BOOK XXI. AN ACCOUNT OF FLOWERS, AND THOSE USED FOR CHAPLETS MORE PARTICULARLY.

CHAP. 1. (1.)—THE NATURE OF FLOWERS AND GARLANDS.

Cato has recommended that flowers for making chaplets should also be cultivated in the garden; varieties remarkable for a delicacy which it is quite impossible to express, inasmuch as no individual can find such facilities for describing them as Nature does for bestowing on them their numerous tints—Nature, who here in especial shows herself in a sportive mood, and takes a delight in the prolific display of her varied productions. The other1837 plants she has produced for our use and our nutriment, and to them accordingly she has granted years and even ages of duration: but as for the flowers and their perfumes, she has given them birth for but a day—a mighty lesson to man, we see, to teach him that that which in its career is the most beauteous and the most attractive to the eye, is the very first to fade and die.

Even the limner’s art itself possesses no resources for reproducing the colours of the flowers in all their varied tints and combinations, whether we view them in groups alternately blending their hues, or whether arranged in festoons, each variety by1838 itself, now assuming a circular form, now running obliquely, and now disposed in a spiral pattern; or whether, as we see sometimes, one wreath is interwoven within another.

CHAP. 2. (2.)—GARLANDS AND CHAPLETS.

The ancients used chaplets of diminutive size, called “struppi;”1839 from which comes our name for a chaplet, “strophiolum.” Indeed, it was only by very slow degrees that this last word1840 became generalized, as the chaplets that were used at sacrifices, or were granted as the reward of military valour, asserted their exclusive right to the name of “corona.” As for garlands, when they came to be made of flowers, they received the name of “serta,” from the verb “sero,”1841 or else from our word “series.”1842 The use1843 of flowers for garlands is not so very ancient, among the Greeks even.

CHAP. 3.—WHO INVENTED THE ART OF MAKING GARLANDS: WHEN THEY FIRST RECEIVED THE NAME OF “COROLLÆ,” AND FOR WHAT REASON.

For in early times it was the usage to crown the victors in the sacred contests with branches of trees: and it was only at a later period, that they began to vary their tints by the combination1844 of flowers, to heighten the effect in turn by their colour and their smell—an invention due to the ingenuity of the painter Pausias, at Sicyon,1845 and the garland-maker Glycera, a female to whom he was greatly attached, and whose handiwork was imitated by him in colours. Challenging him to a trial of skill, she would repeatedly vary her designs, and thus it was in reality a contest between art and Nature; a fact which we find attested by pictures of that artist even still in existence, more particularly the one known as the “Stephaneplocos,”1846 in which he has given a likeness of Glycera herself. This invention, therefore, is only to be traced to later than the Hundredth1847 Olympiad.

Chaplets of flowers being now the fashion, it was not long before those came into vogue which are known to us as Egyptian1848 chaplets; and then the winter chaplets, made for the time at which Earth refuses her flowers, of thin laminæ of horn stained various colours. By slow degrees, too, the name was introduced at Rome, these garlands being known there at first as “corollæ,” a designation given them to express the remarkable delicacy1849 of their texture. In more recent times, again, when the chaplets presented were made of thin plates1850 of copper, gilt or silvered, they assumed the name of “corollaria.”

CHAP. 4. (3.)—WHO WAS THE FIRST TO GIVE CHAPLETS WITH LEAVES OF SILVER AND GOLD. LEMNISCI: WHO WAS THE FIRST TO EMBOSS THEM.

Crassus Dives1851 was the first who gave chaplets with artificial leaves of silver and gold, at the games celebrated by him. To embellish these chaplets, and to confer additional honour on them, lemnisci were added, in imitation of the Etruscan chaplets, which ought properly to have none but lemnisci1852 made of gold. For a long period these lemnisci were destitute of ornament:1853 P. Claudius Pulcher1854 was the first who taught us to emboss1855 them, and added leaves of tinsel to the laminæ1856 of which the lemniscus was formed.

CHAP. 5.—THE GREAT HONOUR IN WHICH CHAPLETS WERE HELD BY THE ANCIENTS.

Chaplets, however, were always held in a high degree of estimation, those even which were acquired at the public games. For it was the usage of the citizens to go down in person to take part in the contests of the Circus, and to send their slaves and horses thither as well. Hence it is that we find it thus written in the laws of the Twelve Tables: “If any person has gained a chaplet himself, or by his money,1857 let the same be given to him as the reward of his prowess.” There is no doubt that by the words “gained by his money,” the laws meant a chaplet which had been gained by his slaves or horses. Well then, what was the honour acquired thereby? It was the right secured by the victor, for himself and for his parents, after death, to be crowned without fail, while the body was laid out in the house,1858 and on its being carried1859 to the tomb.

On other occasions, chaplets were not indiscriminately worn, not even those which had been won in the games.

CHAP. 6.—THE SEVERITY OF THE ANCIENTS IN REFERENCE TO CHAPLETS.

Indeed the rules upon this point were remarkably severe. L. Fulvius, a banker,1860 having been accused, at the time of the Second Punic War, of looking down from the balcony1861 of his house upon the Forum, with a chaplet of roses upon his head, was imprisoned by order of the Senate, and was not liberated before the war was brought to a close. P. Munatius, having placed upon his head a chaplet of flowers taken from the statue of Marsyas,1862 was condemned by the Triumviri to be put in chains. Upon his making appeal to the tribunes of the people, they refused to intercede in his behalf—a very different state of things to that at Athens, where the young men,1863 in their drunken revelry, were in the habit, before midday, of making their way into the very schools of the philosophers even. Among ourselves, no such instance of a similar licentiousness is to be found, unless, indeed, in the case of the daughter1864 of the late Emperor Augustus, who, in her nocturnal debaucheries, placed a chaplet on the statue1865 of Marsyas, conduct deeply deplored in the letters of that god.1866

CHAP. 7.—A CITIZEN DECKED WITH FLOWERS BY THE ROMAN PEOPLE.

Scipio is the only person that ever received from the Roman people the honour of being decked with flowers. This Scipio received the surname of Serapio,1867 from his remarkable resemblance to a certain person of that name who dealt in pigs. He died in his tribuneship, greatly beloved by the people, and in every way worthy of the family of the Africani. The property he left was not sufficient to pay the expenses of his burial; upon which the people made a subscription and contracted1868 for his funeral, flowers being scattered upon the body from every possible quarter1869 as it was borne along.

CHAP. 8.—PLAITED CHAPLETS. NEEDLE-WORK CHAPLETS. NARD-LEAF CHAPLETS. SILKEN CHAPLETS.

In those days, too, chaplets were employed in honour of the gods, the Lares, public as well as domestic, the sepulchres,1870 and the Manes. The highest place, however, in public estimation, was held by the plaited chaplet; such as we find used by the Salii in their sacred rites, and at the solemnization of their yearly1871 banquets. In later times, the rose chaplet has been adopted, and luxury arose at last to such a pitch that a chaplet was held in no esteem at all if it did not consist entirely of leaves sown together with the needle. More recently, again, they have been imported from India, or from nations beyond the countries of India.

But it is looked upon as the most refined of all, to present chaplets made of nard leaves, or else of silk of many colours steeped in unguents. Such is the pitch to which the luxuriousness of our women has at last arrived!

CHAP. 9.—AUTHORS WHO HAVE WRITTEN ON FLOWERS. AN ANECDOTE RELATIVE TO QUEEN CLEOPATRA AND CHAPLETS.

Among the Greeks, the physicians Mnesitheus and Callimachus have written separate treatises on the subject of chaplets, making mention of such flowers as are injurious to the head.1872 For, in fact, the health is here concerned to some extent, as it is at the moments of carousal and gaiety in particular that penetrating odours steal insidiously upon the brain—witness an instance in the wicked cunning displayed upon one occasion by Cleopatra.

At the time when preparations were making for the battle that was eventually fought at Actium, Antonius held the queen in such extreme distrust as to be in dread of her very attentions even, and would not so much as touch his food, unless another person had tasted it first. Upon this, the queen, it is said, wishing to amuse herself with his fears, had the extremities of the flowers in a chaplet dipped in poison, and then placed it upon her head.1873 After a time, as the hilarity increased apace, she challenged Antonius to swallow the chaplets, mixed up with their drink. Who, under such circumstances as these, could have apprehended treachery? Accordingly, the leaves were stripped from off the chaplet, and thrown into the cup. Just as Antonius was on the very point of drinking, she arrested his arm with her hand.—“Behold, Marcus Antonius,” said she, “the woman against whom you are so careful to take these new precautions of yours in employing your tasters! And would then, if I could exist without you, either means or opportunity of effecting my purpose be wanting to me?” Saying this, she ordered a man to be brought from prison, and made him drink off the potion; he did so, and fell dead1874 upon the spot.

Besides the two authors above-mentioned, Theophrastus,1875 among the Greeks, has written on the subject of flowers. Some of our own writers also have given the title of “Anthologica” to their works, but no one, to my knowledge at least, has treated expressly1876 of flowers. In fact, we ourselves have no intention here of discussing the mode of wearing chaplets, for that would be frivolous1877 indeed; but shall proceed to state such particulars in relation to flowers as shall appear to us deserving of remark.

CHAP. 10. (4.)—THE ROSE: TWELVE VARIETIES OF IT.

The people of our country were acquainted with but very few garland flowers among the garden plants, and those few hardly any but the violet and the rose. The plant which bears the rose is, properly speaking, more of a thorn than a shrub—indeed, we sometimes find it growing on a bramble1878 even; the flower having, even then, a pleasant smell, though by no means penetrating. The flower in all roses is originally enclosed in a bud,1879 with a grained surface within, which gradually swells, and assumes the form of a green pointed cone, similar to our alabaster1880 unguent boxes in shape. Gradually acquiring a ruddy tint, this bud opens little by little, until at last it comes into full blow, developing the calyx, and embracing the yellow-pointed filaments which stand erect in the centre of it.

