[219] “Cicercula.” See B. xxii. c. 72.
[220] This remark is founded upon just notions.
[221] Ostrearius.
[222] From ἄρτος, and λάγανον, bread and cake.
[223] From σπεύδω, to hasten. A sort of crumpet, probably.
[224] Furnaceus.
[225] Artopticeus.
[226] “Clibanis.” The clibanus was a portable oven or mould, broader at
the bottom than the top.
[227] Aquaticus.
[228] See cc. 10 and 29 of this Book.
[229] It would appear to be somewhat similar to our rusks.
[230] Which ended A.U.C. 586.
[231] A. ii. s. 9, l. 4. “Ego hinc artoptam ex proxumo utendam peto.”
It is thought by some commentators, that the word used by Pliny here
was, in reality, “Artoptasia,” a female baker; and that he alludes to a
passage in the Aulularia, which has now perished.
[232] Which in Pliny’s time signified “baker.”
[233] The Stipa tenacissima of Linnæus, Fée says; or else the Lygeum
spartum of Linnæus.
[234] As to the cereal so called, see c. 10 of this Book.
[235] Or perfumed oils.
[236] See B. iii. c. 9. A volcanic district.
[237] In c. 20 of this Book.
[238] Grain from which the husk is removed.
[239] A sub-carbonate of lime; it is still known in those parts of
Campania, and is called “lumera.”
[240] Teneritatem.
[241] From the Greek, meaning “white earth.”
[242] Fée enquires, and with good reason, how the African mixture
accommodated itself to the stomachs of those who ate it.
[243] Residue.
[244] Seconds.
[245] Sieve flour.
[246] A porridge or pap, made of ground grain. It is mentioned by Cato,
c. 86.
[247] The Faba vulgaris of the modern naturalists. It is supposed to
have originally come from Persia.
[248] It is said that this mixture is still employed in the Valais and
in Savoy.
[249] Fabata.
[250] Beans were used in ancient times, in place of balls or pebbles,
in voting by ballot. Hence it has been suggested that Pythagoras, in
recommending his disciples to abstain from beans, meant to advise them
to have nothing to do with politics.
[251] The sacrifices offered to the Manes or spirits of deceased
relations. See Ovid’s Fasti, B. ii. l. 565.
[252] “Brought home.” The bean was offered up, to ensure good luck.
[253] Didymus, in the Geoponica, B. ii. c. 33, repeats this absurdity.
[254] Georg. i. 215.
[255] This notion still prevails, and the bean, while in blossom, is
dug into the ground to manure it, both in England and France.
[256] It does not appear, however, that this was done with the view of
digging in the beans.
[257] Or Bean Islands. See B. iv. c. 27.
[258] The Nymphæa nelumbo of Linnæus is alluded to, but it is no
longer to be found in Egypt. Pliny is supposed to derive this from
Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. iv. c. 10, but his translation is not
exactly correct.
[259] Pisum sativum of Linnæus.
[260] Meaning a wart or pimple on the face.
[261] Cicer arietinum of the botanists.
[262] “Gigni cum salsilagine.” It abounds in India, and while
blossoming, it distils a corrosive acid, which corrodes the shoes of
those who tread upon it.
[263] There are still the red and the white kinds, the large and the
small.
[264] Cicercula: the Lathyrus sativus of Linnæus. It is difficult to
cook and hard of digestion. See c. 26.
[265] This must be said in reference to some of the pease when in a
dried state.
[266] A variety of the Phaseolus vulgaris of Linnæus: the “haricot”
of the French. The French bean and the scarlet-runner are cooked in a
similar manner among us.
[267] 15th of October.
[268] 1st of November.
[269] The Napo-brassica of Linnæus. The turnip cabbage, or
rape-colewort.
[270] This taste, it is most probable, is nowhere in existence at the
present day.
[271] This is not by any means an exaggeration.
[272] Acrimonia.
[273] These coloured varieties, Fée says, belong rather to the Brassica
oleracea, than to the Brassica rapa. It is not improbable, from the
structure of this passage, that Pliny means to say that the colours are
artificially produced.
[274] In reality, belonging to the Crucifera, the rape is
hermaphroditical.
[275] Wild horse-radish, which is divided into two varieties, the
Raphanus raphanistrum of Linnæus, and the Cochlearia Armoracia, may
possibly be meant, but their roots bear no resemblance to the radish.
[276] An enormous price, apparently.
[277] The Brassica napus of Linnæus.
[278] 1st of March.
[279] The Neptunalia and the Vulcanalia; 23rd of July and 23rd of
August.
[280] In consequence of the brittleness of the pod.
[281] This is an exaggeration of certain phænomena observed in the
leaves of all leguminous plants.
[282] In B. xvii. c. 6.
[283] “Ex areâ.” This reading is favoured by the text of Columella. B.
ii. c. 10, who says the same. But “ex arvo,” from the field, _i. e._
the “moment it is gathered”—seems preferable, as being more consistent
with the context,
[284] From Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. viii. c. 1. 11, &c.
[285] It is still thought that the lupine enriches the soil in which it
grows.
[286] Marcellus Empiricus says, that boiled lupine meal, spread as a
plaster, and laid on the abdomen, will destroy intestinal worms.
[287] Vicia sativa of Linnæus.
[288] Or orobus, the Ervum ervilia of Linnæus.
[289] It is thought by many that the ervum is unwholesome, being
productive of muscular weakness. The blade of it is said to act as a
poison on pigs. However, we find the farina, or meal, extolled by some
persons for its medicinal qualities; and if we are to trust to the
advertisements in the newspapers, it is rising rapidly in esteem. See
B. xxii. c. 73.
[290] From Columella, B. ii. c. 11.
[291] Trigonella fœnum Græcum of Linnæus.
[292] “Scarificatio.”
[293] Probably the Secale cereale of Linnæus, cultivated rye.
[294] It is now held in high esteem in many parts of Europe.
[295] Rye has no bitterness, and this assertion has led some to doubt
if it is identical with the “secale” of Pliny.
[296] Perhaps identical with the Vicia cracca of Linnæus.
[297] In c. 54 and 60, and elsewhere. See B. xvii. c. 35.
[298] Probably, fitches.
[299] Fée suggests that this may be the Avena sterilis, or else the
Avena fatua of Linnæus.
[300] De Re Rust. B. i. c. 31.
