

cultivation of trees—(for we have already said enough of the palm[3169]

and the cytisus,[3170] when speaking of the exotic trees)—we shall

proceed, in order that nothing may be omitted, to describe other

details relative to their nature, which are of considerable importance,

when taken in connection with all that precedes. Trees, we find, are

attacked by maladies; and, indeed, what created thing is there that is

exempt from these evils? Still however, the affections of the forest

trees, it is said, are not attended[3171] with danger to them, and the

only damage they receive is from hail-storms while they are budding and

blossoming; with the exception, indeed, of being nipped either by heat

or cold blasts in unseasonable weather; for frost, when it comes at the

proper times, as we have already stated,[3172] is serviceable to them.

“Well but,” it will be said, “is not the vine sometimes killed with

cold?” No doubt it is, and this it is through which we detect inherent

faults in the soils, for it is only in a cold soil that the vine will

die. Just in the same way, too, in winter we approve of cold, so long

as it is the cold of the weather, and not of the ground. It is not the

weakest trees, too, that are endangered in winter by frost, but the

larger ones. When they are thus attacked, it is the summit that dries

away the first, from the circumstance that the sap becomes frozen

before it is able to arrive there.

Some diseases of trees are common to them all, while others, again,

are peculiar to individual kinds. Worms[3173] are common to them all,

and so, too, is sideration,[3174] with pains in the limbs,[3175] which

are productive of debility in the various parts. Thus do we apply the

names of the maladies that prevail among mankind to those with which

the plants are afflicted. In the same way, too, we speak of their

bodies being mutilated, the eyes of the buds being burnt up, with

many other expressions of a similar nature. It is in accordance with

the same phraseology that we say that trees are afflicted with hunger

or indigestion, both of which result from the comparative amount of

sap that they contain; while some, again, are troubled with obesity,

as in the case of all the resinous trees, which, when suffering from

excessive fatness, are changed into a torch-tree.[3176] When the roots,

too, begin to wax fat, trees, like animals, are apt to perish from

excess of fatness. Sometimes, too, a pestilence[3177] will prevail in

certain classes of trees, just as among men, we see maladies attack, at

one time the slave class, and at another the common people, in cities

or in the country, as the case may be.

Trees are more or less attacked by worms; but still, nearly all are

subject to them in some degree, and this the birds[3178] are able to

detect by the hollow sound produced on tapping at the bark. These worms

even have now begun to be looked upon as delicacies[3179] by epicures,

and the large ones found in the robur are held in high esteem; they are

known to us by the name of “cossis;” and are even fed with meal, in

order to fatten them! But it is the pear, the apple, and the fig[3180]

that are most subject to their attacks, the trees that are bitter and

odoriferous enjoying a comparative exemption from them. Of those which

infest the fig, some breed in the tree itself, while others, again, are

produced by the worm known as the cerastes; they all, however, equally

assume the form of the cerastes,[3181] and emit a small shrill noise.

The service-tree is infested, too, with a red hairy worm, which kills

it; and the medlar, when old, is subject to a similar malady.

The disease known as sideration entirely depends upon the heavens;

and hence we may class under this head, the ill effects produced

by hail-storms, carbunculation,[3182] and the damage caused by

hoar-frosts. When the approach of spring tempts the still tender

shoots to make their appearance, and they venture to burst forth, the

malady attacks them, and scorches up the eyes of the buds, filled as

they are with their milky juices: this is what upon flowers they call

“charcoal”[3183] blight. The consequences of hoar-frost to plants are

even more dangerous still, for when it has once settled, it remains

there in a frozen form, and there is never any wind to remove it,

seeing that it never prevails except in weather that is perfectly calm

and serene. Sideration, however, properly so called, is a certain heat

and dryness that prevails at the rising of the[3184] Dog-star, and

owing to which grafts and young trees pine away and die, the fig and

the vine more particularly. The olive, also, besides the worm, to which

it is equally subject with the fig, is attacked by the measles,[3185]

or as some think fit to call it, the fungus or platter; it is a sort

of blast produced by the heat of the sun. Cato[3186] says that the red

moss[3187] is also deleterious to the olive. An excessive fertility,

too, is very often injurious to the vine and the olive. Scab is a

malady common to all trees. Eruptions,[3188] too, and the attacks of

a kind of snail that grows on the bark, are diseases peculiar to the

fig, but not in all countries; for there are some maladies that are

prevalent in certain localities only.

In the same way that man is subject to diseases of the sinews, so are

the trees as well, and, like him, in two different ways. Either[3189]

the virulence of the disease manifests itself in the feet, or, what

is the same thing, the roots of the tree, or else in the joints of

the fingers, or, in other words, the extremities of the branches that

are most distant from the trunk. The parts that are thus affected

become dry and shrivel up: the Greeks have appropriate names[3190] by

which to distinguish each of these affections. In either case the

first symptoms are that the tree is suffering from pain, and the parts

affected become emaciated and brittle; then follows rapid consumption

and ultimately death; the juices being no longer able to enter the

diseased parts, or, at all events, not circulating in them. The fig is

more particularly liable to this disease: but the wild fig is exempt

from all that we have hitherto mentioned. Scab[3191] is produced by

viscous dews which fall after the rising of the Vergiliæ; but if they

happen to fall copiously, they drench the tree, without making the bark

rough. When the fig is thus attacked, the fruit falls off while green;

and so, too, if there is too much rain. The fig suffers also from a

superfluity of moisture in the roots.

In addition to worms and sideration, the vine is subject to a peculiar

disease of its own, which attacks it in the joints, and is produced

from one of the three following causes:—either the destruction

of the buds by stormy weather, or else the fact, as remarked by

Theophrastus, that the tree, when pruned, has been cut with the

incisions upwards,[3192] or has been injured from want of skill in

the cultivator. All the injury that is inflicted in these various

ways is felt by the tree in the joints more particularly. It must be

considered also as a species of sideration, when the cold dews make

the blossoms fall off, and when the grapes harden[3193] before they

have attained their proper size. Vines also become sickly when they

are perished with cold, and the eyes are frost-bitten just after they

have been pruned. Heat, too, out of season, is productive of similar

results: for everything is regulated according to a fixed order and

certain determinate movements. Some maladies, too, originate in

errors committed by the vine-dresser; when they are tied too tight,

for instance, as already mentioned,[3194] or when in trenching round

them the digger has struck them an unlucky blow, or when in ploughing

about them the roots have been strained through carelessness, or the

bark has been stripped from off the trunk: sometimes, too, contusions

are produced by the use of too blunt a pruning-knife. Through all the

causes thus enumerated the tree is rendered more sensitive to either

cold or heat, as every injurious influence from without is apt to

concentrate in the wounds thus made. The apple, however, is the most

delicate of them all, and more particularly the one that bears the

sweetest fruit. In some trees weakness induced by disease is productive

of barrenness, and does not kill the tree; as in the pine[3195] for

instance, or the palm, when the top of the tree has been removed; for

in such case the tree becomes barren, but does not die. Sometimes, too,

the fruit itself is sickly, independently of the tree; for example,

when there is a deficiency of rain, or of warmth, or of wind, at the

periods at which they usually prevail, or when, on the other hand, they

have prevailed in excess; for in such cases the fruit will either drop

off or else deteriorate. But the worst thing of all that can befall

the vine or the olive, is to be pelted with heavy showers just when

the tree is shedding its blossom, for then the fruit is sure to fall

off[3196] as well.

Rain, too, is productive of the caterpillar, a noxious insect that

eats away the leaves, and, some of them, the blossoms as well; and

this in the olive even, as we find the case at Miletus; giving to the

half-eaten tree a most loathsome appearance. This pest is produced by

the prevalence of a damp, languid heat; and if the sun should happen to

shine after this with a more intense heat and burn them up, this pest

only gives place to another[3197] just as bad, the aspect only of the

evil being changed.

There is still one other affection that is peculiar to the olive and

the vine, known as the “cobweb,”[3198] the fruit being enveloped in a

web, as it were, and so stifled. There are certain winds, too, that

are particularly blighting to the olive and the vine, as also to other

fruits as well: and then besides, the fruits themselves, independently

of the tree, are very much worm-eaten in some years, the apple, pear,

medlar, and pomegranate for instance. In the olive the presence of the

worm may be productive of a twofold result: if it grows beneath the

skin, it will destroy the fruit, but if it is in the stone, it will

only gnaw it away, making the fruit all the larger. The prevalence of

showers after the rising of Arcturus[3199] prevents them from breeding;

but if the rains are accompanied with wind from the south, they will

make their appearance in the ripe fruit even, which are then very apt

to fall. This happens more particularly in moist, watery localities;

and even if they do not fall, the olives that are so affected are good

for nothing. There is a kind of fly also that is very troublesome to

some fruit, acorns and figs for instance: it would appear that they

breed from the juices[3200] secreted beneath the bark, which at this

period are sweet. These trees, too, are generally in a diseased state

when this happens.

There are certain temporary and local influences which cause

instantaneous death to trees, but which cannot properly be termed

diseases; such, for example, as consumption, blast, or the noxious

effects of some winds that are peculiar to certain localities; of this

last nature are the Atabulus[3201] that prevails in Apulia, and the

Olympias[3202] of Eubœa. This wind, if it happens to blow about the

winter solstice, nips the tree with cold, and shrivels it up to such

a degree that no warmth of the sun can ever revive it. Trees that are

planted in valleys, and are situate near the banks of rivers, are

especially liable to these accidents, the vine more particularly, the

olive, and the fig. When this has been the case, it may instantly be

detected the moment the period for germination arrives, though, in the

olive, somewhat later. With all of these trees, if the leaves fall off,

it is a sign that they will recover; but if such is not the case, just

when you would suppose that they have escaped uninjured, they die.

Sometimes, however, the leaves will become green again, after being dry

and shrivelled. Other trees, again, in the northern regions, Pontus

and Phrygia, for example, suffer greatly from cold or frost, in case

they should continue for forty days after the winter solstice. In these

countries, too, as well as in other parts, if a sharp frost or copious

rains should happen to come on immediately after fructification, the

fruit is killed in a very few days even.

Injuries inflicted by the hand of man are productive also of bad

effects. Thus, for instance, pitch, oil, and grease,[3203] if applied

to trees, and young ones more particularly, are highly detrimental.

They may be killed, also, by removing a circular piece of the bark

from around them, with the exception, indeed, of the cork-tree,[3204]

which is rather benefitted than otherwise by the operation; for the

bark as it gradually thickens tends to stifle and suffocate the tree:

the andrachle,[3205] too, receives no injury from it, if care is taken

not to cut the body of the tree. In addition to this, the cherry, the

lime, and the vine shed their bark;[3206] not that portion of it,

indeed, which is essential to life, and grows next the trunk, but the

part that is thrown off, in proportion as the other grows beneath.

In some trees the bark is naturally full of fissures, the plane for

instance: in the linden it will all but grow again when removed. Hence,

in those trees the bark of which admits of cicatrization, a mixture of

clay and dung[3207] is employed by way of remedy; and sometimes with

success, in case excessive cold or heat does not immediately supervene.

In some trees, again, by the adoption of these methods death is only

retarded, the robur and the quercus,[3208] for example. The season of

the year has also its peculiar influences; thus, if the bark is removed

from the fir and the pine, while the sun is passing through Taurus

or Gemini, the period of their germination, they will instantly die,

while in winter they are able to withstand the injurious effects of it

much longer: the same is the case, too, with the holm-oak, the robur,

and the quercus. In the trees above mentioned, if it is only a narrow

circular strip of bark that is removed, no injurious effects will be

perceptible; but in the case of the weaker trees, as well as those

which grow in a thin soil, the same operation, if performed even on one

side only, will be sure to kill them. The removal of the top,[3209] in

the pitch-tree, the cedar, and the cypress is productive of a similar

result; for if it is either cut off or destroyed by fire, the tree will

not survive: the same is the case, too, if they are bitten by the teeth

of animals.

Varro[3210] informs us, too, as we have already stated,[3211] that

the olive, if only licked by a she-goat, will be barren.[3212] When

thus injured, some trees will die, while in others the fruit becomes

deteriorated, the almond,[3213] for instance, the fruit of which

changes from sweet to bitter. In other cases, again, the tree is

improved[3214] even—such, for instance, as the pear known in Chios as

the Phocian pear. We have already mentioned[3215] certain trees, also,

that are all the better for having the tops removed. Most trees perish

when the trunk is split; but we must except the vine, the apple, the

fig, and the pomegranate. Others, again, will die if only a wound is

inflicted: the fig, however, as well as all the resinous trees, is

proof against such injury. It is far from surprising that, when the

roots of a tree are cut, death should be the result; most of them

perish, however, when, not all the roots, but only the larger ones, and

those which are more essential to life, have been severed.

Trees, too, will kill one another[3216] by their shade, or the density

of their foliage, as also by the withdrawal of nourishment. Ivy,[3217]

by clinging to a tree, will strangle[3218] it. The mistletoe, too, is

far from beneficial, and the cytisus is killed by the plant to which

the Greeks have given the name of halimon.[3219] It is the nature of

some plants not to kill, but to injure, by the odour they emit, or by

the admixture of their juices; such is the influence exercised by the

radish and the laurel upon the vine.[3220] For the vine may reasonably

be looked upon as possessed of the sense of smell, and affected

by odours in a singular degree; hence, when it is near a noxious

exhalation, it will turn away and withdraw from it. It was from his

observation of this fact that Androcydes borrowed the radish[3221]

as his antidote for drunkenness, recommending it to be eaten on such

occasions. The vine, too, abhors all coleworts and garden herbs, and

the hazel[3222] as well; indeed it will become weak and ailing if they

are not removed to a distance from it. Nitre, alum, warm sea-water, and

the shells of beans[3223] and fitches act as poisons on the vine.

CHAP. 38. (25.)—PRODIGIES CONNECTED WITH TREES.

Among the maladies which affect the various trees, we may find room

for portentous prodigies also. For we find some trees that have

never had a leaf upon them; a vine and a pomegranate bearing[3224]

fruit adhering to the trunk, and not upon the shoots or branches; a

vine, too, that bore grapes but had no leaves; and olives that have

lost their leaves while the fruit remained upon the tree. There are

some marvels also connected with trees that are owing to accident;

an olive that was completely burnt, has been known to revive, and

in Bœotia, some fig-trees that had been quite eaten away by locusts

budded afresh.[3225] Trees, too, sometimes change their colour, and

turn from black to white; this, however, must not always be looked

upon as portentous, and more particularly in the case of those which

are grown from seed; the white poplar, too, often becomes black. Some

persons are of opinion also that the service-tree, if transplanted

to a warmer locality, will become barren. But it is a prodigy, no

doubt, when sweet fruits become sour, or sour fruits sweet; and when

the wild fig becomes changed into the cultivated one, or vice versâ.

It is sadly portentous,[3226] too, when the tree becomes deteriorated

by the change, the cultivated olive changing into the wild, and the

white grape or fig becoming black: such was the case, also, when upon

the arrival of Xerxes there, a plane-tree at Laodicea was transformed

into an olive. In such narratives as these, the book written in

Greek by Aristander abounds, not to enter any further on so extended

a subject; and we have in Latin the Commentaries of C. Epidius, in

which we find it stated that trees have even been known to speak. In

the territory of Cumæ, a tree, and a very ominous presage it was, sank

into the earth shortly before the civil wars of Pompeius Magnus began,

leaving only a few of the branches protruding from the ground. The

Sibylline Books were accordingly consulted, and it was found that a war

of extermination was impending, which would be attended with greater

carnage the nearer it should approach the city of Rome.

Another kind of prodigy, too, is the springing up of a tree in some

extraordinary and unusual place, the head of a statue, for instance,

or an altar, or upon another tree even.[3227] A fig-tree shot forth

from a laurel at Cyzicus, just before the siege of that city; and so in

like manner, at Tralles, a palm issued from the pedestal of the statue

of the Dictator Cæsar, at the period of his civil wars. So, too, at

Rome, in the Capitol there, in the time of the wars against Perseus,

a palm-tree grew from the head of the statue of Jupiter, a presage

of impending victory and triumphs. This palm, however, having been

destroyed by a tempest, a fig-tree sprang up in the very same place,

at the period of the lustration made by the censors M. Messala and C.

Cassius,[3228] a time at which, according to Piso, an author of high

authority, all sense of shame had been utterly banished. Above all the

prodigies, however, that have ever been heard of, we ought to place the

one that was seen in our own time, at the period of the fall of the

Emperor Nero, in the territory of Marrucinum; a plantation of olives,

belonging to Vectius Marcellus, one of the principal members of the

Equestrian order, bodily crossed the public highway, while the fields

that lay on the opposite side of the road passed over to supply the

place which had been thus vacated by the olive-yard.[3229]

CHAP. 39. (26.)—TREATMENT OF THE DISEASES OF TREES.

Having set forth the various maladies by which trees are attacked, it

seems only proper to mention the most appropriate remedies as well.

Some of these remedies may be applied to all kinds of trees in common,

while others, again, are peculiar to some only. The methods that are

common to them all, are, baring the roots, or moulding them up, thus

admitting the air or keeping it away, as the case may be; giving them

water, or depriving them of it, refreshing them with the nutritious

juices of manure, and lightening them of their burdens by pruning. The

operation, too, of bleeding,[3230] as it were, is performed upon them

by withdrawing their juices, and the bark is scraped all round[3231] to

improve them. In the vine, the stock branches are sometimes lengthened

out, and at other times repressed; the buds too are smoothed, and in

a measure polished up, in case the cold weather has made them rough

and scaly. These remedies are better suited to some kinds of trees and

less so to others: thus the cypress, for instance, has a dislike to

water, and manifests an aversion to manure, spading round it, pruning,

and, indeed, remedial operations of every kind; nay, what is more, it

is killed by irrigation, while, on the other hand, the vine and the

pomegranate receive their principal nutriment from it. In the fig,

again, the tree is nourished by watering, while the very same thing

will make the fruit pine and die: the almond, too, if the ground is

spaded about it, will lose its blossom. In the same way, too, there

must be no digging about the roots of trees when newly grafted, or

indeed until such time as they are sufficiently strong to bear. Many

trees require that all superfluous burdens should be pruned away from

them, just as we ourselves cut the nails and hair. Old trees are

often cut down to the ground, and then shoot up again from one of the

suckers; this, however, is not the case with all of them, but only

those, the nature of which, as we have already stated,[3232] will admit

of it.

CHAP. 40.—METHODS OF IRRIGATION.

Watering is good for trees during the heats of summer, but injurious in

winter; the effects of it are of a varied nature in autumn, and depend

upon the peculiar nature of the soil. Thus, in Spain for instance, the

vintager gathers the grapes while the ground beneath is under water; on

the other hand, in most parts of the world, it is absolutely necessary

to carry off the autumn rains by draining. It is about the rising of

the Dog-star that irrigation is so particularly beneficial; but even

then it ought not to be in excess, as the roots are apt to become

inebriated, and to receive injury therefrom. Care should be taken,

too, to proportion it to the age of the tree, young trees being not

so thirsty as older ones; those too which require the most water, are

the ones that have been the most used to it. On the other hand, plants

which grow in a dry soil, require no more moisture than is absolutely

necessary to their existence.

CHAP. 41.—REMARKABLE FACTS CONNECTED WITH IRRIGATION.

In the Fabian district, which belongs to the territory of Sulmo[3233]

in Italy, where they are in the habit, also, of irrigating the fields,

the natural harshness of the wines makes it necessary to water the

vineyards; it is a very singular thing, too, that the water there

kills all the weeds, while at the same time it nourishes the corn,

thus acting in place of the weeding-hook. In the same district, too,

at the winter solstice, and more particularly when the snow is on the

ground or frosts prevail, they irrigate the land, a process which they

call “warming” the soil. This peculiarity, however, exists in the

water of one river[3234] only, the cold of which in summer is almost

insupportable.

CHAP. 42. (27.)—INCISIONS MADE IN TREES.

The proper remedies for charcoal-blight and mildew[3235] will be

pointed out in the succeeding Book.[3236] In the meantime, however,

we may here observe that among the remedies may be placed that by

scarification.[3237] When the bark becomes meagre and impoverished by

disease, it is apt to shrink, and so compress the vital parts of the

tree to an excessive degree: upon which, by means of a sharp pruning

knife held with both hands, incisions are made perpendicularly down

the tree, and a sort of looseness, as it were, imparted to the skin.

It is a proof that the method has been adopted with success, when the

fissures so made remain open and become filled with wood of the trunk

growing between the lips.

CHAP. 43.—OTHER REMEDIES FOR THE DISEASES OF TREES.

The medical treatment of trees in a great degree resembles that of man,

seeing that in certain cases the bones of them both are perforated

even.[3238] The bitter almond will become sweet, if, after spading

round the trunk and cleaning it, the lowermost part of it is pierced

all round, so that the humours may have a passage for escape and ensure

being removed. In the elm, too, the superfluous juices are drawn off,

by piercing the tree above ground to the pith when it is old, or when

it is found to suffer from an excess of nutriment. So, too, when

the bark of the fig is turgid and swollen, the confined juices are

discharged by means of light incisions made in a slanting direction;

by the adoption of which method the fruit is prevented from falling

off. When fruit-trees bud but bear no fruit, a fissure is made in the

root, and a stone inserted; the result of which is, that they become

productive.[3239] The same is done also with the almond, a wedge of

robur being employed for the purpose. For the pear and the service tree

a wedge of torch-wood is used, and then covered over with ashes and

earth. It is even found of use, too, to make circular incisions around

the roots of the vine and fig, when the vegetation is too luxuriant,

and then to throw ashes over the roots. A late crop of figs is ensured,

if the first fruit is taken off when green and little larger than a

bean; for it is immediately succeeded by fresh, which ripens at a

later period than usual. If the tops of each branch are removed from

the fig, just as it is beginning to put forth leaves, its strength and

productiveness are greatly increased. As to caprification, the effect

of that is to ripen the fruit.

CHAP. 44.—CAPRIFICATION, AND PARTICULARS CONNECTED WITH THE FIG.

It is beyond all doubt that in caprification the green fruit gives

birth to a kind of gnat;[3240] for when they have taken flight, there

are no seeds to be found within the fruit: from this it would appear

that the seeds have been transformed into these gnats. Indeed, these

insects are so eager to take their flight, that they mostly leave

behind them either a leg or a part of a wing on their departure. There

is another species of gnat,[3241] too, that grows in the fig, which

in its indolence and malignity strongly resembles the drone of the

bee-hive, and shows itself a deadly enemy to the one that is of real

utility; it is called centrina, and in killing the others it meets its

own death.

Moths, too, attack the seeds of the fig: the best plan of getting rid

of them, is to bury a slip of mastich,[3242] turned upside down, in the

same trench. The fig, too, is rendered extremely productive[3243] by

soaking red earth in amurca, and laying it, with some manure, upon the

roots of the tree, just as it is beginning to throw out leaves. Among

the wild figs, the black ones, and those which grow in rocky places,

are the most esteemed, from the fact of the fruit containing the most

seed. Caprification takes place most advantageously just after rain.

CHAP. 45.—ERRORS THAT MAY BE COMMITTED IN PRUNING.

But, before everything, especial care should be taken that intended

remedies are not productive of ill results; as these may arise from

either remedial measures being applied in excess or at unseasonable

times. Clearing away the branches is of the greatest benefit to trees,

but to slaughter[3244] them this way every year, is productive of the

very worst results. The vine is the only tree that requires lopping

every year, the myrtle, the pomegranate, and olive every other; the

reason being that these trees shoot with great rapidity. The other

trees are lopped less frequently, and none of them in autumn; the trunk

even is never scraped,[3245] except in spring. In pruning a tree,

all that is removed beyond what is absolutely necessary, is so much

withdrawn from its vitality.

CHAP. 46.—THE PROPER MODE OF MANURING TREES.

The same precautions, too, are to be regarded in manuring. Though

manure is grateful to the tree, still it is necessary to be careful

not to apply it while the sun is hot, or while it is too new, or more

stimulating than is absolutely necessary. The dung of swine will

burn[3246] up the vine, if used at shorter intervals than those of

five years; unless, indeed, it is mixed with water. The same is the

case, too, with the refuse of the currier’s workshop, unless it is

well diluted with water: manure will scorch also, if laid on land too

plentifully. It is generally considered the proper proportion, to use

three modii to every ten feet square; this, however, the nature of the

soil must decide.

CHAP. 47.—MEDICAMENTS FOR TREES.

Wounds and incisions of trees are treated also with pigeon dung and

swine manure. If pomegranates are acid, the roots of the tree are

cleared, and swine’s dung is applied to them: the result is, that

in the first year the fruit will have a vinous flavour, but in the

succeeding one it will be sweet. Some persons are of opinion that the

pomegranate should be watered four times a year with a mixture of human

urine and water, at the rate of an amphora to each tree; or else that

the extremities of the branches should be sprinkled with silphium[3247]

steeped in wine. The stalk of the pomegranate should be twisted, if it

is found to split while on the tree. The fig, too, should be drenched

with the amurca of olives, and other trees when they are ailing,

with lees of wine; or else lupines may be sown about the roots. The

water, too, of a decoction of lupines is beneficial to the fruit, if

poured upon the roots of the tree. When it thunders at the time of the

Vulcanalia,[3248] the figs fall off; the only remedy for which is to

have the area beneath ready covered with barley-straw. Lime applied to

the roots of the tree makes cherries come sooner to maturity, and ripen

more rapidly. The best plan, too, with the cherry, as with all other

kinds, is to thin the fruit, so that that which is left behind may grow

all the larger.

(28.) There are some trees, again, which thrive all the better for

being maltreated,[3249] or else are stimulated by pungent substances;

the palm and the mastich for instance, which derive nutriment from

salt water.[3250] Ashes have the same virtues as salt, only in a more

modified degree; for which reason it is, that fig-trees are sprinkled

with them; as also with rue,[3251] to keep away worms, and to prevent

the roots from rotting. What is still more even, it is recommended to

throw salt[3252] water on the roots of vines, if they are too full of

humours; and if the fruit falls off, to sprinkle them with ashes and

vinegar, or with sandarach if the grapes are rotting.[3253] If, again,

a vine is not productive, it should be sprinkled and rubbed with strong

vinegar and ashes; and if the grapes, instead of ripening, dry and

shrivel up, the vine should be lopped near the roots,[3254] and the

wound and fibres drenched with strong vinegar and stale urine; after

which, the roots should be covered up with mud annealed with these

liquids, and the ground spaded repeatedly.

As to the olive, if it gives promise of but little fruit, the roots

should be bared, and left exposed to the winter cold,[3255] a mode of

treatment for which it is all the better.

All these operations depend each year upon the state of the weather,

and require to be sometimes retarded, and at other times precipitated.

The very element of fire even has its own utility, in the case of the

reed for instance; which, after the reed-bed has been burnt, will

spring up all the thicker and more pliable.[3256]

Cato,[3257] too, gives receipts for certain medicaments, specifying the

proportions as well; for the roots of the large trees he prescribes

an amphora, and for those of the smaller ones, an urna, of amurca of

olives, mixed with water in equal proportions, recommending the roots

to be cleared, and the mixture to be gradually poured upon them. In

addition to this, in the case of the olive and the fig, he recommends

that a layer of straw should be first placed around them. In the

fig, too, more particularly, he says that in spring the roots should

be well moulded up; the result of which is, that the fruit will not

fall off while green, and the tree will be all the more productive,

and not affected with roughness of the bark. In the same way,

too,[3258] to prevent the vine-fretter[3259] from attacking the tree,

he recommends that two congii of amurca of olives should be boiled

down to the consistency of honey, after which it must be boiled again

with one-third part of bitumen, and one-fourth of sulphur; and this

should be done, he says, in the open air, for fear of its igniting if

prepared in-doors; with this mixture, the vine is to be anointed at the

ends of the branches and at the axils; after which, no more fretters

will be seen. Some persons are content to make a fumigation with this

mixture while the wind is blowing towards the vine, for three days in

succession.

Many persons, again, attribute no less utility and nutritious virtue to

urine than Cato does to amurca; only they add to it an equal proportion

of water, it being injurious if employed by itself. Some give the name

of “volucre”[3260] to an insect which eats away the young grapes: to

prevent this, they rub the pruning-knife, every time it is sharpened,

upon a beaver-skin, and then prune the tree with it: it is recommended

also, that after the pruning, the knife should be well rubbed with the

blood of a bear.[3261] Ants, too, are a great pest to trees; they are

kept away, however, by smearing the trunk with red earth and tar: if a

fish, too, is hung up in the vicinity of the tree, these insects will

collect in that one spot. Another method, again, is to pound lupines

in oil,[3262] and anoint the roots with the mixture. Many people kill

both ants as well as moles[3263] with amurca, and preserve apples from

caterpillars as well as from rotting, by touching the top of the tree

with the gall of a green lizard.

Another method, too, of preventing caterpillars, is to make a

woman,[3264] with her monthly courses on her, go round each tree,

barefooted and ungirt. Again, for the purpose of preventing animals

from doing mischief by browsing upon the leaves, they should be

sprinkled with cow-dung each time after rain, the showers having the

effect of washing away the virtues of this application.

The industry of man has really made some very wonderful discoveries,

and, indeed, has gone so far as to lead many persons to believe, that

hail-storms may be averted by means of a certain charm, the words of

which I really could not venture seriously to transcribe; although we

find that Cato[3265] has given those which are employed as a charm for

sprained limbs, employing splints of reed in conjunction with it. The

same author,[3266] too, has allowed of consecrated trees and groves

being cut down, after a sacrifice has first been offered: the form of

prayer, and the rest of the proceedings, will be found fully set forth

in the same work of his.

SUMMARY.—Remarkable facts, narratives, and observations, eight

hundred and eighty.

ROMAN AUTHORS QUOTED.—Cornelius Nepos,[3267] Cato[3268] the

Censor, M. Varro,[3269] Celsus,[3270] Virgil,[3271] Hyginus,[3272]

Saserna[3273] father and son, Scrofa,[3274] Calpurnius Bassus,[3275]

Trogus,[3276] Æmilius Macer,[3277] Græcinus,[3278] Columella,[3279]

Atticus Julius,[3280] Fabianus,[3281] Mamilius Sura,[3282] Dossenus

Mundus,[3283] C. Epidius,[3284] L. Piso.[3285]

FOREIGN AUTHORS QUOTED.—Hesiod,[3286] Theophrastus,[3287]

Aristotle,[3288] Democritus,[3289] Theopompus,[3290] King Hiero,[3291]

King Attalus[3292] Philometor, King Archelaus,[3293] Archytas,[3294]

Xenophon,[3295] Amphilochus[3296] of Athens, Anaxipolis[3297] of

Thasos, Apollodorus[3298] of Lemnos, Aristophanes[3299] of Miletus,

Antigonus[3300] of Cymæ, Agathocles[3301] of Chios, Apollonius[3302] of

Pergamus, Bacchius[3303] of Miletus, Bion[3304] of Soli, Chæreas[3305]

of Athens, Chæristus[3306] of Athens, Diodorus[3307] of Priene,

Dion[3308] of Colophon, Epigenes[3309] of Rhodes, Euagon[3310] of

Thasos, Euphronius[3311] of Athens, Androtion[3312] who wrote on

Agriculture, Æschrion[3313] who wrote on Agriculture, Lysimachus[3314]

who wrote on Agriculture, Dionysius[3315] who translated Mago,

Diophanes[3316] who made an Epitome of Dionysius, Aristander[3317] who

wrote on Portents.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] In B. xii. c. 32—it is supposed by some that it is the Roman Libra

that is meant, under the name of “Mina,” as containing eighty-four

Denarii. If so, it must be the old Roman Libra, as it is more generally

thought that the Libra of Pliny’s time contained ninety-six Denarii, of

sixty grains, within a fraction.

[2] One thousand Paces made a Roman “Mille Passuum,” or Mile, 1618

yards English.

[3] “Immensæ subtilitatis.” As Cuvier remarks, the ancients have

committed more errors in reference to the insects, than to any other

portion of the animal world. The discovery of the microscope has served

more than anything to correct these erroneous notions.

[4] “Insecta,” “articulated.”

[5] The trunk of the gnat, Cuvier says, contains five silken and

pointed threads, which together have the effect of a sting.

[6] The Teredo navalis of Linnæus, not an insect, but one of the

mollusks. This is the same creature that is mentioned in B. xvi. c. 80;

but that spoken of in B. viii. c. 74, must have been a land insect.

[7] They respire by orifices in the sides of the body, known to

naturalists as _stigmata_. The whole body, Cuvier says, forms, in a

measure, a system of lungs.

[8] Cuvier remarks that the various noises made by insects are in

reality not the voice, as they are not produced by air passing through

a larynx.

[9] B. ix. c. 6.

[10] Cuvier remarks, that they have a nourishing fluid, which is of a

white colour, and acts in place of blood.

[11] The dye of sæpia, Cuvier remarks, is not blood, nor does it act

as such, being an excrementitious liquid. It has in addition a bluish,

transparent, blood. The same also with the juices of the purple.

[12] “Nervos.” Cuvier says that all insects have a brain, a sort of

spinal marrow, and nerves.

[13] “Tutius.”

[14] Insects have no fat, Cuvier says, except when in the chrysalis

state; but they have a fibrous flesh of a whitish colour. They have

also viscera, trachea, nerves, and a most complicated organization.

[15] “Melligo.” For further information on this subject consult Bevan

on the Honey Bee.

[16] Or “conusis,” “gummy matter.”

[17] Pitch-wax.

[18] A kind of bee-glue; the origin of the name does not seem to be

known. Reaumur says that they are all different varieties of bee-glue.

[19] See B. xxii. c. 50.

[20] Different combinations of the pollen of flowers, on which bees

feed.

[21] It is formed from the honey that the bee has digested.

[22] Sorrel, or monk’s rhubarb.

[23] A kind of broom.

[24] Spanish broom, the Stipa tenacissima of Linnæus. Ropes were made

of it. See B. xix. c. 7.

[25] Or, the “wild man.”

[26] Huber has discovered that there are two kinds of bees of neutral

sex, or, as he calls them, unprolific females, the workers, which go

out, and the nurses, which are smaller, and stay in the hive to tend

the larvæ.

[27] From the honey found in the corollæ of flowers. This, after being

prepared in the first stomach of the bee, is deposited in the cell

which is formed for its reception.

[28] Cuvier says that the three kinds of cells are absolutely

necessary, and that they do not depend on the greater or less

abundance. The _king_ of the ancients is what we know as the _queen_

bee, which is impregnated by the drones or males.

[29] This is the fact, but not so their _imperfect_ state.

[30] They do not work, but merely impregnate the queen; after which

they are driven from the hive, and perish of cold and starvation.

[31] It appears, as Cuvier says, that the ancients had _some_ notion

that the swarm was multiplied by the aid of the drones.

[32] Cuvier says that the cell for the future queen is different from

the others, and much larger. The bees also supply the queen larva much

more abundantly with food, and of more delicate quality.

[33] Cuvier says that this coincidence with the number of the legs is

quite accidental, as it is with the mouth that the animal constructs

the cell.

[34] The basis of it is really derived from the calix or corolla of

flowers.

[35] See B. iv. c. 24.

[36] In the last Chapter.

[37] Or “Flower-honey.”

[38] Season-honey.

[39] “Vinegar” is the ordinary meaning.

[40] Sillig remarks that the whole of this passage is corrupt.

[41] Hence, perhaps, its name of “acetum.”

[42] The people of Italy.

[43] The 10th of the calends of September, or 23rd August.

[44] Or “heath-honey.” In the north of England the hives are purposely

taken to the moors.

[45] “Erice,” “heather,” seems to be a preferable reading to “myrice,”

“tamarisk,” which is adopted by Sillig.

[46] 12th September.

[47] “Tetralicem” seems preferable to “tamaricem.”

[48] 13th November.

[49] “Unsmoked” honey.

[50] It takes place while they are on the wing.

[51] The only prolific _female_, in reality.

[52] Some unprolific females and some males, in reality.

[53] Cuvier thinks that either hornets, or else the drones, must be

alluded to. Virgil, Georg. B. iv. l. 197, _et seq._, is one of those

who think that bees are produced from flowers.

[54] _I. e._ from flowers.

[55] They arrange the eggs in the cells, but they cannot be said to

_sit_.

[56] This is not the fact. The queen bee commences as a larva, and that

the larva of a working bee, Cuvier says, which, placed in a larger

cell, and nurtured in a different manner, developes its sex and becomes

the queen of the new swarm.

[57] They are then in the chrysalis state.

[58] “Clavus.”

[59] It is the first hatched _queen_ that puts the others to death.

[60] In consequence, really, of their pregnancy.

[61] The greater size of the abdomen makes the wings _look_ shorter.

[62] The queen has a sting, like the working bees, but uses it less

frequently.

[63] A place in Germany, where Drusus, the brother of Tiberius, gained

a victory over the Germans: the locality is unknown.

[64] “Fur.” A variety, probably, of the drone.

[65] So Virgil says—

——“Hæc certamina tanta Pulveris exigui jactu compressa

quiescent.”—_Georg._ iv. 87.

[66] If it is left in the wound, the insect dies, being torn asunder.

[67] Of course this is fabulous, as the drones are males.

[68] Though belonging to the same class, they are not of degenerate

kinds.

[69] The “mule-gnat.”

[70] See Virgil, Georg. B. iv. l. 27.

[71] The reading seems doubtful, and the meaning is probably unknown.

[72] “Injury of the young.”

[73] There are two kinds of hive-moth—the Phalæna tinea mellanella of

Linnæus, and the Phalæna tortrix cereana. It deposits its larva in

holes which it makes in the wax.

[74] In consequence of closing the stigmata, and so impeding their

respiration. The same result, no doubt, is produced by the honey when

smeared over their bodies.

[75] B. xxi. c. 42.

[76] Cuvier says that a hive has been known to last more than thirty

years: but it is doubtful if bees ever live so long as ten, or, except

the queen, little more than one.

[77] Though Virgil tells the same story, in B. iv. of the Georgics, in

relation to the shepherd Aristæus, all this is entirely fabulous.

[78] Georg. B. iv. l. 284, _et seq._

[79] Under roofs, and sometimes in the ground: hornets build in the

hollows of trees.

[80] Called “Sphæx” by Linnæus.

[81] The true version is, that after killing the insect they bury it

with their eggs as food for their future young.

[82] Cuvier says that it is the males, and not the females, that have

no sting.

[83] What modern naturalists call the “Hymenoptera.”

[84] Some kind of wasp, or, as Cuvier says, probably the mason bee.

[85] Called “bombyx” also; though, as Cuvier remarks, of a kind

altogether different from the preceding one.

[86] The first kinds of silk dresses worn by the Roman ladies were

from this island, and, as Pliny says, were known by the name of _Coæ

vestes_. These dresses were so fine as to be transparent, and were

sometimes dyed purple, and enriched with stripes of gold. They probably

had their name from the early reputation which Cos acquired by its

manufactures of silk.

[87] This account is derived from Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. v. c. 19.

[88] “Lanificia.”

[89] Early in the reign of Tiberius, as we learn from Tacitus, the

senate enacted “ne vestis Serica viros fædaret”—“That men should not

defile themselves by wearing garments of silk,” Ann. B. ii. c. 33.

[90] The Aranea lupus of Linnæus.

[91] As Cuvier observes, he has here guessed at the truth.

[92] They copulate in a manner dissimilar to that of any other

insects—the male fecundates the female by the aid of feelers, which he

introduces into the vulva of the female situate beneath the anterior

part of the abdomen.

[93] Cuvier remarks, that the scorpion is viviparous; but the young are

white when born, and wrapped up in an oval mass, for which reason they

may easily be taken for maggots or grubs.

[94] This must be understood of the scorpion of Egypt, Libya, and

Syria. The sting of that of the south of Europe is not generally

dangerous.

[95] Cuvier seems to regard this as fanciful: he says that the

instances of _seven_ joints are but rarely to be met with.

[96] There are no winged scorpions. Cuvier thinks that he may possibly

allude to the panorpis, or scorpion-fly, the abdomen of which

terminates in a forceps, which resembles the tail of the scorpion.

[97] Probably the panorpis.

[98] See B. xxix. c. 29.

[99] The starred or spotted lizard.

[100] The stellio of the Romans is the “ascalabos” or “ascalabotes” of

the Greeks, the lizard into which Ascalabus was changed by Ceres: see

Ovid, Met. B. v. l. 450, _et seq._ Pliny also mentions this in B. xxix.

c. 4, though he speaks of some difference in their appearance. It is

a species of gecko, the tarentola of Italy, the tarente of Provence,

and the geckotta, probably, of Lacepède. The gecko, Cuvier says, is

not venomous; but it causes small blisters to rise on the skin when it

walks over it, the result, probably, of the extreme sharpness of its

nails.

[101] See c. 28 of this Book, and B. viii. c. 95; B. xxx. c. 27.

[102] A general name for the grasshopper. Cuvier remarks, that Pliny is

less clear on this subject than Aristotle, the author from whom he has

borrowed.

[103] “Correptis” seems a preferable reading to “conrupti,” that

adopted by Sillig.

[104] The female has this, and employs it for piercing dead branches in

which to deposit its eggs.

[105] The “mother of the grasshopper.”

[106] The trunk of the grasshopper, Cuvier says, is situate so low

down, that it seems to be attached to the breast. With it the insect

extracts the juices of leaves and stalks.

[107] Or “twig-grasshopper.”

[108] Or “corn-grasshopper.”

[109] Or “oat-grasshopper.”

[110] The river Cæcina. See B. iii. c. 15. This river is by Strabo,

B. vi. c. 260, called the Alex. Ælian has the story that the Locrian

grasshoppers become silent in the territory of Rhegium, and those of

Rhegium in the territory of Locri, thereby implying that they each have

a note in its own respective country.

[111] Cuvier says that the observations in this Chapter, derived from

Aristotle, are remarkable for their exactness, and show that that

philosopher had studied insects with the greatest attention.

[112] Or sheath; the Coleoptera of the naturalists.

[113] The flying stag-beetle, the Lucanus cervus of Linnæus.

[114] The dung-beetle, the Scarabæus pilularius of Linnæus.

[115] Various kinds of crickets.

[116] Cuvier says that it is on the two sides of the abdomen that the

male carries its light, while the whole posterior part of the female is

shining.

[117] In the glow-worm of France, the Lampyris noctiluca of Linnæus,

the female is without wings, while the male gives but little light. In

that of Italy, the Lampyris Italica, both sexes are winged.

[118] “Blattæ.” See B. xxix. c. 39, where three kinds are specified.

[119] This beetle appears to be unknown. Cuvier suggests that the

Scarabæus nasicornis of Linnæus, which haunts dead bark, or the

Scarabæus auratus may be the insect referred to.

[120] “Fatal to the beetle.”

[121] Cuvier remarks that this assertion, borrowed from Aristotle, is

incorrect. The wings of many of the Coleoptera are articulated in the

middle, and so double, one part on the other, to enter the sheath.

[122] Cuvier remarks, that the panorpis has a tail very like that of

the scorpion; and that the ephemera, the ichneumons and others, have

tails also. Aristotle, in the corresponding place, only says that the

insects do not use the tail to direct their flight.

[123] These are merely the feelers of the jaws.

[124] Not instead of, but in addition to, the tongue, by the aid of

which they suck.

[125] Evidently meaning the trunk.

[126] See B. xxix. c. 39.

[127] It is not true that the young locusts are destitute of feet.

[128] 7th May.

[129] 18th July.

[130] 11th May.

[131] Cuvier treats this story as purely imaginary.

[132] Cuvier says that some have been known nearly a foot long, but not

more.

[133] He alludes to the ravages committed by the swarms of the

migratory locust, Grillus migratorius of Linnæus.

[134] Julius Obsequens speaks of a pestilence there, created by the

dead bodies of the locusts, which caused the death of 8000 persons.

[135] See also B. vi. c. 35.

[136] What are commonly called ants’ eggs, are in reality their larvæ

and nymphæ. Enveloped in a sort of tunic, these last, Cuvier says,

are like grains of corn, and from this probably has arisen the story

that they lay up grains against the winter, a period through which in

reality they do not eat.