The employment of the rose in chaplets is, so to say, the least1881 use that is made of it. The flower is steeped in oil, a practice which has prevailed from the times of the Trojan war, as Homer1882 bears witness; in addition to which, it now forms an ingredient in our unguents, as mentioned on a previous occasion.1883 It is employed also by itself for certain medicinal purposes, and is used in plasters and eye-salves1884 for its penetrating qualities: it is used, also, to perfume the delicacies of our banquets, and is never attended with any noxious results.

The most esteemed kinds of rose among us are those of Præneste1885 and Campania.1886 Some persons have added to these varieties the rose of Miletus,1887 the flower of which is an extremely brilliant red, and has never more than a dozen petals. The next to it is the rose of Trachyn,1888 not so red as the last, and then that of Alabanda,1889 with whitish petals, but not so highly esteemed. The least esteemed of all, however, is the thorn rose,1890 the petals of which are numerous, but extremely small. The essential points of difference in the rose are the number1891 of the petals, the comparative number1892 of thorns on the stem, the colour, and the smell. The number of the petals, which is never less than five, goes on increasing in amount, till we find one variety with as many as a hundred, and thence known as the “centifolia:”1893 in Italy, it is to be found in Campania, and in Greece, in the vicinity of Philippi, though this last is not the place of its natural1894 growth. Mount Pangæeus,1895 in the same vicinity, produces a rose with numerous petals of diminutive size: the people of those parts are in the habit of transplanting it, a method which greatly tends to improve its growth. This kind, however, is not remarkable for its smell, nor yet is the rose which has a very large or very broad petal: indeed, we may state in a few words, that the best proof of the perfume of the flower is the comparative roughness of the calyx.1896

Cæpio, who lived in the reign of the Emperor Tiberius, asserts that the centifolia is never employed for chaplets, except at the extreme1897 points of union as it were, being remarkable neither for its smell1898 nor its beauty. There is another variety of rose, too, called the “Grecian” rose by our people, and “lychnis”1899 by the Greeks: it grows nowhere except in humid soils, and has never more than five petals: it does not exceed the violet in size, and is destitute of smell. There is another kind, again, known to us as the “Græcula”1900 the petals of which are tightly rolled together, and which never open except when pressed in the hand, it having always the appearance, in fact, of being in bud: the petals of it are remarkably large. Another kind, again, springs from a stem like that of the mallow, the leaves being similar to those of the olive—the name given to it is “macetum.”1901 There is the rose of autumn, too, known to us as the “coroniola,”1902 which is of a middle size, between the varieties just mentioned. All these kinds, however, are destitute of smell, with the exception of the coroniola, and the one which grows on the bramble:1903 so extended is the scope for fictitious1904 productions!

And, indeed, the genuine rose, for the most part, is indebted for its qualities to the nature of the soil. That of Cyrenæ1905 is the most odoriferous of all, and hence it is that the unguents of that place are so remarkably fine: at Carthage, again, in Spain, there are early1906 roses throughout all the winter. The temperature, too, of the climate is not without its influence: for in some years we find the roses much less odoriferous than in others; in addition to which, their smell is always more powerful when grown in dry soils1907 than in humid ones. The rose does not admit of being planted in either a rich or an argillaceous soil, nor yet on irrigated land; being contented with a thin, light earth, and more particularly attached to ground on which old building rubbish has been laid.

The rose of Campania is early, that of Miletus late, but it is the rose of Præneste that goes off the very latest of all. For the rose, the ground is generally dug to a greater depth than it is for corn, but not so deep as for the vine. It grows but very slowly1908 from the seed, which is found in the calyx beneath the petals of the flower, covered with a sort of down; hence it is that the method of grafting is usually the one preferred, or else propagation from the eyes of the root, as in the reed.1909 One kind is grafted, which bears a pale flower, with thorny branches of a remarkable length; it belongs to the quinquefolia variety, being one of the Greek roses.1910 All roses are improved by being pruned and cauterized; transplanting, too, makes them grow, like the vine, all the better, and with the greatest rapidity. The slips are cut some four fingers in length or more, and are planted immediately after the setting of the Vergiliæ; then, while the west winds are prevalent, they are transplanted at intervals of a foot, the earth being frequently turned up about them.

Persons whose object it is to grow early roses, make a hole a foot in width about the root, and pour warm water into it, at the period when the buds are beginning to put forth.1911

CHAP. 11. (5.)—THE LILY: FOUR VARIETIES OF IT.

The lily holds the next highest rank after the rose, and has a certain affinity1912 with it in respect of its unguent and the oil extracted from it, which is known to us as “lirinon.”1913 Blended, too, with roses, the lily1914 produces a remarkably fine effect; for it begins to make its appearance, in fact, just as the rose is in the very middle of its season. There is no flower that grows to a greater height than the lily, sometimes, indeed, as much as three cubits; the head of it being always drooping, as though the neck of the flower were unable to support its weight. The whiteness of the lily is quite remarkable, the petals being striated on the exterior; the flower is narrow at the base, and gradually expanding in shape like a tapering1915 cup with the edges curving outwards, the fine pistils of the flower, and the stamens with their antheræ of a saffron colour, standing erect in the middle.1916 Hence the perfume of the lily, as well as its colour, is two-fold, there being one for the petals and another for the stamens. The difference, however, between them is but very small, and when the flower is employed for making lily unguents and oils, the petals are never rejected.

There is a flower, not unlike the lily, produced by the plant known to us as the “convolvulus.”1917 It grows among shrubs, is totally destitute of smell, and has not the yellow antheræ of the lily within: only vying with it in its whiteness, it would almost appear to be the rough sketch1918 made by Nature when she was learning how to make the lily. The white lily is propagated in all the various ways which are employed for the cultivation of the rose,1919 as also by means of a certain tearlike gum1920 which belongs to it, similarly to hipposelinum1921 in fact: indeed, there is no plant that is more prolific than this, a single root often giving birth to as many as fifty bulbs.1922 There is, also, a red lily, known by the name of “crinon”1923 to the Greeks, though there are some authors who call the flower of it “cynorrodon.”1924 The most esteemed are those of Antiochia and Laodicea in Syria, and next to them that of Phaselis.1925 To the fourth rank belongs the flower that grows in Italy.

CHAP. 12.—THE NARCISSUS: THREE VARIETIES OF IT.

There is a purple1926 lily, too, which sometimes has a double stem; it differs only from the other lilies in having a more fleshy root and a bulb of larger size, but undivided:1927 the name given to it is “narcissus.”1928 A second variety of this lily has a white flower, with a purple corolla. There is also this difference between the ordinary lily and the narcissus, that in the latter the leaves spring from the root of the plant. The finest are those which grow on the mountains of Lycia. A third variety is similar to the others in every respect, except that the corolla of the plant is green. They are all of them late1929 flowers: indeed, they only bloom after the setting of Arcturus,1930 and at the time of the autumnal equinox.

CHAP. 13.—HOW SEED IS STAINED TO PRODUCE TINTED FLOWERS.

There has been invented1931 also a method of tinting the lily, thanks to the taste of mankind for monstrous productions. The dried stalks1932 of the lily are tied together in the month of July, and hung up in the smoke: then, in the following March, when the small knots1933 are beginning to disclose themselves, the stalks are left to steep in the lees of black or Greek wine, in order that they may contract its colour, and are then planted out in small trenches, some semi-sextarii of wine-lees being poured around them. By this method purple lilies are obtained, it being a very remarkable thing that we should be able to dye a plant to such a degree as to make it produce a coloured flower.

CHAP. 14. (6.)—HOW THE SEVERAL VARIETIES OF THE VIOLET ARE RESPECTIVELY PRODUCED, GROWN, AND CULTIVATED. THE THREE DIFFERENT COLOURS OF THE VIOLET. THE FIVE VARIETIES OF THE YELLOW VIOLET.

Next after the roses and the lilies, the violet is held in the highest esteem: of this there are several varieties, the purple,1934 the yellow, and the white, all of them reproduced from plants, like the cabbage. The purple violet, which springs up spontaneously in sunny spots, with a thin, meagre soil, has larger petals than the others, springing immediately from the root, which is of a fleshy substance. This violet has a name, too, distinct from the other wild kinds, being called “ion,”1935 and from it the ianthine1936 cloth takes its name.

Among the cultivated kinds, the yellow1937 violet is held in the greatest esteem. The Tusculan violet, and that known as the “marine”1938 violet, have petals somewhat broader than the others, but not so odoriferous; the Calatian1939 violet, too, which has a smaller leaf, is entirely destitute of smell. This last is a present to us from the autumn, the others from the spring.

CHAP. 15.—THE CALTHA. THE SCOPA REGIA.

Next to it comes the caltha, the flowers of which are of similar colour and size;1940 in the number of its petals, however, it surpasses the marine violet, the petals of which are never more than five in number. The marine violet is surpassed, too, by the other in smell; that of the caltha being very powerful. The smell, too, is no less powerful in the plant known as the “scopa regia;”1941 but there it is the leaves of the plant, and not the flowers, that are odoriferous.

CHAP. 16.—THE BACCHAR. THE COMBRETUM. ASARUM.

The bacchar,1942 too, by some persons known as “field nard,” is odoriferous in the root only. In former times, it was the practice to make unguents of this root, as we learn from the poet Aristophanes, a writer of the Ancient Comedy; from which circumstance some persons have erroneously given the name of “exotic”1943 to the plant. The smell of it strongly resembles that of cinnamomum; and the plant grows in thin soils, which are free from all humidity.

The name of “combretum”1944 is given to a plant that bears a very strong resemblance to it, the leaves of which taper to the fineness of threads; in height, however, it is taller than the bacchar. These are the only1945 * * * * The error, however, ought to be corrected, on the part of those who have bestowed upon the bacchar the name of “field nard;” for that in reality is the surname given to another plant, known to the Greeks as “asaron,” the description and features of which we have already1946 mentioned, when speaking of the different varieties of nard. I find, too, that the name of “asaron” has been given to this plant, from the circumstance of its never1947 being employed in the composition of chaplets.

CHAP. 17.—SAFFRON: IN WHAT PLACES IT GROWS BEST. WHAT FLOWERS WERE KNOWN AT THE TIME OF THE TROJAN WAR.