[301] “Medica,” in Latin, a kind of clover, the Medicago sativa of
Linnæus.
[302] Fée is inclined to doubt this.
[303] Pliny exaggerates here: Columella, B. ii. c. 11, says, only
“ten:” a field, however, sown with it will last, with a fresh sowing,
as long as twenty years.
[304] See B. xiii. c. 47.
[305] Columella, B. ii. c. 11, says April.
[306] By the aid of careful watering, as many as eight to fourteen
cuttings are obtained in the year, in Italy and Spain. In the north of
Europe there is but one crop.
[307] In B. xiii. c. 47.
[308] He borrows this notion of the oat being wheat in a diseased
state, from Theophrastus. Singularly enough, it was adopted by the
learned Buffon.
[309] From Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. viii. c. 10.
[310] This but rarely happens in our climates, as Fée remarks.
[311] The grains are sometimes, though rarely, found devoured on the
stalk, by a kind of larvæ.
[312] Some coleopterous insect, probably, now unknown, and not the
Cantharis vesicatoria, or “Spanish fly,” as some have imagined.
Dioscorides and Athenæus state to the same effect as Pliny.
[313] The proper influence of the humidity of the earth would naturally
be impeded by a coating of these substances.
[314] This plant has not been identified; but none of the gramineous
plants are noxious to cattle, with the exception of the seed of darnel.
[315] Lolium temulentum of Linnæus.
[316] See B. xxi. c. 58.
[317] “Carduus.” A general term, probably including the genera
Centaurea (the prickly kinds), Serratula, Carduus, and Cnicus. The
Centaurea solstitialis is the thistle most commonly found in the south
of Europe.
[318] Gallium Aparine of Linnæus.
[319] Barley, wheat, oats, and millet have, each its own “rubigo” or
mildew, known to modern botany as uredo.
[320] The Erineum vitis of botanists.
[321] This rarely happens except through the violence of wind or rain.
[322] See c. 32 of this Book.
[323] The Cuscuta Europæa, probably, of Linnæus; one of the Convolvuli.
[324] “Æra.” It is generally considered to be the same with darnel,
though Pliny probably looked upon them as different.
[325] The Ægilops ovata, probably, of Linnæus. Dalechamps and Hardouin
identify it with the barren oat, the Avena sterilis of Linnæus.
[326] To the Greek πελέκυς, or battle-axe. It is probably the Biserrula
pelecina of Linnæus, though the Astragalus hamosus and the Coronilla
securidaca of Linnæus have been suggested.
[327] Pliny has here committed a singular error in translating from
Theophrastus, de Causis, B. iv. c. 14, who only says that a cold wind
in the vicinity of Philippi makes the beans difficult to cook or boil,
ἀτεράμονες. From this word he has coined two imaginary plants, the
“ateramon,” and the “teramon.” Hardouin defends Pliny, by suggesting
that he has borrowed the passage from another source, while Fée doubts
if he really understood the Greek language.
[328] More probably one of the Coleoptera. He borrows from
Theophrastus, Hist. Anim. B. viii. c. 10.
[329] This will only prevent the young plants from becoming a prey to
snails and slugs.
[330] This plan is attended with no good results.
[331] Georg. i. 193. It is generally said that if seed is steeped in
a solution of nitre, and more particularly hydrochloric acid, it will
germinate with accelerated rapidity; the produce, however, is no finer
than at other times.
[332] “Fractæ.” Perhaps, more properly “crushed”
[333] The odour of cypress, or savin, Fée thinks, might possibly keep
away noxious insects.
[334] The “always living,” or perennial plant, our “house-leek,” the
Sedum acre of Linnæus. See B. xxv. c. 102.
[335] “Little finger,” from the shape of the leaves.
[336] He must have allowed himself to be imposed upon in this case.
[337] Fée thinks that this may possibly be efficacious against the
attacks of rats, as the author of the Geoponica, B. x., states.
[338] Virgil, Georg, i. 111, recommends the same plan, and it is still
followed by agriculturists. It is not without its inconveniences,
however.
[339] This is not consistent with truth, for no fresh ear will assume
its place.
[340] De Re Rust. c. 6.
[341] De Re Rust. c. 34.
[342] “Ador.” See c. 10 of this Book.
[343] From Varro; De Re Rust. i. 23.
[344] A.U.C. 553.
[345] There is nothing wonderful in a few grains of corn germinating in
the cleft of a tree.
[346] In B. v. c. 10.
[347] First of April.
[348] _I. e._ Egypt Proper, the Delta, or Lower Egypt, Thebais being in
Upper Egypt.
[349] The overflow of these rivers is by no means to be compared with
that of the Nile.
[350] Fée remarks, that the plough here described differs but little
from that used in some provinces of France.
[351] Resupinus.
[352] Gallia Togata. Rhætia is the modern country of the Grisons.
[353] According to Goropius Becanus, from _plograt_, the ancient Gallic
for a plough-wheel. Hardouin thinks that it is from the Latin “plaustra
rati;” and Poinsinet derives it from the Belgic _ploum_, a plough, and
_rat_, or _radt_, a wheel.
[354] “Crates;” probably made of hurdles; see Virgil, Georg. i. 95.
[355] De Re Rust. c. 61.
[356] These rules are borrowed mostly from Varro, B. i. c. 19, and
Columella, B. ii. c. 4.
[357] “Vere actum” “worked in spring.”
[358] Virgil says the same, Georg. i. 9.
[359] Crosswise, or horizontally.
[360] Zig-zag, apparently.
[361] A rude foreshadowing of the spade husbandry so highly spoken of
at the present day.
[362] “Prevaricare,” “to make a balk,” as we call it, to make a
tortuous furrow, diverging from the straight line.
[363] He probably means the heavy “rastrum,” or rake, mentioned by
Virgil, Georg. i. 164. It is impossible to say what was the shape of
this heavy rake, or how it was used. Light, or hand rakes were in
common use as well.
[364] “A gong crooked;” hence its meaning of, folly, dotage, or madness.
[365] Georg. i. 47. Servius seems to understand it that the furrow
should be untouched for two days and two nights before it is gone over
again.
[366] Fée declines to give credit to this story.
[367] A.U.C. 830.
[368] “Semen,” “seed-wheat,” a variety only of spelt.
[369] In c. 65 of this Book.
[370] Runcatio.
[371] Crates.
[372] Georg. i. 71.
[373] In B. xvii. c. 7.