[137] They stow away bits of meat and detached portions of fruit, to

nourish their larvæ with their juices.

[138] It is in reality their larvæ that they thus bring out to dry. The

working ants, or neutrals, are the ones on which these labours devolve:

the males and females are winged, the working ants are without wings.

[139] “Ad recognitionem mutuam.”

[140] Some modern writers express an opinion that when they meet, they

converse and encourage one another by the medium of touch and smell.

[141] See B. v. c. 31.

[142] M. de Veltheim thinks that by this is really meant the Canis

corsac, the small fox of India, but that by some mistake it was

represented by travellers as an ant. It is not improbable, Cuvier

says, that some quadruped, in making holes in the ground, may have

occasionally thrown up some grains of the precious metal. The story

is derived from the narratives of Clearchus and Megasthenes. Another

interpretation of this story has also been suggested. We find from

some remarks of Mr. Wilson, in the _Transactions of the Asiatic

Society_, on the Mahabharata, a Sanscrit poem, that various tribes on

the mountains Meru and Mandara (supposed to lie between Hindostan and

Tibet) used to sell grains of gold, which they called _paippilaka_, or

“ant-gold,” which, they said, was thrown up by ants, in Sanscrit called

_pippilaka_. In travelling westward, this story, in itself, no doubt,

untrue, may very probably have been magnified to its present dimensions.

[143] Cuvier observes, that this is a very correct account of the

cabbage or radish butterfly, the Papilio brassicæ or Papilio raphani of

Linnæus.

[144] Cossi. See B. xvii. c. 37.

[145] Tæniæ.

[146] He alludes to the Morbus pediculosus.

[147] Aristotle says, in the corresponding passage, Hist. Anim. B.

v. c. 26, that the animals which are affected by lice, are more

particularly exposed to them when they change the water in which they

wash.

[148] Or “leapers.”

[149] He alludes to dog-ticks and ox-ticks, the Acarus ricinus of

Linnæus, and the Acarus reduvius of Schrank.

[150] In c. 32 he has said the same of the grasshopper; in relation to

its drink.

[151] A variety of the Cynips of Linnæus, which in vast numbers will

sometimes adhere to the ears of dogs.

[152] These are really the larvæ of night-moths. His account here is

purely imaginary.

[153] He speaks of the Cynips psenes of Linnæus, which breeds on the

blossom of the fig-tree, and aids in its fecundation. See B. xv. c. 21.

[154] He alludes to various coleopterous insects, which are not

included among the Cantharides of the modern naturalists. They are

first an egg, then a larva, then a nympha, and then the insect fully

developed.

[155] See B. xxix. c. 30.

[156] The redness sometimes observed on the snow of the Alps and the

Pyrenees, is supposed by De Lamarck to be produced by animalculæ: other

naturalists, however, suppose it to arise from vegetable or mineral

causes.

[157] Cuvier thinks that he alludes to a variety of the ephemera or

the phryganea of Linnæus, the case-wing flies, many of which are

particularly short-lived. These are by no means peculiar to the river

Bog or Hypanis.

[158] “Living for a day.”

[159] They only _appear_ to be so, from the peculiar streaks on the

eyes. Linnæus has hence called one variety, the Tabanus cæcutiens.

[160] Or with pounded chalk or whitening. Ælian adds, “if they are

placed in the sun,” which appears necessary for the full success of the

experiment. Life appears to be suspended in such cases for a period of

surprising length.

[161] Probably the golden pheasant, as already mentioned.

[162] Some kind of heron or crane, Cuvier thinks.

[163] The Alauda cristata of Linnæus, so called from “galera,” a

pointed cap like a helmet.

[164] The fifth legion.

[165] The hoopoe, B. x. c. 44.

[166] Savigny and Cuvier take this to be the Ardea virgo of Linnæus, a

native of Numidia.

[167] The suddenness of their appearance, no doubt, was fabulous; but

we have well-authenticated cases in recent times of substances growing

on the human head, to all appearance resembling horns, and arising from

a disordered secretion of the hair. Witness the case of Mary Davies,

a so-called horn from whose head is preserved in the Ashmolean Museum

at Oxford. The story of Genucius Cippus, the Roman prætor, is told by

Ovid, Met. B. xv. l. 565, _et seq._

[168] A spitter, or second year stag, according to Cuvier.

[169] “Broad-horned.” The Cervus dama of Linnæus.

[170] “Dama.” The Antelope redunca of Linnæus, Cuvier thinks.

[171] No doubt a kind of antelope.

[172] “Lyras” seems preferable to “liras.”

[173] There are several varieties of oxen, in which the horns adhere to

the skin, and not to the cranium.

[174] B. viii. cc. 29-31.

[175] The Coluber cerastes of Linnæus. See B. viii. c. 35.

[176] The drinking-horns of our Saxon ancestors are well known to the

antiquarian.

[177] The “urna” was half an “amphora,” or nearly three gallons.

[178] See B. xxxv. c. 41.

[179] The rhinoceros. See B. viii. c. 39.

[180] He surely must except the Phrygian oxen with the moveable horns,

which he has previously mentioned.

[181] Or “long-haired.” See B. iii. c. 7.

[182] See B. iv. c. 31.

[183] See B. iv. c. 22.

[184] See B. v. c. 29.

[185] Φαλακροκόραξ. See B. x. c. 68.

[186] He borrows this from Aristotle.

[187] B. viii. c. 54, and B. x. c. 58. The skull of the bear is not

thinner or weaker than that of other animals of its own size; but

the skull of the parrot, in proportion to those of other birds, is

remarkably hard.

[188] See B. vii. c. 1.

[189] Cuvier says that these are the larvæ of the œstrus, which are

deposited on the lips of quadrupeds, and so make their way to various

cavities.

[190] B. ix. c. 40.

[191] Or razor-sheath. See B. x. c. 88.

[192] Aristotle was of this opinion, but Galen maintained that the mole

_can_ see. Its eye is extremely small, and hard on the surface.

[193] Or “white” heron. As Cuvier remarks, this is probably a mere

augur’s fable.

[194] It is almost needless to remark, that both snails, as well as

locusts and grasshoppers, _have_ eyes.

[195] Lumbricus.

[196] B. vii. c. 2.

[197] “Cæsii.”

[198] The same has been said also of Cardan, the elder Scaliger,

Theodore Beza, the French physician Mairan, and the republican Camille

Desmoulins.

[199] Caligula.

[200] Hardouin with justice doubts the soundness of this alleged reason.

[201] He alludes, probably, to some method of curing cataract; perhaps

somewhat similar to that mentioned by him in B. xx. c. 20.

[202] This was done by the nearest relatives. This usage still prevails

in this country, the eyelids being pressed down with pieces of gold or

silver.

[203] Or “squint-eyed.”

[204] Or “cock-eyed.”

[205] B. viii. c. 45.

[206] B. viii, c. 51.

[207] See B. xxv. c. 50.

[208] Or crustaceous covering.

[209] Kohl is still used in the east for the same purpose.

[210] Aristotle says so, Hist. Anim. B. iii. c. 10.

[211] “The eyebrows.”

[212] This is not the fact.

[213] With their nails when mourning for the dead.

[214] Hence the word “nasutus,” a sneering, captious, or sarcastic man.

[215] “Flat-nosed,” and “snub-nosed.”

[216] A Roman family—the reading of this word seems doubtful.

[217] In reality, the under one only.

[218] He is incorrect in speaking of dogs as having serrated teeth.

[219] In the dugong also, babiroussa, muntjac, and others.

[220] The morse and the dugong are instances to the contrary.

[221] The females of the elephant, morse, dugong, chevrotin, and

muntjac have them, and they are equally as useful as with the male,

only, perhaps, not so strong.

[222] This is incorrect, unless he merely means ranged in one

continuous line; and even then he is in error.

[223] See B. ix. c. 29. This is called the parrot-fish, from the

resemblance of its upper and lower jaws to the beak of a parrot.

[224] They present this appearance from being worn away at the surface.

[225] Rondelet would read “gula,” the throat. This, though repudiated

by Hardouin, is approved of by Cuvier, who justly looks upon the

ordinary reading as an absurdity. Many fish, he says, and more

especially the osseous ones, have teeth in the pharynx.

[226] There is always one fang, at least, ready to supply the place of

the one in front, if lost by any accident.

[227] Like the jugglers of the East at the present day. But it is very

doubtful whether the poison fang is in _all_ instances previously

extracted from the serpents which they handle.

[228] But the camel, as well as the lama, has an incisive bone,

provided with an incisive tooth on each side, and has canine and molar

teeth as well.

[229] If by this term he means teeth separated from each other,

the assertion is incorrect, as in these animals we find the molars

separated from the lower incisives by a very considerable space.

[230] Cuvier says, as far as the sea-urchin is concerned, very simply,

and merely by looking at it, as its five teeth are very apparent.

[231] The incisors are in number, and very nearly in appearance, like

those of man. The canines are different in shape, though similar in

number. What he says about the elephant, is peculiar to that of India.

[232] See B. ix. c. 88.

[233] Very few other animals are born with teeth, in their natural

state. Apes, dogs, and cats are not born with teeth.

[234] From the fourth to the eighth month in reality, during which the

four central incisors appear.

[235] The only ones that do not change are those which have three

molars on each side of the jaw.

[236] This is erroneous: they change the incisors and molars as well.

[237] See B. xxviii. c. 78.

[238] By us known as the “wisdom” teeth.

[239] This is not the fact: they have usually the same number, but

there are exceptions on both sides. The same is also the case with

sheep, goats, and swine.

[240] This is not very uncommon.

[241] Not at all an uncommon occurrence.

[242] Of the second set.

[243] It is only in the horse and the ass that these indications can be

relied upon.

[244] Columellares.

[245] This has no such effect.

[246] The contrary is the case: it will be more prolific.

[247] Swine change them just the same as other animals.

[248] By certain appearances in the incisors, the age of a horse up to

its twenty-fourth year, or even beyond, may be judged of: the other

signs cannot be so positively relied upon.

[249] B. viii. c. 15.

[250] “Sævissima dentibus,” seems to be a preferable reading to

“sævissime dentiunt.”

[251] Only two-forked in reality.

[252] It is _not_ covered with hair.

[253] It is _not_ bifurcate.

[254] These are horny, conical papillæ, the summits of which point

backwards.

[255] See B. ix. c. 60.

[256] “Criers.”

[257] One of the titles of the goddess Fortuna.

[258] “Uva,” or “grape.”

[259] More generally “epiglottis.” It is found in some few reptiles.

This passage is omitted by Sillig.

[260] Gullet, or pharynx.

[261] Stomachum.

[262] All these animals, on the contrary, have seven vertebræ.

[263] This is not the fact. The spinal marrow, even, may be wounded,

without death being the immediate result.

[264] Snow-water, we know, is apt to produce goitre.

[265] “Stomachus.” More properly, the œsophagus, or ventricle.

[266] Lacunæ modo.

[267] Or turtle. It has a tongue, and though it has no teeth, the jaws

are edged with a horny substance like the bills of birds.

[268] “Crenis” is read for “renis:” otherwise the passage is

unintelligible: it is still most probably in a corrupt state.

[269] Among all the mammiferæ and the birds, the heart has four

cavities, two on each side.

[270] Mens.

[271] This is a mistake. The heart is subject to disease, equally with

other parts of the body.

[272] In spite of what Schenkius says in confirmation of Pliny, this

is very doubtful. Of course it must increase from childhood, but the

increase surely does not continue till the fiftieth year.

[273] See an account of him in the Messeniaca of Pausanias.

[274] In this part of the story may have originated that of the escape

of Sindbad the Sailor, when buried in the vault with the body of his

wife.—See the “Arabian Nights.”

[275] “Rex Sacrorum.” This was a priest elected from the patricians, on

whom the priestly duties devolved, which had been originally performed

by the kings of Rome. He ranked above the Pontifex Maximus, but was

possessed of little or no political influence.

[276] No doubt there was trickery in this.

[277] By supernatural agency.

[278] This was P. Vitellius, who served under Germanicus in Germany.

He was one of the accusers of Cn. Piso, who was charged with having

poisoned Germanicus.

[279] The cardiac disease, as alleged.

[280] B. ix. c. 6.

[281] But see B. viii. c. 51, and B. xxviii. c. 29.

[282] Plutarch says that it was the “caput,” or “head” of the liver

that was wanting. M. Marcellus was slain while reconnoitring the

Carthaginian camp by night.

[283] Caligula.

[284] 1st of January.

[285] By his niece and wife, Agrippina, the mother of Nero.

[286] See B. iv. c. 11. Tharne does not seem to be known. Of course,

this story about the hares is fabulous.

[287] There must be some corrupt reading here; for, as Sillig remarks,

who ever heard of a siege which lasted a hundred years?

[288] Or diaphragm; from “præ,” “before,” and “cor,” the “heart.”

[289] With Sardonic laughter, as Hardouin remarks.

[290] Or small guts.

[291] Or front intestines.

[292] The coot, probably.

[293] He alludes to the papillæ of the mucous gland.

[294] The colic.

[295] “Lupus cervarius.” Probably the lynx.

[296] The belly of the elephant presents five transversal folds.

[297] See B. xxviii. c. 77. This substance, known by the name of

egagropile, consists of the hair which the animal has swallowed when

licking itself. It assumes a round form, in consequence of the action

of the intestines.

[298] Perhaps the godwit, or stone-plover, the Scolopax ægocephala of

Linnæus.

[299] See also B. xxvi. c. 83.

[300] This may be done with safety in dogs or other animals.

[301] See B. v. c. 32.

[302] See p. 68.

[303] This is not the case. Birds have kidneys, but of an irregular

form.

[304] This is a mistake. It _does_ cicatrize.

[305] Or bag.

[306] “The (principal) place.”

[307] Ajasson renders this passage: “The effects are fatal when this

organ, becoming displaced, absorbs the air.” The text is probably

corrupt.

[308] Varro, De Re Rust. B. ii. c. 4, says that he saw an instance of

this in Arcadia.

[309] This is not the case.

[310] There is no similarity whatever between the spinal marrow and

that which is found in the other bones.

[311] The hare and the partridge, for instance.

[312] There is considerable doubt what the ancients exactly meant

by the “nervi;” and whether, in fact, they had any definite idea of

“nerves,” in our acceptation of the word. Pliny here expresses the

opinions entertained by Aristotle. “Tendons,” or “sinews,” would almost

appear to be the proper translation of the word.

[313] See B. xxviii. c. 41.

[314] In allusion, probably, to hæmorrhoids, or piles.

[315] See B. vii. c. 12.

[316] Bears, dormice, serpents, &c.

[317] The polypus and the chameleon.

[318] See B. viii. cc. 51, 52.

[319] Walking-sticks are still made of it.

[320] As already mentioned, this is not the fact.

[321] See B. ix. c. 43.

[322] It is not improbable that, under this name, some kind of large

vampire bat was meant; but, as Pliny says, it is impossible to arrive

at any certain knowledge on the subject. The best account given of the

strix is that in Ovid’s Fasti, B. vi. The name was given opprobriously

to supposed witches, the “foul and midnight hags” of Shakspeare.

[323] This assertion is borrowed from Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. vii. c.

14.

[324] Or biestings.

[325] See B. xxviii. c. 12. Poppæa Sabina, first the mistress, then the

wife, of the Emperor Nero.

[326] “Spuma.” He calls it so, because it floats on the surface. See B.

xxviii. c. 35. The “acor,” or acrid liquid, which he speaks of, is, no

doubt, butter-milk.

[327] Or whey.

[328] Nismes, in France. Hardouin speaks of goats’-milk cheeses made in

its neighbourhood, and known as _fromages de Baux_.

[329] Probably the modern Losere and Gevaudan. See B. iv. c. 19.

[330] For the Docleatæ, see B. iii. c. 26.

[331] For the Centrones, see B. iii. c. 24. He perhaps refers to the

modern _fromage de Passi_.

[332] The modern Marquisat de Cive, which still produces excellent

cheese.

[333] See B. xiv. c. 8.

[334] And more especially at Salona in Bithynia.

[335] “Etiam ubi non videtur major.” This is probably corrupt.

[336] He wrote a poem, in which the principal Latin dramatists are

enumerated, in the order of merit. A. Gellius, B. xv. c. 24, has

preserved a portion of it.

[337] Germanicus.

[338] This seems to be the meaning of “imbricatus.”

[339] Though wounds in the knee are highly dangerous, death does not

_necessarily_ ensue.

[340] Of another person, who had thus forfeited his bail. It was the

custom to touch the ear of the attesting witness.

[341] The goddess of retribution. See B. xxviii. c. 5, where he makes

further mention of her statue in the Capitol.

[342] The frog is, in some measure, an exception.

[343] Or “flat-foot,” “splay-foot,” “large-foot,” and “club-footed.”

[344] Words meaning “knock-kneed,” “bow-legged,” and “wry-legged.”

[345] The rhinoceros.

[346] Or wryneck.

[347] See B. x. c. 5.

[348] Supposed to be the Hirundo apus of Linnæus. Of the “oce” nothing

is known; indeed, the reading is very doubtful.

[349] B. ix. c. 44.

[350] He evidently means insects of the centipede class. See B. xxix.

c. 39.

[351] B. x. c. 83.

[352] Such as circumcision among the Jews.

[353] See B. xxxv. c. 46.

[354] Probably the buzzard; from this story also called the “triorchis.”

[355] Hist. Anim. B. iv. c. 9.

[356] See B. ix. c. 52.

[357] “Aper.”

[358] B. ix. c. 7.

[359] See c. 65 of the present Book.

[360] Not the dumb son mentioned by Herodotus, who saved his father’s

life at the taking of Sardes.

[361] Like the whispering gallery of St. Paul’s Cathedral.

[362] “Non aliter quam oculis.” On this, few will be found to agree

with Pliny.

[363] And not to “conceal” them, according to the opinion of some

modern politicians.

[364] But they are borrowed from Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. i. c. 9.

[365] See B. xii. c. 7.

[366] B. vii. c. 2.

[367] See B. xxix. c. 23.

[368] See c. 21 of the present Book.

[369] B. ix. c. 33.

[370] Or Fish-eaters.

[371] Or bulimia.

[372] See end of B. ii.

[373] See end of B. ii.

[374] C. Tremellius Scrofa, a friend of M. Varro, and one of the early

writers on agriculture.

[375] See end of B. x.

[376] See end of B. vii.

[377] See end of B. ix.

[378] See end of B. vii.

[379] See end of B. viii.

[380] See end of B. ii.

[381] See end of B. ii.

[382] See end of B. x.

[383] See end of B. iii.

[384] Nothing seems to be known of this writer.

[385] See end of B. vii.

[386] See end of B. vii.

[387] See end of B. ii.

[388] See end of B. ii.

[389] See end of B. vi.

[390] See end of B. x.

[391] C. Oppius, one of the most intimate friends of Julius Cæsar, for

whom, with Balbus, he acted in Spain. Of his numerous biographical and

historical works, none have survived to our time.

[392] See end of B. ii.

[393] See end of B. ii.

[394] Probably Neoptolemus of Paros, who wrote a book of Epigrams, a

treatise on Languages, and other works.

[395] Of Soli, an observer of the habits of bees. His portrait is said

still to exist, on a cornelian, attentively observing a swarm of bees.

He wrote upon bees, honey, and the art of mixing wines.

[396] Probably a different writer from the one mentioned at the end of

B. viii.; nothing seems to be known of him.

[397] See end of B. viii.

[398] See end of B. viii.

[399] See end of B. x.

[400] A philosopher of Agrigentum, and disciple of Pythagoras. He is

said to have perished in the crater of Mount Etna. He wrote numerous

works, of which only some fragments exist.

[401] See end of B. iv.

[402] Apparently the same as the King Philometor, mentioned below. See

end of B. viii.

[403] Of this writer nothing seems to be known.

[404] See end of B. vii.

[405] Of Chalcedon, one of the most famous physicians of antiquity.

He was physician to Phalaris, the tyrant of Sicily, and is said to

have dissected criminals alive. He was the first that paid particular

attention to the nervous system.

[406] A native of Iulis, in Cos, or else Ceos, grandson of Aristotle,

and disciple of Theophrastus. He acquired great reputation as a

physician, at the court of Seleucus Nicator, king of Syria, where he

discovered the supposed disease of Prince Antiochus, who had fallen in

love with his step-mother, Stratonice. Of his numerous medical works,

only the titles and a few fragments exist.

[407] See end of B. vii.

[408] A physician of Laodicæa, founder of the school of the Methodici.

He was a pupil of Asclepiades, and died about B.C. 43. Of his medical

works only a few fragments survive.

[409] See end of B. ii.

[410] See end of B. viii.

[411] See end of B. viii.

[412] See end of B. viii.

[413] See end of B. iii.

[414] See end of B. vii.

[415] See King Attalus, above.

[416] “Animâ.” The notion that plants are possessed of a soul or

spirit, is derived from the Greek philosophers, who attributed to them

intellect also, and sense.

[417] Vitruvius mentions the people of Gaul, Hispania, Lusitania, and

Aquitania, as living in his day in dwellings covered with oak shingles,

or with straw.

[418] See B. vi. c. 20, and B. xi. c. 26.

[419] Desfontaines remarks, that we may still trace vestiges of

this custom in the fine trees that grow near church porches, and

in church-yards. Of course, his remark will apply to France more

particularly.

[420] It is doubtful whether the æsculus of the Romans was the same as

the bay-oak, the holm-oak, or the beech. See B. xvi. c. 4.

[421] See further on this subject in Phædrus’s Fables, B. iii. f. 17.

[422] Reckoning the promulsis, antecæna, or gustatio, not as a course,

but only a prelude, the bellaria, or dessert, at the Roman banquets,

formed the second course, or mensa. It consisted of fruits uncooked,

sweetmeats, and pastry.

[423] He alludes to the pursuit of the elephant, for the purpose of

obtaining ivory, which was extensively used in his day, in making the

statues of the divinities.

[424] A sarcastic antithesis. And yet Dalechamps would read “hominum”

instead of “numinum”!

[425] Præmissa. The exact meaning of this word does not appear. Though

all the MSS. agree in it, it is probably a corrupt reading. Plutarch,

in his Life of Camillus, says that the wine of Italy was first

introduced in Gaul by Aruns, the Etruscan.

[426] The Platanus orientalis of Linnæus. It received its name from the

Greek πλάτος, “breadth,” by reason of its wide-spreading branches.

[427] For further mention of this island, now Tremiti, see B. iii. c.

30.

[428] He alludes, probably, to the “vectigal solarium,” a sort of

ground-rent which the tributary nations paid to the Roman treasury.

Virgil and Homer speak of the shade of the plane-tree, as a pleasant

resort for festive parties.

[429] It is not improbable that Pliny, in copying from Theophrastus,

has here committed an error. That author, B. ix. c. 7, says: ἐν μὲν

γὰρ τῷ Ἀδρίᾳ πλάτανον οὔ φασιν εἶναι, πλὴν περὶ τὸ Διομήδους ἱερόν·

σπανίαν δὲ καὶ ἐν Ἰταλίᾳ πάσῃ. “They say that in Adria there are no

plane-trees, except about the temple of Diomedes: and that they are

extremely rare in Italy.” Pliny, probably, when his secretary was

reading to him, mistook the word σπανίαν, “rare,” for Ἱσπανίᾳ “in

Spain.”

[430] It has been remarked that, in reality, this process would only

tend to impede its growth. Macrobius tells us, that Hortensius was

guilty of this singular folly.

[431] Situate near the sea-shore. It was here that Plato taught. See B.

xxxi. c. 3.

[432] Caligula.

[433] It is supposed that he here alludes sarcastically to the extreme

corpulence of Caligula.

[434] M. Fée, the learned editor of the botanical books in Ajasson’s

translation, remarks, that this cannot have been the Platanus of the

botanists, and that there is no tree of Europe, which does not lose its

leaves, that at all resembles it.

[435] The tendency, namely, to lose their leaves.

[436] Grandson of Asinius Pollio. Tacitus tells us, that he was one of

those whom Piso requested to undertake his defence, when charged with

having poisoned Germanicus; but he declined the office.

[437] Or “ground plane-trees.” It is by no means uncommon to see dwarf

varieties of the larger trees, which are thus reduced to the dimensions

of mere shrubs.

[438] C. Matius Calvena, the friend of Julius and Augustus Cæsar, as

also of Cicero. He is supposed to have translated the Iliad into Latin

verse, and to have written a work on cookery.

[439] See B. xxiii. c. 55. Fée remarks, that the ancients confounded

the citron with the orange-tree.

[440] Fée remarks, that this is not the case. The arbute is described

in B. xv. c. 28.

[441] In the time of Plutarch, it had begun to be somewhat more used.

It makes one of the very finest preserves.

[442] At the present day, it is cultivated all over India, in China,

South America, and the southern parts of Europe. Fée says, that they

grow even in the open air in the gardens of Malmaison.

[443] B. xi. c. 115. Virgil says the same, Georg. B. ii. ll. 134, 135.

Theophrastus seems to say, that it was the outer rind that was so used.

[444] See B. vi. c. 20.

[445] See B. vii. c. 2. The tree to which he alludes is unknown.

[446] Georg. B. ii. ll. 116, 117.

[447] B. iii. c. 97. There is little doubt that, under the general name

of “ebony,” the wood of many kinds of trees was, and is still, imported

into the western world, so that both Herodotus and Virgil may have been

correct in representing ebony as the product of both India and Æthiopia.

[448] Herodotus says two hundred.

[449] In Italy, whither he had retired from the hostile attacks of his

fellow-citizens. It is supposed by Le Vayer and others, that Pliny is

wrong in his assertion, that Herodotus wrote to this effect while at

Thurii; though Dr. Schmitz is inclined to be of opinion that he is

right in his statement.

[450] B. iii. c. 115.

[451] B. vi. c. 35.

[452] Fée remarks, that the words of Pliny do not afford us any means

of judging precisely what tree it was that he understood by the name of

ebony. He borrows his account mainly from Theophrastus.

[453] It is not known to what tree he alludes.

[454] This account of the Ficus Indica, or religiosa, known to us as

the banian-tree, is borrowed entirely from Theophrastus. Fée remarks,

however, that he is wrong in some of his statements, for that the

leaves are not crescent-shaped, but oblong and pointed, and that the

fruit has not a pleasant flavour, and is only eaten by the birds.

[455] See B. vi. c. 23.

[456] Sprengel and Bauhin are of opinion that the banana is the tree

meant here; Dodonæus thinks that it is the pomegranate. Thevet says

that the pala is the paquovera of India, the fruit of which is called

pacona. The account is borrowed from Theophrastus.

[457] The Gymnosophists, or Brahmins.

[458] Called Syndraci in B. vi. c. 25.

[459] It is not improbable that the Tamarindus Indica of Linnæus is the

tree here alluded to: though M. Fée combats that opinion.

[460] See Theophrastus, B. iv. c. 5.

[461] Dalechamps and Desfontaines are of opinion, that the pistachio,

or Pistacia terebinthus of Linnæus, is here alluded to; but Fée

considers that there are no indications to lead to such a conclusion.

[462] It is not improbable that he may here allude to the cotton-tree,

of which further mention is made in c. xxi. of the present Book.

[463] Fée is of opinion that Cynorrhodon here means, not the dog-rose,

but the gall which is formed on the tree by the sting of the Cynips

bedeguar.

[464] Fée expresses himself at a loss to conjecture what trees are here

meant by Pliny.

[465] Fée remarks, that there are many inaccuracies in the account

here given by Pliny of the pepper-tree, and that it does not bear any

resemblance to the juniper-tree. The grains, he says, grow in clusters,

and not in a husk or pod; and he remarks, that the long pepper and the

black pepper, of which the white is only a variety divested of the

outer coat, are distinct species. He also observes, that the real long

pepper, the Piper longum of Linnæus, was not known to the ancients.

[466] Fée remarks, that this is not a correct description of ginger,

the Amomum zingiber of Linnæus. Dioscorides was one of those who

thought that ginger was the root of the pepper-tree.

[467] It is very doubtful what tree is here alluded to by Pliny, though

certain that it is not one of the pepper-trees. Sprengel takes it to be

the Daphne Thymelæa.

[468] It has been suggested that under this name the clove is meant,

though Fée and Desfontaines express a contrary opinion. Sprengel thinks

that it is the Vitex trifolia of Linnæus, and Bauhin suggests the

cubeb, the Piper cubeba of Linnæus. Fée thinks it may have possibly

been the Myrtus caryophyllata of Ceylon, the fruit of which corresponds

to the description here given by Pliny.

[469] See c. 52 of the present Book.

[470] Or “Lycium.” It is impossible to say with exactness what the

medical liquid called “Lycion” was. Catechu, an extract from the tan of

the acacia, has been suggested; though the fruit of that tree does not

answer the present description.

[471] Fée suggests that this may possibly be the Lycium Europæum of

Linnæus, a shrub not uncommonly found in the south of Europe.

[472] The Rhamnus Lycioides of Linnæus, known to us as buckthorn. The

berries of many varieties of the Rhamnus are violent purgatives.

[473] What he means under this head is not known. Fée speaks of a tree

which the Brahmins call macre, and which the Portuguese called arvore

de las camaras, arvore sancto, arvore de sancto Thome, but of which

they have given no further particulars. Acosta, Clusius, and Bauhin

have also professed to give accounts of it, but they do not lead to its

identification. De Jussieu thinks that either the Soulamea, the Rex

amaroris of Rumphius, or else the Polycardia of Commerson is meant. It

seems by no means impossible that mace, the covering of the nutmeg, is

the substance alluded to, an opinion that is supported by Gerard and

Desfontaines.

[474] “Saccharon.” Fée suggests that Pliny alludes to a peculiar kind

of crystallized sugar, that is found in the bamboo cane, though, at

the same time, he thinks it not improbable that he may have heard of

the genuine sugar-cane; as Strabo, B. xv., speaks of a honey found in

India, prepared without the aid of bees, and Lucan has the line—

“Quique bibunt tenerâ dulces ab arundine succos,”

evidently referring to a sugar in the form of a syrup, and not of

crystal, like that of the Bambos arundinacea. It is by no means

improbable, that Pliny, or rather Dioscorides, from whom he copies,

confuses the two kinds of sugar; as it is well known that the Saccharum

officinarum, or sugar-cane, has been cultivated from a very early

period in Arabia Felix.

[475] It is unknown what plant is here alluded to by Pliny, but

Sprengel suggests that it is the Acacia latronum.

[476] From the description, this would appear to be a sort of poisonous

horse-radish.

[477] There is a tree in India, as we are informed by Fée, which is

known as the Excæcaria Agallochum, the juice of which is remarkably

acrid. Sailors, on striking it with a hatchet, and causing the juice to

spirt into their eyes, have been in danger of losing their sight. It is

possible that this may be the tree here alluded to by Pliny.

[478] He borrows the account of this marvellous shrub from

Theophrastus. No such plant is likely to have ever existed; though

small, and even large, snakes may occasionally take refuge among shrubs

and hollow trees.

[479] There is little doubt that the Hedysarum Alhagi of Linnæus

is here meant, from which a kind of honey or manna flows, known as

“Eastern” manna, or tereniabin. It is not so high as the fig-tree, and

is found in Khorasan, Syria, Mesopotamia, and elsewhere. The manna

distils principally in the morning.

[480] Fée remarks, that it is singular that a resinous gum, such as

bdellium, should have been used in commerce for now two thousand years,

and yet its origin remain unknown. Kæmpfer and Rumphus are of opinion,

that the tree which produces it is the one known to naturalists as the

Borassus flabelliformis of Linnæus, or the Lontarus of others. It is

imported into Europe from Arabia and India, and is often found mixed

with gum Arabic.

[481] Περατικὸν; from περατὰ γῆς, “the remotest parts of the earth,”

from which it was brought.

[482] The modern name of this tree is unknown.

[483] B. vi. c. 28.

[484] It is supposed that the Rhizophora Mangle of Linnæus is the tree

that is here described. It grows on all the coasts of India, from Siam

to the entrance of the Persian Gulf. It takes root on spots which have

been inundated by the sea, and its boughs bend downwards, and taking

root in the earth, advance gradually towards the sea. The leaf and

fruit have the characteristics of those of the arbute and almond as

here mentioned.

[485] B. vi. c. 32.

[486] Fée suggests that some kind of mangrove is probably alluded to,

of the kind known as avicennia, or bruguiera.

[487] See B. vi. c. 20.

[488] “Cotonei.” To this resemblance of its fruit to the quince, the

cotton-tree, which is here alluded to, not improbably owes its modern

name.

[489] The cotton-tree, or Gossypium arboreum of Linnæus. It is worthy

of remark, that Pliny copies here almost literally from Theophrastus.

According to Philostratus, the byssus, or fine tissues worn by the

Egyptian priests, were made of cotton.

[490] The Malthiola incana.

[491] Fée suggests that this may be a Magnolia; but, as he remarks,

most plants open and shut at certain hours; consequently, this cannot

be regarded as any peculiar characteristic, sufficient to lead with

certainty to its identification.

[492] Theophrastus, from whom our author is copying, says that this is

the case only with the fig-tree there.

[493] According to most commentators, this is the Costus Arabicus of

Linnæus. Dioscorides mentions three varieties of costus: the Arabian,

which is of the best quality, and is white and odoriferous; the Indian,

which is black and smooth; and the Syrian, which is of the colour

of wax, dusky, and strong smelling. Fée, however, doubts whether

the modern costus is the same thing as that of the ancients; for,

as he says, although it has a sweet odour, it does not deserve the

appellation of a “precious aromatic,” which we find constantly given to

it by the ancients.

[494] See B. vi. c. 23.

[495] It is probable that the nard of the ancients, from which they

extracted the famous nard-oil, was not the same plant which we know as

the Indian nard, or Andropogon nardus of Linnæus. Indeed, it has been

pretty conclusively established by Sir William Jones, in his “Asiatic

Researches,” that the Valeriana Jatamansi is the plant from which they

obtained the oil. Among the Hindoos, it is known as djatâmansi, and by

the Arabs under the name of sombul, or “spike,” from the fact of the

base being surrounded with ears or spikes, whence, probably, the Roman

appellation. This species of valerian grows in the more distant and

mountainous parts of India, Bootan and Nepaul, for instance.

[496] From the Greek, ὄζαινα, “a putrid sore.” Fée suggests that this

may have been the Nardus hadrosphærum of the moderns.

[497] Fée supposes that this is not lavender, as some have thought, but

the Allium victorialis of modern naturalists, which is still mixed with

the nard from the Andropogon. He doubts the possibility of its having

been adulterated with substances of such a different nature as those

mentioned here by Pliny.

[498] Fée is of opinion, that the Greek writers, from whom Pliny copied

this passage, intended to speak of the ears of nard, or spikenard.

[499] According to Dioscorides, this appellation only means such nard

as is cultivated in certain mountains of India which look toward

Syria, and which, according to that author, was the best nard of all.

Dalechamps and Hardouin, however, ridicule this explanation of the term.

[500] Generally supposed to be the Valeriana Celtica of modern

naturalists. See B. xxi. c. 79.

[501] Probably the Valeriana Italica of modern naturalists.

[502] See B. xix. c. 48.

[503] Known in this country as fox-glove, our Lady’s gloves, sage of

Jerusalem, or clown’s spikenard. See B. xxi. c. 16.

[504] Not always, but very seldom, Brotier says. Clusius has

established, from observation, that this plant is only a variety of the

Valeriana Celtica.

[505] Fée remarks, that the name “baccara,” in Greek, properly belonged

to this plant, but that it was transferred by the Romans to the field

nard, with which the Asarum had become confounded. It is the same as

the Asarum Europæum of modern naturalists; but it does not, as Pliny

asserts, flower twice in the year.

[506] It is by no means settled among naturalists, what plant the

Amomum of the ancients was; indeed, there has been the greatest

divergence of opinion. Tragus takes it to be a kind of bindweed:

Matthioli, the Piper Æthiopicum of Linnæus: Cordus and Scaliger,

the rose of Jericho, the Anastatica hierocuntica of Linnæus. Gesner

thinks it to have been the garden pepper, the Solanum bacciferum of

Tournefort: Cæsalpinus the cubeb, the Piper cubeba of Linnæus: Plukenet

and Sprengel the Cissus vitiginea, while Fée and Paulet look upon it as

not improbably identical with the Amomum racemosum of Linnæus. The name

is probably derived from the Arabic hahmâma, the Arabians having first

introduced it to the notice of the Greeks.

[507] Supposed to have been only the Amomum, in an unripe state, as

Pliny himself suggests.

[508] Still known in pharmacy as “cardamum.” It is not, however, as

Pliny says, found in Arabia, but in India; from which it probably

reached the Greeks and Romans by way of the Red Sea. There are three

kinds known in modern commerce, the large, the middle size, and the

small. M. Bonastre, “Journal de Pharmacie,” May, 1828, is of opinion,

that the word cardamomum signifies “amomum in pods,” the Egyptian kardh

meaning “pod,” or “husk.” It is, however, more generally supposed, that

the Greek word, καρδία, “heart,” enters into its composition.

[509] “Verus” seems a preferable reading here to “vero,” which has been

adopted by Sillig.

[510] See c. 42 of the present Book.

[511] Virgil, Georg. B. ii. l. 139, mentions Panchaia, in Arabia,

as being more especially the country of frankincense. That region

corresponds with the modern Yemen. It is, however, a well-ascertained

fact, that it grows in India as well, and it is supposed that the

greater part of it used by the ancients was in reality imported from

that country. The Indian incense is the product of a tree belonging

to the terebinth class, named by Roxburgh, who first discovered it,

Boswellia thurifera. It is more especially found in the mountainous

parts of India. On the other hand, it has been asserted that the

Arabian incense was the product of a coniferous tree, either the

Juniperus Lycia, the Juniperus Phœnicea, or the Juniperus thurifera of

Linnæus. But, as Fée justly remarks, it would appear more reasonable

to look among the terebinths of Arabia for the incense tree, if one

of that class produces it in India, and more especially because the

coniferous trees produce only resins, while the terebinths produce gum

resins, to which class of vegetable products frankincense evidently

belonged. In commerce, the gum resin, Olibanum, the produce of the

Boswellia serrata, and imported from the Levant, bears the name of

frankincense.

[512] See B. vi. c. 32. Their name is still preserved in the modern

Hadramaut, to the east of Aden.

[513] See B. vi. cc. 31 and 32. He was the son of Agrippa and Julia,

the daughter of Augustus, by whom he was adopted.

[514] This seems the most probable among these various surmises and

conjectures.

[515] These words are said by some to be derived from the Greek,

καρφὸς, “a hollow stalk,” on account of its lightness, and δᾳδίον, “a

torch,” on account of its resinous and inflammable qualities. It is,

however, much more probable that they were derived from the Arabic, and

not from the Celto-Scythic, as Poinsinet conjectures.

[516] Fée is probably right in his conjecture, that it was so called

solely in consequence of its superior strength.

[517] Meaning “drop” incense.

[518] “Undivided” incense.

[519] From their being the size of an ὄροβος, or “chick-pea.”

[520] There is some doubt as to the correctness of this reading. The

“manna” here mentioned is quite a different substance to the manna of

modern commerce, obtained from the Fraxinus ornus of naturalists.

[521] He was a kinsman of Olympias, the mother of Alexander, and a man

of very austere habits. Plutarch says, that on this occasion Alexander

sent to Leonidas 600 talents’ weight of incense and myrrh.

[522] See B. vi. c. 32.

[523] Probably the same as the deity, Assabinus, mentioned by Pliny in

c. 42 of the present Book. Theophrastus mentions him as identical with

the sun, others, again, with Jupiter. Theophrastus says that the god

received not a tenth part, but a third.

[524] As to this place and the Gebanitæ, see B. vi. c. 32.

[525] There must surely be some mistake in these numbers.

[526] The Mediterranean.

[527] In c. 19 of the present Book.

[528] It is supposed to be the product of an amyris, but is not now

esteemed as a perfume; but is used in medicine as a tonic. Forskhal

has attributed to the Amyris kataf, or kafal, the production of myrrh.

According to Ehrenberg, a very similar tree, though constituting a

different species, the Balsamodendrum myrrha, also produces this

substance. It is imported into Europe from both Abyssinia and Arabia.

It was much used by the ancients, to flavour their wines.

[529] See B. vi. c. 32.

[530] Theophrastus says the terebinth.

[531] From the Greek στάζω, “to drop.” Fée observes, that the moderns

know nothing positive as to the mode of extracting myrrh from the

tree. See the account given by Ovid, Met. B. x. l. 500 _et seq._ of

the transformation of Myrrha into this tree,—“The warm drops fall from

the tree. The tears, even, have their own honour; and the myrrh that

distils from the bark bears the name of its mistress, and in no age

will remain unknown.”

[532] Fée remarks, that at the present day we are acquainted only with

one kind of myrrh; the fragments which bear an impression like those

of nails being not a distinct kind, but a simple variety in appearance

only. He thinks, also, that Pliny may very possibly be describing

several distinct resinous products, under the one name of myrrh. An

account of these various districts will be found in B. vi. c. 32.

[533] Hardouin suggests that it may be so called from the island of

Dia, mentioned by Strabo, B. xvi.

[534] “Collatitia.” The reading, however, is very doubtful.

[535] What this was is now unknown. Fée suggests that it may have been

bdellium, which is found in considerable quantities in the myrrh that

is imported at the present day.

[536] This is most probably the meaning of Pliny’s expression—“Ergo

transit in mastichen;” though Hardouin reads it as meaning that myrrh

sometimes degenerates to mastich: and Fée, understanding the passage in

the same sense, remarks that the statement is purely fabulous. Mastich,

he says, is the produce of the Pistacia lentiscus of Linnæus, which

abounds in Greece and the other parts of southern Europe. The greater

part of the mastich of commerce comes from the island of Chio. It is

impossible to conjecture to what plant Pliny here alludes, with the

head of a thistle.

[537] This kind, Fée says, is quite unknown to the moderns.

[538] This substance is still gathered from the Cistus creticus of

Linnæus, which is supposed to be the same as the plant leda, mentioned

by Pliny. It is also most probably the same as the Cisthon, mentioned

by Pliny in B. xxiv. c. 48. It is very commonly found in Spain. The

substance is gathered from off the leaves, not by the aid of goats,

but with whips furnished with several thongs, with which the shrubs

are beaten. There are two sorts of ladanum known in commerce; the

one friable, and mixed with earthy substances, and known as “ladanum

in tortis;” the other black, and soft to the fingers, the only

adventitious substances in which are a little sand and a few hairs.

[539] See B. vi. c. 32.

[540] For some further account of this substance, see B. xxix. c. 10.

Filthy as it was, the œsypum, or sweat and grease of sheep, was used by

the Roman ladies as one of their most choice cosmetics. Ovid, in his

“Art of Love,” more than once inveighs against the use of it.

[541] From the Greek ἔναιμον, “styptic,” or “blood-stopping.” It is at

the present day called gum “de lecce” in Italy. Fée says that it is not

often procured from the olive-trees of France, though it is found very

commonly on those of Naples and Calabria. It has no active powers, he

says, as a medicine.

[542] Hardouin suggests that they may be the pelagiæ, mentioned again

in B. xiii. c. 51.

[543] See B. vi. c. 31.

[544] Although the savin shrub, the Juniperus Sabina of Linnæus, bears

this name in Greek, it is evident, as Fée says, that Pliny does not

allude to it, but to a coniferous tree, as it is that family which

produces a resinous wood with a balsamic odour when ignited. Bauhin

and others would make the tree meant to be the Thuya occidentalis

of Linnæus; but, as Fée observes, that tree is in reality a native

originally of Canada, while the Thuya orientalis is a native of Japan.

He suggests, however, that the Thuya articulata of Mount Atlas may have

possibly been the citrus of Pliny.

[545] See end of B. v.

[546] All these are mentioned in B. vi. c. 31.

[547] It is not known what wood is meant under this name. Aloe, and

some other woods, when ignited are slightly narcotic.

[548] See B. v. c. 21.

[549] See B. vi. c. 30.

[550] See c. 55 of the present Book.

[551] Because its perfumes were held in such high esteem, for burning

on the piles of the dead. This, of course, was done primarily to avoid

the offensive smell.