The wild saffron1948 is the best; indeed, in Italy it is of no use whatever to attempt to propagate it, the produce of a whole bed of saffron being boiled down to a single scruple; it is reproduced by offsets from the bulb. The cultivated saffron is larger, finer, and better looking than the other kinds, but has much less efficacy. This plant is everywhere degenerating,1949 and is far from prolific at Cyrenæ even, a place where the flowers are always of the very finest quality. The most esteemed saffron, however, is that of Cilicia, and there of Mount Corycus in particular; next comes the saffron of Mount Olympus, in Lycia, and then of Centuripa, in Sicily; some persons, however, have given the second rank to the Phlegræan1950 saffron.

There is nothing so much adulterated1951 as saffron: the best proof of its goodness is when it snaps under pressure by the fingers, as though it were friable;1952 for when it is moist, a state which it owes to being adulterated, it is limp, and will not snap asunder. Another way of testing it, again, is to apply it with the hand to the face, upon which, if good, it will be found to be slightly caustic to the face and eyes. There is a peculiar kind, too, of cultivated saffron, which is in general extremely mild, being only of middling1953 quality; the name given to it is “dialeucon.”1954 The saffron of Cyrenaica, again, is faulty in the opposite extreme; for it is darker than any other kind, and is apt to spoil very quickly. The best saffron everywhere is that which is of the most unctuous quality, and the filaments of which are the shortest; the worst being that which emits a musty smell.

Mucianus informs us that in Lycia, at the end of seven or eight years, the saffron is transplanted into a piece of ground which has been prepared for the purpose, and that in this way it is prevented from degenerating. It is never1955 used for chaplets, being a plant with an extremely narrow leaf, as fine almost as a hair; but it combines remarkably well with wine, sweet wine in particular. Reduced to a powder, it is used to perfume1956 the theatres.

Saffron blossoms about the setting of the Vergiliæ, for a few days1957 only, the leaf expelling the flower. It is verdant1958 at the time of the winter solstice, and then it is that they gather it; it is usually dried in the shade, and if in winter, all the better. The root of this plant is fleshy, and more long-lived1959 than that of the other bulbous plants. It loves to be beaten and trodden1960 under foot, and in fact, the worse it is treated the better it thrives: hence it is, that it grows so vigorously by the side of foot-paths and fountains. (7.) Saffron was already held in high esteem in the time of the Trojan War; at all events, Homer,1961 we find, makes mention of these three flowers, the lotus,1962 the saffron, and the hyacinth.

CHAP. 18.—THE NATURE OF ODOURS.

All the odoriferous1963 substances, and consequently the plants, differ from one another in their colour, smell, and juices. It is but rarely1964 that the taste of an odoriferous substance is not bitter; while sweet substances, on the other hand, are but rarely odoriferous. Thus it is, too, that wine is more odoriferous than must, and all the wild plants more so than the cultivated ones.1965 Some flowers have a sweet smell at a distance, the edge of which is taken off when they come nearer; such is the case with the violet, for instance. The rose, when fresh gathered, has a more powerful smell at a distance, and dried,1966 when brought nearer. All plants have a more penetrating odour, also, in spring1967 and in the morning; as the hour of midday approaches, the scent becomes gradually weakened.1968 The flowers, too, of young plants are less odoriferous than those of old ones; but it is at mid-age1969 that the odour is most penetrating in them all.

The rose and the crocus1970 have a more powerful smell when gathered in fine weather, and all plants are more powerfully scented in hot climates than in cold ones. In Egypt, however, the flowers are far from odoriferous, owing to the dews and exhalations with which the air is charged, in consequence of the extended surface of the river. Some plants have an agreeable, though at the same time extremely powerful smell; some, again, while green, have no1971 smell at all, owing to the excess of moisture, the buceros for example, which is the same as fenugreek.1972 Not all flowers which have a penetrating odour are destitute of juices, the violet, the rose, and the crocus, for example; those, on the other hand, which have a penetrating odour, but are destitute of juices, have all of them a very powerful smell, as we find the case with the two varieties1973 of the lily. The abrotonum1974 and the amaracus1975 have a pungent smell. In some plants, it is the flower only that is sweet, the other parts being inodorous, the violet and the rose, for example.

Among the garden plants, the most odoriferous are the dry ones, such as rue, mint, and parsley, as also those which grow on dry soils. Some fruits become more odoriferous the older they are, the quince, for example, which has also a stronger smell when gathered than while upon the tree. Some plants, again, have no smell but when broken asunder, or when bruised, and others only when they are stripped of their bark. Certain vegetable substances, too, only give out a smell when subjected to the action of fire, such as frankincense and myrrh, for example. All flowers are more bitter to the taste when bruised than when left untouched.1976 Some plants preserve their smell a longer time when dried, the melilote, for example; others, again, make the place itself more odoriferous where they grow, the iris1977 for instance, which will even render the whole of a tree odoriferous, the roots of which it may happen to have touched. The hesperis1978 has a more powerful odour at night, a property to which it owes its name.

Among the animals, we find none that are odoriferous, unless, indeed, we are inclined to put faith in what has been said about the panther.1979

CHAP. 19.—THE IRIS.

There is still another distinction, which ought not to be omitted,—the fact, that many of the odoriferous plants never1980 enter into the composition of garlands, the iris1981 and the saliunca, for example, although, both of them, of a most exquisite odour. In the iris, it is the root1982 only that is held in esteem, it being extensively employed in perfumery and medicine. The iris of the finest quality is that found in Illyricum,1983 and in that country, even, not in the maritime parts of it, but in the forests on the banks of the river Drilon1984 and near Narona. The next best is that of Macedonia,1985 the plant being extremely elongated, white, and thin. The iris of Africa1986 occupies the third rank, being the largest of them all, and of an extremely bitter taste.

The iris of Illyricum comprehends two varieties—one of which is the raphanitis, so called from its resemblance to the radish,1987 of a somewhat red colour, and superior1988 in quality to the other, which is known as the “rhizotomus.” The best kind of iris is that which produces sneezing1989 when handled. The stem of this plant is a cubit in length, and erect, the flower being of various colours, like the rainbow, to which circumstance it is indebted for its name. The iris, too, of Pisidia1990 is far from being held in disesteem. Persons1991 who intend taking up the iris, drench the ground about it some three months before with hydromel, as though a sort of atonement offered to appease the earth; with the point of a sword, too, they trace three circles round it, and the moment they gather it, they lift it up towards the heavens.

The iris is a plant of a caustic nature, and when handled, it causes blisters like burns to rise. It is a point particularly recommended, that those who gather it should be in a state of chastity. The root, not only when dried,1992 but while still in the ground, is very quickly attacked by worms. In former times, it was Leucas and Elis that supplied us with the best oil1993 of iris, for there it has long been cultivated; at the present day, however, the best comes from Pamphylia, though that of Cilicia and the northern climates is held in high esteem.

CHAP. 20.—THE SALIUNCA.

The saliunca1994 has a rather short leaf, which does not admit of its being plaited for garlands, and numerous roots, by which it is held together; being more of a herb than a flower, and so closely matted and tangled that it would almost appear to have been pressed together with the hand—in short, it is a turf1995 of a peculiar nature. This plant grows in Pannonia and the sunny regions of Noricum and the Alps, as also the vicinity of the city of Eporedia;1996 the smell being so remarkably sweet that the crops of it have been of late quite as profitable as the working of a mine. This plant is particularly valued for the pleasant smell it imparts to clothes among which it is kept.

CHAP. 21.—THE POLIUM, OR TEUTHRION.

It is the same, too, with the polium,1997 a herb employed for a similar purpose among the Greeks, and highly extolled by Musæus and Hesiod, who assert that it is useful for every purpose, and more particularly for the acquisition of fame and honour;1998 indeed, it is a truly marvellous production, if it is the fact, as they state, that its leaves are white in the morning, a purple at midday, and azure1999 at sunset. There are two varieties of it, the field polium, which is larger, and the wild,2000 which is more diminutive. Some persons give it the name of “teuthrion.”2001 The leaves resemble the white hairs of a human being; they take their rise immediately from the root, and never exceed a palm in height.

CHAP. 22. (8.)—FABRICS WHICH RIVAL THE COLOURS OF FLOWERS.

We have now said enough on the subject of the odoriferous flowers; in relation to which, luxury not only glories in having vanquished Nature in the composition of unguents, but has even gone so far as to challenge, in her fabrics, those flowers which are more particularly recommended by the beauty of their tints. I remark that the following are the three principal2002 colours; the red, that of the kermes2003 for instance, which, beginning in the tints of the rose, reflects, when viewed2004 sideways and held up to the light, the shades that are found in the Tyrian purple,2005 and the colours of the dibapha2006 and Laconian cloths: the amethystine colour, which is borrowed from the violet, and to which, bordering as it does on the purple, we have given the name of “ianthinum”2007—it must, however, be remembered, that we here give a general name to a colour which is subdivided into numerous tints2008—and a third, properly known as the “conchyliated” colour, but which comprehends a variety of shades, such, for instance, as the tints of the heliotropium, and others of a deeper colour, the hues of the mallow, inclining to a full purple, and the colours of the late2009 violet; this last being the most vivid, in fact, of all the conchyliated tints. The rival colours being now set side by side, Nature and luxury may enter the lists, to vie for the mastery.

I find it stated that, in the most ancient times, yellow was held in the highest esteem, but was reserved exclusively for the nuptial veils2010 of females; for which reason it is perhaps that we do not find it included among the principal colours, those being used in common by males and females: indeed, it is the circumstance of their being used by both sexes in common that gives them their rank as principal colours.

CHAP. 23.—THE AMARANTH.

There is no doubt that all the efforts of art are surpassed by the amaranth,2011 which is, to speak correctly, rather a purple ear2012 than a flower, and, at the same time, quite inodorous. It is a marvellous feature in this plant, that it takes a delight in being gathered; indeed, the more it is plucked, the better it grows. It comes into flower in the month of August, and lasts throughout the autumn. The finest of all is the amaranth of Alexandria, which is generally gathered for keeping; for it is a really marvellous2013 fact, that when all the other flowers have gone out, the amaranth, upon being dipped in water, comes to life again: it is used also for making winter chaplets. The peculiar quality of the amaranth is sufficiently indicated by its name, it having been so called from the circumstance that it never fades.2014

CHAP. 24.—THE CYANOS: THE HOLOCHRYSOS.