[374] See B. v. c. 3, and B. xvi. c. 50. It is also mentioned by
Ptolemy and Procopius. It was situate evidently in an oasis.
[375] Or arm’s length from the elbow.
[376] He surely does not mention this as an extravagant price, more
especially when he has so recently spoken (in c. 34) of rape selling at
a sesterce per pound.
[377] How was this ascertained? Fée seems to think that it is the
Festuca fluitans of Linnæus that is alluded to, it being eagerly sought
by cattle.
[378] In B. xvii. c. 3.
[379] Tenerum.
[380] Adoreum.
[381] “Tertio” may possibly mean the “third time,” _i. e._ for every
third crop.
[382] In B. xvii. c. 6.
[383] “Ares” seems to be a preferable reading to “arescat,” “before it
dries.”
[384] Schneider, upon Columella, B. ii. c. 15, would reject these
words, and they certainly appear out of place.
[385] Poinsinet would supply here “tricenis diebus,” “in thirty days,”
from Columella, B. ii. c. 15.
[386] “Sterile.” This is not necessarily the case, as we know with
reference to what is called mummy wheat, the seed of which has been
recovered at different times from the Egyptian tombs.
[387] The threshing floor was made with an elevation in the middle,
and the sides on an incline, to the bottom of which the largest grains
would be the most likely to fall.
[388] “Far” or spelt is of a red hue in the exterior.
[389] This appearance is no longer to be observed, if, indeed, Pliny is
correct: all kinds of corn are white in the interior of the grain.
[390] Hand-sowing is called by the French, “semer à la volée.”
[391] This occult or mysterious method of which Pliny speaks, consists
solely of what we should call a “happy knack,” which some men have of
sowing more evenly than others.
[392] Sors genialis atque fecunda est.
[393] This Chapter is mostly from Columella, B. ii. c. 9.
[394] In c. 19 of this Book.
[395] Probably the mixture called “farrago” in c. 10 and c. 41.
[396] Upon this point the modern agriculturists are by no means agreed.
[397] From Cato, De Re Rust. c. 5.
[398] “Segetem ne defrudes.” The former editions mostly read
“defruges,” in which case the meaning would be, “don’t exhaust the
land.”
[399] This passage of Attius is lost, but Hermann supposes his words to
have run thus:—
——serere, cum est
Luna in Ariete, Geminis, Leone, Libra, Aquario.
[400] In c. 8 of this Book.
[401] Georg. i. 208.
[402] Georg. i. 227.
[403] See c. 74 of this Book.
[404] Columella, B. ii. c. 8.
[405] Favonius. See B. ii. c. 47.
[406] The five days’ festival in honour of Minerva. It begins on the
fourteenth before the calends of April, or on the nineteenth of March.
Virgil, Georg. i. 208, says that flax and the poppy should be sown in
autumn.
[407] Fifteenth of October.
[408] First of November.
[409] Georg. i. 204.
[410] “To be an early winter.”
[411] “To be a long winter.”
[412] Confectum sidus.
[413] In B. xvii. c. 2.
[414] Georg. i. 335.
[415] A.U.C. 830.
[416] Twenty-seventh of January.
[417] Ad solis cursum.
[418] Soon after the corrections made by order of Julius Cæsar, the
Pontifices mistook the proper method of intercalation, by making it
every third year instead of the fourth; the consequence of which was,
that Augustus was obliged to correct the results of their error by
omitting the intercalary day for twelve years.
[419] He most probably refers to the list of writers originally
appended to the First Book; but which in the present Translation is
distributed at the end of each Book. For the list of astronomical
writers here referred to, see the end of the present Book.
[420] Or Ἀστρικὴ βίβλος. It is now lost.
[421] In his work mentioned at the end of this Book. It is now lost.
[422] _I. e._ Asia Minor.
[423] _I. e._ the north-west parts of Africa.
[424] See c. 39 of that Book.
[425] “Ratione solis.” This theory of the succession of changes every
four years, was promulgated by Eudoxus. See B. ii. c. 48.
[426] See c. 69, as to Arcturus and Aquila.
[427] He speaks of Equinoctial hours, these being in all cases of the
same length, in contradistinction to the Temporal, or Unequal hours,
which with the Romans were a twelfth part of the Natural day, from
sunrise to sunset, and of course were continually varying.
[428] Twenty-fifth of December.
[429] Fere.
[430] In this Translation, the names of the Constellations are given
in English, except in the case of the signs of the Zodiac, which are
universally known by their Latin appellations.
[431] He begins in c. 64, at the winter solstice, and omits the period
between the eleventh of November and the winter solstice altogether, so
far as the mention of individual days.
[432] “Cum sidus vehemens Orionis iisdem diebus longo decedat spatio.”
This passage is apparently unintelligible, if considered, as Sillig
reads it, as dependent on the preceding one.
[433] In his Œconomica.
[434] In B. ii. c. 47.
[435] “Vestis institor est.” This passage is probably imperfect.
[436] “Lacernarum.”
[437] “Puleium.” See B. ii. c. 41.
[438] De Re Rust. i. 34.
[439] The setting of the Vergiliæ.
[440] De Divinat. B. i. c. 15. They are a translation from Aratus.
[441] De Re Rust. c. 38. Pliny has said above, that flax and the poppy
should be sown in the spring.
[442] The Papaver Rhœas of Linnæus is still used for affections of the
throat.
[443] For the grape and the olive.
[444] First of November.
[445] In the more northern climates this is never done till the spring.
[446] This is merely imaginary.
[447] Or king-fisher. It was a general belief that this bird incubated
on the surface of the ocean.
[448] Hence the expression, “Halcyon days.”
[449] Vadimonia.
[450] In B. xvi. c. 74.
[451] “Ridicas.”
[452] “Palos.”
[453] Thirtieth of December. According to the Roman reckoning, the
_third_ day would be the day but one before.
[454] Fourth of January.
[455] Eighth of January.
[456] Seventeenth of January.
[457] Twenty-fifth of January.
[458] “Regia Stella.”
[459] Fourth of February.
[460] Or wine-vats; by the use of the word “laminas,” he seems to be
speaking not of the ordinary earthen dolia, but the wooden ones used in
Gaul and the north of Italy.
[461] Sixteenth of February.
[462] Twenty-second of February.
[463] Fifth of March.
[464] On the fifth of March, Ovid says, Fasti, iii. l. 407. Columella
makes it rise on the sixth of the nones, or the second of March.