[552] The bark of the Cinnamomum Zeylanicum of the modern naturalists,

the cinnamon-tree of Ceylon.

[553] B. iii.

[554] See B. vi. c. 34.

[555] See B. vi. c. 26.

[556] As Fée observes, this description does not at all resemble

that of the cinnamon-tree of Ceylon, as known to us. M. Bonastre is

of opinion that the nutmeg-tree was known to the ancients under this

name; but, as Fée observes, the nutmeg could never have been taken for

a bark, and cinnamon is described as such in the ancient writers. He

inclines to think that their cinnamon was really the bark of a species

of amyris.

[557] See c. 33 of the present Book, and the Note.

[558] Or “wood of cinnamon.”

[559] “Interrasili.” Gold partly embossed, and partly left plain, was

thus called.

[560] The Empress Livia.

[561] There has been considerable doubt what plant it was that produced

the cassia of the ancients. Fée, after diligently enquiring into the

subject, inclines to think that it was the Laurus cassia of Linnæus,

the same tree that produces the cassia of the present day.

[562] There is little doubt that all this is fabulous.

[563] Or, “smelling like balsam.”

[564] “Looking like laurel.”

[565] “Equal to cinnamon.” Fée thinks that it is a variety of the

Laurus cassia.

[566] He probably alludes to the Daphne Cnidium of Linnæus, which, as

Fée remarks, is altogether different from the Laurus cassia, or genuine

cassia.

[567] A gum resin of some unknown species, but not improbably, Fée

thinks, the produce of some of the Amyrides. Sprengel thinks that it

was produced from the Gardenia gummifera.

[568] Aloe-wood.

[569] According to Poinsinet, these Arabic words derive their

origin from the Slavonic; the first signifying a “cordial drug,”

or “alexipharmic,” and the other a drug “which divides itself into

tablets.” It is impossible to divine what drugs are meant by these

names.

[570] Signifying the “unguent acorn,” or “nut.” There is little doubt

that the behen or ben nut of the Arabians is meant, of which there

are several sorts. It is used by the Hindoos for calico printing and

pharmacy, and was formerly employed in Europe in the arts, and for

medical purposes. It is no longer used as a perfume. The “oil of ben”

used in commerce is extracted from the fruit of the Moringa oleifera

of naturalists. It is inodorous; for which reason, Fée is of opinion

that the name signifies “the oily nut,” and quotes Dioscorides, who

says, B. iv., that an oil is extracted from this balanus, which is used

as an ingredient in unguents, in place of other oils. Fée also says

that at the present day it is used by perfumers, to fix or arrest the

evanescent odours of such flowers as the jasmine and the lily.

[571] This Æthiopian variety is quite unknown, and is, as Fée remarks,

most probably of a different species from the genuine myrobalanus.

[572] See B. vi. c. 32.

[573] “Curing thirst.” Dioscorides, B. i. c. 148, says that it was so

called from, being full of juice, which quenched thirst like water.

[574] “Palm-nut.” Fée thinks it not improbable that one of the

date-palms is meant, if we may judge from the name. He suggests that

possibly the Elais or avoira of Guinea, the Elais Guineensis, which

is found as far as Upper Egypt, and which produces a fine oil known

as palm-oil, is meant, or possibly the Douma Thebaica, a palm-tree

frequently met with in Egypt. On fermentation, a vinous drink is

extracted from the last, which is capable of producing intoxication.

[575] Fée remarks, that this must not be confounded with the Calamus

aromaticus of the moderns, of which Pliny speaks in B. xxv. c. 100,

with sufficient accuracy to enable us to identify it with the Acorus

calamus of Linnæus. It is not ascertained by naturalists what plant is

meant by Pliny in the present instance, though Fée is of opinion that

a gramineous plant of the genus Andropogon is meant. M. Guibourt has

suggested that the Indian Gentiana chirayta is the plant. From what

Pliny says in B. xiii. c. 21, it appears that this calamus grew in

Syria, which is also the native country of the Andropogon schœnanthus.

[576] See B. xxiv. c. 14. The gum resin ammoniacum is still imported

into Europe from Africa and the East, in the form of drops or cakes. It

is a mildly stimulating expectorant, and is said to be the produce of

the Dorema ammoniacum. There are still two sorts in commerce: the first

in large masses of a yellow, dirty colour, mingled with heterogeneous

substances, and of a plastic consistency. This is the phyrama of

Pliny, or mixed ammoniac. The other is in tears, of irregular form

and a whitish colour, brittle and vitreous when broken. This is the

thrauston, or “friable” ammoniac of Pliny. Jackson says, that the

plant which produces it is common in Morocco, and is called feskouk,

resembling a large stalk of fennel. The ammoniac of Morocco is not,

however, imported into this country, being too much impregnated with

sand, in consequence of not being gathered till it falls to the ground.

[577] Solinus tells us, that the tree itself is called Metops.

[578] It is clear that, under this name, certain lichens of a hairy or

filamentary nature are meant. They adhere, Dioscorides tells us, to the

cedar, the white poplar, and the oak. The white ones belong, probably,

to the Usnea florida of Linnæus, the red ones to the Usnea barbata, and

the black ones to the Alectoria jubata, an almost inodorous lichen.

[579] Probably the Roccella tinctoria of Linnæus, a lichen most

commonly found upon rocks.

[580] The henné, the Lawsonia inermis of the modern naturalists, a

shrub found in Egypt, Syria, and Barbary. From this tree the henna is

made with which the women of the East stain the skin of their hands and

feet.

[581] The jujube-tree. See B. xv. c. 14.

[582] See B. xx. c. 82.

[583] Or privet.

[584] But in B. xxiv. c. 68, he says that this plant grows in the

island of Rhodes.

[585] According to Fée, this is the same as the Lignum Rhodianum, or

wood of Rhodes, of commerce, sometimes also called, but incorrectly,

wood of roses. It is, probably, the same as the Convolvulus scoparius

of Linnæus.

[586] Or “red sceptre,” probably so called from the flowers clustering

along the whole length of the branches.

[587] A liquid matter extracted from the beaver.

[588] Generally regarded as identical with the Teucrium Marum of

Linnæus, a sweet-smelling shrub found in the south of Europe and the

East, by us commonly known as “herb mastich,” somewhat similar to

marjoram. Fée says that the marum of Egypt is a kind of sage, the

Salvia Æthiopis of Linnæus.

[589] Balsam (or balm of Mecca, as it is sometimes called) is the

produce of two trees, probably varieties of one another, of the

terebinth family, belonging to the genus Amyris. So far from being a

native solely of Judæa, Bruce assures us that its original country was

that which produces myrrh, in the vicinity of Babelmandel, and that the

inhabitants use the wood solely for fuel. In Judæa it appears to have

been cultivated solely in gardens; and it was this tree which produced

the famous balm of Gilead of Scripture. The balsam trees known to us do

not at all correspond with Pliny’s description, as they do not resemble

either the vine or myrtle, nor are their leaves at all like those of

rue.

[590] “Malleolis.” So called when the new shoot of the tree springing

from a branch of the former year, is cut off for the sake of planting,

with a bit of the old wood on each side of it, in the form of a mallet.

[591] “Easily cut.” This and the other kinds, the names of which mean

“rough barked,” and “good length,” are probably only varieties of the

same tree, in different states.

[592] This is said, probably, in allusion to the smell, and not the

taste. Fée remarks, that Pliny speaks with a considerable degree of

exaggeration, as its odour is very inferior to that of several balsams

which contain benzoic acid. The balsam obtained by incision, as

mentioned by Pliny, is not brought to Europe, but only that obtained

by the process of decoction; which is known as “balm of Mecca,” or

of Judæa. It is difficult to believe, according to Fée, that it was

adulterated with the substances here mentioned by Pliny; oil of roses

having been always a very precious commodity, wax being likely to

change its nature entirely, and gums not being of a nature to combine

with it. Its asserted effects upon milk he states to be entirely

fabulous; the statement is derived from Dioscorides.

[593] The concha, or “shell,” was a Greek and Roman liquid measure, of

which there were two sizes. The smaller was half a cyathus, .0412 of an

English pint; the larger was about three times the size of the former,

and was known also as the oxybaphum.

[594] Or “wood of balsam.” It is still known in European commerce by

its ancient name. The fruit is called Carpobalsamum.

[595] See B. xxvi. cc. 53, 54.

[596] These localities are mentioned in B. v.

[597] The Storax officinalis of Linnæus, a tree found in the south of

Europe and the Levant. The variety found in France, and known as the

Aliboufier, produces no storax, or at least a very small proportion.

The storax of commerce appears in three states—grain storax, with which

Pliny does not appear to have been acquainted; amygdalite, which is

perhaps the sort which he speaks of as adulterated with bitter almonds;

and lump storax, of reddish brown colour, which is frequently mixed

with wood dust, or worm dust, as mentioned by Pliny, and is but little

esteemed. The tree is also called Liquidambar styraciflua.

[598] A shrub of the family of Ombelliferæ, belonging to the genus

bubon. It is a native of Asia Minor and Syria.

[599] See B. xix. c. 52, and B. xx. c. 75.

[600] This was a common notion with the Romans. Virgil, Georg. B. iii.

l. 415, says:—

“Galbaneoque agitare graves nidore chelydros.”

Though considered to produce a pleasant perfume by the ancients, it is

no longer held in estimation for that quality, and is only employed in

some slight degree for medical purposes.

[601] The produce of the Pastinaca opopanax of Linnæus, or the Panax

Copticum of Bauhin, an umbelliferous plant which abounds in the East,

and is not uncommon in the south of France. The gum called Opopanax

was formerly used, and its supposed virtues are indicated by its name,

which signifies “the juice which is the universal remedy.”

[602] The umbelliferous plant known as the Heracleum spondylium

of Linnæus. It is commonly found in France, where it is called

Berce-branc-ursine. It received its name from the resemblance of its

smell to that of the sphondyle, a fetid kind of wood-beetle.

[603] Some suppose this tree to be the Laurus cassia of Linnæus,

or wild cinnamon; others take it for the betel, the Piper betel of

Linnæus. Clusius thinks that the name is derived from the Indian

Tamalpatra, the name given from time immemorial to the leaf of a

tree known by the Arabs as the Cadegi-indi, possibly the same as the

Katou-carua of the Malabars.

[604] From the Greek ὀμφάκιον, being made of unripe grapes. As Fée

remarks, that made from the olive is correctly described as a kind

of oil, but that made from the grape must have been a rob, or pure

verjuice. These two liquids must have had totally different qualities,

and resembled each other in nothing but the name. That extracted from

the olive is mentioned again in B. xxiii. c. 4, in reference to its

medicinal properties.

[605] These grapes are described in B. xiv. c. 4 and c. 11.

[606] “Reliquum corpus.” It is not clear what is the meaning of this.

The passage is either in a corrupt state, or defective.

[607] A singular metal, one would think, for keeping verjuice in.

[608] From the Greek βρύον, “moss.” He speaks again of these grapes

of the white poplar in B. xxiv. c. 34; also in c. 51 of the present

Book. Hardouin thinks that he is speaking of moss. Fée is of opinion,

that the blossoms or buds of the tree are meant, which have a fragrant

smell. This is the more probable, as we find Pliny here speaking of

the œnanthe, or vine-flower, by which Fée supposes that he means the

blossom of the Vitis vinifera of Linnæus, which exhales a delightful

perfume.

[609] The bud, probably, of the Juniperus Lycia.

[610] See B. vi. c. 31.

[611] Said to have been a surname given by some nations to the god

Bacchus.

[612] It is generally supposed by the commentators, that Pliny makes

a mistake here, and that the elate or spathe was not a tree, but the

envelope or capsule, containing the flowers and fruit of a tree, which

is supposed by some to have been really the Phœnix dactylifera, or

date-palm. There can be little doubt that he is mistaken in his mention

of the abies or fir-tree here. See B. xxiii. c. 53.

[613] Bauhin thinks that this juice or oil was extracted from the

nutmeg, the Myristica moschata of Thunberg, and Bonastre is of the

same opinion. But, as Fée observes, the nutmeg is a native of India,

and Pliny speaks of the Comacum as coming from Syria. Some authors, he

adds, who are of this opinion, think also that the other cinnamomum

mentioned by Pliny was no other than the nutmeg, which they take to be

the same as the chrysobalanos, or “golden nut,” of Galen.

[614] See end of B. ii.

[615] See end of B. ii.

[616] See end of B. vii.

[617] Fabianus Papirius: see end of B. ii.

[618] See end of B. ii.

[619] See end of B. iii.

[620] The son of a freedman; some further particulars are given of him

by Pliny in B. xxxiii. c. 1. By his talents and eloquence, he attained

considerable distinction at Rome. He was made a senator by Appius

Claudius, and was curule ædile B.C. 303. He published a collection of

legal rules, entitled the “Jus Flavianum.”

[621] See end of B. viii.

[622] See end of B. iii.

[623] See end of B. vii.

[624] See end of B. v.

[625] See end of B. ii.

[626] Probably the same as the Niger mentioned by Dioscorides as a

writer on Materia Medica. He is also mentioned by Epiphanius and Galen;

but Dioscorides charges him with numerous blunders in his accounts of

vegetable productions.

[627] A compiler of Roman history, who wrote at the beginning of the

second century before Christ. He wrote Annals of Rome from the earliest

to his own times: only a few fragments of his work have survived.

[628] See end of B. ii.

[629] C. Sempronius Tuditanus, consul of Rome, B.C. 129. He wrote a

book of historical Commentaries. He was maternal grandfather of the

orator Hortensius.

[630] See end of B. ii.

[631] See end of B. iii.

[632] See end of B. ii.

[633] A native of Olynthus. His mother, Hero, was a cousin of the

philosopher Aristotle, under whose tutelage he was educated. It is

generally supposed that he was put to death by order of Alexander

the Great, but in what manner is a matter of uncertainty. He wrote a

History of Greece, and numerous other learned works. Some MSS. are

still extant, professing to be his writings; but they are generally

looked upon as spurious.

[634] See end of B. vii.

[635] See end of B. vii.

[636] A native of Lampsacus, and disciple of Diogenes the Cynic. He

accompanied Alexander the Great in his Asiatic expedition. He wrote a

history of the reigns of Philip and Alexander, and a history of Greece,

in twelve books. Only a few fragments of his works are left.

[637] See end of B. vii.

[638] See end of B. vi.

[639] See end of B. ii.

[640] There was a native of Mendæ, in Sicily, of this name, who wrote

a history of Dionysius, the tyrant of Syracuse. It was, probably, a

different person of this name who wrote a work on the East; if such is

the case, Pliny most probably quotes from the work of the latter.

[641] Nothing seems to be known of this writer; but it is suggested

that he may have accompanied Nearchus and Onesicritus in the East.

[642] See end of B. vi.

[643] Nothing is known of him; but Hardouin suggests that he may have

accompanied Alexander the Great in his Eastern expedition.

[644] See end of B. iv.

[645] An officer at the court of Alexander the Great, who wrote a

collection of anecdotes respecting the private life and reign of that

emperor, some fragments of which are preserved by Athenæus.

[646] See end of B. iv.

[647] He is supposed to have been the same with the person of that name

who wrote a history of Alexander the Great; but nothing further is

known of him.

[648] A physician of Neapolis, who is supposed to have lived in the

early part of the first century after Christ.

[649] A writer on medicine, of whom all further particulars have

perished.

[650] Possibly Ephippus of Olynthus, a Greek historian of the reign of

Alexander the Great.

[651] See end of B. viii.

[652] An ancient Greek historian, mentioned also by Strabo; but no

further particulars are known of him.

[653] The founder of the dynasty of the Egyptian Ptolemies, which ended

in Cleopatra, B.C. 38: he wrote a narrative of the wars of Alexander,

which is frequently quoted by the later writers, and served as the

groundwork for Arrian’s history.

[654] A native of Pella, who wrote a history of Macedonia down to the

wars of Alexander the Great. There was another writer of the same name,

a native of Philippi, who also wrote a treatise, either geographical or

historical, relative to Macedonia.

[655] A native of Amphipolis, though some make him to have been an

Ephesian. The age in which he lived is not exactly known. He attacked

the writings of Homer with such uncalled-for asperity, that his name

has been proverbial for a snarling, captious critic. He is said to have

met with a violent death. His literary productions were numerous, but

none of them have come down to us.

[656] See end of B. ii.

[657] See end of B. viii.

[658] See end of B. xi.

[659] See end of B. iii.

[660] See end of B. v.

[661] See end of B. xi.

[662] A physician of Heraclea, near Ephesus. He wrote commentaries on

the works of Hippocrates.

[663] Nothing is known of him; but it has been suggested that he may

have been the author of a few fragments on veterinary surgery which

still exist.

[664] There were many physicians and surgeons of this name, but

probably Dionysius of Samos is meant, or else Sallustius Dionysius,

quoted by Pliny, B. xxxii. c. 26.

[665] Also called Democedes, a physician of Crotona, who practised at

Ægina. He was afterwards physician to Polycrates, the tyrant of Samos,

and King Darius, whose foot he cured. His work on medicine has perished.

[666] Nothing whatever is known of this writer.

[667] Nothing is known relative to this writer.

[668] Nothing is known of him.

[669] Or Iölaus, a native of Bithynia, who wrote a work on Materia

Medica. He was probably a contemporary of Heraclides of Tarentum, in

the third century B.C.

[670] A physician of Tarentum, who belonged to the Empiric sect. He

wrote several medical works, and is highly commended by Galen. Only a

few fragments of his writings remain.

[671] An historical and geographical writer, frequently quoted by

Pliny. From the mention made of him in B. xxxvii. c. 2, it would appear

that he flourished during the time of Pliny, or very shortly before.

[672] See end of B. ii.

[673] Fée remarks, that most of the unguents and perfumes of which

Pliny here speaks would find but little favour at the present day.

[674] This does not appear to be exactly the case, for in the

twenty-third Book of the Iliad, l. 186, we find “rose-scented” oil

mentioned, indeed, Pliny himself alludes to it a little further on.

[675] “Nidorem.” This term was used in reference to the smell of burnt

or roasted animal substances. It is not improbable that he alludes to

the stench arising from the burnt sacrifices.

[676] The “Thuya articulata.” See c. 29 of the present Book.

[677] “Scrinium.” See B. vii. c. 30.

[678] The use of perfumes more probably originated in India, than among

the Persians.

[679] But of seeds or plants.

[680] The perfumes of Delos themselves had nothing in particular to

recommend them; but as it was the centre of the worship of Apollo, it

is not improbable that exquisite perfumes formed a large proportion of

the offerings brought thither from all parts of the world.

[681] In Egypt. See B. v. c. 11. The unguents of Mendes are again

mentioned in the present Chapter.

[682] Or flower-de-luce. This perfume was called Irinum. The Iris

Florentina of the botanists, Fée says, has the smell of the violet. For

the composition of this perfume, see Dioscorides, B. i. c. 67.

[683] Rhodinum.

[684] See B. v. c. 26.

[685] Crocinum; made from the Crocus sativus of naturalists.

[686] See B. xii. c. 62. It was made from the flowers of the vine,

mixed with omphacium.

[687] Amaracinum. The amaracus is supposed to have been the Origanum

majoranoides of the moderns. Dioscorides, B. i. c. 59, says that the

best was made at Cyzicus.

[688] Melinum. See B. xxiii. c. 54.

[689] Cyprinum. See B. xii. c. 51. The cyprus was the modern Lawsonia

inermis.

[690] Made from the oil of bitter almonds. See B. xv. c. 7.

[691] Or “all Athenian.” We find in Athenæus, B. xv. c. 15, the

composition of this unguent.

[692] From what is said by Apollonius in the passage of Athenæus last

quoted, it has been thought that this was the same as the unguent

called nardinum. It is very doubtful, however.

[693] Narcissinum. See B. xxi. c. 75. Dioscorides gives the composition

of this unguent, B. i. c. 54.

[694] Among the stymmata, Dioscorides ranges the sweet-rush, the

sweet-scented calamus and xylo-balsamum; and among the hedysmata

amomum, nard, myrrh, balsam, costus, and marjoram. The latter

constituted the _base_ of unguents, the former were only added

occasionally.

[695] Cinnabar is never used to colour cosmetics at the present day,

from its tendency to excoriate the skin. See B. xxiii. c. 39.

[696] This is still used for colouring cosmetics at the present day.

See B. xxii. c. 23.

[697] Fée remarks, that salt can be of no use; but by falling to the

bottom without dissolving, would rather tend to spoil the unguent.

[698] See B. xii. c. 60. The name “bryon” seems also to have been

extended to the buds of various trees of the Conifera class and of the

white poplar. It is probably to the buds of the last tree that Pliny

here alludes.

[699] Oil of ben. See B. xii. c. 48.

[700] Or metopium. See Note [690] above.

[701] Made from olives. See B. xii. c. 60.

[702] See B. xii. c. 29.

[703] The modern Andropogon schœnanthus. See B. xii. c. 48.

[704] See B. xii. c. 48.

[705] Carpobalsamum. See. B. xii. c. 54.

[706] See B. xii. c. 56.

[707] Fluid resin of coniferous trees of Europe.

[708] See B. xv. c. 35.

[709] Cupressus semper-virens. He does not say what part of the tree

was employed.

[710] See B. xii. c. 36.

[711] See c. 34 of the present Book.

[712] The alkanet and cinnabar were only used for colouring.

[713] “Sampsuchinum.” It is generally supposed that the sampsuchum, and

the amaracus were the same, the sweet marjoram, or Origanum marjorana

of Linnæus. Fée, however, is of a contrary opinion. See B. xxi. c.

35. In Dioscorides, B. i. c. 59, there is a difference made between

sampsuchinum and amaracinum, though but a very slight one.

[714] The bark of the Cassia lignea of the pharmacopœa, the Laurus

cassia of botany. See B. xii. c. 43.

[715] See B. xii. c. 26. The Andropogon nardus of Linnæus.

[716] See B. xii. c. 41.

[717] See B. xxiii. c. 54, also B. xv. c. 10. The Malum struthium, or

“sparrow quince,” was an oblong variety of the fruit.

[718] Sesamum orientale of Linnæus. See B. xviii. c. 22, and B. xxii.

c. 54.

[719] Balm of Gilead. See B. xii. c. 54.

[720] Southernwood. The Artemisia abrotonum of Linnæus.

[721] Or lily unguent, made of the lily of Susa, which had probably

a more powerful smell than that of Europe. Dioscorides gives its

composition, B. i. c. 63.

[722] The Crocus sativus of Linnæus.

[723] Cyprinum. It has been previously mentioned in this Chapter.

[724] See B. xii. c. 52.

[725] The gum resin of the Pastinaca opopanax of Linnæus. See B. xii.

c. 57.

[726] Or unguent of fenugreek, from the Greek τῆλις, meaning that

plant, the Trigonella fœnum Græcum of Linnæus. See B. xxiv. c. 120.

[727] See B. ii. c. 26, and B. xxi. c. 68-70.

[728] The Trifolium melilotus of Linnæus. See B. xxi. c. 30.

[729] See B. xii. c. 53.

[730] He would imply that it was so called from the Greek μεγὰς,

“great;” but it was more generally said that it received its name from

its inventor, Megalus.

[731] See B. xii. c. 5.

[732] Fée does not appear to credit this statement. By the use of the

word “ventiletur,” “fanned” may be possibly implied.

[733] See B. xii. c. 59.

[734] The Agnus castus of Linnæus. See B. xxiv. c. 38. The leaves are

quite inodorous, though the fruit of this plant is slightly aromatic.

[735] “Externa.” The reading is doubtful, and it is difficult to say

what is the exact meaning of the word.

[736] Cinnamomino.

[737] Nardinum.

[738] Or leaf unguent, so called from being made of leaves of nard. See

B. xii. c. 27.

[739] See B. xii. c. 25.

[740] See B. xii. c. 28.

[741] See B. xii. c. 26, 27, where the list is given.

[742] See B. xii. c. 35.

[743] Susinum. See p. 163.

[744] Summa auctoritas rei.

[745] See B. xii. c. 46.

[746] See B. xii. c. 53.

[747] See B. xii. c. 55.

[748] See B. xii. c. 37.

[749] See B. xii. c. 48.

[750] See B. xii. c. 48.

[751] See B. xii. c. 45.

[752] Fée suggests that this may be the Nymphæa cœrulea of Savigny, a

plant that is common in the Nile, and the flowers of which exhale a

sweet odour.

[753] The diapasmata were dry, odoriferous powders, similar to those

used at the present day in sachets and scent-bags.

[754] “Fæcem unguenti.”

[755] This word is still used in pharmacy to denote the husks or

residuary matter left after the extraction of the juice.

[756] See B. xxxvi. c. 12. See also Mark xiv. 7, and John xii. 3.

Leaden boxes were also used for a similar purpose.

[757] Odores.

[758] “Heres.” The person was so called who succeeded to the property,

whether real or personal, of an intestate.

[759] See B. xvii. c. 3, where he quotes this passage from Cicero at

length. It appears to be from De Orat. B. iii. c. 69. Both Cicero

and Pliny profess to find a smell that arises from the earth itself,

through the agency of the sun. But, as Fée remarks, pure earth is

perfectly inodorous. He suggests, however, that this odour attributed

by the ancients to the earth, may in reality have proceeded from the

fibrous roots of thyme and other plants. If such is not the real

solution, it seems impossible to suggest any other.

[760] By giving preference to the more simple odours.

[761] “Crassitudo.”

[762] Or “thick” unguent.

[763] We learn from Athenæus, and a passage in the Aulularia of

Plautus, that this was done long before Nero’s time, among the Greeks.

[764] Who succeeded Galba. He was one of Nero’s favourite companions in

his debaucheries.

[765] Caligula.

[766] Solium.

[767] After victories, for instance, or when marching orders were given.

[768] This is said in bitter irony.

[769] Sub casside.

[770] Asia Minor more particularly.

[771] Exotica.

[772] The organs of taste and of smell.

[773] We have this fact alluded to in the works of Plautus, Juvenal,

Martial, and Ælian. The Greeks were particularly fond of mixing myrrh

with their wine. Nard wine is also mentioned by Plautus. Miles Gl. iii.

2, 11.

[774] Or Lucius Plautius Plancus. He was proscribed by the triumvirs,

with the sanction of his brother. In consequence of his use of

perfumes, the place of his concealment “got wind;” and in order to save

his slaves, who were being tortured to death because they would not

betray him, he voluntarily surrendered himself.

[775] Attaching to the triumvirate.

[776] Capua, its capital, was the great seat of the unguent and perfume

manufacture in Italy.

[777] The Phœnix dactylifera of Linnæus. See also B. xii. c. 62, where

he seems also to allude to this tree.

[778] At the present day this is not the fact. The village of La

Bordighiera, situate on an eminence of the Apennines, grows great

quantities of dates, of good quality. At Hieres, Nice, San Remo, and

Genoa, they are also grown.

[779] This, too, is not the fact. The dates of Valencia, Seville, and

other provinces of Spain, are sweet, and of excellent quality.

[780] Pliny is wrong again in this statement. The date of Barbary,

Tunis, Algiers, and Bildulgerid, the “land of dates,” is superior in

every respect to that of the East.

[781] The Æthiopians, as we learn from Theophrastus, B. ii. c. 8.

[782] Or in a wild state.

[783] “Tectorii vicem.” They were probably planted in rows, close to

the wall.

[784] This mode of ascending the date-palm is still practised in the

East.

[785] See B. xvi. c. 37.

[786] “Umbracula.” The fibres of the leaves were probably platted or

woven, and the “umbracula” made in much the same manner as the straw

and fibre hats of the present day.

[787] Most of this is borrowed from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. ii. 9.

[788] Fée remarks, that this account is quite erroneous.

[789] This he copies also from Theophrastus, B. ii. c. 8.

[790] Theophrastus, B. ii. c. 8, mentions this as a kind of date

peculiar to Cyprus.

[791] This is said solely in relation to the date of Cyprus.

[792] Or “dwellers in tents;” similar to the modern Bedouins.

[793] Fée remarks, that in these words we find the first germs of

the sexual system that has been established by the modern botanists.

He thinks that it is clearly shown by this account, that Pliny was

acquainted with the fecundation of plants by the agency of the pollen.

[794] In allusion to the pollen, possibly. See the last Note.

[795] “Lanugine.” It is possible that in the use of this word, also, he

may allude to the pollen. Under the term “pulvis,” “dust,” he probably

alludes in exaggerated terms to the same theory.

[796] The same methods of propagating the palm are still followed in

the East, and in the countries near the tropics.

[797] In c. 7 of the present Book. See also B. xvii. c. 3.

[798] Fée mentions one near Elvas in Spain, which shot up into seven

distinct trees, as it were, from a single trunk. The Douma Thebaica, he

says, of Syria and Egypt, a peculiar kind of palm, is also bifurcated.

The fruit of it, he thinks, are very probably the Phænico-balanus of B.

xii. c. 47.

[799] “Spado.” Represented by the Greek εὔνουχος and ἔνορχος.

[800] “Cæduæ.” Though this is the fact as to some palm-trees, the

greater part perish after being cut; the vital bud occupying the

summit, and the trunk not being susceptible of any increase.

[801] Cerebrum.

[802] The Chamæreps humilis of the modern botanists. It is found, among

other countries, in Spain, Morocco, and Arabia.

[803] Vitilia.

[804] “Vivaces.” Perhaps it may mean that the wood retains the fire for

a long time, when it burns.

[805] Fée suggests that Pliny may possibly have confounded the fruit of

other palms with the date.

[806] This seems to have been a general name, as Pliny says, meaning an

eunuch; but it is evident that it was also used as a proper name, as in

the case of the eunuch who slew Artaxerxes, Ochus, B.C. 338, by poison,

and of another eunuch who belonged to Darius, but afterwards fell into

the hands of Alexander, of whom he became an especial favourite. The

name is sometimes written “Bagoüs,” and sometimes “Bagoas.”

[807] Dominantis in aula.

[808] From the Greek σύαγρος, “a wild boar,” as Pliny afterwards

states; they being so called from their peculiar wild taste.

[809] See B. vi. c. 39.

[810] Said to have been so called from the Greek κάρη, “the head,” and

ὑωδία, “stupidity,” owing to the heady nature of the wine extracted

from the fruit.

[811] See B. vi. c. 32, and B. xiv. c. 19.

[812] The Jericho of Scripture.

[813] Athenæus, B. xiv. c. 22, tells us that these dates were thus

called from Nicolaus of Damascus, a Peripatetic philosopher, who,

when visiting Rome with Herod the Great, made Augustus a present of

the finest fruit of the palm-tree that could be procured. This fruit

retained its name of “Nicolaän,” down to the middle ages.

[814] Pliny would imply that they are so called from the Greek ἀδέλφια,

“a sister,” as being of sister quality to the caryotæ; but it is much

more probable, as Fée remarks, that they got this name from being

attached in pairs to the same pedicle or stalk.

[815] Pliny certainly seems to imply that they are so called from the

Greek πατέω, “to tread under foot,” and Hardouin is of that opinion.

Fée, however, thinks the name is from the Hebrew or Syriac “patach,”

“to expand,” or “open,” or else from the Hebrew “pathah,” the name of

the first vowel, from some fancied resemblance in the form.

[816] From the Greek χυδαῖος, “vulgar,” or “common,” it is supposed.

The Jews probably called them so, as being common, or offered by the

Gentiles to their idols and divinities. Pliny evidently considers that

in the name given to them no compliment was intended to the deities of

the heathen mythology.

[817] From its extreme driness, and its shrivelled appearance.

[818] From Theophrastus, B. i. c. 16.

[819] Κύκως in the Greek. It is supposed by Sprengel to be the same as

the Cycas circinnalis of Linnæus; but, as Fée remarks, that is only

found in India.

[820] From the Greek, meaning “sweetmeats,” or “dessert fruit:” he

probably means that in Syria and some parts of Phœnicia they were thus

called.

[821] This story, which is borrowed from Theophrastus, B. iv. c. 5,

is doubted by Fée, who says that in the green state they are so hard

and nauseous, that it is next to impossible to eat sufficient to be

materially incommoded by them.

[822] The Pistacia vera of Linnæus. It was introduced into Rome in the

reign of Tiberius. The kernel is of no use whatever in a medical point

of view, and what Pliny says about its curing the bite of serpents is

perfectly fabulous.

[823] See B. xv. c. 19. The “carica” was properly the “Carian” fig.

“Ficus carica” is, however, the name given to the common fig by the

modern botanists.

[824] The parent of our Damascenes, or damsons. See B. xv. c. 13.

[825] Supposed to be the Corda myxa of Linnæus. See B. xv. c. 15.

[826] The Juniperus communis of Linnæus.

[827] The Juniperus Lycia, and the Juniperus Phœnicia, probably, of

Linnæus. It has been supposed by some, that it is these trees that

produce the frankincense of Africa; but, as Fée observes, the subject

is enveloped in considerable obscurity.

[828] The “sharp-leaved” cedar. The Juniperus oxycedrus of Linnæus.

[829] The “Pinus cedrus” of Linnæus. The name “cedrus” was given by the

ancients not only to the cedar of Lebanon, but to many others of the

Coniferæ as well, and more particularly to several varieties of the

juniper.

[830] See B. xxxvi. c. 4.

[831] Pistacia terebinthus of Linnæus.

[832] These varieties, Fée says, are not observed by modern naturalists.

[833] Garidel has remarked, that the trunk of this tree produces

coriaceous vesicles, filled with a clear and odoriferous terebinthine,

in which pucerons, or aphides, are to be seen floating.

[834] “Rhus.” The Rhus coriaria of Linnæus. Pliny is wrong in

distinguishing this tree into sexes, as all the flowers are

hermaphroditical, and therefore fruitful.

[835] It is still used by curriers in preparing leather.

[836] See B. xxiv. c. 79. The fruit, which has a pleasant acidity, was

used for culinary purposes by the ancients, as it is by the Turks at

the present day.

[837] The Ficus sycamorus of Linnæus. It receives its name from being

a fig-tree that bears a considerable resemblance to the “morus,” or

mulberry-tree.

[838] This is not the case.

[839] This appears to be doubtful, although, as Fée says, the fruit

ripens but very slowly.

[840] This, Fée says, is a fallacy.

[841] “Aliam omnem.” This reading seems to be very doubtful.

[842] This wood was very extensively used in Egypt for making the outer

cases, or coffins, in which the mummies were enclosed.

[843] This account is borrowed almost entirely from Theophrastus, Hist.

Plant. B. iv. c. 2. A variety of the sycamore is probably meant. It is

still found in the Isle of Crete.

[844] He seems to mean that the buds do not shoot forth into leaves;

the reading, however, varies in the editions, and is extremely doubtful.

[845] Grossus.

[846] The Ceratonia siliqua of Linnæus. It is of the same size as the

sycamore, but resembles it in no other respect. It is still common in

the localities mentioned by Pliny, and in the south of Spain.

[847] Theophrastus in the number, Hist. Plant. i. 23, and iv. 2.

It bears no resemblance to the fig-tree, and the fruit is totally

different from the fig. Pliny, too, is wrong in saying that it does not

grow in Egypt; the fact being that it is found there in great abundance.

[848] See B. xviii. c. 74.

[849] Fée identifies it with the Egyptian almond, mentioned by Pliny

in B. xv. c. 28; the Myrobalanus chebulus of Wesling, the Balanites

Ægyptiaca of Delille, and the Xymenia Ægyptiaca of Linnæus. Schreber

and Sprengel take it to be the Cordia Sebestana of Linnæus; but that

is a tree peculiar to the Antilles. The fruit is in shape like a date,

enclosing a large stone with five sides, and covered with a little

viscous flesh, of somewhat bitter, though not disagreeable flavour. It

is found in the vicinity of Sennaar, and near the Red Sea. The Arabs

call it the “date of the Desert.”

[850] See B. xviii. c. 68.

[851] See B. xv. c. 34.

[852] Or ben. See B. xii. cc. 46, 47.

[853] Many have taken this to be the cocoa-nut tree; but, as Fée

remarks, that is a tree of India, and this of Egypt. There is little

doubt that it is the _doum_ of the Arabs, the Cucifera Thebaica of

Delille. The timber of the trunk is much used in Egypt, and of the

leaves carpets, bags, and panniers are made. In fact, the description

of it and its fruit is almost identical with that here given by Pliny.

[854] The seed or stone of the doum is still used in Egypt for making

the beads of chaplets: it admits of a very high polish.

[855] Materies crispioris elegantiæ.

[856] See B. xxiv. c. 67. This is, no doubt, the Acacia Nilotica of

Linnæus, which produces the gum Arabic of modern commerce.

[857] This is from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. iv. c. 3. Fée suggests

that it may have been a kind of myrobalanus. Sprengel identifies it

with the Cordia sebestana of the botanists.

[858] “Fuit.” From the use of this word he seems uncertain as to its

existence in his time; the account is copied from Theophrastus, Hist.

Plant. B. iv. c. 3. Fée suggests that he may here allude to the Baobab,

the Adansonia digitata, which grows in Senegal and Sennaar to an

enormous size. Prosper Alpinus speaks of it as existing in Egypt. The

Arabs call it El-omarah, and the fruit El-kongles.

[859] The Mimosa polyacanthe, probably. Fée says that the mimosæ,

respectively known as casta, pudibunda, viva, and sensitiva, with many

of the inga, and other leguminous trees, are irritable in the highest

degree. The tree here spoken of he considers to be one of the acacias.

The passage in Theophrastus speaks of the leaf as shrinking, and not

falling, and then as simply reviving.

[860] The Acacia Nilotica of Linnæus, from which we derive the gum

Arabic of commerce; and of which a considerable portion is still

derived from Egypt.

[861] These gums are chemically different from gum Arabic, and they are

used for different purposes in the arts.

[862] The vine does not produce a gum; but when the sap ascends, a

juice is secreted, which sometimes becomes solid on the evaporation

of the aqueous particles. This substance contains acetate of potassa,

which, by the decomposition of that salt, becomes a carbonate of the

same base.

[863] This is not a gum, but a resinous product of a peculiar nature.

It is known to the moderns by the name of “olivine.”

[864] The sap of the elm leaves a saline deposit on the bark,

principally formed of carbonate of potassa. Fée is at a loss to

know whether Pliny here alludes to this or to the manna which is

incidentally formed by certain insects on some trees and reeds. But,

as he justly says, would Pliny say of the latter that it is “ad nihil

utile”—“good for nothing”?

[865] A resinous product, no doubt. The frankincense of Africa has been

attributed by some to the Juniperus Lycia and Phœnicia.

[866] The Penæa Sarcocolla of Linnæus. The gum resin of this tree is

still brought from Abyssinia, but it is not used in medicine. This

account is from Dioscorides, B. iii. c. 99. The name is from the Greek

σὰρξ, “flesh,” and κόλλα, “glue.”

[867] See B. xxiv. c. 78.

[868] Three denarii per pound.

[869] It is hardly necessary to state that this is not the fact. This

plant is the Cyperus papyrus of Linnæus, the “berd” of the modern

Egyptians.

[870] Il. B. vi. l. 168. See B. xxxiii. c. 4, where the tablets which

are here called “pugillares,” are styled “codicilli” by Pliny.

[871] His argument is, that paper made from the papyrus could not

be known in the time of Homer, as that plant only grew in certain

districts which had been rescued from the sea since the time of the

poet.

[872] Od. B. iv. l. 355.

[873] See B. ii. c. 87.

[874] There is little doubt that parchment was really known many years

before the time of Eumenes II., king of Pontus. It is most probable

that this king introduced extensive improvements in the manufacture

of parchment, for Herodotus mentions writing on skins as common in

his time; and in B. v. c. 58, he states that the Ionians had been

accustomed to give the name of skins, διφθέραι, to books.

[875] Brachiali radicis obliquæ crassitudine.

[876] This was a pole represented as being carried by Bacchus and his

Bacchanalian train. It was mostly terminated by the fir cone, that tree

being dedicated to Bacchus, in consequence of the use of its cones and

turpentine in making wine. Sometimes it is surmounted by vine or fig

leaves, with grapes or berries arranged in form of a cone.

[877] This is not the fact: it has seed in it, though not very easily

perceptible. The description here given is otherwise very correct.

[878] Among the ancients the term papyrus was used as a general

appellation for all the different plants of the genus Cyperus, which

was used for making mats, boats, baskets, and numerous other articles:

but one species only was employed for making paper, the Cyperus

papyrus, or Byblos. Fée states that the papyrus is no longer to be

found in the Delta, where it formerly abounded.

[879] See B. xii. c. 48.

[880] Sometimes translated _hemp_. A description will be given of it in

B. xix. c. 7.

[881] “Intexere.” This would almost appear to mean that they

embroidered or interwove the characters. The Persians still write on a

stuff made of white silk, gummed and duly prepared for the purpose.

[882] Or “holy” paper. The priests would not allow it to be sold,

lest it might be used for profane writing; but after it was once

written upon, it was easily procurable. The Romans were in the habit

of purchasing it largely in the latter state, and then washing off

the writing, and using it as paper of the finest quality. Hence it

received the name of “Augustus,” as representing in Latin its Greek

name “hieraticus,” or “sacred.” In length of time it became the common

impression, as here mentioned, that this name was given to it in honour

of Augustus Cæsar.

[883] Near the amphitheatre, probably, of Alexandria.

[884] He alludes to Q. Remmius Fannius Palæmon, a famous grammarian

of Rome, though originally a slave. Being manumitted, he opened a

school at Rome, which was resorted to by great numbers of pupils,

notwithstanding his notoriously bad character. He appears to have

established, also, a manufactory for paper at Rome. Suetonius, in his

treatise on Illustrious Grammarians, gives a long account of him. He is

supposed to have been the preceptor of Quintilian.

[885] Fanniana.

[886] In Lower Egypt.

[887] Ex vilioribus ramentis.

[888] Of Alexandria, probably.

[889] “Shop-paper,” or “paper of commerce.”

[890] Otherwise, probably, the rope would not long hold together.

[891] Fée remarks, that this is by no means the fact. With M. Poiret,

he questions the accuracy of Pliny’s account of preparing the papyrus,

and is of opinion that it refers more probably to the treatment of some

other vegetable substance from which paper was made.

[892] Primo supinâ tabulæ schedâ.

[893] “Scapus.” This was, properly, the cylinder on which the paper was

rolled.

[894] Augustan.

[895] Or “long glued” paper: the breadth probably consisted of that of

two or more sheets glued or pasted at the edges, the seam running down

the roll.

[896] Scheda. One of the leaves of the papyrus, of which the roll of

twenty, joined side by side, was formed.

[897] This passage is difficult to be understood, and various attempts

have been made to explain it. It is not unlikely that his meaning is

that the breadth being doubled, the tearing of one leaf or half breadth

entailed of necessity the spoiling of another, making the corresponding

half breadth.

[898] He perhaps means a portion of an elephant’s tusk.

[899] Meaning a damp, musty smell.

[900] See B. vii. c. 18, and B. xiv. c. 6. Also the Life of Pliny, in

the Introduction to Vol. i. p. vii.

[901] This story, no doubt, deserves to be rejected as totally

fabulous, even though we have Hemina’s word for it.

[902] See B. xvi. c. 70.

[903] B. xii. c. 7, and B. xiii. c. 31. It was thought that the leaves

and juices of the cedar and the citrus preserved books and linen from

the attacks of noxious insects.

[904] And because, as Livy says, their doctrines were inimical to the

then existing religion.

[905] Val. Maximus says that there were some books written in Latin, on

the pontifical rights, and others in Greek on philosophical subjects.

[906] Humanæ Antiquitates.

[907] See B. xxxiv. c. 11.

[908] See B. xxxiii. c. 5.

[909] He implies that it could not have been written upon paper, as the

papyrus and the districts which produced it were not in existence in

the time of Homer. No doubt this so-called letter, if shown at all, was

a forgery, a “pia fraus.” See c. 21 of the present Book.

[910] Il. B. vi. l. 168.

[911] “Codicillos,” as meaning characters written on a surface of wood.

πίναξ, as Homer calls it.

[912] It was probably then that the supply of it first began to fail;

in the sixth century it was still used, but by the twelfth it had

wholly fallen into disuse.