The name,2015 too, of the cyanos2016 indicates its colour, and so does that of the holochrysos.2017 None of these flowers were in use in the time of Alexander the Great, for the authors, we find, who flourished at a period immediately after his decease, have made not the slightest mention of them; from which circumstance it is very clear that they only came into fashion at a later period. Still, however, who can entertain any doubt that they were first introduced by the Greeks, from the fact that Italy has only their Greek names by which to designate them?

CHAP. 25.—THE PETILIUM: THE BELLIO.

But, by Hercules! it is Italy herself that has given its name to the petilium,2018 an autumnal flower, which springs up in the vicinity of thorny brakes, and recommends itself solely by its colour, which is that of the wild rose. The petals of it are small, and five in number; and it is a remarkable circumstance in this plant, that the head of it droops at first, and it is only after it becomes erect that the petals make their appearance, forming a small corolla of various colours, enclosing a yellow seed.

The bellio,2019 too, is a yellow flower, formed of2020 fifty-five filaments circularly arranged, in the shape of a chaplet. These are, both of them, meadow flowers, which are mostly of no use whatever, and consequently without names: even the flowers just mentioned are known sometimes by one name, and sometimes by another.

CHAP. 26.—THE CHRYSOCOME, OR CHRYSITIS.

The chrysocome,2021 or chrysitis, has no Latin appellation: it is a palm in height, the flowers forming clusters of a golden colour. The root of it is black, and it has a taste both rough and sweet: it is found growing in stony and umbrageous spots.

CHAP. 27. (9.)—SHRUBS, THE BLOSSOMS OF WHICH ARE USED FOR CHAPLETS.

Having thus passed in review nearly all the best-known colours, we must now give our attention to the chaplets which are pleasing merely on account of the variety of their materials. Of such chaplets there are two kinds, one composed of flowers, the other of leaves. The flowers so employed, I may say, are those of broom2022—the yellow blossom gathered from it—the rhododendron,2023 and the jujube,2024 also known as the tree of Cappadocia, which bears an odoriferous flower similar to that of the olive. Among the brambles, too, we find the cyclaminum growing, of which we shall have to speak more at length on a future occasion:2025 its flower, which reflects the hues of the purple of Colossæ,2026 is used as an ingredient in chaplets.

CHAP. 28.—SHRUBS, THE LEAVES OF WHICH ARE USED FOR CHAPLETS.

The leaves, also, of smilax and ivy are employed in chaplets; indeed, the clusters of these plants are held in the very highest esteem for this purpose: we have already2027 spoken of them at sufficient length when treating of the shrubs. There are also other kinds of shrubs, which can only be indicated by their Greek names, little attention having been paid by the framers of our language to this branch of nomenclature. Most of them grow in foreign countries, it is true; but still, it is our duty to make some mention of them, as it is of Nature in general that we are speaking, and not of Italy in particular.

CHAP. 29.—THE MELOTHRON, SPIRÆA, AND ORIGANUM. THE CNEORUM OR CASSIA; TWO VARIETIES OF IT. THE MELISSOPHYLLUM OR MELITTÆNA. THE MELILOTE, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS CAMPANIAN GARLAND.

Thus it is, that we find employed for chaplets, the leaves of the melothron,2028 spiræa,2029 origanum,2030 cneorum,2031 by Hyginus called “cassia,” conyza or cunilago,2032 melissophyllon or apiastrum,2033 and melilote, known to us by the name of “Campanian2034 garland,” the best kind of melilote2035 in Italy being that of Campania, in Greece that of Cape Sunium, and next to that the produce of Chalcidice and Crete: but wherever this plant grows it is only to be found in rugged and wild localities. The name “sertula” or “garland,” which it bears, sufficiently proves that this plant was formerly much used in the composition of chaplets. The smell, as well as the flower, closely resembles that of saffron, though the stem itself is white; the shorter and more fleshy the leaves, the more highly it is esteemed.

CHAP. 30.—THREE VARIETIES OF TREFOIL: THE MYOPHONUM.

The leaves of trefoil also are employed for making chaplets. There are three varieties: the first being called by the Greeks sometimes “minyanthes,”2036 and sometimes “asphaltion;” the leaves of it, which the garland-makers employ, are larger than those of the other kinds. The second variety, known as the “oxytriphyllon,”2037 has a pointed leaf; and the third has the smallest leaf of them all. Among these plants there are some which have a tough, sinewy stem, such as marathron,2038 for instance, hippomarathron,2039 and the myophonum.2040 The umbels, too, of fennel-giant and the purple flowers2041 of the ivy are employed for this purpose; as also another kind of ivy very similar to the wild rose,2042 the colour only of which is attractive, the flower being quite inodorous. There are also two2043 varieties used of the cneorum, the black and the white, this last being odoriferous: they are both of them provided with branches, and they blossom after the autumnal equinox.2044

(10.) There are the same number of varieties, also, of origanum employed in making chaplets, one of which is destitute of seed, the other, which is also odoriferous, being known as the Cretan2045 origanum.

CHAP. 31.—TWO VARIETIES OF THYME. PLANTS PRODUCED FROM BLOSSOMS AND NOT FROM SEED.

There are also as many varieties of thyme2046 employed, the one white, the other dark:2047 it flowers about the summer solstice, when the bees cull from it. From this plant a sort of augury is derived, as to how the honey is likely to turn out: for the bee-keepers have reason to look for a large crop when the thyme blossoms in considerable abundance. Thyme receives great injury from showers of rain, and is very apt to shed its blossom. The seed of thyme is so minute2048 as to be imperceptible, and yet that of origanum, which is also extremely minute, does not escape the sight. But what matters it that Nature has thus concealed it from our view? For we have reason to conclude that it exists in the flower itself; which, when sown in the ground, gives birth to the plant—what is there, in fact, that the industry of man has left untried?

The honey of Attica is generally looked upon as the best in all the world; for which reason it is that the thyme of that country has been transplanted, being reproduced, as already stated, with the greatest difficulty, from the blossom. But there is also another peculiarity in the nature of the thyme of Attica, which has greatly tended to frustrate these attempts—it will never live except in the vicinity of breezes from the sea. In former times, it was the general belief that this is the case with all kinds of thyme, and that this is the reason why it does not grow in Arcadia:2049 at a period when it was universally supposed, too, that the olive never grows beyond three hundred stadia2050 from the sea. But, at the present day, we know for certain that in the province of Gallia Narbonensis the Stony Plains2051 are quite overgrown with thyme; this being, in fact, the only source of revenue to those parts, thousands of sheep2052 being brought thither from distant countries to browse upon the plant.

CHAP. 32.—CONYZA.

There are two varieties of conyza, also, employed in making chaplets, the male2053 plant and the female. The difference consists in the leaves, those of the female plant being thinner, more tapering, and narrower, and those of the male being of an imbricated shape, the plant having a greater number of branches. The blossom, too, of the male plant is more vivid than that of the female: in both kinds it is late in making its appearance, not till after the rising of Arcturus.

The smell of the male conyza is more powerful than that of the female plant: the latter, however, is of a more penetrating nature, for which reason it is that the female plant is held in higher esteem for the treatment of the bites of animals. The leaves of the female plant have exactly the smell of honey; and the root of the male has received the name of “libanotis” from some: we have already made mention2054 of it on a previous occasion.

CHAP. 33.—THE FLOWER OF JOVE. THE HEMEROCALLES. THE HELENIUM. THE PHLOX. PLANTS IN WHICH THE BRANCHES AND ROOTS ARE ODORIFEROUS.

Of the following plants, too, it is only the leaves that are employed for chaplets—the flower of Jove,2055 the amaracus, the hemerocalles,2056 the abrotonum, the helenium,2057 sisymbrium,2058 and wild thyme, all of them ligneous plants, growing in a manner similar to the rose. The flower of Jove is pleasing only for its colours, being quite inodorous; which is the case also with the plant known by the Greek name of “phlox.”2059 All the plants, too, which we have just mentioned are odoriferous, both in the branches and the leaves, with the sole exception of wild thyme.2060 The helenium is said to have had its origin in the tears of Helen, and hence it is that the kind grown in the island of Helena2061 is so highly esteemed. It is a shrub which throws out its tiny branches along the ground, some nine inches in length, with a leaf very similar to that of wild thyme.

CHAP. 34.—THE ABROTONUM. THE ADONIUM: TWO VARIETIES OF IT. PLANTS WHICH REPRODUCE THEMSELVES. THE LEUCANTHEMUM.

The flower of the abrotonum,2062 which makes its appearance in summer, has a powerful but agreeable smell; it is of a bright golden colour. Left to range at large, it reproduces itself by layers from the tops of the branches: but when it is propagated by the hand of man, it is better to grow it from the seed than from the roots or slips, though even from the seed it is not grown without considerable trouble. The young plants are transplanted in summer, which is the case also with the adonium.2063 They are both of them plants of a very chilly nature, though, at the same time, they are apt to receive injury if too much exposed to the sun: when, however, they have gained sufficient strength, they throw out branches like those of rue.

The leucanthemum2064 has a similar smell to that of the abrotonum: it is a foliated plant, with a white flower.

CHAP. 35. (11.)—TWO VARIETIES OF THE AMARACUS.

Diocles, the physician, and the people of Sicily have given the name of “amaracus” to the plant known in Egypt and Syria as sampsuchum.2065 It is reproduced two ways, from seed and from cuttings, being more long-lived than the preceding plants, and possessed of a more agreeable smell. The amaracus, like the abrotonum, has a great abundance of seed, but while the abrotonum has a single root, which penetrates deep into the ground, those of the other plant adhere but lightly to the surface of the earth. Those of the other plants which love the shade, water, and manure, are generally set at the beginning of autumn, and even, in some localities, in spring.

CHAP. 36.—THE NYCTEGRETON, CHENOMYCHE, OR NYCTALOPS.