[465] Eighth of March.
[466] Or, more literally, the “Northern Fish.”
[467] Fifteenth of March, the day on which he was assassinated, in
accordance, it is said, with the prophecy of a diviner, who had warned
him to beware of the ides of March.
[468] Eighteenth of March.
[469] Twenty-first of March.
[470] In c. 46 and c. 47.
[471] Seventh of February.
[472] In B. xvii. c. 35.
[473] Fée approves of this method of weeding before the corn is in ear.
[474] In a day, probably.
[475] Georg. i. 63.
[476] De Re Rust. 40.
[477] See B. xvii. c. 8.
[478] Alluding to his quotation from Cicero in c. 61.
[479] Or mastich.
[480] See c. 7 of this Book.
[481] It is not known whence he derived this unfounded notion.
[482] Twenty-fifth of March.
[483] First of April.
[484] This passage is omitted in the original, but was probably left
out by inadvertence.
[485] Third of April.
[486] Fifth of April.
[487] Eighth of April.
[488] Eighteenth of April.
[489] Sixteenth of April.
[490] Twentieth of April.
[491] Twenty-first of April. See B. xix. c. 24.
[492] From ὕειν, to rain.
[493] “Sus,” a pig.
[494] Twenty-fourth of April.
[495] Twenty-fifth of April.
[496] Twenty-sixth of April.
[497] Twenty-seventh of April.
[498] Twenty-eighth of April.
[499] Second of May.
[500] Eighth of May.
[501] Tenth of May.
[502] “Cuculus.” Sec B. x. c. 11.
[503] “Petulantiæ vales.” Perhaps “indecent,” or “wanton jokes:” at
least, Hardouin thinks so.
[504] By causing quarrels, probably.
[505] See B. xi. c. 34.
[506] A quotation from some unknown poet, Sillig thinks.
[507] See B. xvi. c. 41.
[508] See Virgil, Ecl. iii. l. 111.
[509] Eleventh of May.
[510] Thirteenth of May.
[511] Twenty-first of May.
[512] Twenty-second of May.
[513] Second of June.
[514] Seventh of June.
[515] Tenth of June.
[516] Fifteenth of June.
[517] Twenty-first of June.
[518] Twenty-fourth of June.
[519] First of June.
[520] Columella, B. ii. c. 18.
[521] The varieties now known as Trifolium pratense, Trifolium rubens
and Trifolium repens.
[522] “Gramen.” Under this head, as Fée says, he probably includes the
gramineous plants, known as Alopecurus, Phleum, Poa, Festuca, &c.
[523] Probably the Lysimachia nummularia of Linnæus, which has a
tendency to corrode the lips of the sheep that pasture on it.
[524] Known to us as “horse-tail;” varieties of which are the Equisetum
fluviatile and the Equisetum palustre of Linnæus.
[525] De Re Rust. c. 53.
[526] See Virgil’s Georg. i. 289.
[527] As to whetstones, for further information, see B. xxvi. c. 47.
[528] The word “falx,” “sickle” or “scythe,” is used here as denoting
an implement for mowing, and not reaping.
[529] Similar in shape to our sickle, or reaping hook, no doubt.
[530] “Majoris compendii.” Similar to our reaping-hook, also. Fée
thinks that the former was similar to the “faux faucille,” or false
sickle, the latter to the common sickle of the French.
[531] Fée says that this is the case in some parts of France.
[532] In c. 59 of this Book.
[533] Twenty-fourth of June. See the last Chapter.
[534] On this subject see B. xvi. c. 36. See also Varro, De Re Rust. B.
i. c. 46, and Aulus Gellius, B. ix. c. 7.
[535] “Tenes Sidus.”
[536] Twenty-sixth of June.
[537] Fourth of July.
[538] There is some confusion, apparently, here. Canicula, Syrius, or
the Dog-star, belongs to the Constellation Canis Major; while Canis
Minor a Constellation which contains the star Procyon, (“the forerunner
of the Dog,”) precedes it.
[539] Fourth of July.
[540] Fourteenth of July.
[541] Seventeenth of July.
[542] B. ii. c. 40, and B. xix. c. 25.
[543] Twentieth of July.
[544] Twenty-third of July.
[545] Thirtieth of July.
[546] Sixth of August.
[547] Eleventh of August.
[548] Eighth of August.
[549] See B. xvii. c. 37.
[550] Carbunculus.
[551] Cicero. De Div., B. ii. 201, Aristotle, Polit. B. i. c. 7, and
Diogenes Laertius tell this story of Thales the philosopher; Pliny
being the only one that applies it to Democritus.
[552] In the last Chapter. This passage is corrupt.
[553] Mentioned by Seneca, Ep. 59.
[554] It was reserved for the latter part of the last century to
discover that mildew operated on vegetation through the medium of
minute, parasitical fungi. It is mostly attributed to defects in the
light or the atmosphere, or else humidity in excess. See c. 44 of this
Book.
[555] In B. ii. c. 6, for instance.
[556] An onomatic prejudice, as Fée says, solely founded on the
peculiarity of the name.
[557] In the preceding Chapter.
[558] In the preceding Chapter.
[559] In B. xvi. c. 42.
[560] Twentieth of December.
[561] Or festival in honour of Robigo, the Goddess of mildew, on the
twenty-fifth of April. See Ovid’s Fasti, B. iv. l. 907, _et seq._
[562] Robigo.
[563] “Nineteen” is the proper number.
[564] “Et cui præoccidere caniculam necesse est.” The real meaning of
this passage would seem to be,—“Before which, as a matter of course,
Canicula must set.” But if so, Pliny is in error, for Canicula, or
Procyon, sets heliacally _after_ the Dog-star, though it rises before
it. Hardouin observes, that it is abundantly proved from the ancient
writers that it was the custom to sacrifice a puppy to Sirius, or the
Dog-star, at the Robigalia. As Littré justly remarks, it would almost
appear that Pliny intended, by his ambiguous language, to lead his
readers into error.
[565] Twenty-eighth of April. The festival of Flora.
[566] Twenty-third of April. This was the first, or Urban Vinalia: the
second, or Rustic Vinalia, were held on the nineteenth of August.
[567] The same as the Greek Πιθοίγια, or “opening of the Casks.”
[568] Tenth of May.
[569] In B. xvi. c. 42, and in c. 66 of this Book.