[913] The cotton-tree, Gossypium arboreum of Linnæus.

[914] See B. xii. c. 21, 22.

[915] In c. 9 of the present Book.

[916] See B. vi. c. 36, 37.

[917] Desfontaines observed in the vicinity of Atlas, several trees

peculiar to that district. Among others of this nature, he names the

Pistacia Atlantica, and the Thuya articulata.

[918] See B. v. c. 1.

[919] Generally supposed to be the Thuya articulata of Desfontaines,

the Cedrus Atlantica of other botanists.

[920] This rage for fine tables made of the citrus is alluded to, among

others, by Martial and Petronius Arbiter. See also Lucan, A. ix. B.

426, _et seq._

[921] It is a rather curious fact that it is in Cicero’s works that

we find the earliest mention made of citrus tables, 2nd Oration ag.

Verres, s. 4:—“You deprived Q. Lutatius Diodorus of Lilybæum of a

citrus table of remarkable age and beauty.”

[922] Somewhere about £9000.

[923] This is considered nothing remarkable at the present day, such is

the skill displayed by our cabinet-makers.

[924] Called “Nomiana.”

[925] Tuber.

[926] The European Cyprus, the Cupressus sempervirens of Linnæus.

[927] These veins were nothing in reality but the lines of the layers

or strata lignea, running perpendicularly in the trunk, and the number

of which denotes the age of the tree.

[928] “Tigrinæ.”

[929] “Pantherinæ.” The former tables were probably made of small

pieces from the trunk, the latter from the sections of the tubers or

knots.

[930] “Crispis.”

[931] Or “parsley-seed” tables. It has also been suggested that the

word comes from “apis,” a bee; the wood presenting the appearance of

being covered with swarms of bees.

[932] “Mulsum.” This mixture will be found frequently mentioned in the

next Book.

[933] Lignum.

[934] Fée remarks that this is incorrect, and that this statement

betrays an entire ignorance of the vegetable physiology.

[935] Θύον, “wood of sacrifice.”

[936] Od. B. v. l. 60. Pliny makes a mistake in saying “Circe;” it

should be “Calypso.”

[937] Θύον.

[938] Crispius.

[939] He alludes to the citron, the Citrus Medica of Linnæus. See B.

xii. c. 7.

[940] The Rhamnus lotus of Linnæus; the Zizyphus lotus of Desfontaines.

[941] The Celtis australis of Linnæus. Fée remarks that Pliny is in

error in giving the name of Celtis to the lotus of Africa.

[942] The Lotophagi. See B. v. c. 7.

[943] A kind of grain diet. See B. xviii. c. 29, and B. xxii. c. 61.

[944] The Melilotus officinalis of Linnæus.

[945] The Nymphæa Nelumbo of Linnæus, or Egyptian bean.

[946] He speaks of the indentations on the surface of the poppy-head.

[947] See B. xxii. c. 28.

[948] Fée remarks that there is nothing singular about it, the sun more

or less exercising a similar influence on all plants.

[949] The same as the Nymphæa Nelumbo of the Nile, according to Fée.

[950] Probably the Rhamnus paliurus of Linnæus; the Spina Christi of

other botanists.

[951] The pomegranate, the Punica granatum of botanists.

[952] Or “grained apple.”

[953] From the Greek ἀπύρηνον, “without kernel.” This Fée would not

translate literally, but as meaning that by cultivation the grains had

been reduced to a very diminutive size. See B. xxiii. c. 57.

[954] This variety appears to be extinct. Fée doubts if it ever existed.

[955] See B. xxiii. c. 57.

[956] See B. xxiii. c. 60.

[957] “Puniceus,” namely, a kind of purple.

[958] See B. xxvii. c. 52. Sprengel thinks that this is the Neottia

spiralis of Schwartz; but Fée is of opinion that it has not hitherto

been identified.

[959] Probably the Erica arborea of Linnæus, or “heath” in its several

varieties.

[960] Granum Cnidium. The shrub is the Daphne Cnidium of Linnæus.

[961] The “thyme-olive.”

[962] The “ground olive,” or “small olive.” Dioscorides makes a

distinction between these two last; and Sprengel has followed it,

naming the last Daphne Cnidium, and the first Daphne Cneorum.

[963] See B. xxvii. c. 115.

[964] He says elsewhere that it is like the juniper, which, however,

is not the case. Guettard thinks that the tragion is the Androsæmon

fetidum, the Hyperium hircinum of the modern botanists. Sprengel also

adopts the same opinion. Fée is inclined to think that it was a variety

of the Pistacia lentiscus.

[965] Goat’s thorn. The Astragalus Creticus of Linnæus.

[966] He speaks of gum tragacanth.

[967] See B. xxvii. c. 116. Sprengel identifies it with the Salsola

tragus of Linnæus.

[968] Probably the Tamarix Gallica of Linnæus. Fée says, in relation

to the myrica, that it would seem that the ancients united in one

collective name, several plants which resembled each other, not in

their botanical characteristics, but in outward appearance. To this,

he says, is owing the fact that Dioscorides calls the myrica a tree,

Favorinus a herb; Dioscorides says that it is fruitful, Nicander and

Pliny call it barren; Virgil calls it small, and Theophrastus says that

it is large.

[969] Fée thinks that it is the Tamarix orientalis of Delille.

[970] “Infelix,” meaning “sterile.” He seems to say this more

particularly in reference to the brya, which Egypt produces. As to this

use of the word “infelix,” see B. xvi. c. 46.

[971] Sprengel and Fée identify this with the Ostrya vulgaris of

Willdenow, the Carpinus ostrya of Linnæus.

[972] Or the “luckily named.” It grew on Mount Ordymnus in Lesbos. See

Theophrastus, B. ii. c. 31.

[973] The Evonymus Europæus, or else the Evonymus latifolius of

botanists, is probably intended to be indicated; but it is a mistake

to say that it is poisonous to animals. On the contrary, Fée says that

sheep will fatten on its leaves very speedily.

[974] “Statim pestem denuntians.” Pliny appears to be in error here. In

copying from Theophrastus, he seems to have found the word φόνος used,

really in reference to a blood-red juice which distils from the plant;

but as the same word also means slaughter, or death, he seems to have

thought that it really bears reference to the noxious qualities of the

plant.

[975] Fée censures the use of the word “siliqua,” as inappropriate,

although the seed does resemble that of sesamum, the Sesamum orientale

of Linnæus.

[976] Or eonis. Fée suggests that in this story, which probably belongs

to the region of Fable, some kind of oak may possibly be alluded to.

[977] In the former editions, “adrachne”—the Arbutus integrifolia, Fée

says, and not the Arbutus andrachne of Linnæus, as Sprengel thinks.

[978] “Porcillaca.” The Portulaca oleracea of Linnæus.

[979] The Rhus cotinus of Linnæus, a sort of sumach.

[980] This is not the fact; the seeds when ripe are merely lost to view

in the large tufts of down which grow on the stems.

[981] Generally supposed to be the same as the alaternus, mentioned in

B. xvi. c. 45. Some writers identify it with the Phyllirea angustifolia

of Linnæus.

[982] Probably the Ferula communis of Linnæus, the herb or shrub known

as “fennel giant.”

[983] The Ferula glauca of Linnæus.

[984] The Ferula nodiflora of Linnæus.

[985] It is still used for that purpose in the south of Europe. The

Roman schoolmasters, as we learn from Juvenal, Martial, and others,

employed it for the chastisement of their scholars. Pliny is in error

in reckoning it among the trees, it really having no pretensions to be

considered such. It is said to have received its name from “ferio,” to

“beat.”

[986] Sprengel thinks that this is the Thapsia asclepium of the

moderns; but Fée takes it to be the Thapsia villosa of Linnæus.

[987] It was valued, Dioscorides says, for its cathartic properties.

[988] Either the Thapsia garganica of Willdenow, or the Thapsia

villosa, found in Africa and the south of Europe, though, as Pliny

says, the thapsia of Europe is mild in its effects compared with that

of Africa. It is common on the coast of Barbary.

[989] Pastillos.

[990] Nocturnis grassationibus.

[991] It is still used in Barbary for the cure of tetter and ringworm.

[992] The story was, that Prometheus, when he stole the heavenly fire

from Jupiter, concealed it in a stalk of narthex.

[993] The “caper-tree,” the Capparis spinosa of Linnæus. Fée

suggests that Pliny may possibly allude, in some of the features

which he describes, to kinds less known; such, for instance, as the

Capparis inermis of Forskhal, found in Arabia; the Capparis ovata of

Desfontaines, found in Barbary; the Capparis Sinaica, found on Mount

Sinai, and remarkable for the size of its fruit; and the Capparis

Ægyptiaca of Lamarck, commonly found in Egypt.

[994] The stalk and seed were salted or pickled. The buds or unexpanded

flowers of this shrub are admired as a pickle or sauce of delicate

flavour.

[995] Fée remarks that this is not the truth, all the kinds possessing

the same qualities. There may, however, have been some difference

in the mode of salting or pickling them, and possibly productive of

noxious effects.

[996] Probably from its thorns, that being the name of the sweet-briar,

or dog-rose.

[997] “Serpent grapes.”

[998] Sprengel and Fée take this to be the Cyperus fastigiatus of

Linnæus, which Forskhal found in the river Nile.

[999] Spina regia. Some writers have considered this to be the same

with the Centaurea solstitialis of Linnæus. Sprengel takes it to be the

Cassyta filiformis of Linnæus, a parasitical plant of India. We must

conclude, however, with Fée, that both the thorn and the parasite have

not hitherto been identified.

[1000] The Makron Teichos. See B. iv. c. 11.

[1001] From the various statements of ancient authors, Fée has come

to the conclusion that this name was given to two totally different

productions. The cytisus which the poets speak of as grateful to bees

and goats, and sheep, he takes to be the Medicago arborea of Linnæus,

known to us as Medic trefoil, or lucerne; while the other, a tree with

a black wood, he considers identical with the Cytisus laburnum of

Linnæus, the laburnum, or false ebony tree.

[1002] A kind of vetch or tare. See B. xviii.

[1003] “Frutex.” When speaking of it as a shrub, he seems to be

confounding the tree with the plant.

[1004] Evidently in allusion to the tree.

[1005] He alludes to various kinds of fucus or sea-weed, which grows to

a much larger size in the Eastern seas.

[1006] The Mediterranean.

[1007] Whence the word “fucus” of the naturalists.

[1008] Fée suggests that this may be the Laminaria saccharina of

Linnæus, being one of the “ulvæ” often thrown up on the coasts of

Europe.

[1009] The “green” plant.

[1010] The “girdle” plant.

[1011] The Fucus barbatus, probably, of Linnæus, or else the Fucus

eroïdes.

[1012] They are in reality more long-lived than this.

[1013] Fée suggests that it is the Roccella tinctoria of Linnæus.

[1014] The Zostera marina of Linnæus, according to Fée.

[1015] The Ulva lactuca of the moderns, a very common sea-weed.

[1016] The Fucus ericoïdes, Fée suggests, not unlike a fir in

appearance.

[1017] Quercus. According to Gmellin, this is the Fucus vesiculosus of

Linnæus. Its leaves are indented, somewhat similarly to those of the

oak.

[1018] Polybius, as quoted by Athenæus, says that in the Lusitanian Sea

there are oaks that bear acorns, on which the thunnies feed and grow

fat.

[1019] On the contrary, Theophrastus says, B. iv. c. 7, that the

sea-vine grows _near_ the sea, from which Fée is disposed to consider

it a phanerogamous plant. If, on the other hand, it is really a fucus,

he thinks that the Fucus uvarius may be meant, the vesicles of which

resemble a grape in shape.

[1020] He speaks of a madrepore, Fée thinks, the identity of which it

is difficult to determine. Professor Pallas speaks of an Alcyonidium

ficus, which lives in the Mediterranean and in the ocean, and which

resembles a fig, and has no leaves, but its exterior is not red.

[1021] Fée queries whether this may not be the Gorgonia palma of

Linnæus, which has received its name from its resemblance to a small

palm-tree.

[1022] These three, Fée thinks, are madrepores or zoophytes, which it

would be vain to attempt to identify.

[1023] That is, they dry up to the consistency of pumice.

[1024] “Sitiens.” Delille considers this as identical with his Acacia

seyal, a thorny tree, often to be seen in the deserts of Africa.

[1025] Probably zoophytes now unknown.

[1026] Fée suggests that he may allude to the Madrepora fungites of

Linnæus, the Fungus lapideus of Bauhin. These are found in the Red Sea

and the Indian Ocean; but, of course, the story of their appearance

during rain is fabulous.

[1027] Sharks; see B. ix. c. 70.

[1028] The companions of Onesicritus and Nearchus.

[1029] Fée hazards a conjecture that this may be the Gorgonia scirpea

of Pallas, found in the Indian Seas.

[1030] One of the Gorgoniæ, Fée thinks; but its characteristics are not

sufficiently stated to enable us to identify it.

[1031] A fable worthy of Sinbad the Sailor!

[1032] “Isidis crinem.” Fée says that this is evidently black coral,

the Gorgonia antipathes of Linnæus.

[1033] “The eyelid of the Graces.” Fée is almost tempted to think that

he means red coral.

[1034] Amatoriis.

[1035] Spatalia. Armlets or bracelets.

[1036] By this apparently fabulous story, one would be almost inclined

to think that he is speaking of a zoophyte.

[1037] See end of B. ii.

[1038] See end of B. ii.

[1039] See end of B vii.

[1040] Papirius Fabianus. See end of B. ii.

[1041] See end of B. ii.

[1042] See end of B. iii.

[1043] Fabius Pictor. See end of B. x.

[1044] See end of B. viii.

[1045] See end of B. iii.

[1046] Trogus Pompeius. See end of B. vii.

[1047] See end of B. v.

[1048] See end of B. ii.

[1049] See end of B. xii.

[1050] See end of B. xii.

[1051] See end of B. ii.

[1052] See end of B. xii.

[1053] See end of B. ii.

[1054] See end of B. iii.

[1055] See end of B. ii.

[1056] See end of B. xii.

[1057] See end of B. vii.

[1058] See end of B. vi.

[1059] See end of B. xii.

[1060] See end of B. vii.

[1061] See end of B. vi.

[1062] See end of B. ii.

[1063] See end of B. xii.

[1064] See end of B. xii.

[1065] See end of B. vi.

[1066] See end of B. iv.

[1067] See end of B. iv.

[1068] See end of B. xii.

[1069] See end of B. iv.

[1070] See end of B. viii.

[1071] See end of B. xii.

[1072] See end of B. xii.

[1073] See end of B. xii.

[1074] See end of B. viii.

[1075] Nothing certain is known of him; but he appears to be the

geographer, a native of Lampsacus, mentioned by Strabo in B. xiii.

[1076] See end of B. xii.

[1077] See end of B. xii.

[1078] See end of B. xii.

[1079] See end of B. ii.

[1080] See end of B. viii.

[1081] See end of B. iii.

[1082] A writer on Agriculture, or domestic economy; but nothing

further is known of him.

[1083] See end of B. v.

[1084] Perhaps the same writer that is mentioned at the end of B. xi.

[1085] For two physicians of this name, see end of B. xii.

[1086] One of his prescriptions is preserved in the works of Galen.

Nothing else is known of him.

[1087] See end of B. xii.

[1088] See end of B. xii.

[1089] See end of B. xii.

[1090] See end of B. xii.

[1091] See end of B. xii.

[1092] See end of B. xii.

[1093] See end of B. xii.

[1094] See end of B. xii.

[1095] See end of B. xii.

[1096] This must be understood with considerable modification—many

of the tropical trees and plants have been naturalized, and those of

America more particularly, in Europe.

[1097] He is probably wrong in looking upon the vine as indigenous

to Italy. It was known in very early times in Egypt and Greece, and

it is now generally considered that it is indigenous throughout the

tract that stretches to the south, from the mountains of Mazandiran on

the Caspian to the shores of the Persian Gulf and the Indian Sea, and

eastward through Khorassan and Cabul to the base of the Himalayas.

[1098] The art of printing, Fée remarks, utterly precludes the

recurrence of such a fact as this.

[1099] In allusion to his poem, the “Works and Days,” the prototype of

Virgil’s Georgics.

[1100] He alludes to the legacy-hunters with which Rome abounded in his

time. They are spoken of by Seneca, Tacitus, and Juvenal, in terms of

severe reprobation.

[1101] This seems to be the meaning of “captatio;” much like what we

call “toadying,” or “toad-eating.”

[1102] The “liberales artes,” were those, the pursuit of which was not

considered derogatory to the dignity of a free man.

[1103] Vita ipsa desiit.

[1104] Humilitas.

[1105] In the Georgics.

[1106] Theophrastus reckons it among the trees; Columella, B. ii.,

considers it to occupy a middle position between a tree and a shrub.

Horace, B. i. Ode 18, calls it a tree, “arbor.”

[1107] Or “layers,” “propagines.”

[1108] Nubunt, properly “marry.” This is still done in Naples, and

other parts of Italy. The use of vine stays there are unknown.

[1109] “Mustum.” Pure, unfermented juice of the grape.

[1110] See B. vii. c. 24.

[1111] Italia Transpadana.

[1112] See B. xxiv. c. 112. The Bauhins are of opinion that this is the

Acer opulus of Willdenow, common in Italy, and very branchy.

[1113] “Tabulata in orbem patula.” He probably alludes to the branches

extending horizontally from the trunk.

[1114] “In palmam ejus.”

[1115] There is no doubt that the whole of this passage is in a most

corrupt state, and we can only guess at its meaning. Sillig suggests

a new reading, which, unsupported as it is by any of the MSS., can

only be regarded as fanciful, and perhaps as a very slight improvement

on the attempts to obtain a solution of the difficulty. Pliny’s main

object seems to be to contrast the vines that entwine round poles and

rise perpendicularly with those that creep horizontally.

[1116] By throwing out fresh shoots every here and there. Fée, however,

seems to think that he means that the grapes themselves, as they trail

along the ground, suck up the juices with their pores. These are known

in France as “running vines,” and are found in Berry and Anjou.

[1117] He must evidently be speaking of the size of the _bunches_. See

the account of the grapes of Canaan, in Numbers xiii. 24.

[1118] “Durus acinus,” or, according to some readings, “duracinus.”

[1119] From the Greek βουμαστὸς, a cow’s teat, mentioned by Virgil,

Georg. ii. 102.

[1120] Or finger-grape.

[1121] From the Greek λεπτορᾶγες, “small-berried.”

[1122] Pensili concamaratæ nodo.

[1123] We have no corresponding word for the Latin “dolium.” It was an

oblong earthen vessel, used for much the same purpose as our vats; new

wine was generally placed in it. In times later than that of Pliny the

dolia were made of wood.

[1124] Hardouin speaks of these grapes as still growing in his time in

the Valtelline, and remarkable for their excellence.

[1125] “A patientia.” Because they have _suffered_ from the action of

the heat.

[1126] From the thinness of the skin.

[1127] See c. 24, also B. xxiii. c. 24.

[1128] See B. iii. c. 5, and B. xxxiii. c. 24.

[1129] He died in the year B.C. 19.

[1130] A vine sapling was the chief mark of the centurion’s authority.

[1131] The reading “elatas,” has been adopted. If “lentas” is retained,

it may mean, “promotion, slow though it be,” for the word “aquila” was

often used to denote the rank of the “primipilus,” who had the charge

of the eagle of the legion.

[1132] Because it was the privilege solely of those soldiers who were

Roman citizens to be beaten with the vine sapling.

[1133] He alludes to the “vinea” used in besieging towns; the first

notion of which was derived from the leafy roof afforded by the vines

when creeping on the trellis over-head. It was a moveable machine,

affording a roof under which the besiegers protected themselves against

darts, stones, fire, and other missiles. Raw hides or wet cloths

constituted the uppermost layer.

[1134] See B. xxiii. c. 19.

[1135] Many years ago, there were in the gardens of the Luxembourg one

thousand four hundred varieties of the French grape, and even then

there were many not to be found there; while, at the same time, it was

considered that the French kinds did not form more than one-twentieth

part of the species known in Europe.

[1136] This vine was said to be of Grecian origin, and to have been

conveyed by a Thessalian tribe to Italy, where it was grown at Aminea,

a village in the Falernian district of Campania. It is supposed to

have been the same as the _gros plant_ of the French. The varieties

mentioned by Pliny seem not to have been recognized by the moderns.

[1137] Fée does not give credit to this statement.

[1138] In allusion to the cotton-tree, or else the mulberry leaves

covered with the cocoons of the silkworm. See B. vi. c. 20, and B. xii.

c. 21. Virgil, in the Georgics, has the well-known line:

“Velleraque ut foliis depectant tenuia Seres.”

[1139] See B. iii. c. 9, There are many vines, the wood of which is

red, but this species has not been identified.

[1140] From “apis,” a “bee.” He alludes, it is thought, to the muscatel

grape, said to have had its name from “musca,” a “fly;” an insect which

is greatly attracted by its sweetness.

[1141] Græcula.

[1142] Fée is inclined to think that he alludes to the vine of Corinth,

the dried fruit of which are the currants of commerce.

[1143] From the Greek εὐγένεια.

[1144] How Taormina, in Sicily, where, Fée says, it is still to be

found. The grapes are red, similar to those of Mascoli near Etna, and

much esteemed.

[1145] Picata. See p. 221.

[1146] _I. e._, pale straw colour.

[1147] It has been supposed that this vine received its name from

“fæx;” the wine depositing an unusually large quantity of lees.

[1148] It is doubtful whether this vine had its name from being grown

in the district now called Bourges, or that of Bourdeaux. Dalechamps

identifies it with the _plant d’Orleans_.

[1149] The origin of its name is unknown. The text is evidently

defective.

[1150] By this name it would be understood that they were of an

intermediate colour between rose and white, a not uncommon colour in

the grape. Pliny, however, says otherwise, and he is supported by

Columella.

[1151] C. Bauhin took this to mean one of the garden currant trees,

the Ribes uva crispa of Linnæus, called by Bauhin Grossularia simplici

acino, or else Spinosa agrestis. But, as Fée observes, the ancients

were not so ignorant as to confound a vine with a currant-bush.

[1152] Like the Portuguese grapes of the present day.

[1153] Crisped and indented.

[1154] This variety, according to Christian de la Vega, was cultivated

abundantly in Grenada. The word _cocolab_, according to some, meant

cock’s comb. It is mentioned as a Spanish word by Columella.

[1155] Dalechamps says, that a similar wine was made at Montpellier,

and that it was called “piquardant.”

[1156] See B. xxiii. cc. 20, 21.

[1157] Probably from “albus,” “white.” Poinsinet thinks that it may

have been so called from the Celtic word _alb_, or _alp_, a mountain,

and that it grew on elevated spots. This, however, is probably fanciful.

[1158] Called by the Greeks ἀμέθυστον, from its comparatively harmless

qualities.

[1159] Or “sober” vine.

[1160] Hardouin says that in his time it was still cultivated about

Macerata, in the Roman States. Fée thinks that it may be one of the

climbing vines, supported by forks, cultivated in the central provinces

of France. See also B. xxiii. c. 19, as to the effects produced by its

wine.

[1161] Poinsinet gives a Celto-Scythian origin to this word, and says

that it means “injured by fogs.” This appears to be supported in some

measure by what is stated below.

[1162] See B. xvii. c. 37.

[1163] Or “thorny” vine. Fée queries why it should be thus called.

[1164] This humid, marshy locality was noted for the badness of its

grapes, and consequently of its wine.

[1165] Hardouin thinks that this is the “Marze mina” of the Venetians:

whence, perhaps, its ancient name.

[1166] “Testis.” See B. xxxv. c. 46.

[1167] From Murgentum, in Sicily. See B. iii. c. 14.

[1168] From Pompeii, afterwards destroyed. See B. iii c. 9.

[1169] Hardouin, as Fée thinks, without good reason, identifies this

with the “Arelaca” of Columella.

[1170] Georgics, ii. 99.

[1171] This seems to be the meaning of “ultro solum lætius facit.”

These two lines have been introduced by Sillig, from one of the MSS.,

for the first time.

[1172] Hardouin thinks that it is so called from Tuder, a town of

Etruria. See B. iii. c. 19.

[1173] Sillig suggests that the reading here is corrupt, and that Pliny

means to say that the vine called Florentia is particularly excellent,

and merely to state that the talpona, &c., are peculiar to Arretium:

for, as he says, speaking directly afterwards in disparagement of

them, it is not likely he would pronounce them “opima,” of “first-rate

quality.”

[1174] From “talpa,” a “mole,” in consequence of its black colour.

[1175] “Album.”

[1176] Probably so called from the Etesian winds, which improved its

growth.

[1177] Perhaps meaning “double-seeded.” We may here remark, that the

wines of Tuscany, though held in little esteem in ancient times, are

highly esteemed at the present day.

[1178] The leaves of most varieties turn red just before the fall.

[1179] And Baccius thinks that this is the kind from which the raisins

of the sun, common in Italy, and more particularly in the Valley of

Bevagna, the Mevania of Pliny, are made.

[1180] Perhaps from “pumilio,” a dwarf.

[1181] The “royal” vine, according to Poinsinet, who would derive it

from the Sclavonic “ban.”

[1182] Previously mentioned, p. 228.

[1183] The residence of Horace, now Tivoli.

[1184] Baccius says that the wine of this grape was thin like water,

and that the vine was trained on lofty trees, a mode of cultivation

still followed in the vicinity of Rome. Laurentum was situate within a

short distance of it, near Ostia.

[1185] See B. iii. c. 9.

[1186] So called from the smoky or intermediate colour of its grapes.

Fée suggests that this may be the slow-ripening grape of France, called

the “verjus,” or “rognon de coq.”

[1187] Possibly meaning the “mouthful.”

[1188] Perhaps so called from Prusa in Bithynia, a district which bore

excellent grapes.

[1189] Or the “turning” grape. A fabulous story no doubt, originating

in the name, probably. Fée suggests that it may have originated in the

not uncommon practice of letting the bunches hang after they were ripe,

and then twisting them, which was thought to increase the juice.

[1190] In the modern Marches of Ancona.

[1191] Georgics, ii. 91, _et seq._

Sunt Thasiæ vites, sunt et Mareotides albæ:

* * * * *

Et passo Psithia utilior, tenuisque Lageos,

Tentatura pedes olim, vincturaque linguam,

Purpuræ, Preciæque——

[1192] A muscatel, Fée thinks.

[1193] Or “hard-berried.” Fée thinks that the maroquin, or Morocco

grape, called the “pied de poule” (or fowl’s foot), at Montpellier, may

be the duracinus.

[1194] Or “upright vine.” In Anjou and Herault the vines are of similar

character.

[1195] The “finger-like” vine.

[1196] The “pigeon” vine.

[1197] Though very fruitful, it does not bear in large clusters

(racemi), but only in small bunches (uvæ).

[1198] The “three-foot” vine.

[1199] Perhaps meaning the “rush” grape, from its shrivelled appearance.

[1200] See c. 3 of this Book.

[1201] The ordinary number of pips or stones is five. It is seldom that

we find but one. Virgil mentions this grape, Georg. ii. 95.

[1202] “Chium.” This reading is doubtful. Fée says that between Narni

and Terni, eight leagues from Spoleto, a small grape is found, without

stones. It is called “uva passa,” or “passerina.” So, too, the Sultana

raisin of commerce.

[1203] “Grown for the table.”

[1204] Or “hard-berry.”

[1205] Mentioned by Virgil, Georg. ii. 101.

[1206] Or pitch-grape.

[1207] Perhaps the “noirant,” or “teinturier” of the French.

[1208] Or “garland-clustered” vine.

[1209] Fée says that this is sometimes accidentally the case, but is

not the characteristic of any variety now known.

[1210] Or “market-grapes.”

[1211] The “ash-coloured.”

[1212] The “russet-coloured.”

[1213] Probably so called from its grey colour, like that of the ass.

[1214] Or “fox” vine. This variety is unknown.

[1215] So called from Alexandria, in Troas, not in Egypt. Phalacra was

in the vicinity of Mount Ida.

[1216] As the leaves of the vine are universally divided, it has been

considered by many of the commentators that this is not in reality a

vine, but the Arbutus uva ursi of Linnæus. The fruit, however, of that

ericaceous plant is remarkably acrid, and not sweet, as Pliny states.

Fée rejects this solution.

[1217] Aubenas, in the Vivarais, according to Hardouin; Alps, according

to Brotier. We must reject this assertion as fabulous.

[1218] In B.C. 194, for his successes in Spain.

[1219] Mode of culture, locality, climate, and other extraneous

circumstances, work, no doubt, an entire change in the nature of the

vine.

[1220] Probably the first of the five that he has mentioned in c. 4.

[1221] He has only mentioned one sort in c. 4.

[1222] See c. 4.

[1223] See c. 4.

[1224] We have no corresponding word for this beverage in the English

language—a thin, poor liquor, made by pouring water on the husks and

stalks after being fully pressed, allowing them to soak, pressing

them again, and then fermenting the liquor. It was also called “vinum

operarium,” or “labourer’s wine.” As stated in the present instance,

grapes were sometimes stored in it for keeping.

[1225] A variety of the Aminean, as stated below.

[1226] See B. iii. c. 9.

[1227] The elder Africanus. He retired in voluntary exile to his

country-seat at Liternum, where he died.

[1228] Mercis.

[1229] The suggestion of Sillig has been adopted, for the ordinary

reading is evidently corrupt, and absurd as well—“not in the very worst

part of a favourite locality”—just the converse of the whole tenor of

the story.

[1230] The philosopher, and tutor of Nero.

[1231] Said to have been so called from Maron, a king of Thrace, who

dwelt in the vicinity of the Thracian Ismarus. See B. iv. c. 18. Homer

mentions this wine in the Odyssey, B. ix. c. 197, _et seq._ It was red,

honey-sweet, fragrant. The place is still called Marogna, in Roumelia,

a country the wines of which are still much esteemed.

[1232] See B. vii. c. 57.

[1233] Thus making “mulsum.”

[1234] B. ix. c. 208.

[1235] Indomitus.

[1236] By “black” wines he means those that had the same colour as our

port.

[1237] Il. xi. 638. Od. x. 234.

[1238] Cybele. A wine called “Pramnian” was also grown in the island

of Icaria, in Lesbos, and in the territory of Ephesus. The scholiast

on Nicander says that the grape of the psythia was used in making it.

Dioscorides says that it was a “protropum,” first-class wine, made of

the juice that voluntarily flowed from the grapes, in consequence of

their own pressure.

[1239] B.C. 121.

[1240] “Cooking,” literally, or “boiling.”

[1241] The wines of Burgundy, in particular, become bitter when

extremely old.

[1242] See B. vii. c. 18.

[1243] Caligula.

[1244] By some remarkable and peculiar quality, such as in the Opimian

wine.

[1245] “Testa,” meaning the amphora.

[1246] See c. 3 of the present Book, where these “picata,” or

“pitched-wines,” have been further described.

[1247] On the contrary, Fée says, the coldest wines are those that

contain the least alcohol, whereas those of Vienne (in modern Dauphiné)

contain more than the majority of wines.

[1248] He implies that wine is an antidote to the poisonous effects

of hemlock. This is not the case, but it is said by some that vinegar

is. It is the plant hemlock (cicuta) that is meant, and not the fatal

draught that was drunk by Socrates and Philopœmen. See further in B.

xxiii. c. 23, and B. xxv. c. 95.

[1249] Clitus and Callisthenes.

[1250] Lacus.

[1251] The testa or amphora, made of earth.

[1252] As the wife of Augustus is meant, this reading appears

preferable to “Julia.”

[1253] Dion Cassius says “eighty-sixth.”

[1254] See B. iii. c. 22, and B. xvii. c. 3. Pucinum was in Istria,

and the district is said still to produce good wine; according to

Dalechamps, the place is called Pizzino d’Istria.

[1255] The hills of Setia, looking down on the Pomptine Marshes: now

Sezza, the wine of which is of no repute.

[1256] See B. iii. c. 9.

[1257] See B. iii. c. 9. Between Fundi and Setia; a locality now of no

repute for its wines. In B. xxiii. c. 19, Pliny says, that the Cæcuban

vine was extinct: but in B. xvii. c. 3, he says that in the Pomptine

Marshes it was to be found.

[1258] This was the case, it has been remarked, with Madeira some years

ago.

[1259] This is the most celebrated of all the ancient wines, as being

more especially the theme of the poets.

[1260] See B. xi. c. 97. The wines of the Falernian district are no

longer held in any esteem; indeed, all the Campanian wines are sour,

and of a disagreeable flavour.

[1261] It appears to have been exceedingly rich in alcohol.

[1262] But in B. xxiii. c. 20, he assigns the first rank to the

Albanum; possibly, however, as a medicinal wine. The wines of Latium

are no longer held in esteem.

[1263] See B. xxiii. c. 21.

[1264] From Surrentum, the promontory forming the southern horn of the

Bay of Naples. Ovid and Martial speak in praise of these wines; they

were destitute of richness and very dry, in consequence of which they

required twenty-five years to ripen.

[1265] Or “dead vinegar.” “Vappa” was vinegar exposed to the air, and

so destitute of its properties, and quite insipid.

[1266] Excellent wines are still produced in the vicinity of this

place. Massicum was one of the perfumed wines. Gaurus itself produced

the “Gauranum,” in small quantity, but of high quality, full-bodied and

thick.

[1267] For the Calenian Hills, see B. iii. c. 9; see also B. xxiii. c.

12, for some further account of the wines of Stata. The wines of that

district are now held in no esteem.

[1268] From Fundi. See B. iii. c. 9.

[1269] Now Castel del Volturno: although covered with vineyards, its

wines are of no account. This wine always tasted as if mixed with some

foreign substance.

[1270] Now Piperno. It was a thin and pleasant wine.

[1271] Now Segni, in the States of the Church.

[1272] Written to the Senate, also to Cicero. We learn from Suetonius

that they were partly written in cipher.

[1273] Messina, at the present day, exports wines of very good quality,

and which attain a great age.

[1274] It was sound, light, and not without body.

[1275] “Lagenæ.” The same spot, now Taormina in Sicily, between Catania

and Messina, still produces excellent wines.

[1276] See B. iii. c. 18. Fée says that this is thought to have been

the wine of Syrol, of last century, grown near Ancona.

[1277] “Palma.” Notwithstanding this suggestion, it is more generally

supposed that they had their name from the place called Palma, near

Marano, on the Adriatic. Its wines are still considered of agreeable

flavour.

[1278] The wines of modern Cezena enjoy no repute, owing, probably, to

the mode of making them.

[1279] Probably so called because it was brought into fashion by

Mæcenas.

[1280] See Georg. ii. 95. The wines of the Tyrol, the ancient Rhætia,

are still considered as of excellent quality.

[1281] Of Adria, or the Adriatic Sea.

[1282] See B. iii. c. 20. These wines are of little repute.

[1283] In Latium. See B. iii. c. 9.

[1284] From Graviscæ. See B. iii. c. 8.

[1285] See B. ii. c. 96, B. iii. c. 9, and B. xxxvi. c. 49.

[1286] The wines of Genoa are of middling quality only, and but little

known.

[1287] Or “juicy” wine.

[1288] Now Beziers, in the south of France. The wines of this part are

considered excellent at the present day. That of Frontignan grows in

its vicinity. Fée is inclined to think, from Pliny’s remarks here, that

the ancients and the moderns differed entirely in their notions as to

what constitutes good or bad wine.

[1289] He means, beyond modern Provence, and Languedoc: districts

famous for their excellent wines, more particularly the latter.

[1290] Fée deems all this quite incredible. Our English experience,

however, tells us that it is by no means so; much of the wine that is

drunk in this country is indebted for flavour as well as colour to

anything but the grape.

[1291] The wines of modern Otranto are ordinarily of good quality.

[1292] Baccius reads “Seberiniana,” but is probably wrong. If he is

not, it might allude to the place now known as San Severino, and which

produces excellent wine. Fée thinks that these wines were grown in the

territory of Salerno, which still enjoys celebrity for its muscatel

wines.

[1293] See B. iii. c. 10. The wines of modern Cosenza still enjoy a

high reputation.

[1294] M. Valerius Messala Corvinus, the writer and partisan of

Augustus. See end of B. ix.

[1295] A place supposed to have been situated near Thurii.

[1296] See B. iii. c. 15.

[1297] Said by Galen to be very wholesome, as well as pleasant. The

wines of the vicinity of Naples are still held in high esteem.

[1298] Galen says that it was very similar to the Falernian.

[1299] See B. iii. c. 9.

[1300] The Trifoline territory was in the vicinity of Cumæ. It is

possible that the wine may have had its name from taking three years to

come to maturity; or possibly it was owing to some peculiarity in the

vine.

[1301] They have been already mentioned in c. 4. See B. iii. c. 9.

[1302] Twelve o’clock in the day.

[1303] See B. iii. c. 4.

[1304] In Catalonia, which still produces abundance of wine, but in

general of inferior repute.

[1305] The wines of Tarragona are still considered good.

[1306] A place in the province of Hispania Tarraconensis, destroyed by

Sertorius.

[1307] They still enjoy a high repute. The fame of their Malvoisie has

extended all over the world.

[1308] He means to illustrate the capricious tastes that existed as to

the merits of wines.

[1309] In c. 6 of this Book.

[1310] The Chian held the first rank, the Thasian the second.

[1311] From Arvisium, or Ariusium, a hilly district in the centre of

the island. The wine of Chios still retains its ancient celebrity.

[1312] It was remarkable for its sweetness, and aromatics were

sometimes mixed with it. Homer calls it harmless. Lesbos still produces

choice wines.

[1313] Near Smyrna. Probably similar to the Pramnian wine, mentioned in

c. 6.

[1314] See B. v. c. 30. This wine is mentioned again in the next page;

it is generally thought, that he is wrong in making the Tmolites and

the Mesogites distinct wines, for they are supposed to have been

identical.

[1315] If drunk by itself, and not as a flavouring for other wines.

[1316] Bacchus had a temple there.

[1317] The wines of Cyprus are the most choice of all the Grecian wines

at the present day.

[1318] In Lycia.

[1319] In Syria. Wine is no longer made there, but the grapes are

excellent, and are dried for raisins.

[1320] Now Beyrout. It does not seem that wine is made there now. The

Mahometan religion may have tended to the extinction of many of these

wines.

[1321] At the village of Sour, on the site of ancient Tyre, the grape

is only cultivated for raisins.

[1322] See also c. 22: probably introduced from Thasos.

[1323] The “smoky” grape.

[1324] The “pitchy” grape.

[1325] A strong wine, Hardouin thinks, from whence its name—“strong

enough to subdue a horse.”

[1326] From the small island of Mystus, near Cephallenia.

[1327] So called from the vine the name of which was “canthareus.”

[1328] Made, as already stated, from the juice that flowed

spontaneously from the grapes. See also p. 250.

[1329] Or the “burnt up” country, a volcanic district of Mysia, which

still retains its ancient fame for its wine. Virgil alludes to this

wine in Georg. iv. l. 380:—

—Cape Mæonii carchesia Bacchi.

[1330] Perhaps from Petra in Arabia: though Fée suggests Petra in the

Balearic Islands.

[1331] See B. iv. c. 22. In the island of Myconos in the Archipelago an

excellent wine is still grown.

[1332] From Mount Mesogis, which divides the tributaries of the Caÿster

from those of the Meander. It is generally considered the same as the

Tmolites.

[1333] Must or grape-juice boiled down to one half.

[1334] See B. v. c. 29.

[1335] “Mulsum,” or honied wine, was of two kinds; honey mixed with

wine, and honey mixed with must or grape-juice.

[1336] From its Greek name, it would seem to mean “of first quality.”

[1337] So called from a place in Eubœa, the modern Negropont. See. B.

iv. c. 20. Negropont produces good wines at the present day.

[1338] The locality is unknown.

[1339] From Leucadia, or Leucate; see B. iv. c. 2; the vine was very

abundant there.

[1340] From Ambracia. See B. iv. c. 2.

[1341] From the island of Peparethus. See B. iv. c. 23, where he says

that from its abundance of vines it was called εὐοινὸς, or “Evenus.”

[1342] B. xxiii. c. 1, and c. 26.

[1343] “Cadis.”

[1344] Fée remarks that this method is still adopted in making several

of the liqueurs.

[1345] White wine of Cos. Fée thinks that Pliny means to say that the

sea water turns the must of a white or pale straw colour, and is of

opinion that he has been wrongly informed.

[1346] “Sea-water” wine.

[1347] “Sea-seasoned” wine.

[1348] Fée says, that if the vessels were closed hermetically this

would have little or no appreciable effect; if not, it would tend to

spoil the wine.

[1349] Athenæus says that the Rhodian wine will not mix so well with

sea-water as the Coan. Fée remarks that if Cato’s plan were followed,

the wine would become vinegar long before the end of the four years.

[1350] Sillig thinks that the proper reading is “in six” only.

[1351] The sweet wines, in modern times, have the most bouquet or aroma.

[1352] “Albus,” pale straw-colour.

[1353] “Fulvus,” amber-colour.

[1354] Bright and glowing, like Tent and Burgundy.

[1355] “Niger,” the colour of our port.

[1356] Supposed to be a species of Pramnian wine, mentioned in c. 6.

This was used, as also the Aminean, for making omphacium, as mentioned

in B. xii. c. 60. See also c. 18 of this Book.

[1357] “Black psythian.”

[1358] Mentioned by Galen among the sweet wines.

[1359] See B. iii. c. 14. Now Solana in Sicily, which produces

excellent wine.

[1360] Honied wine.

[1361] This was evidently a kind of grape sirop, or grape jelly. “Rob”

is perhaps, as Hardouin suggests, a not inappropriate name for it.

[1362] When cold, they would have nearly the same consistency.

[1363] The raisin wine of Crete was the most prized of all as a class.

[1364] Mentioned in c. 4. Probably a muscatel grape.

[1365] See c. 4 of this Book.

[1366] Or “vat.” The common reading was “oleo,” which would imply

that they were plunged into boiling oil. Columella favours the latter

reading, B. xii. c. 16.

[1367] The reading is probably defective here.

[1368] Passum secundarium.

[1369] Or “always sweet.”

[1370] “Always must.”

[1371] Fervere, “boil,” or “effervesce.”

[1372] “Sweet” drink. Fée seems to think that this sweet wine must have

been something similar to champagne. Hardouin says that it corresponds

to the vin doux de Limoux, or blanquette de Limoux, and the vin Muscat

d’Azile.

[1373] See c. 3 of this Book.

[1374] “Poured,” or “strained through.”

[1375] “Honey wine.” A disagreeable medicament, Fée thinks, rather than

a wine.

[1376] Somewhat similar to the vin de premiere goutte of the French. It

would seem to have been more of a liqueur than a wine. Tokay is made in

a somewhat similar manner.

[1377] Or “second” press wines.

[1378] De Re Rust. c. 153.

[1379] Vinum operarium.

[1380] This method is still adopted, Fée says, in making “piquette,” or

“small wine,” throughout most of the countries of Europe.

[1381] Or “wine-lee drink.” It would make an acid beverage, of

disagreeable taste.

[1382] “Nobilia.” In c. 29 he speaks of 195 kinds, and, reckoning all

the varieties, double that number.

[1383] Fée observes that the varieties of the modern wines are quite

innumerable. He remarks also that Pliny does not speak of the Asiatic

wines mentioned by Athenæus, which were kept in large bottles, hung

in the chimney corner; where the liquid, by evaporation, acquired the

consistency of salt. The wines of other countries evidently were little

known to Pliny.

[1384] “Circa pericula arbusti.” This is probably the meaning of this

very elliptical passage. See p. 218.

[1385] Called Metellus, by Valerius Maximus, B. vi. c. 3.

[1386] See B. xvii. c. 11.

[1387] Over the Celtiberi.

[1388] The younger Pliny, B. ii. Ep. 2, censures this stingy practice.

See also Martial, B. iii. Epig. 60.

[1389] That this, however, was not uncommonly done, we may judge from

the remark made by the governor of the feast, John ii. 10, to the

bridegroom.