Democritus has regarded the nyctegreton2066 as one of the most singular of plants. According to that author, it is of a dark red colour, has leaves like those of a thorn, and creeps upon the ground. He says that it grows in Gedrosia2067 more particularly, and that it is taken up by the roots immediately after the vernal equinox, and dried in the moonlight for thirty days; after which preparation it emits light by night. He states also, that the Magi and the kings of Parthia employ this plant in their ceremonies when they make a vow to perform an undertaking; that another name given to it is “chenomyche,”2068 from the circumstance that, at the very sight of it, geese will manifest the greatest alarm; and that by some persons, again, it is known as the “nyctalops,”2069 from the light which it emits at a considerable distance by night.

CHAP. 37.—WHERE THE MELILOTE IS FOUND.

The melilote2070 is found growing everywhere, though that of Attica is held in the highest esteem. In all countries, however, it is preferred when fresh gathered; that too, the colour of which is not white, but approaches as nearly as possible to the colour of saffron. In Italy, however, it is the white kind that is the most odoriferous.

CHAP. 38.—THE SUCCESSION IN WHICH FLOWERS BLOSSOM: THE SPRING FLOWERS. THE VIOLET. THE CHAPLET ANEMONE. THE ŒNANTHE. THE MELANION. THE HELICHRYSOS. THE GLADIOLUS. THE HYACINTH.

The first of the flowers that announce the approach of spring is the white2071 violet; indeed, in warm localities, it is seen peeping out in the winter even. Next to it comes the violet known as the ion, and the purple violet; then the flame-coloured flower, the name of which is phlox,2072 but only the wild one. The cyclaminum2073 blossoms twice a year, in spring and autumn, standing equally in awe as it does of summer and of winter. The narcissus and the lily, in the parts beyond sea, are a little later than the preceding plants: but in Italy, as we have already2074 stated, they are in blossom with the rose. In Greece, too, the anemone2075 blooms even later; it is the flower of a wild bulb, and is altogether different from the one2076 which we shall have occasion to mention among the medicinal plants.

Next, after these, come the œnanthe,2077 the melanion,2078 and, among the wild plants, the helichrysos;2079 then, another kind of anemone, known as the “limonia,”2080 and after that the gladiolus,2081 accompanied by the hyacinth. Last of all, among the spring flowers, is the rose, which, with the exception indeed of the cultivated kinds, is also the first to fade. Among the others, the flowers which last the longest, are the hyacinth, the white violet, and the œnanthe; but to make this last keep any time in flower, it is necessary to gather it repeatedly, to prevent it from running to seed. The œnanthe grows in warm localities, and has exactly the smell of the vine when in blossom, to which circumstance it is indebted for its name.

There are two fabulous stories attached to the hyacinth;2082 according to one of them, it bears the impress of the grief2083 which Apollo felt for the youth2084 whom he had so tenderly loved; and we learn from the other, that it derives its name from the blood2085 of Ajax, the veins being so arranged in the flower as to form the Greek letters ΑΙ inscribed upon it.

The helichrysos has a flower resembling gold in appearance, a small leaf, and a fine, slender, but hard, stem. According to the Magi, the person who crowns himself with a chaplet composed of this flower, and takes his unguents from a box of gold, of the kind generally known as “apyron,”2086 will be sure to secure esteem and glory among his fellowmen. Such are the flowers of spring.

CHAP. 39.—THE SUMMER FLOWERS—THE LYCHNIS: THE TIPHYON. TWO VARIETIES OF THE POTHOS. TWO VARIETIES OF THE ORSINUM. THE VINCAPERVINCA OR CHAMÆDAPHNE—A PLANT WHICH IS AN EVER-GREEN.

The summer flowers come next, the lychnis2087 the flower of Jove, and another kind of lily,2088 as also the tiphyon2089 and the amaracus, surnamed that of Phrygia. Put the most remarkable flower of all is the pothos,2090 of which there are two varieties, one with the flower of the hyacinth,2091 and another with a white flower, which is generally found growing about graves, and is better able to stand bad weather. The iris,2092 also, blossoms in summer. All these flowers pass away, however, and fade; upon which others assume their places in autumn, a third kind of lily,2093 for instance, saffron, and two varieties of the orsinum2094—one of them inodorous and the other scented—making their appearance, all of them, as soon as the first autumnal showers fall.

The garland-makers employ the flowers of the thorn2095 even for making chaplets; the tender shoots, too, of the white thorn are sometimes preserved as a choice morsel2096 to tempt the palate.

Such is the succession of the summer flowers in the parts beyond sea: in Italy, the violet is succeeded by the rose, the lily comes on while the rose is still in flower, the cyanus2097 succeeds the rose, and the amaranth the cyanus. As to the vincapervinca,2098 it is an evergreen, the branches from which run out like so many strings, the leaves surrounding the stem at each of the knots: though more generally used for the purposes of ornamental gardening, it is sometimes employed in chaplets when there is a deficiency of other flowers. From the Greeks this plant has received the name of “chamædaphne.”

CHAP. 40.—THE DURATION OF LIFE IN THE VARIOUS KINDS OF FLOWERS.

At the very utmost, the white2099 violet never lasts longer than three years: should it exceed that period, it is sure to degenerate. The rose-tree will last so long as five years without being pruned or cauterized,2100 methods by which it is made to grow young again. We have already stated2101 that the nature of the soil is of the very greatest importance; for in Egypt, we find, all these plants are perfectly inodorous, and it is only the myrtle that has any particular smell. In some countries, too, the germination of all the plants precedes that in other parts of the world by so long a period as two months even. The rose-beds should be well spaded immediately after the west winds begin to prevail, and, a second time, at the summer solstice: every care, however, should be paid, between these two periods, to keeping the ground well raked and cleaned.

CHAP. 41. (12.)—PLANTS WHICH SHOULD BE SOWN AMONG FLOWERS FOR BEES. THE CERINTHA.

Bees and beehives, too, are a subject extremely well suited to a description of gardens and garland plants, while, at the same time, where they are successfully managed, they are a source, without any great outlay, of very considerable profit. For bees, then, the following plants should be grown—thyme, apiastrum, the rose, the various violets, the lily, the cytisus, the bean, the fitch, cunila, the poppy, conyza,2102 cassia, the melilote, melissophyllum,2103 and the cerintha.2104 This last is a plant with a white leaf, bent inwards, the stem of it being a cubit in height, with a flower at the top presenting a concavity full of a juice like honey. Bees are remarkably fond of the flowers of these plants, as also the blossoms of mustard, a thing that is somewhat surprising, seeing that it is a well-known fact that they will not so much as touch the blossoms of the olive: for which reason, it will be as well to keep that tree at a distance from them.2105

There are other trees, again, which should be planted as near the hives as possible, as they attract the swarm when it first wings its flight, and so prevent the bees from wandering to any considerable distance.

CHAP. 42.—THE MALADIES OF BEES, AND THE REMEDIES FOR THEM.

The greatest care, too, should be taken to keep the cornel2106 at a distance from the hives; for if the bees once taste the blossoms of it, they will speedily die of flux and looseness. The best remedy in such case is to give them sorb apples beaten up with honey, or else human urine or that of oxen, or pomegranate seeds moistened with Aminean2107 wine. It is a very good plan, too, to plant broom about the hives, the bees being extremely fond of the blossoms.

CHAP. 43.—THE FOOD OF BEES.

In relation to the food of bees, I have ascertained a very singular fact, and one that well deserves to be mentioned. There is a village, called Hostilia, on the banks of the river Padus: the inhabitants of it, when food2108 fails the bees in their vicinity, place the hives in boats and convey them some five miles up the river in the night. In the morning the bees go forth to feed, and then return to the boats; their locality being changed from day to day, until at last, as the boats sink deeper and deeper in the water, it is ascertained that the hives are full, upon which they are taken home, and the honey is withdrawn.

(13.) In Spain, too, for the same purpose, they have the hives carried from place to place on the backs of mules.

CHAP. 44.—POISONED HONEY, AND THE REMEDIES TO BE EMPLOYED BY THOSE WHO HAVE EATEN OF IT.

Indeed, the food of bees is of the very greatest importance, as it is owing to this that we meet with poisonous2109 honey even. At Heraclia2110 in Pontus, the honey is extremely pernicious in certain years, though it is the same bees that make it at other times. Authors, however, have not informed us from what flowers this honey is extracted; we shall, therefore, take this opportunity of stating what we have ascertained upon the subject.

There is a certain plant which, from the circumstance that it proves fatal to beasts of burden, and to goats in particular, has obtained the name of “ægolethron,”2111 and the blossoms of which, steeped in the rains of a wet spring, contract most noxious properties. Hence it is that it is not every year that these dangerous results are experienced. The following are the signs of the honey being2112 poisonous: it never thickens, the colour is redder than usual, and it emits a peculiar smell which immediately produces sneezing; while, at the same time, it is more weighty than a similar quantity of good honey. Persons, when they have eaten of it, throw themselves on the ground to cool the body, which is bathed with a profuse perspiration. There are numerous remedies, of which we shall have occasion to speak in a more appropriate place;2113 but as it will be as well to mention some of them on the present occasion, by way of being provided for such insidious accidents, I will here state that old honied wine is good, mixed with the finest honey and rue; salt meats, also, taken repeatedly in small quantities, and as often brought up again.

It is a well-known fact that dogs, after tasting the excretions of persons suffering from these attacks, have been attacked with similar symptoms, and have experienced the same kind of pains.

Still, however, it is equally well ascertained, that honied wine prepared from this honey, when old, is altogether innoxious; and that there is nothing better than this honey, mixed with costus,2114 for softening the skin of females, or, combined with aloes, for the treatment of bruises.

CHAP. 45.—MADDENING HONEY.