[570] Second of June.
[571] Twenty-fourth of June.
[572] Fourth of July.
[573] Seventeenth of July.
[574] Twentieth of July.
[575] Twenty-third of July.
[576] Nineteenth of August.
[577] Eighth of August.
[578] See B. x. c. 45, and c. 50. The popinjay, lapwing, and tit-mouse
have been suggested.
[579] Virio. See B. x. c. 45.
[580] Columella, De Arborib. c. 13, gives similar advice.
[581] This absurd practice is mentioned in the Geoponica, B. v. c. 31.
[582] As to this fish, see B. ix. c. 17.
[583] “Uva picta.” This absurdity does not seem to be found in any of
Varro’s works that have come down to us.
[584] Nothing whatever is known of him or his works; and, as Fée says,
apparently the loss is little to be regretted.
[585] Rubeta rana.
[586] De Re Rust. 129. Cato, however, does not mention chalk, but
Virgil (Georg. i. 178) does. Poinsinet thinks that this is a “lapsus
memoriæ” in Pliny, but Fée suggests that there may have been an
omission by the copyists.
[587] See the last Note. He recommends that it should be turned up with
the hand, rammed down with “tenacious chalk,” and levelled with a large
roller.
[588] Both cow-dung and marc of olives are still employed in some parts
of France, in preparing the threshing floor.
[589] Palladius gives a long description of this contrivance, which
seems to have been pushed forward by the ox; the teeth, which were
sharp at the edge and fine at the point, catching the ears and
tearing them off. But, as Fée says, the use of it must have been very
disadvantageous, in consequence of the unequal height of the stalks.
The straw, too, was sacrificed by the employment of it.
[590] In contrarium juncto.
[591] “Merges.” Supposed to be the same as the “batillum” of Varro.
Its form is unknown, and, indeed, the manner in which it was used. It
is not improbable that it was a fork, sharp at the edge, and similar
to an open pair of scissars, with which the heads of corn were driven
off, as it were; this, however, is only a mere conjecture. By the use
of “atque,” it would almost appear that the “merges” was employed after
the sickle had been used; but it is more probable that he refers to two
different methods of gathering the ears of corn.
[592] The roots and the stubble are, in reality, as good as a manure to
the land.
[593] Called “tribulum;” a threshing-machine moved by oxen. Varro, De
Re Rust. i. 52, gives a description of it. Fée says that it is still
used in some parts of Europe.
[594] On the contrary, Fée says, the risk is greater from the
depredations of birds, and the chance of the grain falling out in
cutting, and gathering in. Spelt and rye may be left much longer than
wheat or oats.
[595] Columella, B. ii. c. i., gives the same advice.
[596] “Palea” seems here to mean “chaff;” though Fée understands it as
meaning straw.
[597] The chaff of millet, and not the straw, must evidently be
intended here, for he says above that the straw—“culmus”—of millet is
generally burnt.
[598] Muria dura.
[599] Georg. i. 84, _et seq._ Fée says that Virgil has good reason for
his commendations, as it is a most excellent plan.
[600] Palladius, i. 19, says _two_ feet.
[601] On account of the damp. Columella, however, recommends a mixture
of sand, lime, and marc of olives for the floor; B. i. c. 6.
[602] In B. xv. c. 8.
[603] This is still done in the Valais, and has the great merit of
preserving the corn from house and field-mice.
[604] “Ventilare.” On the contrary, the weevil penetrates deep, and
does not keep near the surface.
[605] De Re Rust. ii. 21.
[606] See B. ii. c. 48.
[607] Those keep the best, Fée says, which have a farinaceous
perisperm. Millet has but one coat.
[608] This, in reality, would tend to make them turn rancid all the
sooner.
[609] And so repel the attacks of insects.
[610] This would not only spoil the flavour, but absolutely injure the
corn as well.
[611] This also, if practised to any extent, would infallibly spoil the
grain.
[612] De Re Rust. i. 57.
[613] See B. xix. c. 15: also Columella, De Re Rust. B. ii. c. 10.
[614] Twelfth of August.
[615] Twenty-second of August.
[616] Twenty-eighth of August.
[617] Fifth of September.
[618] Ninth of September.
[619] Twelfth of September.
[620] See the Rudens of Plautus, Prol. l. 69.
[621] Sixteenth of September.
[622] Eighteenth of September.
[623] Twenty-first of September.
[624] Commissura.
[625] Twenty-fourth of September.
[626] Mentioned by Virgil, Eccl. iii. l. 38, and by Propertius, Eleg.
iv. 1.
[627] Twenty-eighth of September.
[628] Twenty-ninth of September.
[629] Second of October.
[630] Third of October.
[631] Fourth of October.
[632] Eighth of October.
[633] Tenth of October.
[634] Fifteenth of October.
[635] Sixteenth of October.
[636] Or Hyades, see c. 66.
[637] Second of November.
[638] Ninth of November.
[639] Eleventh of November.
[640] In c. 35 of this Book.
[641] “Frondarias fiscinas.” These must have been baskets of a very
large size. The leaves were used for fodder.
[642] This, Fée says, is diametrically opposite to the modern practice.
[643] The “culeus,” it is supposed, was of the same measure of
capacity as the “dolium,” and held twenty amphoræ. The “pressura,” or
“pressing,” was probably the utmost quantity that the pressing vat
would hold at one time.
[644] “Lacus.”
[645] “Mali rugis per cocleas bullantibus.” The whole of this passage
is full of difficulties.
[646] “Tympana:” literally, “drums.”
[647] Grape juice boiled down to one half; see B. xiv. c. 9.
[648] Virgil mentions this in the Georgics, B. i. 295. Of course, it is
nothing but an absurd superstition.
[649] First of January.
[650] Piscinis.
[651] _I. e._ before getting in the next year’s crop. Of course,
he alludes only to wines of an inferior class, used for domestic
consumption.
[652] In B. xiv.
[653] In B. xv. c. 3.
[654] Georg. i. 276.
[655] In contradistinction to the two periods of full moon, and change
of the moon, the only epochs in reference to it noticed by Pliny.
[656] In Chapters 6, 7, 8 and 11.
[657] Or “between moons.” The “change of the moon,” as we call it.
[658] 51-1/4 minutes.
[659] Many of his statements are drawn from Aristotle’s Treatise, “De
Mundo.”
[660] Our mid-day.
[661] From due north to due south.