[1390] Called “myrrhina.” Fée remarks that the flavour of myrrh is

acrid and bitter, its odour strong and disagreeable, and says that it

is difficult to conceive how the ancients could drink wine with this

substance in solution.

[1391] As the “Persa” has come down to us, we find no mention of myrrh

in the passage alluded to.

[1392] See B. xii. c. 49. This is mentioned in the Persa, A. i. sc. 3,

l. 7.

[1393] Aromatic or perfumed wines.

[1394] Murrhinam.

[1395] The Cheat or Impostor: a play of Plautus. See A. ii. sc. 4, l.

51, _et seq._

[1396] Must boiled down to half its original quantity.

[1397] Apothecas. The “apothecæ” were rooms at the top of the house,

in which the wines were placed for the purpose of seasoning. Sometimes

a current of smoke was directed through them. They were quite distinct

from the “cella vinaria,” or “wine-cellar.” The Opimian wine is

mentioned in c. 4.

[1398] This writer is unknown.

[1399] Or amphora.

[1400] Vessels containing a congius, or the eighth of an amphora,

nearly six pints English.

[1401] As to this malady, see B. xi. c. 71.

[1402] B.C. 46.

[1403] B. xii. c. 61.

[1404] Or “labrusca.” “Œnanthinum” means “made of vine flowers.” The

wild vine is not a distinct species from the cultivated vine: it is

only a variety of it, known in botany as the Vitis silvestris labrusca

of Tournefort. Fée thinks that as the must could only be used in

autumn, when the wild vine was not flowering, the flowers of it must

have been dried.

[1405] “Solstitiales.” Because they withstand the heat of the solstice.

Marcellus Empiricus calls them “caniculati,” because they bear the heat

of the Dog-star.

[1406] Fée remarks that this assertion is quite erroneous.

[1407] From the Greek, meaning “without strength.” The mixture, Fée

remarks, would appear to be neither potable nor wholesome.

[1408] See B. xviii. c. 24. A kind of beer might be made with it, Fée

says; but this mixture must have been very unpalatable.

[1409] See B. xiii. c. 32.

[1410] A vinous drink may be made in the manner here stated; but

the palm-wine of the peoples of Asia and Africa is only made of the

fermented sap of the tree. See B. xiii. c. 9.

[1411] He says “caryotæ,” and not chydææ, in B. xiii. c. 4. The modius

was something more than our peck.

[1412] From the Greek σύκη, a “fig.” This wine was made, Fée thinks,

from the produce of some variety of the sycamore. See B. xiii. c. 14.

[1413] “Prime palm” apparently.

[1414] Tortivum, probably: the second squeezing.

[1415] See B. xiii. c. 15.

[1416] See B. xiii. c. 14.

[1417] See B. xiii. c. 16.

[1418] From ῥόα, a “pomegranate.”

[1419] Dioscorides calls it “strobilites.” Fée says that they could be

of no service in producing a vinous drink.

[1420] See B. xv. c. 37.

[1421] Or “myrtle wine.”

[1422] Myrtle will not make a wine, but simply a medicament, in which

wine is the menstruum.

[1423] Artemisia abrotonum of Linnæus.

[1424] Ruta graveolens of Linnæus.

[1425] Nepeta cataria of Linnæus.

[1426] Thymus serpyllum of Linnæus.

[1427] Marrubium vulgare of Linnæus.

[1428] Grape-juice boiled down to one-third.

[1429] Brassica napus of Linnæus.

[1430] Scilla marina of Linnæus.

[1431] Nardus Gallicus, or Valeriana Celtica of Linnæus. See B. xii. c.

26.

[1432] Nardus silvestris or baccaris.

[1433] Aromatic wines.

[1434] In c. 15 of this Book.

[1435] Valeriana Celtica.

[1436] Convolvulus scoparius of Linnæus.

[1437] Andropogon schœnanthus of Linnæus.

[1438] Costus Indicus of Linnæus.

[1439] Andropogon nardus of Linnæus.

[1440] See B. xiii. c. 2.

[1441] See B. xii. c. 43.

[1442] Crocus sativus of Linnæus.

[1443] Asarum Europæum of Linnæus.

[1444] See B. xii. c. 59.

[1445] Condita.

[1446] Piperata.

[1447] Inula helenium of Linnæus. See B. xxi. c. 91.

[1448] Medicago sativa of Linnæus.

[1449] Symphytum officinale of Linnæus, being all different varieties.

[1450] “Absinthites” made of the Artemisia Pontica of Linnæus. A

medicinal wine is still prepared with wormwood; and “apsinthe,” a

liqueur much esteemed in France, is made from it.

[1451] Hyssopites.

[1452] Hyssopites officinalis of Linnæus.

[1453] Helleborites.

[1454] Scammonites.

[1455] Fée says that this is not the fact; and queries whether the

vulgar notion still entertained on this subject, may not be traced up

to our author. It is a not uncommon belief that roses smell all the

sweeter if onions are planted near them.

[1456] Lavendula stœchas of Linnæus. See B. xxvii. c. 107.

[1457] Gentiana lutea of Linnæus. See B. xxv. c. 34. Gentian wine is

still made.

[1458] Thymus tragoriganum of Linnæus. See B. xx. c. 68.

[1459] Origanum dictamnus of Linnæus. See B. xxv. c. 63.

[1460] Asarum Europæum of Linnæus. See B. xii. c. 27.

[1461] Query, if not carrot? See B. xxv. c. 64.

[1462] A variety of salvia or sage: it will be mentioned again, further

on.

[1463] Laserpitium hirsutum of Linnæus. See B. xxv. cc. 11, 12, and 13.

[1464] Acorus calamus of Linnæus. See B. xxv. c. 100.

[1465] See B. xxi. c. 32.

[1466] See B. xxi. c. 31.

[1467] Atrapora mandragora of Linnæus. This wine would act as a

narcotic poison, it would appear.

[1468] Andropogon schœnanthus of Linnæus. See B. xxi. c. 72.

[1469] The origin and meaning of these names are unknown.

[1470] See B. xii. c. 11. Juniperus Lycia, and Juniperus Phœnicea of

Linnæus.

[1471] Cupressus sempervirens of Linnæus.

[1472] Laurus nobilis of Linnæus. See B. xv. c. 39.

[1473] Juniperus communis of Linnæus.

[1474] See B. xiii. c. 12. The Pistacia terebinthus of Linnæus.

[1475] See B. xii. c. 36. The Pistacia lentiscus of Linnæus.

[1476] “Chamelæa.” The Granium Cnidium, Daphne Cnidium, and Daphne

cneorum of Linnæus. See B. xiii. c. 35. Venomous plants, which, taken

internally, would be productive of dangerous results.

[1477] Chamæpitrys. The Teucrium chamæpitrys of Linnæus. See B. xxv. c.

20.

[1478] Chamædrys. The Teucrium chamædrys of Linnæus. See B. xxiv. c.

80. Dioscorides mentions most of these so-called wines.

[1479] Mead, or metheglin. See B. xxii. c. 51.

[1480] There is no ground, Fée says, for this recommendation.

[1481] Stoves are now used for this purpose.

[1482] “Hydromēlum,” on the other hand, made of water and apples, was

the same as our modern cider.

[1483] See B. xxiii. c. 9.

[1484] “Subfervefactis.” “Just come on the boil.”

[1485] The oxymel of modern times contains no salt, and is only used as

a medicament.

[1486] As drinks, no doubt; and with good reason, as to most of them.

[1487] Coactus.

[1488] Our medicinal wines will mostly keep longer than this, owing

probably to the difference in the mode of making the real wines that

form their basis.

[1489] There is little doubt that this is fabulous: wine taken in

excess, we know, is productive of loss of the senses, frenzy in the

shape of delirium tremens.

[1490] This is not unlikely; for, as Fée remarks, the red wines,

containing a large proportion of alcohol, act upon the brain and

promote sleep, while the white wines, charged with carbonic gas, are

productive of wakefulness.

[1491] Or healing vine. See B. xxiii. c. 11.

[1492] “Libanios.” Probably incense was put in this wine, to produce

the flavour.

[1493] From ἀ, “not,” and σπένδειν, “to make libation.”

[1494] See c. 9 of this Book. It was introduced, probably, from Thasos.

[1495] From ἐκβάλλω, “to eject.”

[1496] Apothecis.

[1497] He alludes to the working of wines in periods of extreme heat;

also in the spring.

[1498] Of our modern wines, Madeira and Bourdeaux improve by being

carried across sea. Burgundy, if any thing, deteriorates, by the

diminution of its bouquet.

[1499] After the grapes had been trodden and pressed, the husks were

taken out and their edges cut, and then again subjected to pressure:

the result was known as “tortivum,” or “circumcisivum,” a wine of very

inferior quality.

[1500] He alludes to the young shoots, which have an agreeable acidity,

owing to acetic and tartaric acids.

[1501] Acetic acid; the result, no doubt, of the faulty mode of

manufacture universally prevalent; their wines contained evidently but

little alcohol.

[1502] See B. xxiii. c. 24, and B. xxxvi. c. 48.

[1503] A process very likely, as Fée remarks, to turn the wines

speedily to vinegar.

[1504] Down to one-third. This practice of using boiled grape-juice as

a seasoning, is still followed in Spain in making some of the liqueurs;

but it is not generally recommended.

[1505] B. xvi. c. 21.

[1506] Asia Minor, namely.

[1507] B. xiii. c. 12.

[1508] B. xii. c. 37.

[1509] It produces but a very minute quantity of resin, which is no

longer an article of commerce.

[1510] See B. xiii. c. 11, and B. xvi. c. 21. Not the cedar of Lebanon,

probably, which only gives a very small quantity of resin, but one of

the junipers.

[1511] Fée suggests that this may have been the resin of the Arabian

terebinth.

[1512] See B. xxiv. c. 22.

[1513] Perhaps from the Pistacia terebinthus of Linnæus.

[1514] This was made from the terebinth: but the modern resin of

Colophon is extracted from varieties of the coniferæ.

[1515] See B. xxiv. c. 22.

[1516] Earths are not soluble in oils.

[1517] As being a mark of extreme effeminacy.

[1518] The greater the quantity of alcohol, the more resin the wine

would be able to hold in solution.

[1519] See B. xvi. c. 22.

[1520] “Crapula” properly means head-ache, and what is not uncommonly

known as “seediness.” Resined wine was thought to be productive of

these effects, and hence obtained the name. This kind of wine was used

itself, as we see above, in seasoning the other kinds. Fée remarks,

that in reality resins have no such effect as imparting body to weak

wines.

[1521] The whole of this passage is hopelessly corrupt, and we can only

guess at the meaning.

[1522] We have already stated that “vappa” is properly vinegar, which

has been exposed to the air and has lost its flavour. In this fresh

chemical change, which he calls a second fermentation, the wine becomes

vinegar; and probably in the cases he mentions, for some peculiar

reason, its speedy transition to “vappa” could not be arrested.

[1523] Mixed with water, it was the “posca,” or common drink of the

Roman soldiers; and it was used extensively both by Greeks and Romans

in their cooking, and at meals.

[1524] In c. 24.

[1525] By the mixture of ashes, Fée says, the wines would lose their

colour, and have a detestable alkaline flavour.

[1526] A perfect absurdity, Fée remarks.

[1527] B. xvi. cc. 16-23.

[1528] Bitterness, driness, and a disagreeable smell.

[1529] Georg. ii. 498.

[1530] See B. iv. c. 12.

[1531] See B. xii. c. 36.

[1532] See B. xxi. c. 19.

[1533] Bees’ wax, Fée remarks, would not have this effect, but vinegar

vessels would.

[1534] De Re Rust. c. 23.

[1535] The second “squeezings.”

[1536] If the wine is turning to vinegar, subacetate of lead will be

formed.

[1537] They are tartrates, and have no affinity at all with nitre.

[1538] Casks, in fact, similar to those used in France at the present

day. In Spain they use earthen jars and the skins of animals.

[1539] Oblong earthen vessels, used as vats.

[1540] “Ventruosa.” He means “round.”

[1541] As oblong ones, probably.

[1542] While fermenting, and before racking off.

[1543] Flos vini, the Mycoderma vini of Desmazieres, a mould or

pellicule which forms on the surface, and afterwards falls and is held

in suspension.

[1544] Vessels of lead are never used for this purpose at the present

day; as that metal would oxidize too rapidly, and liquids would have

great difficulty in coming to a boil. A slow fire must have been used

by the ancients.

[1545] They were thought to give a bad flavour to the sapa or defrutum.

[1546] A mere puerility, as Fée remarks.

[1547] He does not state the reason, nor does it appear to be known. At

the present day warmed wine is sometimes given to a jaded horse, to put

him on his legs again.

[1548] Though practised by those who wished to drink largely, this was

considered to diminish the flavour of delicate wines.

[1549] See B. xxii. c. 23, and B. xxv. c. 95; also c. 7 of the present

Book. Wine is no longer considered an antidote to cicuta or hemlock.

[1550] See B. xxxvi. c. 42.

[1551] This seems to be the meaning of “lectum;” but the passage is

obscure.

[1552] Tunicam.

[1553] He satirizes, probably, some kind of gymnastic exercises that

had been introduced to promote the speedy passage of the wine through

the body.

[1554] “In vino veritas.”

[1555] Fée remarks that this is one proof that the wine of the ancients

was essentially different in its nature from ours. In our day wine

gives anything but a “pallid” hue.

[1556] “Rapere vitam.”

[1557] See B. xxiii. c. 23.

[1558] Three gallons and three pints!! There must have been some

jugglery in this performance.

[1559] Probably towards those guilty of excesses in wine.

[1560] As Præfectus Urbis.

[1561] Love of drinking.

[1562] The mode of testing whether any “heeltaps” were left or not. It

was this custom, probably, that gave rise to the favourite game of the

cottabus.

[1563] Dr. Middleton, in his Life of Cicero, in his unlimited

partiality for the family, quotes this as an instance of courage and

high spirit.

[1564] According to Paterculus, he was fond of driving about in a

chariot, crowned with ivy, a golden goblet in his hand, and dressed

like Bacchus, by which title he ordered himself to be addressed.

[1565] He alludes to beer, or rather sweet wort, for hops were not

used till the latter part, probably, of the middle ages. Lupines were

sometimes used for flavouring beer.

[1566] Diodorus Siculus says that the Egyptian beer was nearly equal to

wine in strength and flavour.

[1567] See end of B. iii.

[1568] See end of B. vii.

[1569] See end of B. vii.

[1570] See end of B. iii.

[1571] See end of B. x.

[1572] See end of B. xi.

[1573] See end of B. ii.

[1574] Decimus Junius Silanus. He was commissioned by the senate, about

B.C. 146, to translate into Latin the twenty-eight books of Mago, the

Carthaginian, on Agriculture. See B. xviii. c. 5.

[1575] See end of B. x.

[1576] See end of B. vii.

[1577] See end of B. iii.

[1578] See end of B. iii.

[1579] Julius Græcinus. He was one of the most distinguished orators

of his time. Having refused to accuse M. Julius Silanus, he was put to

death A.D. 39. He wrote a work, in two books, on the culture of the

vine.

[1580] He was a contemporary of Celsus and Columella, the latter of

whom states that he wrote a work on a peculiar method of cultivating

the vine. See also B. xvii. c. 18.

[1581] See end of B. viii.

[1582] See end of B. vii.

[1583] See end of B. viii.

[1584] Nothing is known of him. He may possibly have written on

Husbandry, and seems to have spoken in dispraise of the son of Cicero.

See c. 28 of the present Book.

[1585] The famous Roman Comic poet, born B.C. 184. Twenty of his

comedies are still in existence.

[1586] For Alfius Flavius, see end of B. ix.; for Cneius Flavius, see

end of B. xii.

[1587] Or Dorsenus Fabius, an ancient Comic dramatist, censured by

Horace for the buffoonery of his characters, and the carelessness of

his productions. In the 15th Chapter of this Book, Pliny quotes a line

from his _Acharistio_.

[1588] Q. Mutius Scævola, consul B.C. 95, and assassinated by C.

Flavius Fimbria, having been proscribed by the Marian faction. He wrote

several works on the Roman law, and Cicero was in the number of his

disciples.

[1589] Sextus Ælius Pætus Catus, a celebrated jurisconsult, and consul

B.C. 198. He wrote a work on the Twelve Tables.

[1590] See end of B. iii.

[1591] Son of Corvinus Messala. He appears to have been a man of bad

repute: of his writings nothing seems to be known.

[1592] See end of B. ii.

[1593] A freedman of Pompey, by whose command he translated into Latin

the work of Mithridates on Poisons. After Pompey’s death, he maintained

himself by keeping a school at Rome.

[1594] For Fabianus Papirius, see end of B. ii. Fabianus Sabinus is

supposed to have been the same person.

[1595] See end of B. xii.

[1596] He is mentioned by the elder Seneca, but nothing whatever is

known of him.

[1597] See end of B. vii.

[1598] See end of B. iii.

[1599] See end of B. ii.

[1600] See end of B. ii.

[1601] See end of B. viii.

[1602] See end of B. viii.

[1603] See end of B. viii.

[1604] See end of B. iv.

[1605] See end of B. viii.

[1606] See end of B. viii.

[1607] See end of B. viii.

[1608] See end of B. viii.

[1609] See end of B. viii.

[1610] See end of B. viii.

[1611] See end of B. viii.

[1612] See end of B. viii.

[1613] See end of B. xiii.

[1614] See end of B. viii.

[1615] See end of B. vi.

[1616] See end of B. viii.

[1617] Supposed to have been a writer on Agriculture, but nothing

further is known of him.

[1618] See end of B. viii.

[1619] See end of B. viii.

[1620] See end of B. ii.

[1621] See end of B. x.

[1622] See end of B. viii.

[1623] See end of B. viii.

[1624] See end of B. viii.

[1625] See end of B. viii.

[1626] See end of B. xii.

[1627] See end of B. viii.

[1628] See end of B vii.

[1629] See end of B. ii.

[1630] See end of B. v.

[1631] Hist. Plant. iv. c.

[1632] The Olea Europæa of Linnæus. See B. xxi. c. 31.

[1633] This has not been observed to be the fact. It has been known to

grow in ancient Mesopotamia, more than one hundred leagues from the sea.

[1634] It is supposed that it is indigenous to Asia, whence it was

introduced into Africa and the South of Europe. There is little doubt

that long before the period mentioned by Pliny, it was grown in Africa

by the Carthaginians, and in the South of Gaul, at the colony of

Massilia.

[1635] This work of Hesiod is no longer in existence; but the assertion

is exaggerated, even if he alludes to the growth of the tree from seed.

Fée remarks that a man who has sown the olive at twenty, may gather

excellent fruit before he arrives at old age. It is more generally

propagated by slips or sets. If the trunk is destroyed by accident, the

roots will throw out fresh suckers.

[1636] This is the case. We may remark that the tree will grow in this

country, but the fruit never comes to maturity.

[1637] Georg. ii. 85, also ii. 420.

[1638] Probably the Olea maximo fructu of Tournefort. It has its name

from the Greek ὄρχις the “testis,” a name by which it is still known in

some parts of Provence.

[1639] Or “shuttle” olive. Probably the modern pickoline, or long olive.

[1640] Probably the Olea media rotunda præcox of Tournefort. It is

slightly bitter.

[1641] This is so much the case, that though the olives of Spain and

Portugal are among the finest, their oils are of the very worst quality.

[1642] It does not appear that the method of preparing oil by the use

of boiling water was known to the ancients. Unripe olives produce an

excellent oil, but in very small quantities. Hence they are rarely used

for the purpose.

[1643] Called “virgin,” or “native” oil in France, and very highly

esteemed.

[1644] Sporta.

[1645] “Exilibus regulis.” A kind of wooden strainer, apparently

invented to supersede the wicker, or basket strainer.

[1646] It is more insipid the riper the fruit, and the less odorous.

[1647] By absorbing the oxygen of the air. It may be preserved two or

three years even, in vessels hermetically closed. The oil of France

keeps better than any other.

[1648] As well as the grape.

[1649] In consequence of the faulty mode of manufacture, the oil of

Italy is now inferior to that of France. The oil of Aix is particularly

esteemed.

[1650] In Campania. See B. xvii. c. 3. Horace and Martial speak in

praise of the Venafran olive. Hardouin suggests that Licinius Crassus

may have introduced the Licinian olive.

[1651] The heat of Africa is unfavourable to the olive.

[1652] The fæces, marc, or lees. This is a crude juice contained in the

cellular tissue of the fruit, known as _viridine_ or _chlorophylle_.

[1653] This is owing, Fée says, to a sort of fermentation, which alters

the tissue of the cells containing the oil, displaces the constituent

elements, and forms others, such as mucus, sugar, acetic acid,

ammoniac, &c. When ripe, the olive contains four oils; that of the

skin, the flesh, the stone, and the kernel.

[1654] In B. xii. c. 60.

[1655] See B. xviii. c. 74.

[1656] 16th of September.

[1657] De Causis, B. i. c. 23.

[1658] This cannot possibly _increase_ the oil, but it would render it

more fluid, and thereby facilitate its escape from the cells of the

berry.

[1659] But Cato, Re Rust. c. 144, adds the very significant words,

“injussu domini aut custodis.” “Without the leave of the owner or the

keeper.”

[1660] It is found that the olive, after an abundant season, will not

bear in the following year; probably the result of exhaustion.

[1661] More commonly spelt “pausia.”

[1662] “Regia.” It is impossible to identify these varieties.

[1663] 8th of February.

[1664] This assertion of Pliny is not generally true. The large olives

of Spain yield oil very plentifully.

[1665] Probably a member of the variety known to naturalists as the

Olea fructu majori, carne crassâ, of Tournefort, the royal olive or

“triparde” of the French. The name is thought to be from the Greek

φαῦλος, the fruit being considered valueless from its paucity of oil.

[1666] There are but few olive-trees in either Egypt or Decapolis at

the present day, and no attempts are made to extract oil from them.

[1667] “Carnis.” He gives this name to the solid part, or pericarp.

[1668] See B. iii. c. 9.

[1669] These methods are not now adopted for preserving the olive. The

fruit are first washed in an alkaline solution, and then placed in salt

and water. The colymbas was so called from κολυμβάω, “to swim,” in its

own oil, namely. Dioscorides descants on the medicinal properties of

the colymbades. B. i. c. 140.

[1670] There are several varieties known of this colour, and more

particularly the fruit of the Olea atro-rubens of Gouan.

[1671] The Spanish olive, Hardouin says. Fée thinks that the name

“superba,” “haughty,” is given figuratively, as meaning rough and

austere.

[1672] The olives of the present Merida, in Spain, are of a rough,

disagreeable flavour.

[1673] This seems to be the meaning of “pinguis;” but, as Fée observes,

salt would have no such effect as here stated, but would impart a

disagreeable flavour to the oil.

[1674] Fée regards this assertion as quite fabulous.

[1675] It will be stated in B. xxviii. c. 13, to what purposes this

abominable collection of filth was applied.

[1676] 15th of July. He alludes to the inspection of the Equites, which

originally belonged to the Censors, but afterwards to the Emperors.

On this occasion there was “recognitio,” or “review,” and then a

“transvectio,” or “procession” of the horsemen.

[1677] The ovation was a lesser triumph, at which the general entered

the city not in a chariot, but on foot. In later times, however, the

victor entered on horseback: and a wreath of myrtle, sometimes laurel,

was worn by him. For further particulars as to the ovation, see c. 38

of the present Book.

[1678] Or “oleaster.”

[1679] De Re Rust. c. 6.

[1680] A middling or even poor soil is chosen for the olive at the

present day.

[1681] Apparently meaning the “white wax” olive.

[1682] In warm countries, a site exposed to the north is chosen: in

colder ones, a site which faces the south.

[1683] See B. xvii. c. 37. This moss has not been identified with

precision; but the leaf of the olive is often attacked by an

_erysiphus_, known to naturalists as the Alphitomorpha communis; but it

is white, not of a red colour.

[1684] Fée queries how any one could possibly eat olives that had been

steeped in a solution of mastich. They must have been nauseous in the

extreme.

[1685] De Re Rust. c. 64.

[1686] “Fracibus.” The opinion of Pliny, that olives deteriorate by

being left in the store-room, is considered to be well founded; the

olives being apt to ferment, to the deterioration of the oil: at the

same time, he is wrong in supposing that the amount of oil diminishes

by keeping the berries.

[1687] “Cortinas.” If we may judge from the name, these vessels were

three-footed, like a tripod.

[1688] There are no good grounds for this recommendation, which is

based on the erroneous supposition that heat increases the oil in the

berry. The free circulation of the air also ought not to be restricted,

as nothing is gained by it. In general, the method of extracting the

oil is the same with the moderns as with the ancients, though these

last did not employ the aid of boiling water.

[1689] Labra.

[1690] A “making,” or “batch.”

[1691] Or “flower.”

[1692] It may be remarked, that in this Chapter Pliny totally confounds

fixed oils, volatile oils, and medicinal oils. Those in the list which

he here gives, and which are not otherwise noticed in the Notes, may be

considered to belong to this last class.

[1693] The oleaster furnishes but little oil, and it is seldom

extracted. The oil is thinner than ordinary olive oil, and has a

stronger odour.

[1694] The Daphne Cneorum and Daphne Cnidium of botanists. See B. xiii.

c. 35, also B. xxiv. c. 82. Fée doubts if an oil was ever made from the

chamelæa.

[1695] See B. xxiii. c. 41: the Ricinus communis of Linnæus, which

abounds in Egypt at the present day. Though it appears to have been

formerly sometimes used for the table, at the present day the oil is

only known as “castor” oil, a strong purgative. It is one of the fixed

oils. The Jews and Abyssinian Christians say that it was under this

tree that Jonah sat.

[1696] A “tick.”

[1697] This method, Fée says, is still pursued in America.

[1698] See B. xiii. c. 2. One of the fixed oils.

[1699] An essential oil may be extracted from either; it is of acrid

taste, green, and aromatic; but does not seem to have been known to the

ancients. The berries give by decoction a fixed oil, of green colour,

sweet, and odoriferous. The oils in general here spoken of by Pliny as

extracted from the laurel, are medicinal oils.

[1700] The Laurus latifolia of Bauhin.

[1701] The Myrtus latifolia Romana of Bauhin. It yields an essential

oil, and by its decoction might give a fixed oil, in small quantity,

but very odoriferous. As boiled with olive oil, he treats it as a

volatile oil.

[1702] See B. xxv. c. 100. This myrtle is the Ruscus aculeatus of

Linnæus.

[1703] See B. xiii. c. 29, and B xxiii. c. 45. A volatile oil might

be extracted from the citrus, if one of the thuyæ, as also from the

cypress.

[1704] See B. xxiii. c. 45. It is a fixed oil, still considerably used

in some parts of Europe.

[1705] From the Greek καρύα, a “walnut.”

[1706] “Pitch oil.” See B. xxiv. c. 11. This would be a volatile oil.

[1707] See B. xxiii. c. 45, also B. xiii. c. 35. Fée is of opinion,

that as no fixed oil can be extracted from the Daphne Cnidium or Daphne

Cneorum, Pliny must allude to a medicinal composition, like the oil of

wild myrtle, previously mentioned.

[1708] A fixed oil. See B. xii. c. 36. The seeds were used for making

it. See B. xxiii. c. 45.

[1709] See B. xii. c. 51, and B. xxiii. c. 45. The leaves of the

Lawsonia are very odoriferous.

[1710] The myrobalanus, or ben. See B. xii. c. 46, and B. xxiii. c. 46.

[1711] Neither the chesnut nor rice produce any kind of fixed oil.

[1712] See B. xvii. c. 13.

[1713] Or Fish-eaters. See B. xxxii. c. 38. This is one of the fixed

oils.

[1714] In reality, no fixed oil can be obtained from them.

[1715] Or wild vine. See B. xii. c. 61, and B. xiii. c. 2.

[1716] Not an oil, so much as a medicinal preparation. Dioscorides

mentions as component parts of it, omphacium, sweet rush, Celtic nard,

aspalathus, costus, and must. It received its name from γλεῦκος “must.”

[1717] The Convolvulus scoparius of Linnæus. See B. xii. c 52, and B.

xiii. c. 2.

[1718] See B. xii. c. 48.

[1719] See B. xii. c. 54, and B. xiii. c. 2.

[1720] See B. xii. c. 29.

[1721] See B. xii. c. 57.

[1722] See B. xiii. c. 2, p. 163.

[1723] See B. xii. c. 41.

[1724] See B. xiii. c. 2.

[1725] Fée doubts the possibility of such a resemblance.

[1726] Hyoscyamus. A medicinal oil is still extracted from it. See B.

xxiii. c. 49.

[1727] This medicinal oil is no longer used. The Lupinus albus was

formerly held in greater esteem than it is now.

[1728] The Raphanus sativus of Linnæus. See B. xix. c. 26. This is one

of the fixed oils; varieties of it are rape oil, and colza oil, now so

extensively used.

[1729] From the Greek χόρτος, “grass.” This medicinal oil would be

totally without power or effect.

[1730] A fixed oil is still extracted in Egypt from the grain known as

sesamum.

[1731] See B. xxii. c. 15.

[1732] From κνίδη, a “nettle.” The nettle, or Urtica urens of Linnæus,

has no oleaginous principles in its seed.

[1733] Lily oil is still used as a medicinal composition: it is made

from the petals of the white lily, Lilium candidum of Linnæus.

[1734] From Selga, a town of Pisidia. See B. xxiii. c. 49.

[1735] See B. iii. c. 9, and B. xxiii. c. 49.

[1736] A volatile oil, mixed with a small proportion of empyreumatic

oil and carbon.

[1737] “Oil-honey.” Probably a terebinthine, or oleo-resin. See B.

xxiii. c. 50.

[1738] When rancid and oxygenized by age, it has an irritating quality,

and may be found useful for herpetic diseases.

[1739] It very probably will have this effect; but at the expense of

the colour of the ivory, which very soon will turn yellow.

[1740] It has quite lost its ancient repute: the only use it is now put

to is the manufacture of an inferior soap. See B. xxiii. c. 37.

[1741] De Re Rust. cc. 130, 169.

[1742] Dolia and cadi. Fée observes, that this, if done with the modern

vessels, would have a tendency to make the oil turn rancid.

[1743] On the contrary, Fée is inclined to think it would attract them,

from its mucilaginous properties.

[1744] Olive oil, however, has a tendency to generate verdigrease in

copper vessels.

[1745] This, as Fée remarks, is probably so absurd as not to be worth

discussing.

[1746] Re Rust. B. i. c. 2.

[1747] If she happens to have destroyed the buds, but not otherwise.

[1748] The Pinus cembro, probably, of Linnæus.

[1749] See B. xvi. c. 23. The nuts of the pine are sweet, and have an

agreeable flavour.

[1750] Probably the wild pine, the Pinus silvestris of the moderns. The

nuts are slightly resinous.

[1751] Neither the people of Turin nor of any other place are known at

the present day to make this preparation.

[1752] The quince, the Pirus Cydonia of Linnæus.

[1753] From Cydonia, a city of Crete. The Latin name is only a

corruption of the Greek one: in England they were formerly called

“melicotones.”

[1754] Or “golden apple.” The quince was sacred to Venus, and was an

emblem of love.

[1755] Apparently meaning the “sparrow quince.” Dioscorides, Galen,

and Athenæus, however, say that it was a large variety. Qy. if in such

case, it might not mean the ostrich quince?

[1756] “Early ripener.”

[1757] Quinces are not grafted on quinces at the present day, but the

pear is.

[1758] Fée suggests that this is a kind of pear.

[1759] Probably on account of the fragrance of their scent.

[1760] We learn from other sources that the bed-chambers were

frequently ornamented with statues of the divinities.

[1761] The Mala cotonea silvestris of Bauhin; the Cydonia vulgaris of

modern botanists.

[1762] “Mala.” The term “malum,” somewhat similar to “pome” with us,

was applied to a number of different fruits: the orange, the citron,

the pomegranate, the apricot, and others.

[1763] Or peach.

[1764] See B. xiii. c. 34.

[1765] Or “pound-weight” pears: the Pirus volema of Linnæus.

[1766] Or “hard-berry”—probably in reference to the firmness of the

flesh. It is generally thought to be the nectarine.

[1767] “Præcocia.” It is generally thought that in this name originates

the word “apricot,” the Prunus Armeniaca of Linnæus. There is, however,

an early peach that ripens by the middle of July, though it is very

doubtful if it was known to Pliny.

[1768] “From above.”

[1769] Perhaps the Prunus ungarica of naturalists, the black damask

plum; or else the Prunus perdrigona, the perdrigon.

[1770] Probably the Prunus galatensis of naturalists.

[1771] “Hordearia:” the Prunus præcox of naturalists; probably our

harvest plum.

[1772] Or “ass”-plum. The Prunus acinaria of naturalists: the cherry

plum of the French.

[1773] Or “wax plum.” The Prunus cereola of naturalists: the mirabelle

of the French.

[1774] Possibly the Prunus enucleata of Lamarck: the myrobalan of the

French. Many varieties, however, are purple.

[1775] There are two opinions on this: that it is the Prunus Claudiana

of Lamarck, the “Reine Claude” of the French; or else that it is

identical with the apricot already mentioned, remarkable for the

sweetness of its smell.

[1776] Or nut-prune.

[1777] The Prunus insititia of Linnæus.

[1778] The result of this would only be a plum like that of the tree

from which the graft was cut.

[1779] The same as with reference to the graft on the apple.

[1780] This is probably quite fabulous.

[1781] B. xiii. c. 10.

[1782] The Prunus Damascena of the naturalists; our common damson, with

its numerous varieties.

[1783] Probably the Cordia myxa of Linnæus; the Sebestier of the

French. It has a viscous pulp, and is much used as a pectoral. It grows

only in Syria and Egypt; and hence Fée is inclined to reject what Pliny

says as to its naturalization at Rome, and the account he gives as to

its being engrafted on the sorb.

[1784] _I. e._ Asia Minor.

[1785] Hospitium.

[1786] See B. xiii. c. 17. The Balanites Ægyptiaca of Delille.

[1787] It was this probably, and not the peach-tree, that would not

bear fruit in the isle of Rhodes.

[1788] Perseus.

[1789] Fée remarks that the wild plum, the Prunus silvestris or

insititia of Linnæus, was to be found in Italy before the days of Cato.

[1790] See B. xii. c. 7.

[1791] Of Media.

[1792] Its fruit will ripen in France, as far north as Tours. It is

the Zizyphus vulgaris of Lamarck. It resembles a small plum, and is

sometimes used as a sweetmeat. The confection sold as jujube paste is

not the dried jelly of this fruit, but merely gum arabic and sugar,

coloured.

[1793] A variety of the jujube, Fée is inclined to think. A nut-peach

has also been suggested.

[1794] A.U.C. 779.

[1795] Or perhaps embankment: “agger.”

[1796] A reddish colour. For the composition of this colour, see B.

xxxv. c. 24.

[1797] “Lanata;” perhaps rather the “downy” fruit; a variety of quince,

Fée thinks. Pliny probably had never seen this fruit, in his opinion,

and only speaks after Virgil, Ecl. ii. l. 51. “Ipse ego cana legam

tenera lanugine mala.”

[1798] See B. xii. c. 6. The Matian and the Cestian apple are thought

by Dalechamps to have been the French “court-pendu,” or “short stalk.”

[1799] The Scandian is thought to have been a winter pear.

[1800] Adrian Junius takes this to be the “kers-appel” of the Flemish.

[1801] De Re Rust. cc. 7 and 143.

[1802] Dolia.

[1803] Hardouin says that this is the “Pomme d’api” of the French; it

is the “Court-pendu” with Adrian Junius.

[1804] The “Pomme de Saint Thomas,” according to Adrian Junius:

Dalechamps identifies it with the pomme de Granoi. See B. iii. c. 19,

and cc. 17 and 18 of the present Book.

[1805] “Græcula.” So called, perhaps, from Tarentum, situated in Magna

Græcia.

[1806] Twins. This variety is unknown.

[1807] Or “red” apple. The red calville of the French, according to

Hardouin; the Pomme suzine, according to Dalechamps.

[1808] The Girandotte of the French; the appel-heeren of the Dutch.

[1809] The “early ripener.” Dalechamps identifies it with the pomme

Saint Jean, the apple of St. John.

[1810] The Pomme rose, or rose apple, according to Dalechamps.

[1811] Or “erect teat.” The Pomme taponne of the French, according to

Dalechamps.

[1812] Or eunuch. The Passe pomme, or Pomme grillotte of the French.

[1813] Or “leaf apple.” Fée remarks that this occasionally happens, but

the apple does not form a distinct variety.

[1814] The Pomme pannete, according to Dalechamps: the Pomme gelée of

Provence.

[1815] Or “lung” apple. The Pomme folane, according to Dalechamps.

[1816] The Pirus malus of Linnæus, the wild apple, or estranguillon of

the French.

[1817] It is doubtful whether he does not allude here to a peculiar

variety.

[1818] Or “mealy” apples.

[1819] Or “proud” pear. The Petite muscadelle, according to Dalechamps.

Adrian Junius says that it is the water-peere of the Dutch.

[1820] From Crustumium in Italy; the Poire perle, or pearl pear,

according to Dalechamps: the Jacob’s peere of the Flemish.

[1821] The Poire sucrée, or “sugar-pear,” according to Hardouin; the

Bergamotte, according to Dalechamps.

[1822] “Potu.” He would appear to allude to the manufacture of perry.

[1823] The Syrian pear is commended by Martial; it has not been

identified, however.

[1824] The Poire musot, according to Dalechamps. Adrian Junius says

that it is the Engelsche braet-peere of the Flemish.

[1825] The Pirus Pompeiana of Linnæus. Dalechamps identifies it with

the Bon chretien, and Adrian Junius with the Taffel-peere of the

Flemish.

[1826] The “breast-formed.”

[1827] The Pirus Favonia of Linnæus: the Grosse poire muscadelle of the

French.

[1828] The Poire prevost, according to Dalechamps.

[1829] The Poire foré, according to Dalechamps.

[1830] The Saint Thomas’s pear of the Flemish.

[1831] The Poire chat of the French, according to Dalechamps; the

Riet-peere of the Flemish.

[1832] “Like onyx.” The Cuisse-madame, according to Dalechamps.

[1833] The Calveau rosat, according to Dalechamps. Perhaps the Poire

d’ambre, or amber pear, of the French.

[1834] The Poire d’argent, or silver pear, according to Dalechamps.

[1835] Or “barley pear.” The Poire de Saint Jean, according to

Dalechamps; the musquette or muscadella, according to Adrian Junius.

[1836] Barley-harvest.

[1837] So called from its resemblance to the “ampulla,” a big-bellied

vessel with a small neck, identified with the Poire d’angoisse by

Dalechamps.

[1838] The Poire de jalousie, according to Dalechamps.

[1839] Or gourd-pear. This is the “isbout” according to Adrian Junius,

the Poire courge of Dalechamps, and the Poire de sarteau, or de campane

of others.

[1840] The Poire de Venus, according to Adrian Junius; the Poire

acciole, according to Dalechamps.

[1841] Coloured pear.

[1842] “Regium.” The Poire carmagnole, according to Dalechamps; the

Mispeel-peere of the Flemish, according to Adrian Junius.

[1843] The Poire sarteau, according to Dalechamps.

[1844] Georgics, ii. 87.

[1845] “A handful”—probably the pound or pounder pear: the Bergamotte,

according to Hardouin; the Bon chretien of summer, according to Adrian

Junius.

[1846] De Re Rust. c. 7.

[1847] Or “Seedling.”

[1848] The “early ripener.” Fée suggests that this may be a variety of

the Bon chretien.

[1849] Georgics, ii. 69. This statement of Virgil must be regarded

as fabulous; grafting being impracticable with trees not of the same

family, and not always successful even then.

[1850] This was probably some superstition taught by the augurs for the

purpose of enveloping their profession in additional mystery and awe.

[1851] Cadis.

[1852] He probably alludes here to cider and perry. See p. 300, and B.

xxiii. c. 62.

[1853] “Pulmentarii vicem;” properly “a substitute for pulmentarium,”

which was anything eaten with bread, such as meat, vegetables, &c.

He alludes to marmalade. The French raisine is a somewhat similar

preparation from pears and quinces boiled in new wine.

[1854] “Specularibus.” He alludes to windows of transparent stone,

lapis specularis, or mica; windows of glass being probably unknown

in his time. The ordinary windows were merely openings closed with

shutters. See B. xxxvi. c. 45.

[1855] He must allude to a kind of quince marmalade.

[1856] As Fée remarks, the fruit, if treated thus, would soon lose all

the properties for which it is valued.

[1857] De Re Rust. B. i. c. 59.

[1858] A faulty proceeding, however dry it may be.

[1859] This fruit, Fée remarks, keeps but indifferently, and soon

becomes soft, vinous, and acid.

[1860] An absurd superstition.

[1861] A method not unlikely to spoil the grape, from the difficulty of

removing the coat thus given to it.

[1862] A very absurd notion, as Fée observes. To keep fruit in millet

is also condemned.

[1863] Which, of course, must deteriorate the flavour of the grape.

[1864] It is doubtful if they will increase in size, when once plucked.

[1865] The modern authorities recommend the precisely opposite plan.

[1866] As absurd as the use of the bulb of squill.

[1867] In a pit two feet deep, &c. See above.

[1868] Capsæ.

[1869] See B. xxi. c. 49.

[1870] De Re Rust. B. xii. c. 43.

[1871] These must make raisins of the sun.

[1872] These must have been perfectly dry, or else they would tend to

rot the grapes or raisins.

[1873] Columella, for instance, B. xii. c. 43.

[1874] The dust is in reality very liable to spoil the fruit, from the

tenacity with which it adheres. In all these methods, little attention

would seem to be paid to the retention of the flavour of the fruits.

[1875] A detestable practice, Fée says, as the oil makes an indelible

mark on the grape, and gives it an abominable flavour. It is the best

method to put the fruit in bags of paper or hair.

[1876] See B. xiii. c. 19.

[1877] There are about forty varieties now known.

[1878] B. xiii. c. 14, 15. These are the Ficus sycomorus of Linnæus.

[1879] In Troas; called the Alexandrian fig, from the city of

Alexandria there. Fée doubts if this was really a fig, and suggests

that it might be the fruit of a variety of Diospyros.

[1880] No fig-tree now known is destitute of this.

[1881] Fée treats this as an exaggeration.

[1882] From “mamilla,” a teat.

[1883] In Egypt. The Figue servantine, or cordeliere.

[1884] “Delicata.” The “bon-bouche.”

[1885] Fée suggests that this may have been the small early fig.

[1886] From Livia, the wife of Augustus.

[1887] From Pompeius Magnus.

[1888] Apparently meaning the “marsh” fig.

[1889] The Laconian reed, Theophrastus says, B. iv. c. 12.

[1890] The “white-wax” fig.

[1891] Fée queries whether it may not be the Grosse bourjasotte.

[1892] Or “people’s” fig. The small early white fig.

[1893] Or “swallow”-fig.

[1894] Or it may mean “white and black,” that being the colour of the

fig. Such a variety is still known.

[1895] A Spanish variety; those of the south of Spain are very highly

esteemed.

[1896] The modern “black” fig.

[1897] The sun of the former year.

[1898] In Mœsia—the present Servia and Bulgaria.

[1899] Another war is said to have originated in this fruit. Xerxes was

tempted by the fine figs of Athens to undertake the invasion of Greece.

[1900] “Tertium ante diem.” In dating from an event, the Romans

included both days in the computation; the one they dated _from_, and

the day _of_, the event.

[1901] In sending for the fig, and thinking of this method of speaking

to the feelings of his fellow-countrymen.

[1902] A place in the Forum, where public meetings were held, and

certain offences tried.

[1903] He alludes to the Puteal, or enclosed space in the Forum,

consecrated by Scribonius Libo, in consequence of the spot having been

struck by lightning.

[1904] On the banks of the Tiber, below the Palatine Mount. The whole

of this passage is in a most corrupt state, and it is difficult to

extract a meaning from it.

[1905] By slips from the old tree, as Tacitus seems to say—“in novos

fœtus revivisceret.”