In the country of the Sanni, in the same part of Pontus, there is another kind of honey, which, from the madness it produces, has received the name of “mænomenon.”2115 This evil effect is generally attributed to the flowers of the rhododendron,2116 with which the woods there abound; and that people, though it pays a tribute to the Romans in wax, derives no profit whatever from its honey, in consequence of these dangerous properties. In Persis, too, and in Gætulia, a district of Mauritania Cæsariensis, bordering on the country of the Massæsyli, there are poisonous honeycombs found; and some, too, only partly so,2117 one of the most insidious things that possibly could happen, were it not that the livid colour of the honey gives timely notice of its noxious qualities. What can we suppose to have possibly been the intention of Nature in thus laying these traps in our way, giving us honey that is poisonous in some years and good in others, poisonous in some parts of the combs and not in others, and that, too, the produce in all cases of the self-same bees? It was not enough, forsooth, to have produced a substance in which poison might be administered without the slightest difficulty, but must she herself administer it as well in the honey, to fall in the way of so many animated beings? What, in fact, can have been her motive, except to render mankind a little more cautious and somewhat less greedy?

And has she not provided the very bees, too, with pointed weapons, and those weapons poisoned to boot? So it is, and I shall, therefore, without delay, set forth the remedies to counteract the effects of their stings. It will be found a very excellent plan to foment the part stung with the juice of mallows2118 or of ivy leaves, or else for the person who has been stung to take these juices in drink. It is a very astonishing thing, however, that the insects which thus carry these poisons in their mouths and secrete them, should never die themselves in consequence; unless it is that Nature, that mistress of all things, has given to bees the same immunity from the effects of poison which she has granted against the attacks of serpents to the Psylli2119 and the Marsi among men.

CHAP. 46. (14.)—HONEY THAT FLIES WILL NOT TOUCH.

Another marvellous fact, again, connected with honey in Crete. Upon Mount Carina in that island, which is nine miles in circuit, there is not a fly to be found, and the honey that is made there no fly will touch.2120 It is by this circumstance that honey said to have come from that district is usually tested, it being highly prized for medicinal preparations.

CHAP. 47.—BEEHIVES, AND THE ATTENTION WHICH SHOULD BE PAID TO THEM.

The hives ought to have an aspect due east,2121 but never looking towards the north-east or the west. The best hives are those made of bark, the next best those of fennel-giant, and the next of osier: many persons, too, have them made of mirror-stone,2122 for the purpose of watching2123 the bees at work within. It is the best plan to anoint the hives all over with cow-dung. The lid of the hive should be made to slide from behind, so as to admit of being shut to within, in case the hive should prove too large or their labours unproductive; for, if this is not done, the bees are apt to become discouraged and abandon their work. The slide may then be gradually withdrawn, the increase of space being imperceptible to the bees as the work progresses. In winter, too, the hives should be covered with straw, and subjected to repeated fumigations, with burnt cow-dung more particularly. As this is of kindred2124 origin with the bees, the smoke produced by it is particularly beneficial in killing all such insects as may happen to breed there, such as spiders, for instance, moths,2125 and wood-worms;2126 while, at the same time, it stimulates the bees themselves to increased activity. In fact, there is little difficulty in getting rid of the spiders, but to destroy the moths, which are a much greater plague, a night must be chosen in spring, just when the mallow is ripening, there being no moon, but a clear sky: flambeaux are then lighted before the hives, upon which the moths precipitate themselves in swarms into the flame.

CHAP. 48.—THAT BEES ARE SENSIBLE OF HUNGER.

If it is found that the bees are in want of aliment, it will be a good plan to place at the entrance of the hive raisins or dried figs beaten up,2127 as also carded wool soaked in raisin wine, boiled2128 must, or hydromel, and sometimes even the raw2129 flesh of poultry. In certain summers, too, when long-continued drought has deprived them of the nutriment which they usually derive from flowers, similar food must be provided for them.

When the honey is taken, the outlets of the hive should be well rubbed with melissophyllum or broom,2130 beaten up, or else the middle of it should be encircled with bands of white vine, to prevent the bees from taking to flight. It is recommended, too, that the honey-pots and combs should be washed with water: this water, boiled, it is said, will make an extremely wholesome vinegar.2131

CHAP. 49.—THE METHOD OF PREPARING WAX. THE BEST KINDS OF WAX. PUNIC WAX.

Wax is made2132 from the honeycombs after the honey has been extracted. For this purpose, they are first cleaned with water, and then dried three days in the shade: on the fourth day they are melted on the fire in a new earthen vessel, with sufficient water to cover them, after which the liquor is strained off in a wicker basket.2133 The wax is then boiled again with the same water and in the same pot, and poured into vessels of cold water, the interior of which has been well rubbed with honey. The best wax is that known as Punic2134 wax, the next best being that of a remarkably yellow colour, with the smell of honey. This last comes from Pontus, and, to my surprise, it is in no way affected by the poisonous honey which it has contained.2135 The next in quality is the Cretan wax, which contains the largest proportion of propolis,2136 a substance of which we have previously made mention when treating of bees. Next to these varieties comes the Corsican wax, which, being the produce of the box-tree, is generally thought to be possessed of certain medicinal properties.

The Punic wax is prepared in the following manner: yellow wax is first blanched in the open air, after which it is boiled in water from the open sea, with the addition of some nitre.2137 The flower of the wax, or, in other words, the whitest part of it, is then skimmed off with spoons, and poured into a vessel containing a little cold water. After this, it is again boiled in sea-water by itself, which done, the vessel is left to cool. When this operation has been three times repeated, the wax is left in the open air upon a mat of rushes, to dry in the light of the sun and moon; for while the latter adds to its whiteness, the sun helps to dry2138 it. In order, however, that it may not melt, it is the practice to cover it with a linen cloth: if, when it has been thus refined, it is boiled once more, the result is a wax of the greatest possible whiteness.

Punic wax is considered the best for all medicinal preparations. Wax is made black by the addition of ashes of papyrus, and a red colour is given to it by the admixture of alkanet; indeed, by the employment of various pigments, it is made to assume various tints, in which state it is used for making models,2139 and for other purposes without number, among which we may mention varnishing walls2140 and armour, to protect them from the air. We have given the other particulars relative to bees and honey, when speaking2141 of the nature of those insects. We have now stated pretty nearly all that we have to say on the subject of the pleasure garden.

CHAP. 50. (15.)—PLANTS WHICH GROW SPONTANEOUSLY: THE USE MADE OF THEM BY VARIOUS NATIONS, THEIR NATURE, AND REMARKABLE FACTS CONNECTED WITH THEM. THE STRAWBERRY, THE TAMNUS, AND THE BUTCHER’S BROOM. THE BATIS, TWO VARIETIES OF IT. THE MEADOW PARSNIP. THE HOP.

We now come to the plants which grow spontaneously, and which are employed as an aliment by most nations, the people of Egypt in particular, where they abound in such vast quantities, that, extremely prolific as that country is in corn, it is perhaps the only one that could subsist without it: so abundant are its resources in the various kinds of food to be obtained from plants.

In Italy, however, we are acquainted with but very few of them; those few being the strawberry,2142 the tamnus,2143 the butcher’s broom,2144 the sea2145 batis, and the garden batis,2146 known by some persons as Gallic asparagus; in addition to which we may mention the meadow parsnip2147 and the hop,2148 which may be rather termed amusements for the botanist than articles of food.

CHAP. 51.—THE COLOCASIA.

But the plant of this nature that is the most famous in Egypt is the colocasia,2149 known as the “cyamos”2150 to some. It is gathered in the river Nilus, and the stalk of it, boiled, separates2151 into fine filaments when chewed, like those of the spider’s web. The head,2152 protruding from among the leaves, is very remarkable; and the leaves, which are extremely large, even when compared with those of trees, are very similar to those of the plant found in our rivers, and known by the name of “personata.”2153 So much do the people of that country take advantage of the bounteousness displayed by their river, that they are in the habit of plaiting2154 the leaves of the colocasia with such skill as to make vessels of various shapes, which they are extremely fond of using for drinking vessels. At the present day, however, this plant is cultivated in Italy.2155

CHAP. 52.—THE CICHORIUM. THE ANTHALIUM OR ANTICELLIUM, OR ANTHYLLUM. THE ŒTUM. THE ARACHIDNA. THE ARACOS. THE CANDRYALA. THE HYPOCHŒRIS. THE CAUCALIS. THE ANTHRISCUM. THE SCANDIX. THE TRAGOPOGON. THE PARTHENIUM OR LEUCANTHES, AMARACUS, PERDICIUM, OR MURALIS. THE TRYCHNUM OR STRYCHNUM, HALICACABUM, CALLIAS, DORYCNION, MANICON, PERITTON, NEURAS, MORIO, OR MOLY. THE CORCHORUS. THE APHACE. THE ACYNOPOS. THE EPIPETRON. PLANTS WHICH NEVER FLOWER. PLANTS WHICH ARE ALWAYS IN FLOWER.

In Egypt, next to the colocasia, it is the cichorium that is held in the highest esteem, a plant which we have already spoken2156 of under the name of wild endive.2157 It springs up after the rising of the Vergiliæ, and the various portions of it blossom in succession: the root is supple, and hence is used for making withes even. The anthalium2158 grows at a greater distance2159 from the river; the fruit of it is round,2160 and about the size of a medlar, but without either kernel or rind; the leaves of the plant are similar to those of the cyperus. The people there eat the fruit of it cooked upon the fire, as also of the œtum,2161 a plant which has a few leaves only, and those extremely diminutive, though the root is large in proportion.2162 The arachidna,2163 again, and the aracos have numerous branchy roots, but neither leaves nor any herbaceous parts, nor, indeed, anything that makes its appearance above ground.

The other plants that are commonly eaten in Egypt are the chondrylla,2164 the hypochœris,2165 the caucalis,2166 the anthriscum,2167 the scandix, the come, by some persons known as the tragopogon,2168 with leaves very similar to those of saffron, the parthenium,2169 the trychnum,2170 and the corchorus;2171 with the aphace2172 and acynopos,2173 which make their appearance at the equinox. There is a plant also, called the epipetron,2174 which never blossoms;2175 while the aphace, on the other hand, as its flowers die, from time to time puts forth fresh ones, and remains2176 in blossom throughout the winter and the spring, until the following summer.

CHAP. 53.—FOUR VARIETIES OF THE CNECOS.