[662] Cardo.
[663] “Arbusta.” The trees on which the vines were trained.
[664] _I. e._ the north-west of Africa; the Roman province so called.
[665] In the next Chapter.
[666] Ventus Auster.
[667] In B. ii. c. 46.
[668] Incendia.
[669] See B. xvii. c. 2.
[670] See B. viii. c. 75.
[671] He seems to be in error here, as he has nowhere made mention of
this.
[672] Aristotle, on the other hand, and Columella, B. vii. c. 3,
say “males.” See also B. viii. c. 72, where males are mentioned in
connection with the north-wind. Also the next Chapter in this Book.
[673] In the last Chapter.
[674] Very similar to our compass, but describing only eight points of
the wind, instead of thirty-two.
[675] “Tympanum,” a drum, similar in shape to our tambourines or else
kettle-drums.
[676] See B. ii. c. 46.
[677] Or the “summer” wind.
[678] Africus, or south-west.
[679] Or, according to our mode of expression, the “second,” or “next
but one.”
[680] Or, as we say, the “third.”
[681] Georg. i. 313, _et seq._
“Sæpe ego, quum flavis messorem induceret arvis
Agricola, et fragili jam stringeret hordea culmo,
omnia ventorum concurrere prœlia vidi.”
[682] See the Treatise of Theophrastus on the Prognostics of the
Weather.
[683] This, Fée observes, is confirmed by experience. Aratus, as
translated by Avienus, states to a similar effect.
[684] So Virgil, Georg. i. 427.
[685] Coronam.
[686] See B. ii. c. 6 and c. 36.
[687] In c. 59 of this Book.
[688] “Densum.” Fée says that this is in general confirmed by
experience.
[689] This results, Fée says, from the presence of thin, aqueous
vapours, which portend a change in the atmosphere.
[690] Fée attributes this phænomenon to hydrosulphuric gas, ignited in
the air by an electric spark. The notion that these meteors are stars,
was prevalent to a very recent period.
[691] To which they proceed.
[692] This, Fée says, is confirmed by experience.
[693] Or “Little Asses.”
[694] Præsepia.
[695] This, as Fée remarks, is consistent with experience.
[696] This, Fée remarks, appears to be consistent with general
experience.
[697] Theophrastus states to a similar effect, and it is confirmed by
the experience of those who live in mountainous countries.
[698] We still hear of the “white squalls” of the Mediterranean.
[699] “‘Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a
man’s hand.’——And it came to pass in the meanwhile, that the heaven
was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain.”—1 Kings,
xviii. 44, 45.
[700] The truth of this, Fée says, he has personally experienced in the
vallies of the Alps.
[701] Terreni ignes.
[702] This, and the other phænomena here mentioned, result, as Fée
says, from the hygrometric state of the air. Virgil mentions this
appearance on the wick of the lamp, Georg. i. 392.
[703] Fée thinks that this indicates fine weather rather than rain, as
showing a pure state of the atmosphere.
[704] Sea “lungs.” See B. ix. c. 71.
[705] Ludentia.
[706] Virgil mentions these indications, Georg. i. 368-9.
[707] “Suus fragor.” The winds, Fée remarks, however violent they may
be, make no noise unless they meet with an obstacle which arrests their
onward progress.
[708] Theophrastus, Cicero, and Plutarch state to a similar effect; and
it is corroborated by the experience of most mariners.
[709] The ink-fish; Sepia loligo of Linnæus. See B. ix. c. 21.
[710] Virgil says the same, Georg. i. 378.
[711] “Fulicæ.” See B. x. c. 61, and B. xi. c. 44.
[712] Virgil says the same of the diver, or didapper, Georg. i. 361;
and Lucan Pharsalia, v. 553.
[713] Both Theophrastus and Ælian mention this.
[714] It is not known what bird is here alluded to, but Fée is probably
right in suggesting a sort of sea-mew, or gull.
[715] This is still considered a prognostic of rain. Fée says that the
swallow descends thus near to the surface to catch the insects on the
wing which are now disabled from rising by the hygrometric state of the
atmosphere.
[716] This is confirmed by experience.
[717] On the contrary, Lucan says (Pharsalia, B. v. l. 549), that on
the approach of rain, the heron soars in the upper regions of the air;
and Virgil says the same, Georg. i. 364.
[718] Indecorâ lasciviâ.
[719] Fée suggests that they probably do this to diminish the electric
fluid with which the air is charged.
[720] Alienos sibi manipulos.
[721] This is confirmed by common experience.
[722] “Repositoriis.” See B. xix. c. 13, and B. xxx. c. 49.
[723] See end of B. vii.
[724] See end of B. xii.
[725] See end of B. iii.
[726] See end of B. ii.
[727] See end of B. vii.
[728] See end of B. iii.
[729] See end of B. xiv.
[730] See end of B. ii.
[731] See end of B. iii.
[732] See end of B. xi.
[733] See end of B. x.
[734] See end of B. xi.
[735] See end of B. iii.
[736] See end of B. vii.
[737] See end of B. vii.
[738] A native of Sulmo, in the country of the Peligni, and one of
the greatest poets of the Augustan age. It is most probable that his
“Fasti” was extensively consulted by Pliny in the compilation of the
present Book. Six Books of the Fasti have come down to us, but the
remaining six have perished, if, indeed, they were ever written, which
has been doubted by many of the learned.
[739] See end of B. xiv.
[740] See end of B. viii.
[741] See end of B. ii. It is supposed that there were several writers
of this name, but it is impossible to say with certainty which of them
is the one here referred to. It is probable, however, that it is either
L. Ælius Tubero, the friend of Cicero, or else Q. Ælius Tubero, his
son, that is alluded to.
[742] L. Tarutius Firmianus, a mathematician and astronomer, and a
friend and contemporary of Cicero and M. Varro. At the request of the
latter, he took the horoscope of Romulus. It is generally supposed that
he was of Etruscan descent.
[743] The founder of the imperial dignity at Rome. His Commentaries are
the only work written by him that has come down to us. His treatise
on the Stars, which Pliny frequently quotes throughout this Book, was
probably written under the inspection of the astronomer, Sosigenes.
[744] See end of B. ii.
[745] Nothing is known of this writer. It has been suggested, however,
that he may have been the same person as Papirius Fabianus, mentioned
at the end of B. ii.
[746] See end of B. vii.
[747] See end of B. xvi.