[1906] At the foot of the Capitoline Hill.

[1907] Probably near where the Curtius Lacus had stood in the early

days of Rome. The story of Metius Curtius, who leaped into the yawning

gulph in the Forum, in order to save his country, is known to every

classical reader.

[1908] The Forum.

[1909] See B. xix. c. 6.

[1910] The Ficus Carica of Linnæus. It _does_ bear fruit, though small,

and disagreeable to the taste.

[1911] This insect is one of the Hymenoptera; the Cynips Psenes of

Linnæus and Fabricius. There is another insect of the same genus, but

not so well known.

[1912] Fée observes that the caprification accelerates the ripeness of

the fruit, but at the expense of the flavour. For the same purpose the

upper part of the fig is often pricked with a pointed quill.

[1913] “Infantiam pomi”—literally, “the infancy of the fruit.”

[1914] Fée denies the truth of this assertion.

[1915] Frumenta.

[1916] A mixture of the sugar of the fruit with the milky juice of the

tree, which is a species of caoutchouc.

[1917] Capsis.

[1918] See B. iii. c. 11. The Balearic Isles still produce great

quantities of excellent dried figs.

[1919] See B. iii. c. 17.

[1920] Orcæ.

[1921] Cadi.

[1922] Ground, perhaps, into a kind of flour.

[1923] Opsonii vicem. “Opsonium” was anything eaten with bread, such as

vegetables, meat, and fish, for instance.

[1924] De Re Rust. c. 56.

[1925] Because they would be sure, under any circumstances, to eat

plenty of them.

[1926] See B. xiii. c. 10.

[1927] These were so called from Caunus, a city of Caria, famous

for its dried figs. Pronounced “Cavneas,” it would sound to the

superstitious, “Cave ne eas,” “Take care that you go not.”

[1928] At Brundisium.

[1929] A.U.C. 801.

[1930] Alba Longa. See B. iii. c. 9.

[1931] The sorb belongs to the genus pirus of the naturalists.

[1932] The Mespilus germanica of the botanists.

[1933] The azarolier, a tree of the south of Europe, the Mespilus apii

folio laciniato of C. Bauhin.

[1934] The Mespilus Italica folio laurino serrato of C. Bauhin, the

Mespilus cotoneaster of J. Bauhin.

[1935] Its identity is matter of uncertainty; but it has been thought

to be the Cratægus oxyacantha of modern botanists.

[1936] By “amplissimus,” he must mean that it spreads out very much in

proportion to its height, as it is merely a shrub.

[1937] Fée thinks it a tree indigenous to the north.

[1938] The ordinary sorb-apple of horticulturists.

[1939] The sorb-pear.

[1940] Varying but little, probably, from the common sorb, the Sorbus

domestica of Linnæus.

[1941] Fée is inclined to think that it is the Sorbus terminalis of

Lamarck. Anguillara thinks that it is the Cratægus of Theophrastus,

considered by Sprengel to be identical with the Cratægus azarolus of

Linnæus. In ripening, the fruit of the sorb undergoes a sort of vinous

fermentation: hence a kind of cider made of it.

[1942] De Re Rust. cc. 7 and 145.

[1943] The Juglans regia of Linnæus.

[1944] Tastes have probably altered since this was written.

[1945] These were rude and sometimes obscene songs sung at festivals,

and more particularly marriages. While these songs were being sung at

the door of the nuptial chamber, it was the custom for the husband to

scramble walnuts among the young people assembled there. The walnut is

the nut mentioned in Solomon’s Song, vi. 11.

[1946] Or, more probably, from the union of the two portions of the

inner shell.

[1947] “Tripudium sonivium;” implying that it was considered sacred to

marriage, from the use made of it by the friends of the bridegroom when

thrown violently against the nuptial chamber, with the view of drowning

the cries of the bride. A very absurd notion, to all appearance.

[1948] The “Persian” nut.

[1949] The “king’s” nut. The walnut-tree still abounds in Persia, and

is found wild on the slopes of the Himalaya.

[1950] Implying that it comes from the Greek κάρη, “the head.” Some

etymologists think that it is from the Celto-Scythian _carw_, a boat;

such being the shape of the two parts of the inner shell.

[1951] It is still a common notion, Fée says, that it is highly

injurious to sleep beneath a walnut-tree.

[1952] It is still used for this purpose.

[1953] Red hair was admired by the Romans. The Roman females used this

juice also for dyeing their hair when grey.

[1954] They are not _entirely_ separate.

[1955] The Corylus avellana maxima of Willdenow.

[1956] The filbert, the Corylus tubulosa of Willdenow.

[1957] Abellinum, in Campania. See B. iii. c. 9.

[1958] The down on the nut is more apparent when it is young; but it is

easily rubbed off. The outer coat is probably meant.

[1959] Hazel nuts are sometimes roasted in some parts of Europe, but

not with us.

[1960] The Amygdalus communis of Linnæus.

[1961] De Re Rust. c. 8. Some think that this was the bitter almond;

and the word “acriore,” used by Pliny, would almost seem to imply that

such is the case.

[1962] Apparently the “smooth” or “bald” nut. May not a variety

something like the hickory nut of America be meant?

[1963] Festus says that a kind of nut was so called, because the

Prænestines, when besieged by Hannibal at Casilinum, subsisted upon

them. See Livy, B. xxiii. Fée considers it only another name for the

common hazel nut.

[1964] De Re Rust. c. 145.

[1965] The soft-shelled almond, or princess almond of the French; the

Amygdalus communis fragilis of naturalists.

[1966] This last variety does not seem to have been identified: the

hard-shell almonds do not appear to be larger than the others.

[1967] Or “soft” almond, a variety only of the Amygdalus fragilis.

[1968] There is little doubt that Fée is right in his assertion, that

this great personage imposed on our author; as no trees of this family

are known to bear two crops.

[1969] B. xiii. c. 10.

[1970] In c. xxi. of this Book.

[1971] The tree is the Fagus castanea of Linnæus.

[1972] Cortex.

[1973] The common mode of eating it at the present day. The Italians

also take off the skin and dry the nut; thus keeping it from year to

year. When required for eating, it is softened by the steam of boiling

water.

[1974] Not improbably said in allusion to the fasts introduced by the

Jews, who had become very numerous in Rome.

[1975] It was said to have come from Castana, a city of Pontus, whence

its name “Castanea.” It is probably indigenous to Europe.

[1976] The Greek for “Jove’s acorn.”

[1977] Or “acorn chesnut.” The same variety, Fée says, that is found

in the vicinity of Perigueux, small, nearly round, and without any

particular flavour.

[1978] The Ganebelone chesnut of Perigueux, Fée says, answers to this

description.

[1979] On account of the prickles on the outer shell.

[1980] B. xvii. c. 26.

[1981] Fée says that the royal white chesnut of the vicinity of

Perigueux answers to this.

[1982] “Boiling” chesnuts.

[1983] He alludes to wild or horse chesnuts, probably.

[1984] See B. xiii. c. 16.

[1985] This skin is not eatable. It is fibrous and astringent.

[1986] In B. xvi. c. 6.

[1987] “Acinis.” The grape, ivy-berry, elder-berry, and others.

[1988] “Inter cutem succumque.”

[1989] Baccis. Some confusion is created by the non-existence of

English words to denote the difference between “acinus” and “bacca.”

The latter is properly the “berry;” the grape being the type of the

“acinus.”

[1990] See B. xvi. c. 41. The mulberry is the Morus nigra of modern

naturalists. It is generally thought that this was the only variety

known to the ancients; but Fée queries, from the story of Pyramus and

Thisbe, which represents the mulberry as changing from white to blood

colour, that the white mulberry was not unknown to them; but through

some cause, now unknown, was gradually lost sight of.

[1991] This is still the case with the mulberry.

[1992] See B. xvi. c. 71, and B. xxiv. c. 73. He alludes to the

blackberry.

[1993] The common strawberry, the Fragaria vesca of Linnæus. See B.

xxi. c. 50. A native of the Alps and the forests of Gaul, it was

unknown to the Greeks.

[1994] The Arbutus unedo of Linnæus. It is one of the ericaceous

trees, and its fruit bears a considerable resemblance to the

strawberry—otherwise there is not the slightest affinity between

them. The taste of the arbute is poor indeed, compared to that of the

strawberry.

[1995] He suggests that it is so called from “unum edo,” “I eat but

one;” a rather fanciful etymology, it would seem.

[1996] This supposition is not warranted, from merely the fact of there

being two names.

[1997] See B. xvi. c. 52.

[1998] See B. xxiv. c. 35.

[1999] See B. xiii. c. 34.

[2000] “Baccis.” Berries, properly so called.

[2001] The Celtis Australis of Linnæus.

[2002] Supposed by some to be the holly. See B. xxv. c. 72.

[2003] He alludes to a variety of the cratægus.

[2004] The Cerasus vulgaris of modern botanists. It is said to have

obtained its name from Cerasus, in Asia Minor, where Lucullus found it.

[2005] He must allude to what he has stated in B. xii. c. 3, for he has

nowhere said that the cherry will not grow in Egypt. It is said that

the cherry is not to be found in Egypt at the present day.

[2006] The griotte cherry of the French, the mazzard of the English.

[2007] A variety of the mazzard, Fée thinks.

[2008] Some take this for the Cerasus Juliana, the guignier of the

French, our white heart; others, again, for the merisier, our morello.

[2009] It is most generally thought that this is the Cerasus avium of

botanists, our morello, which is a very tender cherry.

[2010] Or “hard berry,” the Prunus bigarella of Linnæus, the red

bigaroon.

[2011] Fée queries whether it may not have received its name of

“Pliniana” in compliment to our author, or one of his family.

[2012] Hardouin thinks that this Portuguese cherry is the griotte, or

mazzard.

[2013] No such cherry is known at the present day.

[2014] Such a graft is impossible; the laurel-cherry must have had some

other origin.

[2015] Fée suggests that this may be the early dwarf cherry.

[2016] Or “ground-cherry;” a dwarf variety, if, indeed, it was a

cherry-tree at all, of which Fée expresses some doubt.

[2017] This explains, Fée says, why it will not grow in Egypt.

[2018] The Cornus mas of Linnæus. The fruit of the cornel has a tart

flavour, but is not eaten in modern Europe, except by school-boys.

[2019] That produces mastich. See B. xii. c. 36.

[2020] He alludes more especially, perhaps, to the use of cicuta or

hemlock by drunkards, who looked upon it as an antidote to the effects

of wine. See B. xiv. c. 7.

[2021] Fée remarks, that in this enumeration there is no method.

Linnæus enumerates eleven principal flavours in the vegetable

kingdom—dry or insipid, aqueous, viscous, salt, acrid, styptic, sweet,

fat, bitter, acid, and nauseous; these terms, however seem, some of

them, to be very indefinite.

[2022] It requires considerable discernment to appropriate nicely its

English synonym to these four varieties of tastes, “acer, acutus,

acerbus, and acidus,” more especially when we find that the “bitter”

and the “rough” are occupied already by the “amarus” and the “austerus.”

[2023] In allusion, probably, to the pungency of the aroma or bouquet.

[2024] Lenitate.

[2025] This seems to be the meaning of “succus.”

[2026] The “insipid.”

[2027] This is so much the case, that the most nauseous medicine may

be taken almost with impunity—so far as taste is concerned—by tightly

pressing the nostrils while taking it.

[2028] Fée remarks that this is true of fire, and of distilled or

perfectly pure water; but that physiologists are universally agreed

that the air has its own peculiar smell.

[2029] All fruits that are rich in sugar and amidine, Fée says, either

have, or acquire in time, a vinous flavour, by the development of a

certain quantity of alcohol.

[2030] In the fruit with a fixed oil, this principle succeeds, when

they are ripe, to the mucilaginous.

[2031] He must mean a thinner juice, though still sweet.

[2032] About the peduncle or stalk of the fig. The juice here, Fée

says, is a real sugar, of the same nature as that which circulates

throughout the whole fruit: the juice in the interior of which is

produced by another order of vessels.

[2033] The juice is only foamy when the vinous fermentation is

established. It has that appearance, however, when the fruit is bitten

with the teeth.

[2034] The “hard-berry,” or nectarine.

[2035] In the sense of aromatic, or penetrating.

[2036] He probably means those of a luscious or sirupy nature, without

any acidity whatever.

[2037] He seems to mean that the thick, luscious wines require longer

keeping, before they will gain any aroma at all. This would be done,

probably, at the expense of their sweetness.

[2038] Or he may mean, that a fine flavour and a fine smell cannot

co-exist.

[2039] The reading here should be “acutissimus,” probably, instead of

“acerrimus.” The odour exists in the rind of the citron and in the

outer coat of the quince; if these are removed, the fruit becomes

inodorous.

[2040] “Tenuis.” He may possibly mean “faint.”

[2041] The fruit of the ben, or myrobalanus, the Balanites Ægyptiaca.

See B. xiii. cc. 17 and 19.

[2042] Vitium.

[2043] Hard-berry or nectarine. See c. 11.

[2044] Lignum: literally, “wood.” “There is no wood, either within

or without.” He has one universal name for what we call shell, seed,

stones, pips, grains, &c.

[2045] The “spado,” or “eunuch” date. See B. xiii. c. 8.

[2046] See B. xiii. c. 17. The fruit of the ben is alluded to, but, as

Fée observes, Pliny is wrong in calling it an almond, as it is a pulpy

fruit.

[2047] The Nymphæa nelumbo of Linnæus.

[2048] Or shell, which, as Fée remarks, participates but very little in

the properties of the flesh.

[2049] Or “honey” apple; see c. 15 of this Book.

[2050] Or “Carian” fig. See c. 19 of this Book.

[2051] See B. xiii. c. 11.

[2052] See B. xiii. c. 42, and B. xx. cc. 9 and 23.

[2053] See B. xiii. c. 26, and B. xxiv. c. 66.

[2054] See B. xiii. c. 22. Fée remarks that it is singular how the

ancients could eat the branches of the fig-tree, the juice being

actually a poison.

[2055] See B. xiii. c. 44.

[2056] See c. 26 of this Book.

[2057] He is wrong: the same is the case with the berries of the

laurel, and, indeed, many other kinds of berries.

[2058] See c. 7 of this Book.

[2059] See B. xiv. c. 9.

[2060] See B. xii. c. 14.

[2061] A kind of sausage, seasoned with myrtle. See also B. xxvii c. 49.

[2062] He means the Acroceraunian chain in Epirus, mentioned in B. iii.

[2063] See B. iii. c. 9.

[2064] He was one of the companions of Ulysses, fabled by Homer and

Ovid to have been transformed by Circe into a swine.

[2065] Μυρσίνη was its Greek name.

[2066] See B. xxv. c. 59.

[2067] See B. xii. c. 2. Ovid, Fasti, B. iv. l. 15, _et seq._, says

that Venus concealed herself from the gaze of the Satyrs behind this

tree.

[2068] Either this story is untrue, or we have a right to suspect that

some underhand agency was employed for the purpose of imposing on the

superstitious credulity of the Roman people.

[2069] Or Social War. See B. ii c. 85.

[2070] Near the altar of Consus, close to the meta of the Circus.

[2071] De Re Rust. c. 8.

[2072] The so-called wild myrtle does not in reality belong to the

genus Myrtus.

[2073] See B. xxiii. c. 83; the Ruscus aculeatus of the family of the

Asparagea.

[2074] The common myrtle, Myrtus communis of the naturalists.

[2075] Or Roman myrtle, a variety of the Myrtus communis.

[2076] The “six row” myrtle. Fée thinks that it belongs to the Myrtus

angustifolia Bœtica of Bauhin.

[2077] De Re Rust. 125.

[2078] See B. xxiii. c. 81.

[2079] A new proof, as Fée remarks, that the ancients had peculiar

notions of their own, as to the flavour of wine; myrtle berries, he

says, would impart to wine a detestable aromatic flavour.

[2080] “Saccis:” the strainer being made of cloth. See B. xiv. c. 28.

[2081] They would be of no assistance whatever, and this statement is

entirely fictitious.

[2082] He may possibly mean hernia.

[2083] In addition to all those particulars, he might have stated that

the Lares, or household gods, were crowned with myrtle, and that it was

not allowed to enter the Temple of Bona Dea.

[2084] A.U.C. 251.

[2085] See the Notes to c. 35 of this Book.

[2086] Because the enemy would be less likely to envy us a bloodless

triumph.

[2087] He disdained the more humble myrtle crown, and intrigued

successfully with the Senate to allow him to wear a wreath of laurel.

[2088] The Senate refused him a triumph; and he accordingly celebrated

one on the Alban Mount, B.C. 231. Paulus Diaconus says that his reason

for wearing a myrtle crown was his victory over the Corsicans on the

Myrtle Plains, though where they were, or what victory is alluded to,

is not known.

[2089] The brother of Valerius Publicola.

[2090] We learn from two passages in Ovid that the laurel was suspended

over the gates of the emperors. This, as Fée remarks, was done for two

reasons: because it was looked upon as a protection against lightning,

and because it was considered an emblem of immortality.

[2091] De Re Rust. 133.

[2092] Or “laurel of Apollo:” it was into this tree that Daphne was

fabled to have been changed. See Ovid’s Met. B. i. l. 557, _et seq._

[2093] Cato, De Re Rust. c. 121, tells us that this cake was made of

fine wheat, must, anise, cummin, suet, cheese, and scraped laurel

sprigs. Laurel leaves were placed under it when baked. This mixture was

considered a light food, good for the stomach!

[2094] At the Pythian Games celebrated there.

[2095] Meaning that it curves at the edge, something like a pent-house.

[2096] Or tine tree, the Viburnum tinus of Linnæus, one of the

caprifolia. It is not reckoned as one of the laurels, though it has

many of the same characteristics.

[2097] Regia.

[2098] The barren laurel of the triumphs was the Laurus nobilis of

Linnæus, which has only male flowers.

[2099] The Laurus vulgaris folio undulato of the Parisian _Hortus_, Fée

says.

[2100] Not a laurel, nor yet a dicotyledon, Fée says, but one of the

Asparagea, probably the Ruscus hypoglossum of Linnæus, sometimes known,

however, as the Alexandrian laurel.

[2101] Or “eunuch” laurel; a variety, probably, of the Laurus nobilis.

[2102] The “ground laurel:” according to Sprengel, this is the Ruscus

racemosus of Linnæus. See B. xxiv. c. 81.

[2103] From Alexandria in Troas: the Ruscus hypophyllum of Linnæus, it

is supposed.

[2104] “The tongue below.” This, Fée justly says, would appear to be a

more appropriate name for the taxa, mentioned above.

[2105] From the berry being attached to the leaf.

[2106] “The thrower out from below,” perhaps.

[2107] Sprengel thinks that it is the Clematis vitalba of Linnæus.

Fuchsius identities it with the Daphne laureola of Linnæus; and Fée

thinks it may be either that or the Daphne mezereum of Linnæus.

[2108] “Crown of Alexander.”

[2109] Curiously enough, it is generally considered now more suggestive

of war than of peace.

[2110] The despatches were wrapped in laurel leaves.

[2111] Optimus Maximus.

[2112] L. Junius Brutus, the nephew of Tarquin. Pliny alludes to the

message sent to Delphi, for the purpose of consulting the oracle on a

serpent being seen in the royal palace.

[2113] He alludes to the circumstance of the priestess being asked who

should reign at Rome after Tarquin; upon which she answered, “He who

first kisses his mother;” on which Brutus, the supposed idiot, stumbled

to the ground, and kissed the earth, the mother of all.

[2114] A mere absurdity; the same has been said of the beech, and with

equal veracity.

[2115] He makes a distinction between “altar” and “ara” here. The

former was the altar of the superior Divinities, the latter of the

superior and inferior as well.

[2116] The crackling of the laurel is caused by efforts of the

essential oil to escape from the parenchyma or cellular tissue of the

leaf, which it breaks with considerable violence when burning.

[2117] Nervorum. See B. xxiii. c. 80.

[2118] Suetonius, c. 66, confirms this. Fée says that the same

superstition still exists in some parts of France. See B. ii. c. 56.

[2119] “The Poultry.”

[2120] See c. 39 of this Book.

[2121] See B. xxxi. c. 3. As Poinsinet remarks, this is not strictly

true; the name “Vinucius” most probably came from “vinea,” a vineyard.

Numerous names were derived also from seeds and vegetables; Piso,

Cicero, and Lactuca, for instance, among a host of others. “Scipio,”

too, means a “walking-stick.”

[2122] The “laurel-grove.”

[2123] See B. xvii. c. 11.

[2124] See end of B. viii.

[2125] See end of B. ii.

[2126] See end of B. vii.

[2127] See end of B. iii.

[2128] See end of B. vii.

[2129] See end of B. iii.

[2130] See end of B. x.

[2131] See end of B. xi.

[2132] See end of B. ii.

[2133] See end of B. xiv.

[2134] See end of B. x.

[2135] See end of B. vii.

[2136] See end of B. iii.

[2137] See end of B. iii.

[2138] See end of B. xiv.

[2139] See end of B. xiv.

[2140] See end of B. viii.

[2141] See end of B. vii.

[2142] See end of B. xiv.

[2143] See end of B. xiv.

[2144] See end of B. ii.

[2145] See end of B. xiv.

[2146] See end of B. xiv.

[2147] See end of B. xii.

[2148] See end of B. xiv.

[2149] See end of B. xiv.

[2150] See end of B. xiv.

[2151] See end of B. iii.

[2152] See end of B. xii.

[2153] See end of B. xiv.

[2154] See end of B. ii.

[2155] See end of B. ii.

[2156] See end of B. viii.

[2157] See end of B. viii.

[2158] See end of B. viii.

[2159] See end of B. iv.

[2160] See end of B. viii.

[2161] See end of B. viii.

[2162] See end of B. viii.

[2163] See end of B. viii.

[2164] See end of B. viii.

[2165] See end of B. viii.

[2166] See end of B. viii.

[2167] See end of B. viii.

[2168] See end of B. viii.

[2169] See end of B. vi.

[2170] See end of B. viii.

[2171] See end of B. xiv.

[2172] He is mentioned also by Varro and Columella, as a writer upon

agriculture; but all further particulars of him are unknown.

[2173] See end of B. viii.

[2174] See end of B. ii.

[2175] See end of B. x.

[2176] See end of B. viii.

[2177] See end of B. viii.

[2178] See end of B. viii.

[2179] See end of B. viii.

[2180] See end of B. xii.

[2181] See end of B. viii.

[2182] See end of B. viii.

[2183] See end of B. vii.

[2184] See end of B. xi.

[2185] Beyond what Pliny here says, nothing is known of him.

[2186] See end of B. xi.

[2187] A physician who lived probably at the end of the first century

B.C. He was a disciple of Erasistratus, and founded a medical school

at Smyrna. He is quoted by Athenæus, and in B. xxvii. c. 14, Pliny

calls him “a physician of no small authority.” He seems to have been a

voluminous writer; but none of his works have survived.

[2188] See end of B. xi.

[2189] See end of B. ii.

[2190] See end of B. v.

[2191] The methods of grafting and inoculation.

[2192] B. xiii. c. 50. They dwelt between the Ems and the Elbe.

[2193] See B. iv. c. 29.

[2194] “Ulvâ.” This appears to be a general name for all kinds of

aquatic fresh-water plants; as “alga” is that of the various sea-weeds.

[2195] He alludes to turf for firing; the Humus turfa of the

naturalists.

[2196] Of course this applies only to those who dwelt near the

sea-shore, and not those more inland.

[2197] Guichardin remarks, that Pliny does not here bear in mind the

sweets of liberty.

[2198] So Laberius says, “Fortuna multis parcere in pœnam solet;”

“Fortune is the saving of many, when she means to punish them.”

[2199] He alludes to the vicinity of the Zuyder Zee. See B. iv. c. 29.

The spots where these forests once stood are now cultivated plains,

covered with villages and other works of the industry of man.

[2200] “Quercus.” We shall see, in the course of this Book, that its

identity has not been satisfactorily established.

[2201] See B. iv. c. 28, and the Note, Vol. i. p. 348. The village of

Hercingen, near Waldsee, is supposed to retain the ancient name.

[2202] “Robora.” It will be seen in this Book that the robur has not

been identified, any more than the quercus.

[2203] Fée treats this story as utterly fabulous. The branches of the

Ficus Indica grow downwards, and so form arcades certainly; but such is

not the case with any European tree.

[2204] Not only oaks, but a variety of other trees, were included under

this name by the ancients; the “glans” embracing not only the acorn,

but the mast of the beech, and the hard fruits of other trees

[2205] He alludes to the crown of oak-leaves, which was suspended on

the gates before the palace of the emperors. A civic crown had been

voted by the senate to Julius Cæsar, on the ground of having saved his

country.

[2206] Given to the first man who scaled the wall of a besieged place.

It was made of gold, and decorated with turrets.

[2207] Given to the first soldier who surmounted the vallum or

entrenchments. It was made of gold, and ornamented with “valli,” or

palisades.

[2208] One of the varieties of the triumphal crown was the “corona

aurea,” or “golden crown.”

[2209] Made of gold, and decorated with the “rostra,” or “beaks” of

ships.

[2210] See B. vii. c. 31.

[2211] The orator’s stage in the Forum was decorated with the “rostra,”

or “beaks” of the ships of the Antiates; hence it received the name of

“Rostrum.” The locality of the Rostra was changed by Julius Cæsar.

[2212] Alluding to the prostitution of the Rostra by the tribunes and

others for the purposes of sedition, and the presentation by Augustus

of the rostrate crown to Agrippa.

[2213] Which was suspended, as already mentioned, at the gate of his

palace.

[2214] Athenæus and Fabius Pictor say that Janus was the first wearer

of a crown; Pherecydes says it was Saturn, Diodorus Siculus Jupiter,

and Leo Ægyptiacus Isis, who wore one of wheat.

[2215] Il. xiii, 736.

[2216] See cc. 34 and 35 of the present Book.

[2217] The Olympian, Pythian, Isthmian, and Nemæan games.

[2218] See B. vii. c. 27.

[2219] He is called Tullus Hostilius by Dionysius of Halicarnassus, the

same as his grandson.

[2220] A.U.C. 411. The leaves of the holm-oak were employed by Romulus

on the occasion above-mentioned.

[2221] These varieties of the oak will be considered in the next

chapter.

[2222] At the Olympic games celebrated in honour of Jupiter. At Olympia

there was a statue of that god, one of the master-pieces of Phidias.

[2223] Implying thereby, that the city that could produce a man who

could so distinguish himself, stood in no need of walls.

[2224] In the Circus.

[2225] In B. vii. c. 29.

[2226] B. vii. c. 29.

[2227] Livy says eight. He saved the life of Servilius, the Master of

the Horse.

[2228] “Glandes.” Under this name, for which we do not appear to have

any English equivalent, were included, as already mentioned, not only

the acorn of the oak, but the nut or mast of the beech, and probably

most of the hard or kernel fruits. In the present instance Pliny

probably alludes only to the fruit of the oak and the beech. Acorns are

but little used as an article of food in these days. Roasted, they have

been proposed as a substitute for coffee.

[2229] The acorn of the Quercus ballota of Linnæus is probably

meant, which is still much used in the province of Salamanca, and

forms an agreeable article of food. This acorn, Fée says, contains a

considerable proportion of saccharine matter, and is better roasted in

the ashes than boiled in water. It is not, however, used as a dessert,

as in the time of the Romans. These acorns are sold at market in

Andalusia in the month of October.

[2230] So far as it goes, the kernel of the mast or beech-nut is not

unpalatable; but in the English beech it is very diminutive.

[2231] The word “quercus” is frequently used as a general name for the

oak; but throughout the present Book it is most employed as meaning a

distinct variety of the oak, one of the larger kinds, Fée says, and

answering to the Quercus racemosa of Lamarck, the Quercus robur of

Linnæus, and the Rouvre of the French.

[2232] This also has been much employed as a general name for the

oak; but here, and in other parts of this Book, it is applied to one

variety. Fée thinks that it answers to the Quercus sessiliflora of

Smith, sometimes also called “rouvre” by the French.

[2233] The Quercus æsculus of Linnæus. It is not improbable that this

oak is a different tree from the “Æsculus” of Horace and Virgil, which

was perhaps either a walnut, or a variety of the beech.

[2234] It has been suggested that this is the same with the Quercus

cerrus of Linnæus, and the Quercus crinita of Lamarck, the gland of

which is placed in a prickly cupule. It is rarely found in France, but

is often to be met with in Piedmont and the Apennines.

[2235] The Fagus silvatica of Lamarck. Its Latin name, “fagus,” is

supposed to have been derived from the Greek φάγω, “to eat.” An oil is

extracted from the acorns or nuts, that is much used in some parts of

France.

[2236] He speaks probably of one of the galls which are found attached

to the leaves of the forest trees.

[2237] “Ilex.” Fée thinks that the varieties known as the Prinos and

the Ballota were often confounded by the ancients with the “ilex” or

“holm-oak.” This tree, he says, bears no resemblance to the ordinary

oak, except in the blossoms and the fruit. It is the Ilex of Linnæus,

the “yeuse,” or “green oak,” of the French.

[2238] The Quercus suber of Linnæus; it is found more particularly in

the department of the Landes in France.

[2239] As Fée remarks, Pliny is clearly in error here; one kind being

the veritable ilex or holm oak, the other, the aquifolium or holly,

quite a different tree.

[2240] The smilax or milax was a real holm oak, but the aquifolia was

the holly.

[2241] Od. xi. 242. Fée remarks that the berry of the holly has no

resemblance to the acorn whatever, and he says that this statement of

Pliny almost leads him to think that the second variety here mentioned

by him was not in reality the holly, but a variety of the quercus.

[2242] Fée observes that, properly speaking, there is no sex in the

oak, the individuals being neither male nor female. The Flora Danica

however, as he observes, gives the name of “Quercus fœmina” to the

Quercus racemosa of Lamarck.

[2243] Or “broad-leaved” oak; one of the varieties of the Quercus

sessiliflora of Smith—_Flor. Brit._

[2244] This statement is contrary to general experience in modern

times, the flavour of the acorn being uniformly acrid and bitter

throughout. It is not impossible, however, that the flavour may have

been more palatable in ancient times.

[2245] A variety of the common oak, the Quercus racemosa of Lamarck;

Sprengel takes it to be the Quercus ballota of Desfontaines.

[2246] The Quercus ægilops of Linnæus. It is a native of Piedmont, some

parts of Italy, and the island of Crete.

[2247] Pliny’s account of making charcoal is derived from Theophrastus,

B. iii. c. 10. Fée remarks that it differs little from the method

adopted in France at the present day.

[2248] The Quercus Hispanica, probably, of Lamarck, of which Fée thinks

the Quercus pseudo-suber of Desfontaines is a variety; it is found in

Greece and on the shores of the Mediterranean, near Gibraltar. The

Greek name signifies the “sea cork-tree.”

[2249] The statement here given as to the effect of beech-mast on

swine, is destitute, Fée remarks, of all foundation. If fed upon it,

their flesh will naturally be of a soft, spongy nature.

[2250] This assertion is perhaps too general; gall-nuts are produced in

very small quantities by the holm-oak.

[2251] A variety of the Quercus racemosa, which produces the green

gall-nut of Aleppo, considered in modern, as in ancient, times the

choicest in quality.

[2252] Theophrastus says the end of June.

[2253] Its growth, in reality, is not so rapid as this.

[2254] Such a thing is never seen at the present day.

[2255] In Syria, we have mentioned the galls of Aleppo in Note [2251].

[2256] This is the case when the inside has been eaten away by the

insect that breeds there; of course, in such case it is hollow, light,

and worthless.

[2257] The ancients were not aware that the gall was produced from the

eggs of the cynips, deposited upon the leaf or bark of the tree. Tan

and gallic acid are its principal component parts.

[2258] A substance quite unknown now; but it is very doubtful if Pliny

is rightly informed here.

[2259] A fungous gall, produced by the Cynips fungosa. It is not used

for any domestic purpose at the present day.

[2260] This kind of gall is now unknown. Fée questions the assertion

about its juice.

[2261] The Cynips quercus baccarum of Linnæus, one of the common galls.

[2262] The root cynips, the Cynips radicum of Fourcroi, produces these

galls, which lie near the root, and have the appearance of ligneous

nodosities. It is harder than wood, and contains cells, in which the

larva of the insect lies coiled up.

[2263] This is a proof, as Fée remarks, that the ancients had observed

the existence of the cynips; though, at the same time, it is equally

evident that they did not know the important part it acts in the

formation of the gall.

[2264] This word, as employed by Theophrastus, means a catkin, the

Julus amentum of the botanists; but it is doubtful if Pliny attaches

this meaning to the word, as the lime or linden-tree has no catkin, but

an inflorescence of a different character. It is not improbable that,

under this name, he alludes to some excrescence.

[2265] These were the “boletus” and the “suillus” the last of which

seem only to have been recently introduced at table in the time of

Pliny. See B. xxii. c. 47.

[2266] He alludes clearly to fungi of radically different qualities,

as the nature of the trees beneath which they grow cannot possibly

influence them, any further than by the various proportions of shade

they afford. The soil, however, exercises great influence on the

quality of the fungus; growing upon a hill, it may be innoxious, while

in a wet soil it may be productive of death.

[2267] See cc. 93, 94, and 95, of this Book.

[2268] Works and Days, l. 230.

[2269] Pliny seems to have here taken in a literal sense, what has been

said figuratively by Virgil, Ecl. iv. l. 26:

“Et duræ quercus sudabunt roscida mella;”

and by Ovid, in relation to the Golden Age, Met. i. 113:

“Flavaque de viridi stillabant ilice mella.”

Fée remarks, that we find on the leaf of the lime-tree a thin, sugary

deposit, left by insects, and that a species of manna exudes from the

Coniferæ, as also the bark of the beech. This, however, is never the

case with the oak.

[2270] B. xi. c. 12.

[2271] By this word, Fée observes, we must not understand the word

“nitre,” in the modern sense, but the sub-carbonate of potash;

while the ashes of trees growing on the shores of the sea produce a

sub-carbonate of soda.

[2272] “Coccus.” This is not a gall, but the distended body of an

insect, the kermes, which grows on a peculiar oak, the “Quercus

coccifera,” found in the south of Europe.

[2273] We have previously mentioned, that he seems to have confounded

the holly with the holm oak.

[2274] Poinsinet, rather absurdly, as it would appear, finds in this

word the origin of our word “cochineal.”

[2275] The kermes berry is but little used in Spain, or, indeed,

anywhere else, since the discovery of the cochineal of America.

[2276] B. ix. c. 65.

[2277] Not the white agaric, Fée says, of modern pharmacy; but, as

no kind of agaric is found in the oak, it does not seem possible to

identify it. See B. xxv. c. 57.

[2278] It is evident that no fungus would give out phosphoric light;

but it may have resulted from old wood in a state of decomposition.

[2279] It is pretty clear that one of the lichens of the genus _usnea_

is here referred to. Amadue, or German tinder, seems somewhat similar.

[2280] B. xii. c. 50.

[2281] On the contrary, Fée says, the acorn of the Quercus suber is of

a sweet and agreeable flavour, and is much sought as a food for pigs.

The hams of Bayonne are said to owe their high reputation to the acorns

of the cork-tree.

[2282] The word “cork” is clearly derived from the Latin “cortex,”

“bark.” See Beckmann’s History of Inventions, V. i. p. 320, _et seq._,

_Bohn’s Edition_, for a very interesting account of this tree.

[2283] This passage, the meaning of which is so obvious, is discussed

at some length by Beckmann, Vol. i. pp. 321, 322.

[2284] It is still employed for making soles which are impervious to

the wet.

[2285] It is doubtful whether this name was given to the shoes, or the

females who wore them, and we have therefore preserved the doubt, in

the ambiguous “them.” Beckmann also discusses this passage, p. 321. He

informs us, p. 322, that the Roman ladies who wished to appear taller

than they really were, were in the habit of putting plenty of cork

under their soles.

[2286] At the present day, it grows in the greatest abundance in

France, the Landes more particularly.

[2287] This is still the case in some of the poorer provinces of Spain.

[2288] As Fée remarks, Mars is no longer the Divinity in honour of whom

characters are traced on the bark of trees.

[2289] On the contrary. Fée says, the resinous woods are the most proof

of all against the action of the air.

[2290] Festus says that the Fagutal, a shrine of Jupiter, was so called

from a beech tree (fagus) that stood there, and was sacred to that god.

[2291] Or osier.

[2292] Or “plantation of the æsculus.”

[2293] A.U.C. 367.

[2294] Fée regards this as an extremely doubtful assertion.

[2295] The Pinus pinea of Linnæus, the cultivated pine.

[2296] The Pinus silvestris of Linnæus, the wild pine; the Pinus

maritima of Lamarck is a variety of it.

[2297] B. xv. c. 9.

[2298] In c. 23 of this Book.

[2299] A variety of the Pinus silvestris of Linnæus.

[2300] “Liburnicæ.” See B. ix. cc. 5 and 48.

[2301] The Abies excelsa of Decandolle—the _Pesse_ or _Faux sapin_

(false fir) of the French. This tree, however, has not the pectinated,

or comb-like leaf, mentioned by Pliny in c. 38.

[2302] It is still known in commerce as “false incense;” and is often

sold as incense for the rites of the Roman church: while sometimes it

is purposely employed, as being cheaper.

[2303] A great street in Capua, which consisted entirely of the shops

of sellers of unguents and perfumes.

[2304] It has the same pyramidal form as the pitch-tree. It is still

much used in ship-building, both for its resinous and durable qualities

and the lightness of the wood.

[2305] The presence of resin is _not_ looked upon as any defect in

the fir at the present day. It produces what is known in commerce as

“Strasbourg turpentine.”

[2306] The Abies larix of Linnæus, and the Larix Europæa, it is

thought, of Decandolles.

[2307] It is the Venice turpentine of commerce. Each tree will furnish

seven or eight pounds each year for half a century.

[2308] It is doubtful if the tæda, or torch-tree, has been identified.

Some take it to be the Pinus mugho of Miller, the torch-pine of the

French; others, again, suggest that it is the same as the Pinus cembro

of the botanists.

[2309] So called from its resemblance to a fig. Fée says that there is

little doubt that this pretended fruit was merely a resinous secretion,

which hardens and assumes the form of a fig.

[2310] He somewhat mistranslates a passage of Theophrastus here, who,

without transforming the larch into another tree, says that it is a

sign of disease in the larch, when its secretions are augmented to such

a degree that it seems to turn itself into resin.

[2311] The lamp-black of commerce is made from the soot of the pine.

[2312] This statement, though supported by that of Vitruvius, B. ii. c.

9, is quite erroneous. The wood of the larch gives out more heat than

that of the fir, and produces more live coal in proportion.

[2313] This, Fée remarks, is the fact.

[2314] This description is inexact, and we should have some difficulty

in recognizing here the larch as known to us.

[2315] Pliny is in error here, there being no distinction of sex in

the coniferous trees. All that he relates relative to the differences

between the male and female pine is consequently false. He has,

however, in this instance, only perpetuated an erroneous opinion of

Theophrastus.

[2316] This is an erroneous statement. The larch has its cone, as well

as the rest. It is possible, however, that its small size may have

caused it to be overlooked by Pliny.

[2317] Or “louse-bearing.” As Fée says, it is difficult to see the

analogy.

[2318] The Taxus baccata of Linnæus. The account here given is in

general very correct.

[2319] It is supposed that Pliny derives this notion as to the yew

berry from Julius Cæsar, who says that “Cativulcus killed himself with

the yew, a tree which grows in great abundance in Gaul and Germany.”

It is, however, now known that the berry is quite innocuous; but the

leaves and shoots are destructive of animal life.

[2320] “Viatoria;” probably not unlike our travelling flasks and

pocket-pistols. This statement made by Pliny is not at all improbable.

[2321] This statement does not deserve a serious contradiction.

[2322] It is not improbable, however, that τόξον, an “arrow,” is of

older date than “taxus,” as signifying the name of the yew.

[2323] Numerous varieties of the coniferæ supply us with tar, and Pliny

is in error in deriving it solely from the torch-tree, the Pinus mugho

of Linnæus.

[2324] See B. xxiv. c. 23.

[2325] It is still obtained in a similar way.

[2326] Fée remarks, that Pliny is in error here; this red, watery

fluid formed in the extraction of tars, being quite a different thing

from “cedrium,” the _alkitran_ or _kitran_ of the Arabs; which is not

improbably made from a cedar, or perhaps the Juniperus Phœnicea, called

“Cedrus” by the two Bauhins and Tournefort. He says that it is not

likely that the Egyptians would use this red substance for the purpose

of preserving the dead, charged as it is with empyreumatic oil, and

destitute of all properties peculiar to resins.

[2327] See B. xxi. c. 3, and B. xxiv. c. 23.

[2328] This is impracticable; neither vinegar, wine, nor water, will

mingle with pitch. These resins, however, if stirred up briskly in hot

water, become of a paler colour, and acquire an additional suppleness.

[2329] Perhaps so called from Calabria, a country where the pine

abounded, and part of which was called Bruttium.

[2330] Or wine-vats.

[2331] See c. 8 of the present Book.

[2332] Stillaticia.

[2333] See B. xiv. c. 25.

[2334] This operation removes from the pitch a great portion of its

essential oil, and disengages it of any extraneous bodies that may have

been mixed with it.

[2335] Fée remarks that there is no necessity for this selection,

though no doubt rain-water is superior to spring or cistern water, for

some purposes, from its holding no terreous salts in solution.

[2336] This would colour the resin more strongly, Fée says, and give it

a greater degree of friability.

[2337] See B. xxxiv. c. 20.

[2338] See B. xiv. c. 25, and B. xxiv. c. 22.

[2339] “Sartago.” Generally understood to be the same as our

frying-pan. Fée remarks that this method would most inevitably cause

the mass infusion to ignite; and should such not be the case, a

coloured resin would be the result, coloured with a large quantity

of carbon, and destitute of all the essential oil that the resin

originally contained.

[2340] See B. xiv. c. 20.

[2341] The terebinthine of the mastich, Fée says, is an oleo-resin, or

in other words, composed of an essential oil and a resin.

[2342] Apparently meaning “boiled pitch.”

[2343] See B. xxiv. c. 26.

[2344] This account has been borrowed from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant.

B ix. c. ii. The modern method of extracting the resin of the pine is

very similar.

[2345] There is no foundation whatever for this statement.

[2346] The pith of the pine cannot be separated from the wood, and,

indeed, is not easily distinguished from it. Fée says that in some

of these trees masses of resin are found in the cavities which run

longitudinally with the fibres, and queries whether this may not be the

“marrow” or “pith” of the tree mentioned by Pliny.

[2347] As a torch or candle, probably.

[2348] This division of the larch into sexes, as previously mentioned,

is only fanciful, and has no foundation in fact. The result of this

operation, Fée says, would be only a sort of tar.

[2349] See B. xxxv. c. 51. He alludes to the bitumen known as asphalt,

bitumen of Judæa, mineral pitch, mountain pitch, malthe, pissalphate.

[2350] These particulars, borrowed from Theophrastus, are in general

correct.

[2351] This is not the fact; the essential oil in which the resin so

greatly abounds, becomes volatile with remarkable facility.

[2352] Most probably one of the varieties of the pine; but the mode in

which Pliny expresses himself renders it impossible to identify it with

any precision.

[2353] B. xv. c. 9.

[2354] The name borne also by the torch-tree.

[2355] See c. 76 of this Book.

[2356] He does not speak in this place of the “ornus” or “mountain

ash;” nor, as Fée observes, does he mention the use of the bark of the

ash as a febrifuge, or of its leaves as a purgative. This ash is the

Fraxinus excelsior of Decandolles.

[2357] Il. xxiv. 277.

[2358] Pliny makes a mistake here, in copying from Theophrastus, who

says that it is the yew that bears so strong a resemblance to the cedar.

[2359] Or “bull’s-ash.” This variety does not seem to have been

identified.

[2360] This statement results from his misinterpretation of the

language of Theophrastus, who is really speaking of the yew, which

Pliny mistakes for the ash.