The Egyptians have many other plants also, of little note; but they speak in the highest terms of the cnecos;2177 a plant unknown to Italy, and which the Egyptians hold in esteem, not as an article of food, but for the oil it produces, and which is extracted from the seed. The principal varieties are the wild and the cultivated kinds; of the wild variety, again, there are two sorts, one of which is less prickly2178 than the other, but with a similar stem, only more upright: hence it is that in former times females used it for distaffs, from which circumstance it has received the name of “atractylis”2179 from some; the seed of it is white, large, and bitter. The other variety2180 is more prickly, and has a more sinewy stem, which may be said almost to creep upon the ground; the seed is small. The cnecos belongs to the thorny plants: indeed, it will be as well to make some classification of them.

CHAP. 54.—PLANTS OF A PRICKLY NATURE: THE ERYNGE, THE GLYCYRRIZA, THE TRIBULUS, THE ANONIS, THE PHEOS OR STŒBE, AND THE HIPPOPHAES.

For some plants, in fact, are thorny, while others, again, are destitute of prickles: the species of thorny plants are very numerous. The asparagus2181 and the scorpio2182 are essentially thorny plants, having no leaves at all upon them. Some plants, again, that are prickly have leaves as well, such as the thistle, for instance, the erynge,2183 the glycyrriza,2184 and the nettle;2185 all these plants being provided with leaves that prick or sting.

Some plants have thorns at the base of their leaves, the tribulus2186 and the anonis2187 for instance; others, again, have thorns, not on the leaves but on the stem, the pheos2188 for example, known as the stœbe to some. The hippophaës2189 has thorns at the joints; the tribulus presents the peculiarity of bearing a fruit that is thorny.

CHAP. 55.—FOUR VARIETIES OF THE NETTLE. THE LAMIUM AND THE SCORPIO.

But of all these plants, it is the nettle that is the best known to us, the calyces2190 of the blossoms of which produce a purple down: it frequently exceeds two cubits even in height.2191 There are numerous varieties of this plant; the wild nettle, known also as the female nettle, does not inflict so bad a sting as the others. Among the several varieties of the wild nettle, the one known as the dog2192-nettle, stings the worst, the stem of it even possessing that property; the leaves of the nettle are indented at the edge. There is one kind also, which emits a smell, known as the Herculanean2193 nettle. The seed of all the nettles is copious, and black. It is a singular fact that, though possessed of no spinous points, the down2194 of the nettle is of a noxious nature, and that, though ever so lightly touched, it will immediately produce an itching sensation, and raise a blister on the flesh similar in appearance to a burn: the well-known remedy for it is olive oil.

The stinging property of the nettle does not belong to the plant at the earliest period of its growth, but only developes itself under the influence of the sun. The plant first begins to grow in the spring, at which period it is by no means a disagreeable food;2195 indeed, it has become quite a religious observance to employ it as such, under the impression that it is a preventive from diseases the whole year through. The root, too, of the wild nettle, has the effect of rendering all meat more tender that is boiled with it.2196 The kind that is innoxious and destitute of all stinging properties, is known as the “lamium.”2197 Of the scorpio2198 we shall have occasion to speak when treating of the medicinal plants.

CHAP. 56. (16).—THE CARDUUS, THE ACORNA, THE PHONOS, THE LEUCACANTHOS, THE CHALCEOS, THE CNECOS, THE POLYACANTHOS, THE ONOPYXOS, THE HELXINE, THE SCOLYMOS, THE CHAMÆLEON, THE TETRALIX, AND ACANTHICE MASTICHE.

The carduus2199 has leaves and a stem covered with a prickly down; the same is the case, too, with the acorna,2200 the leucacanthos,2201 the chalceos,2202 the cnecos,2203 the polyacanthos,2204 the onopyxos,2205 the helxine,2206 and the scolymos;2207 the chamæleon,2208 however, has no prickles upon the leaves. There is, however, this difference among these plants, that some of them have numerous stems and branches, such as the carduus, for instance; while others, again, have a single stem and no branches, the cnecos, for example. Some, again, such as the erynge,2209 are prickly at the head only; and some blossom in the summer, the tetralix and the helxine, for instance. The scolymos blossoms late, and remains a considerable period in flower: the acorna being distinguished only for its red colour and its unctuous juice. The atractylis would be similar in every respect to the last, were it not that it is somewhat whiter, and produces a juice the colour of blood, a circumstance to which it owes the name of “phonos,”2210 given to it by some. The smell of this plant is powerful, and the seed only ripens at a late period, and never before autumn, although the same may be said of all the prickly plants, in fact. All of them are capable, however, of being reproduced from either seed or root.

The scolymos, which belongs to the thistle2211 genus, differs from the rest of them in the circumstance that the root of it is boiled and eaten. It is a singular fact that this genus of plants bears blossoms, buds, and fruit the whole of the summer through, without any interruption: when the leaf is dried, the prickles lose their pungency. The helxine is a plant but rarely seen, and in some countries only. It throws out leaves at the root, from the middle of which there is a protuberance in the shape of an apple, covered with leaves of its own: the head of it contains a thick juice of a sweet flavour, the name given to which is “acanthice mastiche.”2212

CHAP. 57.—THE CACTOS; THE PTERNIX, PAPPUS, AND ASCALIAS.

The cactos,2213 too, is a plant that grows only in Sicily, having peculiar characteristics of its own: the root throws out stalks which creep along the ground, the leaves being broad and thorny. The name given to these stalks is “cactos,” and they are not disliked as an article of food,2214 even when old. The plant, however, has one stem which grows upright, and is known by the name of “pternix;” it has the same sweet flavour as the other parts, though it will not keep. The seed of it is covered with a kind of down, known as “pappus:”2215 when this is removed, as well as the rind2216 of the fruit, it is tender, and like the pith of the palm: the name given to it is “ascalias.”

CHAP. 58.—THE TRIBULUS: THE ANONIS.

The tribulus2217 grows nowhere except in marshy places: though held in abomination elsewhere,2218 it is employed on the banks of the Nilus and Strymon as an article of food. It always bends towards the water, and has a leaf like that of the elm, with a long stalk. In other parts of the world there are two varieties of this plant; the one2219 with leaves like those of the chicheling vetch, the other with leaves protected by prickles. This last variety blossoms also at a later period than the other, and is mostly found in the hedge-rows about farm-houses. The seed of it is black, rounder than that of the other, and enclosed in pods: that of the other variety bears a resemblance to sand.

Among the prickly plants there is also another kind, known as the “anonis:”2220 indeed, it has thorns upon the branches, to which leaves are attached similar to those of rue, the stem being entirely covered also with leaves, in form resembling a garland. It comes up in land that has been newly ploughed, being highly prejudicial to the corn, and long-lived in the extreme.

CHAP. 59.—PLANTS CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO THEIR STEMS: THE CORONOPUS, THE ANCHUSA, THE ANTHEMIS, THE PHYLLANTHES, THE CREPIS, AND THE LOTUS.

Some, again, among the prickly plants have a stem which creeps along the ground, that, for instance, known as the “coronopus.”2221 On the other hand, the anchusa,2222 the root of which is employed for dyeing wood and wax, has an upright stem; which is the case also with some of the plants that are prickly in a less degree, the anthemis,2223 for example, the phyllanthes,2224 the anemone, and the aphace:2225 the crepis,2226 again, and the lotus,2227 have a foliated stem.

CHAP. 60.—PLANTS CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO THEIR LEAVES. PLANTS WHICH NEVER LOSE THEIR LEAVES: PLANTS WHICH BLOSSOM A LITTLE AT A TIME: THE HELIOTROPIUM AND THE ADIANTUM, THE REMEDIES DERIVED FROM WHICH WILL BE MENTIONED IN THE FOLLOWING BOOK.

The leaves of plants, as well as those of trees, differ from one another in the length of the footstalk, and in the breadth or narrowness of the leaf, and the angles and indentations perceptible on its edge. Other differences are also constituted in respect of their smell and blossom. The blossom remains on longer in some of those plants which flower only a little at a time, such as the ocimum,2228 the heliotropium,2229 the aphace, and the onochilis,2230 for example.

(17.) Many of these plants, the same as certain among the trees, never lose their leaves, the heliotropium,2231 the adiantum2232 and the polium,2233 for instance.

CHAP. 61.—THE VARIOUS KINDS OF EARED PLANTS: THE STANYOPS; THE ALOPECUROS; THE STELEPHUROS, ORTYX, OR PLANTAGO; THE THRYALLIS.

The eared2234 plants form another variety: among them we find the cynops,2235 the alopecuros,2236 the stelephuros,2237 also known to some persons as the ortyx,2238 and to others as the plantago, of which last we shall have occasion2239 to speak more at length among the medicinal plants, and the thryallis.2240 The alopecuros, among these, has a soft ear and a thick down, not unlike a fox’s tail in fact, to which resemblance it owes its name. The plant most like2241 it is the stelephuros, were it not that it blossoms only a little at a time. In the cichorium and similar plants, the leaves are near the ground, the buds springing from the root just after the rising of the Vergiliæ.2242

CHAP. 62—THE PERDICIUM. THE ORNITHOGALE.

It is not in Egypt only that the perdicium2243 is eaten; it owes its name to the partridge,2244 which bird is extremely fond of digging it up. The roots of it are thick and very numerous: and so, too, with the ornithogale,2245 which has a tender white stalk, and a root half a foot in thickness, bulbous, soft, and provided with three or four other offsets attached to it. It is generally used boiled in pottage.2246

CHAP. 63.—PLANTS WHICH ONLY MAKE THEIR APPEARANCE AT THE END OF A YEAR. PLANTS WHICH BEGIN TO BLOSSOM AT THE TOP. PLANTS WHICH BEGIN TO BLOSSOM AT THE LOWER PART.

It is a remarkable thing that the herb lotus2247 and the ægilops2248 never make their appearance above ground till the end of a year after the seed has been sown. The anthemis,2249 too, offers the singular peculiarity that it begins to blossom at the top, while in all the other plants which flower gradually, it is at the lower part that the blossom first makes its appearance.

CHAP. 64.—THE LAPPA, A PLANT WHICH PRODUCES WITHIN ITSELF. THE OPUNTIA, WHICH THROWS OUT A ROOT FROM THE LEAF.