[748] See end of B. iii.
[749] See end of B x.
[750] L. Accius, or Attius, an early Roman tragic poet, and the son of
a freedman, born about B.C. 170. His tragedies were chiefly imitations
from the Greek. He is highly praised by Cicero. The “Praxidica” here
mentioned, is probably the same as the “Pragmatica” spoken of by Aulus
Gellius, B. xx. c. 3. Only some fragments of his Tragedies are left.
[751] See end of B. vii.
[752] See end of B. iii.
[753] See end of B. ii.
[754] See end of B. ii.
[755] See end of B. viii.
[756] See end of B. viii.
[757] See end of B. viii.
[758] See end of B. viii.
[759] See end of B. iv.
[760] Sec end of B. viii.
[761] See end of B. ix.
[762] See end of B. viii.
[763] See end of B. viii.
[764] See end of B. viii.
[765] See end of B. viii.
[766] See end of B. viii.
[767] See end of B. viii.
[768] See end of B. viii.
[769] See end of B. vi.
[770] See end of B. viii.
[771] See end of B. xiv.
[772] See end of B. xv.
[773] See end of B. viii.
[774] See end of B. ii.
[775] See end of B. x.
[776] See end of B. viii.
[777] See end of B. viii.
[778] See end of B. viii.
[779] See end of B. viii.
[780] See end of B. xii.
[781] See end of B. viii.
[782] Of Miletus, the most ancient of the Greek philosophers, and the
founder of the Ionian school of Philosophy. He is said to have written
upon the Solstice and the Equinox, and a work on Astronomy, in verse,
was also attributed to him. It is, however, more generally believed,
that he left no written works behind him, and that those attributed to
him were forgeries.
[783] See end of B. ii.
[784] An astronomer of Medama, or Medma, in Magna Græcia, and a
disciple of Plato. He is said to have written a treatise on the winds,
and Plutarch states that he demonstrated the figure of the moon.
[785] An astronomer of Cyzicus, and a friend of Aristotle, whom he
assisted in completing the discoveries of Eudoxus. He invented the
cycle of seventy-six years, called after him the Calippic.
[786] Of Colonus, a geometrician, to whom Archimedes dedicated his
works on the sphere and cylinder, and on spirals.
[787] A grammarian, who is supposed to have written a commentary
on Aratus. Varro, De Ling. Lat. x. 10, speaks of him as making the
distinctive characteristics of words to be eight in number.
[788] A famous astronomer of Athens, to whom the discovery of the cycle
of nineteen years has been attributed.
[789] There were several learned men of this name, but it appears
impossible to say which of them is the one here alluded to; probably
it is either the Pythagorean philosopher of Ægæ, who wrote on
Predestination, or else the historian, a native of Pieria in Macedonia.
There was also an astronomer of this name, a native of Naxos, and a
friend of Eudoxus of Cnidos.
[790] A famous astronomer, a native of Chios. He is said to have
claimed the discovery of the obliquity of the Ecliptic.
[791] Probably Zenon of Elea, one of the most famous philosophers of
antiquity. All of his works had perished at a very early period.
[792] An Athenian astronomer, the friend and assistant of Meton, about
430 B.C.
[793] An astronomer mentioned by Censorinus, as having corrected the
intercalation of Cleostratus. Nothing further appears to be known of
him.
[794] For Hecatæus of Miletus, see B. iv. For Hecatæus of Abdera, see
B. vi.
[795] See end of B. iv.
[796] See end of B. ii.
[797] See end of B. ii.
[798] A native of Soli, or else Tarsus, in Cilicia. He was the author
of two Greek astronomical poems which have come down to us. He
flourished about B.C. 270.
[799] Nothing can be said of him with any degree of historical
certainty. By the Persians he was called Zerdusht, and was said to have
been the founder of the Magian religion. There were several works in
Greek bearing his name, but which, no doubt, were forgeries of a later
age than that usually assigned to him.
[800] He is mentioned in c. 70 of this Book, as writing a letter to
Antiochus, king of Syria; but nothing further seems to be known of him.
[801] More particularly in B. xvii. cc. 2 and 3, and B. xviii. cc.
57-75.
[802] The Linum usitatissimum of Linnæus.
[803] What would he have said to the application of the powers of
steam, and the electric telegraph?
[804] Possibly Galerius Trachalus, Consul A.D. 68, a relation of
Galeria Fundana, the wife of the Emperor Vitellius.
[805] Governor of Egypt in the reign of Nero, A.D. 55. He is mentioned
by Seneca, Quæst. Nat. B. iv. c. 2, and is supposed to have written a
work on Egypt and his journeys in that country.
[806] Or, as Sillig suggests, “after ill treatment such as this, that
it arrives at the sea.” The passage is evidently defective.
[807] In B. vii. c. 57. He alludes to Dædalus.
[808] He probably has in view here the imprecation uttered by Horace:—
“Illi robur, et æs triplex
Circa pectus erat, qui fragilem truci
Commisit pelago ratem.”—_Odes_, i. 3.
At the present day hemp forms a material part in the manufacture of
sails. In addition to flax, the ancients employed broom, rushes,
leather, and various skins of animals for the purpose.
[809] In c. 76.
[810] On the contrary, as Fée observes, the cultivation of flax is
attended with the greatest difficulties.
[811] See B. xvii. c. 7. Virgil says, Georg. i. 77, “Urit enim lini
campum seges”—but in the sense, as Fée remarks, of _exhausting_, not
_scorching_ the soil.
[812] A light soil, and well manured, is usually employed for the
purpose. Columella, B. ii. c. 10, recommends a rich, moist soil. It is
sown in March or April, and is gathered, according to the season, from
June to September.
[813] Though rapid in its growth, there are many vegetable productions
that grow more rapidly.
[814] This was the time for sowing it with the Romans, though in some
countries, at the present day, it is sown so late as the autumn.
[815] In B. xviii. c. 72, he has spoken of this method of gathering
vegetable productions as injurious to the soil, by withdrawing its
natural juices.
[816] “Censentur hoc reditu?” There is little doubt that the Gauls,
like their German neighbours, cultivated flax for the purposes of
female dress, and not mainly for the manufacture of sails.
[817] “Quod vocant inane.” He implies that the boundless space of
ocean on the Western coasts of Gaul was useless for any purposes of
navigation.
[818] See B. iv. c. 33.
[819] See B. iv. c. 33.