[2361] Miller asserts that, if given to cows, this leaf will impart

a bad flavour to the milk; a statement which; Fée says, is quite

incorrect.

[2362] A merely fanciful notion, without apparently the slightest

foundation: the same, too, may be said of the alleged antipathy of the

serpent to the beech-tree, which is neither venomous nor odoriferous.

[2363] This story of Pliny has been corroborated by M. de Verone, and

as strongly contradicted by Camerarius and Charras: with M. Fée, then,

we must leave it to the reader to judge which is the most likely to

be speaking the truth. It is not improbable that Pliny may have been

imposed upon, as his credulity would not at all times preclude him from

being duped.

[2364] There is no such distinction in the linden or lime, as the

flowers are hermaphroditical. They are merely two varieties: the male

of Pliny being the Tilia microphylla of Decandolles, and a variety

of the Tilia Europæa of Linnæus; and the female being the Tilia

platyphyllos, another variety of the Tilia Europæa of Linnæus.

[2365] Not at all singular, Fée says, the fruit being dry and insipid.

[2366] In France these cords are still made, and are used for

well-ropes, wheat-sheafs, &c. In the north of France, too, brooms are

made of the outer bark, and the same is the case in Westphalia.

[2367] See B. xxi. c. 4. Ovid, Fasti, B. v. l. 337, speaks of the

revellers at drunken banquets binding their hair with the philyra.

[2368] “Teredo.” If he means under this name to include the tinea as

well, the assertion is far too general, as this wood is eaten away

by insects, though more slowly than the majority of the non-resinous

woods. It is sometimes perforated quite through by the larvæ of the

byrrhus, our death-watch.

[2369] This is incorrect. It attains a very considerable height, and

sometimes an enormous size. The trunk is known to grow to as much as

forty or fifty feet in circumference.

[2370] The maple is much less in size than what the lime or linden

really is.

[2371] See B. xiii. c. 29.

[2372] Fée says there are but five varieties of the maple known in

France. He doubts whether the common maple, the Acer campestre of

Linnæus, was known to the ancients.

[2373] Fée identifies it with the Acer pseudo-platanus of Linnæus, the

Acer montanum candidum of C. Bauhin. This tree is not uncommon in Italy.

[2374] “Acer pavonaceum:” “peacock maple.” He gives a similar account

of the spots on the wood of the citrus, B. xiii. c. 19.

[2375] Or “thick-veined” maple.

[2376] Supposed by Fée to be the Acer Monspessulanus of Linnæus, also

the Acer trilobum of Linnæus.

[2377] A variety of the Acer pseudo-platanus of Linnæus, according to

Fée.

[2378] The Carpinus betulus of Linnæus; the horn-beam or yoke-elm.

[2379] “Silicios.” This word appears to be explained by the

accompanying word “laminas;” but it is very doubtful what is the

correct reading.

[2380] The Alnus glutinosa of Decandolles. In c. 38, Pliny says, very

incorrectly, that the alder has a remarkably thick leaf; and in c. 45,

with equal incorrectness, that it bears neither seed nor fruit.

[2381] Fée observes, that it is incorrect to say that the male tree

blossoms before the female, if such is Pliny’s meaning here.

[2382] From the Greek, meaning “a tree with clusters.” It is the

Staphylea pinnata of Linnæus, the wild or false pistachio of the French.

[2383] “Siliqua.” This term, Fée says, is very inappropriate to the

fruit of this tree, which is contained in a membranous capsule. The

kernel is oily, and has the taste of the almond more than the nut.

[2384] The Buxus sempervirens of Linnæus.

[2385] It is still extensively used for a similar purpose.

[2386] There are only two species now known: that previously mentioned,

and the Buxus Balearica of Lamarck. The first is divided into the four

varieties, arborescens, angustifolia, suffruticosa, and myrtifolia.

[2387] The Buxus sempervirens of Linnæus; very common in the south of

France, and on the banks of the Loire.

[2388] It is doubtful if this is a box at all. The wild olive,

mentioned in B. xv. c. 7, has the same name; all the varieties of the

box emit a disagreeable smell.

[2389] A variety of the Buxus sempervirens, the same as the Buxus

suffruticosa of Lamarck.

[2390] The Pyrenean box is mostly of the arborescent kind.

[2391] In Phrygia. See B. v. c. 29.

[2392] The arborescent variety.

[2393] This is doubted by Fée, but it is by no means impossible.

In Pennsylvania the bees collect a poisonous honey from the Kalmia

latifolia.

[2394] A very good charcoal might be made from it, but the wood is too

valuable for such a purpose. It burns with a bright, clear flame, and

throws out a considerable heat.

[2395] Although (in common, too, with other trees) it is used as a

support for the vine, that does not any the more make it of the same

nature as the fruit-trees.

[2396] The Ulmus effusa of Willdenow; the Ulmus montana of Smith:

_Flor. Brit._

[2397] The Ulmus campestris of Linnæus; the Ulmus marita of other

botanists.

[2398] The ordinary elm, Fée thinks.

[2399] A variety of the Ulmus campestris, probably.

[2400] This name is still preserved by botanists. Pliny is incorrect in

saying that the large elm produces no seed, the only difference being

that the seed is smaller than in the other kinds. Columella, B. v.

c. 6, contradicts the statement here made by Pliny, but says that it

_appears_ to be sterile, in comparison with the others.

[2401] The Pinus maritima of Linnæus, which produces the greater part

of the resins used in France, is found, however, in great abundance in

the flat country of the Landes.

[2402] On the contrary, the yoke-elm, or horn-beam, grows almost

exclusively on the plains; and the same with the cornel and the poplar.

[2403] The Rhus cotinus of Linnæus, the fustic. See B. xiii. c. 41.

This, however, imparts a yellow colour, while Pliny speaks of a purple.

It has been asserted, however, that the roots of it produce a fine red.

There is no tree in Europe that produces a purple for dyeing.

[2404] The maple, the ash, and the service-tree, are as often found in

the plains as on the hills.

[2405] See c. 43, and B. xxiv. c. 43. The Cornus sanguinea of Linnæus,

the blood-red cornel; the branches of which are red in the winter, and

the fruit filled with a blood-red juice. This is probably the same

shrub as the male cornel, mentioned further on by Pliny.

[2406] The Genista tinctoria of Linnæus, or “dyers’” broom.

[2407] Or “service-tree,” the Sorbus domestica of Linnæus. It thrives

just as well in a warm locality as a cold one.

[2408] The Betula alba of Linnæus. It was an object of terror not only

in the hands of the Roman lictor, but in those of the pedagogue also,

and is still to some extent. Hence it was formerly nicknamed “Arbor

sapientiæ,” the “tree of wisdom.”

[2409] This is no longer done in France, but it is in Russia, where

they extract from it an empyreumatic oil, which is used in preparing

Russia leather, and which imparts to it its agreeable smell.

[2410] Boys, both of whose parents were surviving, used to carry before

the bride a torch of white thorn. This thorn was, not improbably, the

“Cratægus oxyacantha” of Linnæus, which bears a white flower. See B.

xxiv. c. 66.

[2411] The Cytisus laburnum of Linnæus, also known as “false ebony,”

still a native of the Alps.

[2412] But blackish in the centre; whence its name of false ebony.

[2413] Meaning the clusters of the flowers.

[2414] The Anthyllis barba Jovis of modern botanists. The leaves have

upon them a silvery down, whence the name “argyrophylla,” given to it

by Mænch.

[2415] But in c. 30, he says that the poplar grows on hilly or

mountainous declivities.

[2416] This tree has not been satisfactorily identified; but Fée is

of opinion that it is probably a variety of the willow, the Salix

vitellina of Linnæus. Sprengel thinks that it is the Salix capræa.

[2417] The Ligustrum vulgare of Linnæus. It has black fruit and a white

flower, and is rendered famous by the lines of Virgil—Ecl. ii. 17:

“O formose puer, nimium ne crede colori;

Alba ligustra cadunt, vaccinia nigra leguntur.”

It is evidently this juxtaposition that has prompted Pliny to mention

the vaccinium in the succeeding passage. In B. xii. c. 51, and B. xxiv.

c. 45, Pliny seems inclined to confound this shrub with the Cyprus, the

Lawsonia inermis of Linnæus, the Henna of the east, a totally different

plant.

[2418] Wooden tallies used by public officers in keeping their

accounts. They were employed till the middle ages.

[2419] The Primus mahaleb, Desfontaines says; but Fée identifies it

with the black heath-berry, or whortle-berry, still called “vaciet” in

France. It does not, however, grow, as Pliny says, in watery places,

but in woods and on shrubby hills.

[2420] See B. xxi. c. 97.

[2421] These observations, Fée says, are borrowed from Theophrastus,

Hist. Plant. B. iii. c. 4, and are founded on truth.

[2422] “Silvestres,” and “urbaniores.”

[2423] Urbanæ.

[2424] The Nerion oleander of Linnæus; the laurel-rose, or rose of

St. Anthony of the French; it has some distant resemblance to the

olive-tree, but its leaf is that of the laurel, and its flower very

similar to that of the rose.

[2425] See B. xxiv. c. 61.

[2426] “Nerion” is the Greek name.

[2427] It has certain dangerous properties, which cause the herbivorous

animals to avoid touching it. It acts strongly on the muscular system,

and, as Fée remarks, used as an antidote to the stings of serpents, it

is not improbable that its effect would be the worst of the two.

[2428] See B. xiii. c. 37. The tamarisk of the moderns is not an

evergreen, which has caused writers to doubt if it is identical with

the tamariscus of the ancients, and to be disposed to look for it among

the larger ericæ or heaths. The leaves of the larch fall every year;

those of the other evergreens mostly every two or three years.

[2429] See B. xiii. c. 40.

[2430] See B. xiii. c. 40. This assertion of Pliny is erroneous, as

these trees are in reality evergreens, though all trees of that class

are liable to lose their leaves through certain maladies.

[2431] “Quercus.” The ilex or holm-oak is an evergreen.

[2432] Pliny is in error here. Varro, De Re Rust. B. i. c. 7, has made

mention of this tree.

[2433] The hot climates possess a greater number of evergreens than

the temperate regions, but not of the same species or genus. The vine

invariably loses its leaves each year.

[2434] This last assertion, Fée says, is far from true, in relation to

the coniferous trees.

[2435] See B. xv. c. 7.

[2436] The Populus alba of Linnæus.

[2437] The Populus nigra of Linnæus.

[2438] The Populus tremula of Linnæus. This statement as to the leaves

of the poplar is verified by modern experience.

[2439] This does not appear to be exactly correct as to the ivy.

The leaves on the young suckers or the old and sterile branches are

divided into three or five regular lobes, while those which grow on the

branches destined to bear the blossoms are ovals or lanceolated ovals

in shape.

[2440] It is not from the leaves, but from the fruit of the tree that

this down falls; the seeds being enveloped with a cottony substance.

This passage is hopelessly corrupt.

[2441] See B. xviii. c. 68, where he enlarges still further on this

asserted peculiarity; he borrows his statement from Theophrastus, Hist.

Plant. B. i. c. 16.

[2442] These statements are quite conformable with the fact.

[2443] This statement is quite true, so far as the fact that the leaves

have not the same position in the day-time as during the night: the

changes of position vary greatly, however, in the different kinds. It

is generally thought that an organic irritability is the cause of this

phenomenon.

[2444] This seems to be the meaning of “In aliis gentium lana est.”

He alludes, probably, to cotton or silk: see B. vi. c. 20. Thunberg

tells us that at Roodesand, near the Cape of Good Hope, there grows so

thick a down on the Buplevrum giganteum of Lamarck, that it is employed

to imitate a sort of white velvet, and is used for bonnets, gloves,

stockings, &c.

[2445] B. xiii. c. 7.

[2446] “Genere ilicum.” It is not improbable that he here refers to the

variety of the holm-oak which he has previously called “aquifolia,”

apparently confounding it with the holly. See c. 8 of this Book.

[2447] See B. xiii. c. 37.

[2448] This must be understood of the young leaf of the alder, which

has a sort of thick gummy varnish on it.

[2449] B. xiii. c. 7.

[2450] B. xv. c. 15. Pliny is not correct here; the leaf of the pear

is oval or lanceolated, while that of the apple is oval and somewhat

angular, though not exactly “mucronata,” or sharply pointed.

[2451] Not exactly “divided,” but strongly lobed.

[2452] If this is the case, the pitch-tree can hardly be identical with

the false fir, the Abies excelsa of Decandolles. See c. 18 of this

Book, and the Note.

[2453] This passage would be apt to mislead, did we not know that the

leaves of the coniferous trees here mentioned are not prickly, in the

same sense as those of the holly, which are armed with very formidable

weapons.

[2454] More particularly in the Populus tremula, the “quivering” poplar.

[2455] Crepitantia.

[2456] See B. xv. c. 15. Not a species, but an accidental monstrosity.

[2457] See B. xv. c. 37, where he speaks of the Hexastich myrtle.

[2458] The leaves of the elm and the tree supposed to be identical with

the cytisus of the ancients have no characteristics in common. See B.

xiii. c. 47, and the Notes.

[2459] De Re Rust. cc. 5, 30, 45.

[2460] Very inappropriate food for cattle, it would appear: the fig

leaf being charged with a corrosive milky juice; the leaf of the holm

oak, hard and leathery; and that of the ivy, bitter and nauseous in the

highest degree.

[2461] Eighth of February.

[2462] See B. viii. c. 67.

[2463] Catlitio.

[2464] He alludes to the period of the rising of the sap; an entirely

distinct process from germination.

[2465] This statement, as also that relative to the holm oak, and other

trees previously mentioned, is quite incorrect. The blossoms of the

fig-tree are very much concealed, however, from view in the involucre

of the clinanthium.

[2466] This is not the fact, though the blossom of the juniper is of

humble character, and not easily seen. Theophrastus, B. iii. c. 6, only

says that it is a matter of doubt, what Pliny so positively affirms.

[2467] This is the fact; the male tree is sterile, but it fecundates

the female.

[2468] These remarks, borrowed from Theophrastus, are generally

consistent with our experience.

[2469] Fée remarks that Pliny here copies from Theophrastus, a writer

of Greece, without making allowance for the difference of localities.

Theophrastus, however, gives the laurel an earlier period for budding

than Pliny does.

[2470] The Rhamnus paliurus of Linnæus.

[2471] This is entirely fanciful: though it is the case that in some

trees, the ligneous ones, namely, there are two germinations in the

year, one at the beginning of spring, which acts more particularly on

the branches, and the other at the end of summer, which acts more upon

the parts nearer the roots.

[2472] See B. xviii. c. 57.

[2473] There is no such thing as a third budding.

[2474] As already stated, there are never more than two germinations.

[2475] This rupture of the epidermis, caused by the formation beneath

of new ligneous and conical layers, takes place not solely, as Pliny

and Theophrastus state, at the time of germination, but slowly and

continuously.

[2476] On the contrary, they are irregular both in their commencement

and their duration.

[2477] This is not the case; each bud is independent of the one that

has preceded it. A sucker, however, newly developed may give birth to

buds not at the extremity, but throughout the whole length of it.

[2478] See B. xviii. c. 67. What Pliny says here is in general true,

though its germination does not take place with such rapidity as he

states.

[2479] A mere fable, of course.

[2480] In the last Chapter.

[2481] In Paris, Fée says, the almond does not blossom till March. If

the tree should blossom too soon, it is often at the expense of the

fruit.

[2482] Probably the apricot. See B. xv. c. 12.

[2483] See B. xv. c. 11.

[2484] See B. xxiv. c. 8.

[2485] This, of course, is not the fact. As to the succeeding

statements, they are borrowed mostly from Theophrastus, and are in

general correct.

[2486] The rising of the sap.

[2487] The Pleiades. See B. xviii. cc. 59, 60.

[2488] It was supposed in astrology that the stars exercised an effect

equally upon animal and vegetable life.

[2489] 25th of July.

[2490] See B. xviii. c. 68.

[2491] The Cornus mas of botanists; probably the Frutex sanguineus

mentioned in c. 30. See also B. xv. c. 31.

[2492] Probably the Lonicera Alpigena of Linnæus; the fruit of which

resembles a cherry, but is of a sour flavour, and produces vomiting.

[2493] The wood is so durable, that a tree of this kind in the forest

of Montmorency is said to be a thousand years old.

[2494] See B. xviii. cc. 59, 60.

[2495] See c. 6 of this Book.

[2496] See B. xii. c. 7.

[2497] This supposed marvel merely arises from the fact that the fruit

has a strong ligneous stalk, which almost precludes the possibility of

its dropping off. This is the case, too, not only with the pine, but

with numerous other trees as well.

[2498] “Dried” nuts.

[2499] See B. xxiv. c. 41.

[2500] But in B. xxiv. c. 32, he speaks of the fruit of the black

poplar as an antidote for epilepsy. In fact, he is quite in error in

denying a seed to any of these trees.

[2501] See c. 29 of this Book.

[2502] The Rhamnus alaternus of Linnæus, the Phylica elatior of

C. Bauhin. In reality, it bears a small black berry, of purgative

qualities.

[2503] “Infelices,” “unhappy” rather.

[2504] Daughter of Sithon, king of Thrace, who hanged herself on

account of the supposed inconstancy of her lover, Demophöon. See Ovid,

Heroid. 2.

[2505] This must not be taken to the letter; indeed, Fée thinks that

the proper meaning is:—“Young trees do not produce fruit till they have

arrived at a certain state of maturity.” Trees mostly continue on the

increase till they die.

[2506] See B. xvii. c. 2. The assertion here made has not been

confirmed by experience.

[2507] “Frugiperda:” in the Greek, ὠλεσίκαρπον. See Homer. Od. x. l.

510. It has been suggested, Pliny says, that the willow seed had this

epithet from its effect in causing abortion; but he does not seem to

share the opinion.

[2508] This cannot be a willow, Fée remarks; indeed, Theophrastus, B.

iii. c. 5, speaks of a black poplar as growing there.

[2509] See B. xv. c. 13. It is not impossible that Pliny may have

mistaken here the Persea, or Balanites Ægyptiaca, for the Persica, or

peach. See p. 296.

[2510] Fée remarks, that this expression is remarkable as giving a just

notion of the relative functions of the male and female in plants. He

says that one might almost be tempted to believe that they suspected

something of the nature and functions of the pistils and stamens.

[2511] This statement, which is drawn from Theophrastus, is rather

fanciful than rigorously true.

[2512] B. xiii. c. 7.

[2513] Or “forerunner.” The Spaniards call a similar fig “brevas,” the

“ready ripener.”

[2514] See B. xv. c. 19.

[2515] See B. xv. c. 21.

[2516] This does not happen in the northern climates; though sometimes

it is the case that a fruit-tree blossoms again towards the end of

summer, and if the autumn is fine and prolonged, these late fruits will

ripen. Such a phenomenon, however, is of very rare occurrence.

[2517] See B. xviii. c. 74.

[2518] “Insanæ.” There are some varieties of the vine which blossom

more than once, and bear green grapes and fully ripe ones at the same

moment.

[2519] De Re Rust. c. 7.

[2520] The suggested reading, “apud matrem magnam,” seems preferable to

“apud mare,” and receives support from what is said relative to Smyrna

in B. xiv. c. 6.

[2521] See B. v. c. 3.

[2522] B. xviii. c. 51.

[2523] B. xv. c. 19.

[2524] This is not the fact: the fruits of all trees have their proper

time for ripening.

[2525] He speaks here in too general terms; the pear, for instance, is

not more fruitful when old than when young.

[2526] He speaks of the process of caprification. See B. xv. c. 21.

[2527] So our proverb, “Soon ripe, soon rotten;” applicable to mankind

as well as trees. See B. xxiii. c. 23.

[2528] See B. xv. c. 27. The mulberry tree will live for several

centuries.

[2529] This stimulates the sap, and adds to its activity: but the tree

grows old all the sooner, being the more speedily exhausted.

[2530] In cc. 9-14 of the present Book.

[2531] This passage is quite unintelligible; and it is with good reason

that Fée questions whether Pliny really understood the author that he

copied from.

[2532] Fée remarks, that Pliny does not seem to know that the catkin is

an assemblage of flowers, and that without it the tree would be totally

barren.

[2533] Pliny blunders sadly here, in copying from Theophrastus, B.

iii. c. 16. He mixes up a description of the box and the cratægus, or

holm-oak, making the latter to be a seed of the former: and he then

attributes a mistletoe to the box, which Theophrastus speaks of as

growing on the cratægus.

[2534] See c. 93, where he enlarges on the varieties of the mistletoe.

[2535] See B. xxiv. c. 71.

[2536] He means the garden or border-box, mentioned in c. 28 of this

Book.

[2537] See B. xiii. c. 17: the African lotus, probably; the Zizyphus

lotus of Desfontaines.

[2538] This statement is entirely incorrect. If a tree loses the

terminal bud, it will grow no higher; but it will not die if the

extremities of the branches are cut. Such, in fact, is much more likely

to happen when they are all cut off, from the extreme loss of juices

which must naturally ensue at the several cicatrices united.

[2539] The Celtis australis of Linnæus. Pliny is in error in calling

this tree the “Grecian bean.” In B. xiii. c. 22, he erroneously calls

the African lotus by the name of “celtis,” which only belongs to the

lotus of Italy; that of Africa being altogether different.

[2540] The bark, which is astringent, is still used in preparing skins,

and a black colouring matter extracted from the root is employed in

dyeing wool.

[2541] Quite an accidental resemblance, if, indeed, it ever existed.

[2542] “Oculus”—the bud on the trunk.

[2543] This must be either a mistake or an exaggeration; the cherry

never being a very large tree.

[2544] It is evident that he is speaking of the epidermis only, and not

the cortical layers and the liber.

[2545] The roots of trees being ligneous, “carnosæ,” Fée remarks, is an

inappropriate term.

[2546] Georg. ii. 291.

[2547] “Lagenas.” Fée takes this to mean here vessels to hold liquids,

and remarks that the workers in wicker cannot attain this degree of

perfection at the present day.

[2548] Pliny is in error in rejecting this notion.

[2549] See B. xii. c. 5, and B. xiii. c. 29. What Pliny states of the

fir, or Abies pectinata, Theophrastus relates of the πεύκη, or Abies

excelsa of Decandolles. There is little doubt that in either case the

statement is incorrect.

[2550] On the contrary, the roots of trees increase in size till the

period of their death.

[2551] By preventing the action of the air from drying the roots, and

so killing the tree.

[2552] A grove, probably, consecrated to the Muses.

[2553] These stories must be regarded as either fables or impostures;

though it is very possible for a tree to survive after the epidermis

has been removed with the adze.

[2554] See B. xvii. c. 9.

[2555] In c. 7 of this Book.

[2556] It is not improbable that he has in view here the passage in

Virgil’s Georgics, B. ii. l. 109, _et seq._

[2557] Or balm of Gilead. See B. xii. c. 54. Bruce assures us that it

is indigenous to Abyssinia; if so, it has been transplanted in Arabia.

It is no more to be found in Judæa.

[2558] This is inserted, as it is evident that the text without it is

imperfect. Fée says that even in Judæa it was transplanted from Arabia.

[2559] As to the identification of the cinnamomum of Pliny,

see B. xii. cc. 41 and 42, and the Notes.

[2560] As to the question of the identity of the amomum, see B. xii. c.

28.

[2561] See B. xii. c. 26.

[2562] This cannot be the ordinary Piper nigrum, or black pepper, which

does not deserve the title “arbor.” It is, no doubt, the pepper of

Italy, which he mentions in B. xii. c. 14.

[2563] The Cassia Italica, probably, of B. xii. c. 43. The cassia of

the East could not possibly survive in Italy. The fact is, no doubt,

that the Romans gave the names of cassia, piper, and amomum, to certain

indigenous plants, and then persuaded themselves that they had the

genuine plants of the East.

[2564] See B. xii. c. 30.

[2565] Under the name of Cedrus, no doubt, several of the junipers have

been included. See B. xiii. c. 11.

[2566] Fée is inclined to doubt this statement. The myrtle has been

known to stand the winters of Lower Brittany.

[2567] Owing, no doubt, as Fée says, solely to bad methods of

cultivation. The same, too, with the grafted peach and the Greek nut or

almond.

[2568] The Cupressus sempervirens of Linnæus, the Cupressus fastigiata

of Decandolle.

[2569] De Re Rust. cc. 48, 151.

[2570] “Morosa;” meaning that it reaches maturity but very slowly.

[2571] Tristis tentantum sensu torquebit amaror.—Virg. Georg. ii. 247.

[2572] This statement is exaggerated.

[2573] It is still to be seen very frequently in the cemeteries of

Greece and Constantinople.

[2574] The cypress is in reality monœcious, the structure of the same

plant being both male and female.

[2575] This was formerly done with the cypress, in England, to a

considerable extent. Such absurdities are now but rare.

[2576] The Cupressus fastigiata of Decandolle: and a variety of the

Cupressus sempervirens of Linnæus.

[2577] The Cupressus horizontalis of Miller; the variety B of the C.

sempervirens of Linnæus.

[2578] The present name given to this tree in the island of Crete, is

the “daughter’s dowry.”

[2579] De Re Rust. c. 151.

[2580] B. iii. c. 12.

[2581] This, Fée says, is the case with none of the coniferous trees.

[2582] Of course this spontaneous creation of the cypress is fabulous;

and, indeed, the whole account, which is borrowed from Theophrastus, is

greatly exaggerated.

[2583] B. xix. c. 15.

[2584] This story, which is borrowed from Theophrastus, is evidently

fabulous.

[2585] Meaning Asia Minor.

[2586] Hist. Plant. B. iii c. 10.

[2587] See B. vi. c. 23.

[2588] Bacchus, after the alleged conquest by him of India, was said to

have returned crowned with ivy, and seated in a car drawn by tigers.

[2589] It is a mistake to suppose that the ivy exhausts the juices of

trees. Its tendrils fasten upon the cortical fissures; and, if the tree

is but small, its development is apt to be retarded thereby. It is

beneficial, rather than destructive, to walls.

[2590] This plant is really monœcious or androgynous.

[2591] The Rosa Eglanteria.

[2592] The Hedera helix of Linnæus, or, possibly, a variety of it with

variegated leaves.

[2593] The Hedera arborea of C. Bauhin, the common ivy.

[2594] The Hedera major sterilis of C. Bauhin.

[2595] The first variety of the common ivy, the Hedera helix of Linnæus.

[2596] A wreath of ivy was the usual prize in the poetic contests.

[2597] See B. v. c. 16, and B. vi. c. 23.

[2598] The “red berry” and the “golden fruit.”

[2599] The berries are yellow in the first variety of the common ivy,

the Hedera poetica of C. Bauhin.

[2600] This is the case sometimes with the black ivy, the Hedera

arborea of C. Bauhin. Only isolated cases, however, are to be met with.

[2601] There is an ivy of this kind, the Hedera humi repens of

botanists; but most of the commentators are of opinion that it is the

ground ivy, the Glechoma hederacea of Linnæus, that is spoken of.

Sprengel takes it to be the Anthirrinum Azarina, from which opinion,

however, Fée dissents.

[2602] The Smilax aspera of Linnæus; the sarsaparilla plant.

[2603] Fée is inclined to question this; but the breadth of the tablets

may have been very small in this instance.

[2604] Of course this is fabulous: though it is not impossible that

the writing on the tablets may sometimes have caused “a noise in the

world,” and that hence the poets may have given rise to this story.

[2605] Pliny borrows this fabulous story from Cato, De Re Rust. c. 3.

[2606] The reeds cannot be appropriately ranked among the shrubs.

[2607] For musical purposes, namely.

[2608] B. v. c. 20.

[2609] “Calamus.” The so-called reed of the East, used for making darts

and arrows, does not belong to the genus Arundo, but to those of the

Bambos and Nastus.

[2610] Few readers of history will fail to recollect the report made to

King Henry V. by Davy Gam, before the battle of Agincourt:—“The enemy

are so numerous,” said the messenger, “that their arrows will darken

the sun.” “We must e’en be content to fight in the dark then,” was the

warrior’s reply.

[2611] See B. vii. c. 2. This is probably an exaggeration. He alludes

to the Bambos arundinacea of Lamarck, the Arundo arbor of C. Bauhin.

[2612] The Arundo donax of Linnæus.

[2613] Or the pipe-reed.

[2614] The tibia, or pipe, was played lengthwise, like the flageolet or

clarionet.

[2615] A variety of the Arundo donax. The Orchomenian reed is of the

same class. The fistula was played sideways; and seems to have been

a name given both to the Syrinx or the Pandæan pipes, and the flute,

properly so called.

[2616] In the last Chapter. The Arundo donax, probably, so far as

European warfare was concerned.

[2617] A variety of the Arundo donax of Linnæus.

[2618] This is not the fact.

[2619] The Arundo versicolor of Miller.

[2620] Constantinus and Schneider, upon Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B.

iv. c. 11, suspect the correctness of this word.

[2621] See B. xx. c. 88, and B. xxxii. c. 52.

[2622] The Arundo phragmites of Linnæus. The Plotias, no doubt, was

only a variety of it.

[2623] “Arundo tibialis.” The story about the time taken by it to grow,

and the increase of the waters, is, of course, fabulous.

[2624] The “yoke reed,” or “reed for a double flute.”

[2625] Perhaps so called from the silkiness of its flossy pinicules.

[2626] This seems to be the meaning of “ad inclusos cantus.”

[2627] B. xviii. c. 74.

[2628] Lingulis.

[2629] The words “dextræ” and “sinistræ,” denote the treble and the

bass flutes; it is thought by some, because the former were held with

the right hand, and the latter with the left. Two treble or bass flutes

were occasionally played on at the same time.

[2630] See B. xiii. c. 32.

[2631] These were of the variety Zeugites, previously mentioned.

[2632] Fée suggests, that what he mentions here may not have been a

reed at all, but one of the cyperaceous plants, the papyrus, perhaps.

[2633] De Re Rust. c. 6. It was the donax that was thus employed; as it

is in France at the present day.

[2634] Oculis. See B. xvii. c. 33.

[2635] See B. xix. c. 42.

[2636] The white willow, Salix Alba of Linnæus.

[2637] The Salix vitellina more particularly is used in France for this

purpose.

[2638] The Salix helix of Linnæus.

[2639] The Salix amygdalina of Linnæus.

[2640] De Re Rust. c. 6. Fée remarks that the notions of modern

agriculturists are very different on this point.

[2641] The Salix purpurea of Linnæus: the Salix vulgaris rubens of C.

Bauhin.

[2642] This belongs, probably, to the Salix helix of Linnæus.

[2643] Fée queries whether this may not be the Salix incana of Schrank

and Hoffmann, the bark of which is a brown green.

[2644] Belonging to the Salix helix of Linnæus.

[2645] Belonging to the Salix purpurea of Linnæus.

[2646] Field-mouse or squirrel colour. See B. viii. c. 82. The same,

probably, as the Salix vitellina of Linnæus.

[2647] A variety, Fée thinks, of the Salix rubens.

[2648] The Scirpus lacustris of Linnæus.

[2649] And not in front of them.

[2650] Mapalia.

[2651] Egypt, namely.

[2652] The bramble is sometimes found on the banks of watery spots and

in marshy localities, but more frequently in mountainous and arid spots.

[2653] Known to us as blackberries. This tree is the Rubus fruticosus

of Linnæus; the same as the Rubus tomentosus, and the Rubus

corylifolius of other modern botanists.

[2654] The Rosa canina of Linnæus: the dog-rose or Eglantine.

[2655] The Rubus Idæus of botanists; the ordinary raspberry.

[2656] See B. xxiv. c. 75.

[2657] See B. xxiv. c. 35.

[2658] They are still used for dyeing, but not for staining the hair.

[2659] Only as a purgative, probably.

[2660] Though the acid it contains would curdle milk, still its natural

acridity would disqualify it from being used for making cheese.

[2661] The white sap or inner bark; the aubier of the French. Fée

remarks, that its supposed analogy with fat is incorrect.

[2662] He means the outer ligneous layers of the wood. They differ only

in their relative hardness.

[2663] “Pulpæ.” The ligneous fibres which form the tissue of the bark.

[2664] “Venæ.” By this term he probably means the nutritive vessels and

the ligneous fibres united. It was anciently the general belief that

the fibres acted their part in the nutriment of the tree.

[2665] “Graphium.” Properly a stylus or iron pen.

[2666] “Glandia.” This analogy, Fée remarks, does not hold good.

[2667] See B. xiii. c. 29, and c. 27 of this Book.

[2668] And at an angle with the grain or fibre of the wood.

[2669] And at right angles. In the Dicotyledons, the disposition of the

fibres is longitudinal and transversal.

[2670] Guttum.

[2671] For the simple reason, because the part near the root is of

greater diameter.

[2672] Soft ligneous layers.

[2673] In c. 72 of this Book.

[2674] Hard wood—such as we know generally as “heart;” “heart of oak”

for instance.

[2675] Probably that of the ligneous layers near the pith or sap.

[2676] “Limo:” the alburnum previously mentioned.

[2677] This practice was formerly forbidden by the forest laws of

France.

[2678] In B. xviii.

[2679] Pliny borrows this superstition from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant.

B. vi. c. 1.

[2680] This was the name of mimic sea-fights, exhibited at Rome in

the Circus or amphitheatres, or else in lakes dug expressly for the

purpose. Hardouin says, there were five Naumachiæ at Rome, in the 14th

region of the City.

[2681] This practice is no longer followed.

[2682] De Re Rust. c. 31; also cc. 17 and 37.

[2683] This practice is observed in modern times.

[2684] C. 37.

[2685] Pliny, no doubt, observes an analogy between the hair of

the human head, and trees as forming the hair of the earth. The

superstition here mentioned, Fée says, was, till very recently,

observed in France to a considerable extent.

[2686] De Re Rust. 1, 37.

[2687] Terebinthine or turpentine.

[2688] “Ad fabrorum intestina opera medulla sectilis.” This passage is

probably corrupt.

[2689] In c. 74.

[2690] With reference to the fir, namely.

[2691] B. iii. c. 5.

[2692] B. iv. c. 3.

[2693] An additional proof, perhaps, that the cedar of the ancients

is only one of the junipers, and that, as Fée says, they were not

acquainted with the real cedar.

[2694] B. iii. c. 4.

[2695] “Spiras.” It seems to have been the opinion of the ancients that

the internal knots of the wood are formed spirally. Such is not the

fact, as they consist of independent layers.

[2696] Centra.

[2697] He takes this account from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. v. c. 3.

[2698] The greatest height, Fée says, of any tree known, is that of the

palm, known as ceroxylon; it sometimes attains a height of 250 feet.

Adanson speaks of the baobab as being 90 feet in circumference.

[2699] In c. 74.

[2700] See B. xix. c. 6.

[2701] A spot enclosed in the Campus Martius, for the resort of the

people during the Comitia, and when giving their votes.

[2702] “Diribitorium.” This was the place, probably, where the

diribitores distributed to the citizens the tabellæ, with which they

voted in the Comitia, or else, as Wunder thinks, divided the votes,

acting as “tellers,” in the modern phrase.

[2703] Caligula.

[2704] B. xxxvi. c. 14.

[2705] See B. xxxvi. c. 14. This was a mortar made of volcanic ashes,

which hardened under water. It is now known as Pozzuolane.

[2706] The Pinus cedrus of Linnæus.

[2707] The canoes were formed probably of the fir.

[2708] The Celtis australis of Linnæus.

[2709] See B. xiii. c. 27.

[2710] This, Fée says, is not the case, if the Syrian terebinth is the

same as the Pistacia terebinthus of Linnæus.

[2711] This is not the case; a nail has a firm hold in all resinous

woods.

[2712] This is evidently a puerile absurdity: but it is borrowed from

Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. v. c. 4.

[2713] The savages of North America, and, indeed, of all parts of the

globe, seem to have been acquainted with this method of kindling fire

from the very earliest times.

[2714] See B. xxiv. c. 49. The Viticella, belonging to the genus

clematis.

[2715] This unfounded notion is borrowed from Theophrastus, B. v. c. 4.

[2716] In the modern botanical sense of the word, the male trees do not

bear at all.

[2717] Asia Minor, namely. See B. xxxv. c. 21.

[2718] The junctures where the pieces of wood are united by glue. This

is to be observed very easily in the greater part of the oaken statuary

that is so plentiful in the churches of Belgium.

[2719] Cypress is perhaps the most lasting of all woods.

[2720] One of the earliest appellations, probably, of Jupiter among the

Romans. See Ovid’s Fasti, B. iii. l. 445, _et seq._

[2721] This is correct. Their resin defends them from the

action of the air, from damp, and the attacks of noxious insects.

[2722] A variety of the oak. See c. 6 of this Book.

[2723] As mentioned at the end of c. 74.

[2724] See B. xi. c. 2.

[2725] See B. xvii. c. 37.

[2726] In c. 74.

[2727] There is nothing very surprising in this, as most woods are

preserved better when completely immersed in water, than when exposed

to the variations of the atmosphere.

[2728] He borrows this fable from Theophrastus, B. v. c. 5.

[2729] This process, Fée says, would be attended with no success.

[2730] It is not quite clear whether he intends this observation to

apply to the poplar and the palm, or to the last only. It is true,

however, in neither case, and is contrary, as Fée observes, to all

physical laws.

[2731] The resistance that woods offer when placed vertically is in the

same ratio as that presented by them when employed horizontally. This

paragraph is borrowed from Theophrastus, B. iii. c. 4, and B. v. cc. 6,

7, 8.

[2732] Ferula.

[2733] In c. 77.

[2734] See c. 24.

[2735] Fée thinks, from the context, that the meaning is, that the vine

was employed in the construction of chariots; it depends entirely on

the punctuation adopted.

[2736] This could only have happened in the first year that they were

so employed.

[2737] De Re Rust. c. 31.

[2738] It is singular, Fée says, to find the wood of the palm, and that

of the poplar, which are destitute of veins, enumerated among those

employed for veneering.

[2739] In c. 27.

[2740] According to Adanson, the baobab will live for more than six

thousand years.

[2741] The Celtis australis of Linnæus.

[2742] In consequence of the disputes between the patricians and

plebeians.

[2743] Thus deriving Lucina from “lucus,” a grove.

[2744] Capillos.

[2745] An area before the temple of Vulcan.

[2746] “Stationes municipiorum.” A sort of exchange, near the Forum,

where the citizens met to discuss the topics of the day.

[2747] See B. iv. c. 18. Of course, this story must be regarded as

fabulous.

[2748] Quercus.

[2749] These are fables founded upon the known longevity of trees,

which, as Fée remarks, Pliny relates with a truly “infantine

simplicity.”

[2750] See B. v. c. 43.

[2751] See B. v. c. 29.

[2752] The palm is by no means a long-lived tree.

[2753] The pomegranate, on the contrary, has been known to live many

centuries.

[2754] He has elsewhere said that the vine is extremely long-lived.

[2755] In the last Chapter he has spoken of a laurel having existed for

many centuries.

[2756] To its great detriment, probably.

[2757] Fée says that no holm-oak is ever known to attain this size.

[2758] See c. 62.

[2759] Sprengel says that this is the parasitic plant, which he calls

Cassyta filiformis. Fée says that this opinion, though perhaps not to

be absolutely rejected, must be accepted with reserve.

[2760] It does not seem to have been identified.

[2761] See B. xviii. c. 33.

[2762] Serpyllum. See B. xx. c. 90.

[2763] A mistletoe, apparently, growing upon the wild olive. Fée says

that no such viscus appears to be known.

[2764] See B. xxvii. c. 66. The Calcitrapa stellata of Lamarck. Fée

remarks that Pliny has committed a great error, in making it a parasite

of the Spina fullonia. Dioscorides only says that the two plants grow

in the same spots.

[2765] The Viscum Europæum of modern naturalists.

[2766] The Viscum album of Linnæus; but Sprengel takes it to be the

Loranthus Europæus.

[2767] Fée questions whether this may not be the Loranthus Europæus.

[2768] The Viscum album of Linnæus; the oak mistletoe or real mistletoe.

[2769] This is not the fact: it grows upon a vast multitude of other

trees.

[2770] It is no longer used for this purpose.

[2771] The mistletoe never in any case loses its leaves, upon whatever

tree it may grow.

[2772] This is, of course, untrue; but the seeds, after being voided by

birds, are more likely to adhere to the bark of trees, and so find a

nidus for germination.

[2773] The exact opposite is the case, the female being the fruitful

plant.

[2774] The method used in Italy for making bird-lime is very similar at

the present day.

[2775] Magos.

[2776] Decandolle was of opinion, that the mistletoe of the

Druids was not a viscum, but the Loranthus Europæus, which is much more

commonly found on oaks.

[2777] Δρῦς, an “oak.” It is much more probable that it was of Celtic

origin.

[2778] Omnia sanantem.

[2779] “Sagum.” Properly, a “military cloak.”

[2780] It was, in comparatively recent times, supposed to be

efficacious for epilepsy.

[2781] See end of B. ii.

[2782] Author of a History or Annals of Rome. Nothing further is known

of him.

[2783] See end of B. vi.

[2784] See end of B. ii.

[2785] See end of B. iii.

[2786] See end of B. vii.

[2787] See end of B. iii.

[2788] See end of B. ii.

[2789] See end of B. ii.

[2790] See end of B. vii.

[2791] He is wholly unknown; but is conjectured to have lived

in the reign of Caligula or Tiberius.

[2792] See end of B. vii.

[2793] See end of B. xii.

[2794] He is unknown; but Solinus speaks of him as a valuable writer.

[2795] M. Vitruvius Pollio, an eminent architect, employed by Augustus.

His valuable work on architecture is still extant.

[2796] See end of B. xiv.

[2797] See end of B. iii.

[2798] See end of B. vii.

[2799] See end of B. iii.

[2800] See end of B. ii.

[2801] See end of B. ii.

[2802] He alludes to the various shrubs and trees, mentioned

as growing in the sea, B. xiii. c. 48; but which there is little doubt,

in reality belong to the class of fuci.

[2803] “Fiunt verius quam nascuntur;” a distinction

perpetuated in the adage, “Poeta nascitur, non fit.”

[2804] He probably alludes to his remark in B. xvi. c. 1.

[2805] Q. Luctatius Catulus, the colleague of Marius. Being afterwards

condemned to die by Marius, he suffocated himself with the fumes of

charcoal.

[2806] A.U.C. 659.

[2807] Valerius Maximus, B. ix. c. 1, relates this story somewhat

differently.

[2808] The Celtis Australis of Linnæus.

[2809] See B. xxxvi. cc. 3 and 24.

[2810] When, in his capacity of ædile, he gave theatrical

representations for the benefit of the public.

[2811] As Fée remarks, this usage has been reversed in modern times,

and plants often receive their botanical names from men.

[2812] See B. xviii. c. 4.

[2813] Or north north-east, as Fée says. He adds that this aspect in

reality is not favourable to vegetation. Pliny commits the error of

copying _exactly_ from Theophrastus, and thereby giving advice to Roman

agriculturists, which was properly suited to the climate of Greece only.

[2814] This is borrowed from Theophrastus; but, as Fée remarks, if

suitable to the climate of Greece, it is not so to that of Italy or

France, where vegetation is much more promoted by a south wind.

[2815] This assertion, Fée says, is erroneous. See B. xvi. c. 46.

[2816] B. xviii. c. 66.

[2817] See c. 30 of this Book. These notions as to critical periods

to plants connected with the constellations, Fée says, are now almost

dispelled; though they still prevail in France, to some extent.

[2818] “Coitus.” See B. xvi. cc. 39 and 42.

[2819] See B. xvi. c. 46.

[2820] From Theophrastus, De Causis, B. ii. c. 1.

[2821] He alludes to the words of Virgil, Georg. i. 100:—

“Humida solstitia, atque hiemes orate serenas,

Agricolæ; hiberno lætissima pulvere farra.”

Fée remarks, that the cultivators of the modern times are more of the

opinion of the poet than the naturalist.

[2822] Because rains would cause the young fruit to fall off. He here

attacks the first portion of the precepts of Virgil; but only, it

appears, in reference to the vine.

[2823] “Lactescentibus.” Fée remarks on the appropriateness of this

expression, as the act of germination, he says, in the cereals and all

the seeds in which the perisperm is feculent, changes the fecula into

an emulsive liquid, in which state the seed may be said, with Pliny, to

be “lactescent.”