In the lappa,2250 too, which clings so tenaciously, there is this remarkable peculiarity, that within it there grows a flower, which does not make its appearance, but remains concealed and there produces the seed, like those among the animals which produce within themselves. In the vicinity of Opus there grows a plant2251 which is very pleasant eating to man, and the leaf of which, a most singular thing, gives birth to a root by means of which it reproduces itself.

CHAP. 65.—THE IASIONE. THE CHONDRYLLA. THE PICRIS, WHICH REMAINS IN FLOWER THE WHOLE YEAR THROUGH.

The iasione2252 has a single leaf only, but that so folded and involved, as to have all the appearance of being several in number. The chondrylla2253 is bitter, and the juice of the root is of an acrid taste. The aphace, too, is bitter, and so is the plant called “picris,”2254 which also remains in flower the whole year through: it is to this bitterness that it is indebted for its name.2255

CHAP. 66.—PLANTS IN WHICH THE BLOSSOM MAKES ITS APPEARANCE BEFORE THE STEM. PLANTS IN WHICH THE STEM APPEARS BEFORE THE BLOSSOM. PLANTS WHICH BLOSSOM THREE TIMES IN THE YEAR.

The peculiarities also of the squill and saffron deserve remark; for while all other plants put forth their leaves first, and then a round stem, these show the stem before the leaf makes its appearance: in the saffron, however, the blossom is protruded by the stem, but in the squill it is the stem that first makes its appearance, and then the flower emerges from it. This plant blossoms three times in the year, indicating thereby, as previously stated,2256 the three seasons for ploughing.

CHAP. 67.—THE CYPIROS. THE THESION.

Some authors reckon among the bulbs the root of the cypiros, or gladiolus;2257 it is a pleasant food, and when boiled and kneaded up with bread, makes it more agreeable to the taste, and at the same time more weighty. Not unlike it in appearance is the plant known to us as the “thesion,”2258 but it is of an acrid flavour.

CHAP. 68.—THE ASPHODEL, OR ROYAL SPEAR. THE ANTHERICUS OR ALBUCUS.

Other plants of the bulbous kind differ in the leaf: that of the asphodel2259 is long and narrow, that of the squill broad and supple, and the form of that of the gladiolus is bespoken by its name.2260 The asphodel is used as an article of food, the seed of it being parched, and the bulb roasted;2261 this last, however, should be cooked in hot ashes, and then eaten with salt and oil. It is beaten up also with figs, and forms, as Hesiod assures us, a very delicate dish. It is said, too, that the asphodel, planted before the doors of a farm-house, will act as a preservative against the effects of noxious spells.

Homer,2262 too, makes mention of the asphodel. The bulbs of it are like moderately-sized turnips, and there is no plant the root of which has more of them, as many as eighty bulbs being often grouped together. Theophrastus, and nearly all the Greek writers, with Pythagoras at the head of them, have given the name of “anthericos” to its stem, which is one cubit, and often two, in length, the leaves being very similar to those of the wild leek; it is to the root, or in other words, the bulbs, that they have given the name of asphodel. The people of our country call this plant2263 “albucus,” and they give the name of “royal2264 spear” to the asphodel the stem of which bears berries,2265 thus distinguishing two2266 varieties of it. The albucus has a stalk a cubit in length, large, naked, and smooth, in reference to which, Mago recommends that it should be cut at the end of March and the beginning of April, the period at which it blossoms, and before the seed has begun to swell; he says, too, that the stalks should be split, and exposed on the fourth day in the sun, after which, when dry, they should be made up into bundles.

The same author states, also, that the Greeks give the name of “pistana” to the aquatic plant known to us as the “sagitta;”2267 and he recommends that it should be stripped of its bark, and dried in a mild sun, between the ides of May2268 and the end of October. He says, too, that it is usual to cut down to the root, throughout all the month of July, the variety of the gladiolus called “cypiros,” which is a marsh-plant also, and at the end of three days to dry it in the sun, until it turns white; but that care must be taken every day to carry it under cover before sunset, the night dews being very injurious to marsh plants when cut.

CHAP. 69. (18.)—SIX VARIETIES OF THE RUSH: FOUR REMEDIES DERIVED FROM THE CYPIROS.

Mago has likewise given similar recommendations as to the rush known to us as the “mariscus,”2269 and which is so extensively employed for weaving mats. He says that it should be gathered in the month of June, up to the middle of July, and for drying it he gives the same precepts that have been already2270 mentioned, in the appropriate place, when speaking of sedge. He describes a second kind, also, which I find is generally called the “marine” rush, and is known to the Greeks as the “oxyschœnos.”2271

Generally speaking, there are three varieties of this last rush: the pointed rush, which is barren, and by the Greeks is called the male rush and the “oxys:”2272 the female rush,2273 which bears a black seed, and is called the “melancranis,”2274 thicker and more bushy than the preceding one: and a third kind, called the “holoschœnus,”2275 which is larger still. Of these varieties, the melancranis grows separately from the others, but the oxys and the holoschœnus will grow upon the self-same clod. The holoschœnus is the most useful for all kinds of basket-work, being of a particularly supple and fleshy nature; it bears a fruit, which resembles eggs attached to one another. The rush, again, which we have spoken of as the male rush,2276 is reproduced from itself, the summit of it being bent down into the earth; the melancranis, however, is propagated from seed. Beyond this, the roots of all the varieties of the rush die every year.

The rush is in general use for making kipes2277 for sea-fishing, the more light and elegant kinds of basket-work, and the wicks of lamps, for which last purpose the pith is more particularly employed.2278 In the vicinity of the maritime Alps, the rushes grow to such a vast size, that when split they measure nearly an inch in diameter; while in Egypt, on the other hand, they are so extremely fine, that the people there make sieves of them, for which, indeed, there can be nothing better.

Some authors, again, distinguish another kind of rush, of a triangular shape, to which they give the name of cyperos,2279 though many persons make no distinction between it and the “cypiros,” in consequence of the resemblance of the names; for our own part, however, we shall observe the distinction. The cypiros, as we have already2280 stated, is identical with the gladiolus, a plant with a bulbous root, the most esteemed being those grown in the Isle of Crete, the next best those of Naxos, and the next those of Phœnicia. The cypiros of Crete is white, with an odour strongly resembling that of nard; the produce of Naxos has a more pungent smell, that of Phœnicia but little odour of any kind, and that of Ægypt none at all; for it grows in that country as well.

This plant disperses hard tumours of the body—for we shall here begin to speak of the remedies derived from the various flowers and odoriferous plants, they being, all of them, of very considerable utility in medicine. As to the cypiros, then, I shall follow Apollodorus, who forbids it to be taken in drink, though at the same time he admits that it is extremely useful for calculi of the bladder, and recommends it in fomentations for the face. He entertains no doubt, however, that it is productive of abortion, and he mentions, as a remarkable fact, that the barbarians,2281 by inhaling the fumes of this plant at the mouth, thereby diminish the volume of the spleen. They never go out of the house, he says, till they have inhaled these fumes, through the agency of which they daily become stronger and stronger, and more robust. He states, also, that the cypiros, employed as a liniment with oil, is an undoubted remedy for chafing of the skin, and offensive odours of the arm-pits.

CHAP. 70.—THE CYPEROS: FOURTEEN REMEDIES. THE CYPERIS. THE CYPIRA.

The cyperos, as we have just stated, is a rush of angular shape, white near the ground, and black and solid at the top. The lower leaves are more slender than those of the leek, and those at the top are small, with the seed of the plant lying between them. The root resembles a black olive,2282 and when it is of an oblong shape, the plant is known as the “cyperis,”2283 being employed in medicine to a great extent. The cyperos most highly esteemed is that of the vicinity of the Temple of Jupiter Hammon, the next best being that of Rhodes, the next that of Theræ, and the worst of all that of Egypt, a circumstance which tends greatly to add to the misunderstanding on the subject, as that country produces the cypiros as well: but the cypiros which grows there is extremely hard, and has hardly any smell at all, while all the other2284 varieties of it have an odour strongly resembling that of nard.

There is also an Indian plant, called the “cypira,”2285 of a totally different character, and similar to ginger in appearance; when chewed, it has exactly the flavour of saffron.

The cyperos, employed medicinally, is possessed of certain depilatory properties. It is used in liniments for hang-nails and ulcerous sores of the genitals and of all parts of the body which are of a humid nature, ulcers of the mouth, for instance. The root of it is a very efficacious remedy for the stings of serpents and scorpions. Taken in drink, it removes obstructions of the uterus, but if employed in too large doses, it is liable to cause prolapsus of that organ. It acts also as a diuretic, and expels calculi of the bladder; properties which render it extremely useful in dropsy. It is employed topically, also, for serpiginous ulcers, those of the throat more particularly, being usually applied with wine or vinegar.

CHAP. 71.—THE HOLOSCHŒNUS.

The root of the rush, boiled down to one third in three heminæ of water, is a cure for cough; the seed of it, parched and taken in water, arrests looseness of the bowels and the menstrual discharge, though at the same time it causes headache. The name given to this rush is holoschœnus; the parts of it nearest the root are chewed, as a cure for the bites of spiders.

I find mention made, also, of one other kind of rush, the name of which is “euripice;”2286 the seed, they say, is narcotic, but the greatest care is necessary, not to throw the patient into a lethargy.

CHAP. 72.—TEN REMEDIES DERIVED FROM THE SWEET-SCENTED RUSH, OR TEUCHITES.

We will also take this opportunity of mentioning the medicinal properties of the sweet-scented rush, which is found in Cœle-Syria, as already stated by us in the appropriate place.2287 The most esteemed kind, however, is that which grows in the country of the Nabatæi, and is known as the “teuchites;”2288 the next best being the produce of Babylonia, and the very worst that of Africa, which is entirely destitute of smell. This rush is round, and when applied to the tongue, has a pungent, vinous flavour. The genuine kind, when rubbed, gives out an odour like that of the rose, and when broken asunder it is red within. It dispels flatulency, and hence it is very good for the stomach, and for persons when vomiting the bile or blood. It arrests hiccup also, promotes eructations, acts as a diuretic, and is curative of affections of the bladder. A decoction of it is used for female complaints; and in cases of opisthotony, it is applied in plasters with dry resin, these being highly valued for their warming properties.