[2824] Which appears to have been extensively done with the young

garden trees.

[2825] Georg. ii. 398.

[2826] Taken altogether, a southern aspect is preferable to all others.

[2827] See B. ii. c. 46.

[2828] Cc. 46 and 47.

[2829] He seems to lose sight of the fact that they _bud_ before those

that look to the north.

[2830] B. xvi. cc. 30, 31.

[2831] A rich black mould, probably.

[2832] A ferruginous argilla.

[2833] It must of necessity denote a soil rich in humus, though not, of

course, adapted for all kinds of cultivation.

[2834] He alludes to the difficulty with which argilla, from its

tenacity, is employed in cultivation.

[2835] Columella says the contrary, and so does Virgil, Georg. ii.

226, speaking of this fact as a method of ascertaining the respective

qualities of the earth.

[2836] Virgil, Georg. ii. 220, says the contrary.

[2837] In allusion to what Virgil says, Georg. ii. 254:—

“Quæ gravis est, ipso tacitam se pondere prodit,

Quæque levis——”

Fée remarks, however, that it is easy enough to analyse the earth, and

ascertain the proportions of humus, and of the siliceous, cretaceous,

or argillaceous earths; the relative proportions of which render it

strong or light, as the case may be.

[2838] As Fée says, these earths vary according to the nature of the

soils that are brought down by the streams; in general, however, they

are extremely prolific.

[2839] Fée says that Pliny is here guilty of some degree of

exaggeration. See B. iii. c. 9, p. 195 of Vol. 1: also B. xviii. c. 29.

[2840] “Tophus;” formed of volcanic scoriæ. Fée remarks, that it is

somewhat similar in nature to marl, and that though unproductive by

itself, it is beneficial when mixed with vegetable earth. Tufa and marl

appear to have been often confounded by the ancient writers.

[2841] Georg. ii. 189.

[2842] The Pteris aquilina of the modern botanists.

[2843] Marine salt, or sub-hydrochlorate of soda, Fée thinks, is here

alluded to. It is still used with varied success in some parts of the

west of France.

[2844] Hardouin says, that he here alludes to the proverbial saying

among the ancients, “Perflare altissima ventos”—“The winds blow only on

the most elevated ground.”

[2845] In B. xiv. cc. 4 and 12.

[2846] “Emisso.” Fée would appear to think that the lake suddenly

_made its appearance_, after an earthquake, and from the context he

would appear to be right. These accounts are all of them borrowed from

Theophrastus.

[2847] See B. v. c. 36.

[2848] See B. xv. c. 2.

[2849] See B. xiv. c. 8.

[2850] See B. xiv. c. 8.

[2851] See B. iii. c. 9.

[2852] See B. iii. c. 17.

[2853] Sumen. Properly, “udder.” A cow’s udder was considered one of

the choicest of delicacies by the Romans.

[2854] This is, of course, an exaggeration. The stake must have been

driven in very deep to disappear so speedily.

[2855] De Re Rust. 5.

[2856] This he says in reference to his belief, with Epicurus, in the

eternity of matter.

[2857] De Re Rust. 1.

[2858] See B. iii. c. 6.

[2859] De Re Rust. 151.

[2860] “Pulla.” The “vegetable” earth of modern botanists.

[2861] “Teneram.”

[2862] Iliad, xviii. 541 and 548.

[2863] Vulcan.

[2864] De Oratore, sec. 39.

[2865] See B. xiii. c. 4.

[2866] “Sapiunt,” rather than “redolent.”

[2867] This supposed flavour of the earth is, in reality, attributable

to the extraneous vegetable matter which it contains.

[2868] See B. xii. c. 52, as to this notion.

[2869] The reason being, that in such cases the soil is saturated with

thyme, origanum, mint, and other odoriferous herbs.

[2870] This opinion is contrary to that expressed by Columella, B.

ii. c. 1; but the justice of it is universally recognized. Upon this

theory, too, is based the modern practice of alternating the crops

in successive years, the necessity of providing for heavy rents, not

allowing the land to enjoy absolute rest.

[2871] This has not come to pass even yet, nearly two thousand years

since the days of Pliny.

[2872] See B. v. c. 3, and B. xviii. c. 21.

[2873] Fée taxes our author here with exaggeration. For Byzacium, see

B. v. c. 3, and B. xviii. c. 21.

[2874] Nevertheless, as Fée remarks, the method is often practised with

great success. Pliny is at issue here with Theophrastus, De Causis, B.

iii. c. 25.

[2875] A natural mixture of argilla and calcareous stones, or

subcarbonate of chalk. Fée remarks, that the ancients were not

acquainted with the proper method of applying it. Marl only exercises

its fertilizing influence after being reduced to dust by the action

of the atmosphere, by absorbing the oxygen of the air, and giving to

vegetation the carbonic acid that is necessary for their nourishment.

[2876] “White argilla.” This, Fée thinks, is the calcareous marl, three

varieties of which are known, the compact, the schistoid, and the

friable.

[2877] At the present day there are only two varieties of marl

recognized, the argillaceous and the calcareous; it is to the latter,

Fée thinks, that the varieties here mentioned as anciently recognized,

belonged.

[2878] The Marga terrea of Linnæus. It abounds in various parts of

Europe.

[2879] From the Greek, meaning “not bitter marl.”

[2880] Marl does not begin to fertilize till several years after it has

been laid down; hence, it is generally recommended to marl the land a

little at a time, and often. If the ground is fully marled, it requires

to be marled afresh in about eight or ten years, and not fifty, as

Pliny says.

[2881] “Argentaria.” Used, probably, in the same way as whitening in

modern times. See B. xxxv. c. 58.

[2882] An exaggeration, no doubt.

[2883] Probably meaning “smooth marl;” a variety, Fée thinks, of

argillaceous marl, and, perhaps, the potter’s argillaceous marl, or

potter’s argil. He suggests, also that it may have possibly been

the Marga fullonum saponacea lamellosa of Valerius; in other words,

fullers’ earth.

[2884] Creta fullonia.

[2885] See B. xxxv. c. 46.

[2886] This would rather seem to be a name borrowed from the Greek,

αἰγλήεις, “shining,” and πελιὸς, “white.” Notwithstanding the

resemblance, however, it is just possible that it may have been derived

from the Gallic. Fée queries whether this is the schistoid calcareous

marl, or the schistoid argillaceous marl, the laminæ of which divide

with great facility, and the varieties of which display many colours.

[2887] A variety of the terreous marl.

[2888] It has the effect of augmenting their fruitfulness, and

ameliorating the quality of the fruit. Lime is still considered an

excellent improver for strong, humid soils.

[2889] From this passage, Fée thinks that the Columbine marl must have

been of the white, slightly sparkling kind.

[2890] Though ashes fertilize the ground, more particularly when of an

argillaceous nature, they are not so extensively used now as in ancient

times. Pliny alludes here more particularly to wood and dunghill ashes.

[2891] This, however, he omits to do.

[2892] He alludes, probably, to Theophrastus, De Causis, B. iii. c. 22.

[2893] Odyssey xxiv. 225.

[2894] From “stercus,” “dung.” A fabulous personage, most probably.

[2895] De Re Rust. i. 38.

[2896] De Re Rust. ii. 15.

[2897] Mixed with other manures, it is employed at the present day in

Normandy.

[2898] This manure is still extensively employed in Flanders,

Switzerland, and the vicinity of Paris. In the north of England it is

mixed with ashes, and laid on the fields. There was an old prejudice,

that vegetation grown with it has a fetid odour, but it has for some

time been looked upon as exploded.

[2899] Or urine. In the vicinity of Paris, a manure is employed called

urate, of which urine forms the basis.

[2900] Fée seems to think that this passage means that the bad smell

of urine is imparted to it by the wine that is drunk. It is difficult

to say what could have been the noxious qualities imparted by wine to

urine as a manure, and Pliny probably would have been somewhat at a

loss to explain his meaning.

[2901] In lapse of time, if exposed to the air, it is reduced to the

state of humus or mould.

[2902] Consisting of lime mixed with vegetable ashes.

[2903] De Re Rust. i. 38.

[2904] “Herbas.” This would appear to mean grass only here; though Fée

seems to think that it means various kinds of herbs.

[2905] This method is sometimes adopted in England with buckwheat,

trefoil, peas, and other leguminous plants; and in the south of France

lupines are still extensively used in the same manner, after the usage

of the ancient Romans here described. The French also employ, but more

rarely, for the same purpose, the large turnip, vetches, peas, trefoil,

Windsor beans, sanfoin, lucerne, &c.; but it is found a very expensive

practice.

[2906] De Re Rust. 37.

[2907] “Frondam putidam.” Fée thinks that this expression is used

in reference to the “ebulum,” dane-wort, wall-wort, or dwarf-elder,

previously mentioned.

[2908] “Concidito.” Sillig adopts the reading “comburito,” “burn the

shoots, and dig in, &c.” But in the original the word is “concidito.”

[2909] De Re Rust. 30.

[2910] This is still extensively practised in England and France, and

other countries. The azote, even, that exhales from the bodies of the

animals, is supposed to have a fertilizing influence, to say nothing of

the dung, grease of the body, and urine.

[2911] De Re Rust. 37.

[2912] “Exsugunt,” “suck up,” or “drain,” is one reading in Cato; and

it is not improbable that it is the correct one.

[2913] Georg. i. 77, 78:

“Urit enim lini campum seges, urit avenæ,

Urunt Lethæo perfusa papavera somno.”

[2914] Fée is of opinion, that, with reference to this branch of

agriculture, the ancients displayed more skill and intelligence than

the moderns.

[2915] This absurdity is copied from Varro and Columella.

[2916] _I. e._ in the early part of spring. In modern times, the period

for manuring varies, according to the usage of different localities,

being practised in all the four seasons of the year, according to the

crops, weather, and climate.

[2917] See B. xvi. c. 58.

[2918] The palm is grown in Africa from shoots thrown out from the

axillæ of the leaves; and it is in this circumstance, Fée thinks, that

the story told by Trogus must have originated. Some of the ferns throw

out adventitious buds from the summit of the leaf, and the orange tree

and some others occasionally have them at the base of the leaf.

[2919] Virgil says, Georgics ii. 14:

“Pars autem posito surgunt de semine; ut altæ

Castaneæ, nemorumque Jovi quæ maxime frondet.”

[2920] This method of reproduction is seldom or never employed; plants

or cuttings only being used for the purpose.

[2921] Besides which, it is doubtful if they will reproduce the

variety, the seed of which was originally sown.

[2922] In some cases, they are more particularly liable to disease—the

apple, for instance.

[2923] Because the mode of cultivation adopted has little or no

influence upon them. The palm, however, to bear good fruit, requires

the careful attention of man. It is not capable of being grafted.

[2924] In B. xv. c. 39. The laurel may be grown from cuttings or

shoots, and from seed.

[2925] Known as the Laurus tinus, or Viburnum tinus of Linnæus.

[2926] This is not done at the present day, as it is found that the oil

which they contain turns rancid, and prevents germination.

[2927] These methods of preparation are no longer employed.

[2928] It is for this reason, as already stated, that they should be

sown at once.

[2929] See B. xv. c. 39. He there calls it “sterilis,” “barren.”

[2930] See B. xv. c. 37. The myrtle reproduces itself in its native

countries with great facility, but in such case the flowers are only

single. Where a double flower is required, it is grown from layers.

[2931] No better, Fée says, than the ordinary method of making a myrtle

hedge.

[2932] The almond requires a dry, light earth, and a southern aspect.

[2933] These precautions are no longer observed at the present day.

[2934] This precaution, too, is no longer observed.

[2935] The citron is produced, at the present day, from either the

pips, plants, or cuttings.

[2936] This passage is borrowed almost verbatim from Virgil, Georgics

ii. 50, _et seq._

[2937] “Perna.” This method of reproduction is still adopted, but it is

not to be recommended, as the young tree, before it throws out a root,

is liable to be overthrown by high winds. Virgil mentions it, Georg.

ii. 23.

[2938] Palladius only says that the growth of the quince in such case

is very slow.

[2939] This experiment has been tried for curiosity’s sake, and has

succeeded; the roots become dry, lose their fibres, and then develop

buds, from which branches issue; while the buds of the summit become

changed into roots.

[2940] “Seminarii:” “nurseries,” as they are more commonly called.

[2941] The distance, in reality, ought to vary according to the nature

and species of the trees, and the height they are to be allowed to

attain.

[2942] De Re Rust. 48.

[2943] These precautions are not looked upon as necessary for the

indigenous trees at the present day. For the first year, however, Fée

says, the hurdles might be found very useful.

[2944] As the young cypress is very delicate, in the northern climates,

Fée says, this mode of protecting it in the nursery might prove

advantageous.

[2945] There is some exaggeration in this account of the extreme

smallness of the seed of the cypress.

[2946] Wine and oil-presses, for instance.

[2947] B. xix. c. 48, and B. xx. c. 11. As Fée remarks, this is

a fabulous assertion, which may still be based upon truth; as in

gum-resin, for instance, we find occasionally the seeds of the parent

tree accidentally enclosed in the tear-like drops.

[2948] In B. xvi. c. 47.

[2949] In c. 11 of this Book.

[2950] “Volgiolis.” This word is found nowhere else, and the reading is

doubtful.

[2951] This is, at least, an exaggeration.

[2952] See B. xvi. c. 31, and c. 60.

[2953] It is propagated at the present day both from seed and suckers,

but mostly from the latter, as the seed does not germinate for two

years.

[2954] See B. xv. c. 14. Probably a variety of the jujube; but if so,

it could hardly be grafted on trees of so different a nature as those

here mentioned.

[2955] This tree has not been identified. Dalechamps thinks that it is

a species of gooseberry, probably the same as the Ribes grossularia of

Linnæus. It has been also suggested that it may be the Spina cervina

of the Italians, the Rhamnus catharticus of Linnæus, the purgative

buckthorn.

[2956] Fée doubts if the plum can be grafted on the thorn.

[2957] First of March.

[2958] The thickness of the thumb. See the last Chapter.

[2959] He alludes to the Atinian elm, of which he has already said the

same in B. xvi. c. 29.

[2960] From being about nine feet in circumference.

[2961] A “little altar.”

[2962] 13th of February.

[2963] _I. e._ each at an angle with the other, in this form:—

* * *

* *

* * *

It was probably so called from the circumstance that each triangle

resembles V, or five.

[2964] This is the reason why a soil of only middling quality is

generally selected for nurseries and seed-plots; otherwise it might be

difficult to transplant the young trees to an improved soil.

[2965] The ordinary depth, at the present day, is about two feet; but

when in an argillaceous soil, as Pliny says, the hole is made deeper.

If the soil is black mould, the hole is not so deep, and of a square

form, just as recommended by Pliny.

[2966] De Re Rust. 43.

[2967] This would be either useless, or positively injurious to the

tree.

[2968] See B. xiv. c. 14. It seems impossible to say with exactness

how this passage came to be inserted in the context; but Sillig is

probably right in suspecting that there is a considerable lacuna here.

It is not improbable that Pliny may have enlarged upon the depth of the

roots of trees, and the method of removing them in ancient times. Such

being the case, he might think it not inappropriate to introduce the

story of Papirius, who, when only intending to have a stump cut down

that grew in the way, took the opportunity of frightening the prætor of

Præneste, by the suddenness of the order to his lictor, and probably

the peremptory tone in which it was given. This was all the more

serious to the prætor, as Papirius had been rebuking him just before in

the severest terms.

[2969] From the bundle of fasces, or rods.

[2970] This precept is borrowed from Virgil, Georg. ii. 348, et seq.

[2971] There is little doubt that they took the right view.

[2972] De Re Rust. 28.

[2973] This precaution is omitted by the modern nurserymen, though Fée

is inclined to think it might be attended with considerable advantage,

as the fibres of the side that has faced the south are not likely to be

so firm as those of the northern side. This precaution, however, would

be of more importance with exotic trees than indigenous ones. It is

still practised to some extent with the layers of the vine.

[2974] Fée suggests that Pliny may have here misunderstood a passage in

Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. ii. 8, with reference to the planting of the

fig.

[2975] There would be no such result, Fée says.

[2976] This is a useless precaution; but at the same time, Pliny’s

fears of its consequences are totally misplaced.

[2977] At 11 A.M., or 2 P.M.; _i. e._ between south and south-east, and

south and south-west.

[2978] De Re Rust. 28.

[2979] Wet moss, or moist earth, is used for the purpose at the present

day.

[2980] De Re Rust. 28. It is most desirable to transplant trees with a

layer of the earth in which they have grown; but if carried out to any

extent, it would be an expensive process.

[2981] “Tradunt.” This expression shows that Pliny does not give credit

to the statement. Columella and Palladius speak of _three_ stones being

laid under the root, evidently as a kind of charm.

[2982] See B. xix. c. 30. A somewhat similar practice is also

recommended in B. xv. c. 18; but, of course, as Fée remarks, it can

lead to no results.

[2983] De Re Rust. 28.

[2984] Fée remarks that this is a useful precaution, more particularly

in the case of the coniferous trees, the fig, and others that are

rich in juice; but if universally used, would be attended with great

expense. The French use for the purpose a mixture of fresh earth and

cow-dung, to which they give the name of “onguent Saint-Fiacre.” See p.

481.

[2985] This is from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. ii. 7. The question,

however, depends entirely upon the nature of the tree, the quality of

the soil, and various other considerations, as Pliny himself admits.

[2986] See B. xv. c. 24. This notion, Fée remarks, still prevails to a

very considerable extent.

[2987] By depriving it of the light, and the heat of the sun; but, most

probably, from no other reason.

[2988] “Quoniam et protecta vinearum ratione egent.” This passage is

probably in a mutilated state.

[2989] “In se convoluta.”

[2990] The plane was much valued for its shade by convivial parties.

Hence we find in Virgil, Georg. iv. 146—“Atque ministrantem platanum

potantibus umbram.”

[2991] He clearly alludes to the quivering poplar, Populus tremula of

Linnæus.

[2992] This is quite a fallacy. Even in the much more probable cases of

the upas and mangineel, it is not the fact.

[2993] Theophrastus, De Causis, B. iii. c. 8, says, that trees that

grow on declivities have shorter branches than those of the same kind

growing on plains.

[2994] De Re Rust. c. 16.

[2995] This assertion is doubtful; at the present day, in Andalusia,

the palm, the poplar, and many other trees are much larger than the

olive.

[2996] “Thousand pounders.” This, as Fée remarks, is clearly an

exaggeration.

[2997] Virgil, Georg. ii. 57, makes the same remark.

[2998] This shrub has not been identified.

[2999] See B. xii. c. 26.

[3000] De Re Rust. c. 51.

[3001] The French call cultivation by layers “marcotte,” as applied to

trees in general; and “provignage,” as applicable to the vine. The two

methods described by Pliny are still extensively practised.

[3002] Taken from Cato, De Re Rust. c. 133.

[3003] The Juniperus sabina of Linnæus: see B. xxiv. c. 61. It produces

seed, and there is only one variety that is barren; the plant being, in

reality, diœceous.

[3004] The rosemary, in reality, is a hermaphroditic plant, and in all

cases produces seed.

[3005] See B. xvi. c. 33.

[3006] This, Fée remarks, is in reality no more a case of grafting than

the growing of a tree from seed accidentally deposited in the cleft of

a rock.

[3007] Still used for the reproduction of fruit-trees and shrubs in the

pleasure garden.

[3008] Georg. ii. 73.

[3009] This story is borrowed from Theophrastus, De Caus. B. ii. c. 19.

Fée remarks, that it is very doubtful if an operation of so coarse a

nature could be productive of such results; and he says, that, at all

events, the two woods must have been species of the same genus, or else

individuals of the same family. The mode of grafting here described is

called by agriculturists in foreign countries, “Pliny’s graft.”

[3010] These statements as to the locality of the sap are erroneous.

[3011] The fig is the only fruit that is not improved by grafting; but

then it is not similar to most fruit, being, as Fée says, nothing more

than a fleshy floral receptacle.

[3012] This remark is founded on sound notions of vegetable physiology;

but at the same time it is contradictory to what he states in the

sequel as to grafting the pear on the plane, the apple on the cornel,

&c.

[3013] Georg. ii. 78.

[3014] An unnecessary precaution. It is not the situation of the

branches so much as the nature of the soil, traversed by the roots,

corresponding to them, that would be likely to have an influence on the

graft. There is little doubt that Pliny borrowed the present passage

from Columella, De Re Rust. v. 11; and De Arbor. 20.

[3015] This is sound advice.

[3016] See B. xvi. c. 39, 40, and 41.

[3017] In reprehending this absurd notion, Fée bestows a passing

censure on the superstitions of this nature, contained in the English

Vox Stellarum, one of our almanacks; and in the French “Almanach des

Bergers,” “Shepherds’ Almanack.”

[3018] This is borrowed by Palladius, in the operations of February,

tit. 17, and October, tit. 12.

[3019] De Re Rust. 40.

[3020] This is the onguent Saint-Fiacre of the French, and is still

used to protect the graft from all contact with the exterior air.

[3021] “Altitudinem,” as Dalechamps suggests, would appear to be a

better reading than “latitudinem.”

[3022] See B. xxv. c. 40.

[3023] Borrowed from Columella, B. iv. c. 29. This method is still

employed for young plants; in France it is called “salting” the plants.

[3024] De Re Rust. 41.

[3025] The first of these methods is now the only one at all employed

with the vine; indeed, it is more generally reproduced by means of

layers and suckers.

[3026] It is not accurately known what was the form or particular merit

of this auger or wimble.

[3027] Fée remarks, that the period here named is very indefinite. May

and the early part of June are the periods now selected for grafting

the vine.

[3028] This is borrowed from Varro, De Re Rust. B. i. c. 40. In

reality, it makes no difference whether the stock is that of a wild

tree or of the cultivated species.

[3029] “Emplastrum.” Properly, the little strip of bark, which is

fitted in with the eye, and which is _plastered_ or soldered down.

[3030] “Scutula.” So called from its resemblance to a “little shield.”

[3031] De Re Rust. 42.

[3032] Cato says, three and a-half.

[3033] Chalk and cow-dung. See c. 24 of this Book.

[3034] Perhaps “Tuliæ;” which would mean, according to Festus, the

“cascades” or “waterfalls” of Tibur, now Tivoli.

[3035] Fée says, that if we take the word “grafted” here in the

strictest sense, Pliny must have seen as great a marvel as any of those

mentioned in the “Arabian Nights;” in fact, utter impossibilities. He

thinks it possible, however, that a kind of mock grafting may have been

produced in the case, still employed in some parts of Italy, and known

as the “greffe-Diane.” A trunk of an orange tree is split, and slips

of numerous trees are then passed into it, which in time throw out

their foliage and blossoms in various parts of the tree, or at the top;

the consequence of which is, that the stock appears to bear several

varieties of blossoms at the same moment. It is not improbable that

Pliny was thus imposed upon.

[3036] The plane and the oak are no longer employed for the purpose.

[3037] See B. xv. c. 25.

[3038] See c. 29 of this Book.

[3039] See B. xv. c. 17.

[3040] The mulberry is incapable of being grafted on the elm.

[3041] De Re Rust. 45. The method of planting here described is still

the one most generally approved of for the olive.

[3042] De Re Rust. 44. The rules here given are still very generally

observed.

[3043] B. xv. c. 6.

[3044] See c. 2 of this Book, and B. xviii. c. 69.

[3045] The olive is an extremely long-lived tree; it has been known to

live as long as nine or ten centuries. A fragment of the bark, with a

little wood attached, if put in the ground, will throw out roots and

spring up. Hence it is not to be wondered at, that the ancients looked

upon it as immortal.

[3046] B. xviii. c. 74.

[3047] B. xviii. c. 74.

[3048] B. ii. c. 47, and B. xviii. c. 68.

[3049] There is a contradiction here; a few lines above, he says that

they _do_ plant their trees in Greece at this period. He may possibly

mean “sow.”

[3050] See B. xvi. c. 41. The rules here laid down by Pliny are, as

Fée remarks, much too rigorous, and must be modified according to

extraneous circumstances.

[3051] 13th of February.

[3052] B. xv. c. 26.

[3053] 1st of March.

[3054] 15th of March.

[3055] B. xvi. cc. 30, 46, 67, and 78.

[3056] De Re Rust. B. v. c. 11. A very absurd and useless method, Fée

remarks.

[3057] In c. 24 of this Book.

[3058] All the precepts given in this Chapter have been already given

in cc. 3 and 4 of the present Book.

[3059] The maple, linden, elm, and arundo donax, are still employed,

as well as the willow, for this purpose; the latter, however, but very

rarely. The account of its cultivation here given is borrowed from

Columella, De Re Rust. B. iv. c. 30.

[3060] The Salix viminalis of Linnæus, or white osier.

[3061] The Salix alba of Linnæus. These stakes, or props, are for the

support of the vine.

[3062] For making baskets and bindings.

[3063] The Populus canescens of Willdenow.

[3064] The Arundo donax of Linnæus. This account is mostly from

Columella, B. iv. c. 32.

[3065] B. xvi. c. 67.

[3066] First of March.

[3067] This method is condemned by Columella, De Arbor. 29, as the

produce is poor, meagre, and weak. It is but little practised at the

present day.

[3068] A mere superstition, of course.

[3069] “Pedamenta,” uprights, stays, stakes, or props.

[3070] This is not the fact, for the chesnut both grows and buds very

slowly.

[3071] A black, hot kind of earth. See c. 3 of this Book.

[3072] In reality, the chesnut will not thrive in a tufaceous, or,

indeed, in any kind of calcareous, soil.

[3073] In B. xv. c. 25.

[3074] The heaps of five in which they are sown.

[3075] The chesnut is grown with the _greatest difficulty_ from layers

and slips, and never from suckers. Pliny borrows this erroneous

assertion from Columella, B. iv. c. 32. In mentioning the heaps of

five nuts, Pliny seems to have had some superstitious observance in

view, for Columella only says that they must be sown thickly, to

prevent accident. The same is done at the present day, in order to make

provision for the depredations of field-mice, rats, and mice, which are

particularly fond of them.

[3076] The willow and the reed.

[3077] See B. xvi. cc. 5, 6, and 56.

[3078] In B. xvi. c. 60.

[3079] “Armamentis.” More properly, “rigging,” or “tackle.” He alludes

to the trees from which the uprights or stays for the vine are cut, or

which produce osiers for baskets and bindings required in the vintage.

[3080] See B. xiii. c. 42, and B. xvi. c. 65.

[3081] “Gemma.” A name now given by botanists to the buds in general.

[3082] “Oculus.” A bud undeveloped is still so called.

[3083] Germen.

[3084] This remark is not confirmed by experience.

[3085] On the contrary, the fig-tree has been known to live to a very

great age.

[3086] See B. xvi. c. 51.

[3087] This method of planting the vine is still extensively used;

especially the low kinds.

[3088] See c. 13 of this Book.

[3089] Sagittæ.

[3090] Trigemmes.

[3091] “Pampinarius.” This assertion has been found to be erroneous.

[3092] This practice has been condemned by modern cultivators.

[3093] From Columella, B. iii. c. 19.

[3094] In c. 24 of this Book.

[3095] “Marra.” Probably a mattock, with several prongs.

[3096] Occupies more space when thus loosened.

[3097] As compared with the original level of the ground.

[3098] Query, if this is the meaning of “extendi”?

[3099] This method is no longer used.

[3100] This, Fée remarks, is not the case: the tree might bear four

kinds of grapes, but not four kinds on the same bunch.

[3101] De Arbor. c. 9. This is not the fact.

[3102] He was little aware, Fée says, that all ligneous plants have a

radiating pith, distinct from the central one.

[3103] See B. xvi. c. 72.

[3104] Oliver de Serres distinguishes only three—the low, middling, and

tall vines.

[3105] See B. xiv. c. 4.

[3106] See B. xiv. c. 4.

[3107] “Jugum.” The cross-piece running along the top of the stay at

right angles; a rail or trail.

[3108] “Compluviatæ quadruplici.” Four cross-pieces running at right

angles to the prop or stay. See B. xvi. c. 68.

[3109] When these trenches and furrows are employed by the moderns,

they are made to run as much as possible from east to west. Most of the

rules here mentioned by Pliny are still adopted in France.

[3110] Fée regards this precept as a puerility.

[3111] See B. xviii. c. 77.

[3112] See B. xviii. c. 77. Decuman roads or paths ran from east to

west; cardinal roads were those at right angles to them.

[3113] “Pagina.” A set, compartment, or bed.

[3114] “Transtris.” “Ridges,” would appear to be the proper reading

here; more especially as it agrees with what has been previously said

in this Chapter in reference to declivitous ground.

[3115] De Re Rust. 40.

[3116] He differs somewhat in these measurements from Columella, B. iv.

c. 11.

[3117] This is condemned by Columella, B. iv. c. 11; but is approved of

by Virgil, Cato, and other authors.

[3118] In c. 34 of this Book.

[3119] Stays of elder would be utterly worthless, as they would soon

rot, and break directly, upon the least strain.

[3120] This applies solely, Fée observes, to the vine trained on the

trail or cross-piece.

[3121] This certainly appears to be a _non sequitur_, as applied to the

vine.

[3122] In the present Chapter.

[3123] Pampinarium.

[3124] Fructuarium.

[3125] Custos.

[3126] The pilferer, “or little thief,” apparently.

[3127] This, Fée observes, is not in accordance with the fact.

[3128] “Draco.” Male vines appear to have been a kind that threw out no

stock-branches, but ran to wood.

[3129] Than three buds, as already mentioned in the present Chapter.

[3130] “Pollices.” Branches, so called from the resemblance, being cut

off above the first eye. See Columella, De Re Rust. B. iv. c. 24.

[3131] Small forks of hazel are still used for the purpose, in Berri

and the Orleanais.

[3132] This plan is highly recommended by the modern growers.

[3133] This, as Fée remarks, is based upon sound reason.

[3134] In B. xiv. cc. 4 and 5.

[3135] B. xviii. c. 66.

[3136] 13th of April.

[3137] 10th of May.

[3138] A mere puerility—the dust, in fact, being injurious to the

grape, by obstructing the natural action of heat and humidity.

[3139] 15th of May. This clearing of the leaves, though still

practised, Fée says, is by no means beneficial; the only result is,

that the grapes become of a higher colour, but in no degree riper than

they otherwise would have been.

[3140] The proper period for pruning varies in reality according to the

climate.

[3141] See B. xviii. c. 59.

[3142] See Columella, De Re Rust. B. iv. c. 29.

[3143] The real reason, as Fée remarks, is the comparative facility of

cutting aslant rather than horizontally; indeed, if the latter were

attempted, injury to the wood would be the certain result.

[3144] The pruning should come first, in every case, Fée says.

[3145] De Re Rust. c. 33. The advice given by him, though good, is not

applicable to all vineyards.

[3146] A sort of clover, probably. See B. xviii. c. 42, and a few lines

below.

[3147] From the Greek ὠκέως, “quickly”—Varro says.

[3148] See c. 15 of this Book.

[3149] It is still practised in Dauphiné and the department of the

Basses Alpes. It is very prevalent, also, in the South of Italy.

[3150] All these trees are still employed for the purpose in Italy.

[3151] B. xvi. c. 68.

[3152] Palmæ.

[3153] From Columella, B. v. c. 7.

[3154] This method is no longer employed.

[3155] Rasilis.

[3156] Columella, B. v. c. 6.

[3157] Columella, B. v. c. 6.

[3158] Capreolis.

[3159] As being too dense and shady.

[3160] From the Greek, meaning the “vine-band.” It was, probably, a

kind of rush.

[3161] Fée thinks that he may mean the Festuca fluitans more

particularly, by the name _ulva_.

[3162] It is no longer used, and Fée doubts its utility.

[3163] Hardouin suggests “Tarracina.”

[3164] In c. 16 of this Book.

[3165] To drain the upper part of the tree.

[3166] Pergulas. See B. xiv. c. 3.

[3167] See B. xviii. c. 56. These, of course, are mere superstitions.

[3168] Animalium.

[3169] In B. xiii. c. 6.

[3170] In B. xiii. c. 47.

[3171] This is the opinion of Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. iv. c. 16.

[3172] In c. 2 of this Book.

[3173] “Vermiculatio.” Fée understands this to apply to the attacks of

insects in general, the Dermestes typographus more particularly.

[3174] Or, in other words, the evil influences of the heavenly bodies:

this, of course, is not believed in at the present day.

[3175] Necrosis, in particular portions of the plant.

[3176] See B. xvi. c. 19. He alludes to an exuberant secretion of

resin, in which case the tree becomes charged with it like a torch.

[3177] He alludes to the epidemic and contagious maladies by which

trees are attacked. The causes of these attacks are often unknown,

but they may probably proceed, in many instances, from springs of hot

water, or gaseous emanations secreted in the earth.

[3178] The woodpecker more particularly. See B. x. c. 20.

[3179] It is not known, with certainty, what these worms or

caterpillars were. The larva of the capricorn beetle, or of the

stag-beetle, has been suggested. Geoffroi thinks that it may have been

the larva of the palm-weevil. This taste for caterpillars, probably, no

longer prevails in any part of Europe.

[3180] This passage, which is quite conformable to truth, is from

Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. iv. c. 16, and B. iii. c. 12.

[3181] See B. xvi. c. 80.

[3182] The effects produced upon young shoots by frost, are still so

called.

[3183] Probably from the black colour which it turns.

[3184] In this case it would be very similar to what we call sun-stroke.

[3185] “Clavum,” a nail. He appears to allude to a gall that appears on

the bark of the olive, the eruption forming the shape of a nail, and,

in some instances, a “patella,” or platter. The Coccus adonideum is an

insect that is very destructive to the olive.

[3186] De Re Rust. 6.

[3187] A sort of Erineum, Fée suggests. See B. xv. c. 6.

[3188] “Impetigo.” “Tetter,” or “ringworm,” literally.

[3189] From Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. iv. c. 16.

[3190] Σφακελισμὸς and κράδος.

[3191] From Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. iv. c. 16. Fée is at a loss

to know what is meant by these viscous dews, and is unable to identify

the disease here mentioned as “scabies.” It is not improbable that it

was caused by an insect.

[3192] See cc. 35 and 45 of this Book.

[3193] See B. xviii. c. 69.

[3194] In c. 35. See also c. 45 of this Book.

[3195] From Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. iv. c. 16. If the terminal

bud of the palm is taken off, it will mostly die.

[3196] “Decidunt.” The French use a similar word—_couler_. In this case

the pollen, being washed off by the showers, has not the opportunity of

fecundating the ovary of the flower.

[3197] The insect Ichneumon or Pupivora, probably, which breeds in

the larvæ or else in the body of the caterpillar. The passage is from

Theophrastus, B. iv. c. 16.

[3198] Caused probably by a maggot or moth passing from one grape

or olive to another, and spinning its web in vast quantities. See

Theophrastus, B. iv. c. 17.

[3199] See B. xviii. c. 74.

[3200] On the contrary, this sweet juice is secreted by the insect

itself, an aphis or vine-fretter.

[3201] The north-west wind. See Horace, Sat. B. i. s. v. l. 71.

[3202] See B. ii. c. 46.

[3203] He probably means if applied _to the bark_ of young trees.

[3204] The cork-tree forms no exception to the rule—if a complete ring

of the bark that lies under the epidermis is removed, the death of the

tree is the inevitable result. See B. xvi. c. 13.

[3205] Probably the Arbutus integrifolia. See B. xiii. c. 40.

[3206] This in reality is not the bark, but merely the epidermis, which

is capable of reproduction in many trees.

[3207] See c. 16 of this Book.

[3208] This method, however, is often found efficacious in preserving

the life of the oak, as well as many other trees, by excluding the

action of the air and water.

[3209] It prevents them from increasing in height, but does not cause

their death.

[3210] De Re Rust. B. i. c. 2.

[3211] In B. viii. c. 76, and B. xv. c. 8.

[3212] This statement is fabulous. Goats are apt to injure trees by

biting the buds and young shoots. Fabulous as it is, however, Fée

remarks that it still obtains credit among the peasantry in France.

[3213] This fabulous story is taken from Theophrastus, De Causis, B. v.

c. 25.

[3214] Also from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. iv. cc. 19-20, and De

Causis, B. v. c. 22. It is just possible that on some of the branches

being torn off by an animal, the tree may have grown with increased

vigour.

[3215] In B. xiii. c. 9, and in c. 30 of this Book.

[3216] See B. xvi. c. 47.

[3217] It must be remembered that ivy is not a parasite, and that it

has no suckers to absorb the nutriment of another tree.

[3218] See B. xvi. c. 62.

[3219] C. Bauhin gives this name to several species of Atriplex. Lacuna

was of opinion that the Halimon of Dioscorides was the same as the

Viburnum.

[3220] A superstitious belief only, as Fée remarks.

[3221] See B. xix. c. 26.

[3222] Virgil shared this belief: see Georg. ii. l. 299.

[3223] This may be true in some measure as to nitre, alum, and warm

sea-water; but not so as to the shells of beans and pigeon-pease, which

would make an excellent manure for it.

[3224] This, as Fée remarks, is not by any means impossible, nor,

indeed, are any other of the cases mentioned in this paragraph, owing

to some accidental circumstance.

[3225] See B. xxix. c. 29.

[3226] These stories can, of course, be only regarded as fabulous.

[3227] This may easily be accounted for, by the seed accidentally

lodging in a crevice of the tree.

[3228] A. U. C. 600.

[3229] An exaggerated account merely of a land-slip.

[3230] See c. 43 of this Book.

[3231] See c. 45 of this Book.

[3232] In B. xvi. cc. 53, 56, 66, 67, and 90.

[3233] This was the native place of Ovid, who alludes to its cold

streams, Tristia, B. iv. El. x. ll. 3, 4:—

“Sulmo mihi patria est, gelidis uberrimus undis,

Millia qui novies distat ab urbe decem.”

Irrigation of the vine is still practised in the east, in Italy, and in

Spain; but it does not tend to improve the quality of the wine.

[3234] The Sagrus, now the Sangro.

[3235] “Uredo rubigo” and “uredo caries.”

[3236] Cc. 45 and 70.

[3237] Still practised upon the cherry-tree.

[3238] He alludes to the medical operation for the removal of carious

bones, described by Celsus, B. viii. c. 3.

[3239] This is still done by some persons; but it can be productive of

no beneficial result.

[3240] See B. xv. c. 21: the Cynips psenes of Linn. It penetrates the

fig at the base, and deposits an egg in each seed, which is ultimately

eaten by the larva; hence the supposed transformation.

[3241] A kind of wasp, probably.

[3242] A puerility borrowed from Columella, B. v. c. 10.

[3243] From Columella, B. v. c. 10.

[3244] Trucidatio.

[3245] For the removal of moss and lichens, which obstruct evaporation,

and collect moisture to an inconvenient degree, besides harbouring

insects.

[3246] Agriculturists, Fée says, are not agreed upon this question.

[3247] Or laser. See B. xix. c. 15.

[3248] See B. xviii. c. 35.

[3249] Pœnâ emendantur.

[3250] It is very doubtful whether this is not likely to prove very

injurious to them. This passage is from Theophrastus, De Causis, B.

iii. c. 23.

[3251] Without any efficacy, beyond a doubt.

[3252] The action of salt upon vegetation is, at the best, very

uncertain.

[3253] These recipes are worthless, and almost impracticable.

[3254] This method is still adopted, but with none of the accessories

here mentioned by Pliny.

[3255] A dangerous practice, Fée remarks, and certainly not to be

adopted.

[3256] Mitior.

[3257] De Re Rust. 93.

[3258] At the present day, fumigations are preferred to any such

mixtures as those here described. Caterpillars are killed by the fumes

of sulphur, bitumen, or damp straw.

[3259] “Convolvulus.” He alludes to the vine Pyralis, one of the

Lepidoptera, the caterpillar of which rolls itself up in the leaves of

the tree, after eating away the foot-stalk.

[3260] The “fly,” or “winged” insect. The grey weevil, Fée thinks, that

eats the buds and the young grapes.

[3261] An absurd superstition.

[3262] This may possibly be efficacious, but the other precepts here

given are full of absurdity.

[3263] It might possibly drive them to a distance, but would do no more.

[3264] An absurd notion, very similar to some connected with the same

subject, which have prevailed even in recent times.

[3265] De Re Rust. 160. The words of this charm over the split reed

while held near the injured limb, were as follow:—“Sanitas fracto—motas

danata daries dardaries astataries”—mere gibberish.

[3266] De Re Rust. 139. This prayer was offered to the deity of the

sacred grove, after a pig had been first offered—“If thou art a god, or

if thou art a goddess, to whom this grove is sacred, may it be allowed

me, through the expiation made by this pig, and for the purpose of

restraining the overgrowth of this grove, &c.” It must be remembered

that it was considered a most heinous offence to cut down or lop a

consecrated grove. See Ovid, Met. B. viii. c. 743.

[3267] See end of B. ii.

[3268] See end of B. iii.

[3269] See end of B. ii.

[3270] See end of B. vii.

[3271] See end of B. vii.

[3272] See end of B. iii.

[3273] See end of B. x.

[3274] See end of B. xi.

[3275] See end of B. xvi.

[3276] See end of B. vii.

[3277] See end of B. ix.

[3278] See end of B. xiv.

[3279] See end of B. viii.

[3280] See end of B. xiv.

[3281] Fabianus Papirius; see end of B. ii.

[3282] See end of B. x.

[3283] See end of B. xiv.

[3284] A Roman rhetorician, preceptor of Antony and Augustus. He is

said to have claimed descent from Epidius, a deity worshipped on the

banks of the Sarnus.

[3285] See end of B. ii.

[3286] See end of B. vii.

[3287] See end of B. iii.

[3288] See end of B. ii.

[3289] See end of B. ii.

[3290] See end of B. ii.

[3291] See end of B. viii.

[3292] See end of B. viii.

[3293] See end of B. viii.

[3294] See end of B. viii.

[3295] For Xenophon of Athens, see end of B. iv. For Xenophon of

Lampsacus, see end of B. iii.

[3296] See end of B. viii.

[3297] See end of B. viii.

[3298] See end of B. viii.

[3299] See end of B. viii.

[3300] See end of B. viii.

[3301] See end of B. viii.

[3302] See end of B. viii.

[3303] See end of B. viii.

[3304] See end of B. vi.

[3305] See end of B. viii.

[3306] See end of B. xiv.

[3307] See end of B. viii.

[3308] See end of B. viii.

[3309] See end of B. ii.

[3310] See end of B. x.

[3311] See end of B. viii.

[3312] See end of B. viii.

[3313] See end of B. viii.

[3314] See end of B. viii.

[3315] See end of B. xii.

[3316] See end of B. viii.

[3317] See end of B. viii.

END OF VOL. III.

J. BILLING, PRINTER AND STEREOTYPER, WOKING, SURREY.

Transcriber’s notes:

The spelling, hyphenation, punctuation and accentuation are as the

original, except for apparent typographical errors which have been

silently corrected.

‘BOOK XII.’ heading is ‘BOOK X.’ in the original and has been

corrected.

‘BOOK XIV’ and ‘BOOK XV’ are both titled ‘THE NATURAL HISTORY OF

THE FRUIT-TREES.’ ‘BOOK XIV’ describes the grape vine and ‘BOOK XV’

describes the olive and various other trees.

Footnote [1718] ‘See B. xii. c. 95.’ in the original is incorrect and

has been changed by the transcriber to read ‘See B. xii. c. 48.’

Footnote [3192] ‘See cc. 35 and 50 of this Book.’ in the original is

incorrect and has been changed by the transcriber to read ‘See cc. 35

and 45 of this Book.’

Footnote [3236] Refers to chapter 70 of book XVII which does not exist.

In ‘GREEK AND ROMAN MONEY’ the following changes have been made:—

Obolus, G 1-1/2 .5 pence. Silver.

now reads:—

Obolus, G 1-1/2 pence + .5 farthings. Silver.

Quadrans. R 53,125 farthing. Copper.

now reads:—

Quadrans. R .53125 farthings. Copper.