[820] See B. xxxiv. c. 48.
[821] See B. iv. c. 31.
[822] A family of the Atilia gens.
[823] It was, and is still to some extent, a prevalent opinion, that
the humidity of caves under-ground is favourable to the manufacture of
tissues of hemp and flax.
[824] In Spain. Sec B. i. c. 1, and B. iii. c. 4.
[825] Cluvier takes this place to be the same with Litubium in Liguria,
mentioned by Livy, B. xxxii.
[826] “Lanugo.” This is not generally looked upon as a merit in linen,
at the present day.
[827] Now Tarragona. See B. iii. c. 4.
[828] “Carbasus.” This was probably the Spanish name originally for
fine flax, and hence came to signify the cambrics, or fine linen
tissues made of it. It seems, however, to have afterwards been extended
to all kinds of linen tissues, as we find the name given indifferently
to linen garments, sail-cloth, and awnings for the theatres.
[829] See B. iii. c. 4.
[830] “Sætas ceu per ferri aciem vincunt.” This passage is probably in
a mutilated state.
[831] There must either be some corruption in the text, or else Pliny
must have been mistaken. Nets such as these could have been of no
possible use in taking a wild boar.
[832] See B. iv. c. 33. Now Querci, the chief town of which is Cahors.
[833] “Culcitæ.”
[834] “Tomenta.”
[835] Exactly corresponding to our “paillasse,” a “bed of straw.”
[836] This is doubtful, though at the same time it is a well-known fact
that the Egyptian flax grows to the greatest size. Hasselquist speaks
of it attaining a height of fifteen feet.
[837] Our cotton, the Gossypium arboreum of Linnæus. See B. xii. c.
21. The terms _xylon_, _byssus_, and _gossypium_, must be regarded as
synonymous, being applied sometimes to the plant, sometimes to the raw
cotton, and sometimes to the tissues made from it. _Gossypium_ was
probably the barbarous name of the cotton tree, and _byssus_ perhaps a
corruption of its Hebrew name.
[838] Probably the Arundo donax of modern botanists. See B. xvi. c. 66.
[839] Fée says, that the people of Pisa, at the present day, soak the
stalks of broom, and extract therefrom a thread, of which cords and
coarse stuffs are made.
[840] In B. xii. c. 21. He seems there to speak of the cotton-tree,
though Fée suggests that he may possibly allude to the “Bombax
pentandrum” of Linnæus.
[841] It is the mucilage of the perisperm that is so useful in
medicine. As an article of food, the farina of linseed is held in no
esteem whatever. In times of scarcity, attempts have been made to mix
it with flour or meal, but the result has been found to be heavy and
indigestible, and has caused, it is said, the death even of those who
have eaten of it in considerable quantities.
[842] There are various other methods employed of dressing flax at the
present day; but they are all of them long and tedious.
[843] And not feminine or servile.
[844] “Vivum.”
[845] He evidently considers asbestus, or amianthus, to be a vegetable,
and not a mineral production. It is, in reality, a mineral, with long
flexible filaments, of a silky appearance, and is composed of silica,
magnesia, and lime. The wicks of the inextinguishable lamps of the
middle ages, the existence of which was an article of general belief,
were said to be made of asbestus. Paper and lace, even, have been made
of it in modern times.
[846] “Nascitur.” In the year 1702 there was found near the Nævian
Gate, at Rome, a funereal urn, in which there was a skull, calcined
bones, and other ashes, enclosed in a cloth of asbestus, of a
marvellous length. It is still preserved in the Vatican.
[847] On the contrary, it is found in the Higher Alps in the vicinity
of the Glaciers, in Scotland, and in Siberia, even.
[848] Signifying “inextinguishable,” from ἀ, “not,” and σβέννυμι, “to
extinguish.” See B. xxxvii. c. 54.
[849] See end of this Book.
[850] He evidently alludes to cotton fabrics under this name. See Note
[837] to c. 2 of this Book.
[851] Pausanias, in his Eliaca, goes so far as to say, that byssus
was found only in Elis, and nowhere else. Judging from the variable
temperature of the climate, it is very doubtful, Fée says, if cotton
was grown there _at all_. Arrian, Apollonius, and Philostratus say that
the tree which produced the _byssus_ had the leaves of the willow, and
the shape of the poplar, characteristics which certainly do not apply
to the cotton-tree.
[852] Impure oxide of metals, collected from the chimneys of
smelting-houses. Fée says that Pliny on this occasion is right.
[853] In B. xx. c. 79, he speaks of the “heraclion” poppy, supposed by
some of the commentators to be identical with the one mentioned here.
[854] “Vestium insaniam.”
[855] “Postea.” Sillig would reject this word, as being a corruption,
and not consistent with fact, Catulus having lived before the time of
Cleopatra. He suggests that the reading should be “Populo Romano ea in
theatris spectanti umbram fecere.” “Linen, too, has provided a shade
for the Roman people, when viewing the spectacles of the theatre.”
Lucretius, B. iv. l. 73, _et seq._, speaks of these awnings as being
red, yellow, and iron grey.
[856] “Carbasina.” Cambric.
[857] The cavædium is generally supposed to have been the same as the
“atrium,” the large inner apartment, roofed over, with the exception
of an opening in the middle, which was called the “compluvium,” or
“impluvium,” over which the awning here mentioned was stretched. Here
the master of the house received his visitors and clients.
[858] White would be much preferable to red for this purpose.
[859] Il. ii. ll. 529 and 830.
[860] Il. viii. l. 63.
[861] Il. ii. l. 135. See B. xxiv. c. 40.
[862] The Stipa tenacissima of Linnæus; a kind of broom, called
“Esparto” by the Spaniards.
[863] Although, as Fée says, this is still the fact, it is a plant
which would readily admit of cultivation. Varro, however, De Re Rust.
B. i. c. 23, speaks of it in conjunction with hemp, flax, and rushes,
as being sown.
[864] This kind, Fée thinks, may possibly have been identical with the
Spartum Lygeum of Linnæus, false esparto, or alvarde.
[865] At the present day it is only in the provinces on the
Mediterranean that spartum is found; the other provinces producing
nothing but alvarde.
[866] It is still used in the southern parts of Spain for the same
purposes.
[867] The shoes now made of it are known as “espartenas” and
“alpargatas.”
[868] It is not dangerous in itself, but is too tough to be a favourite
article of food with cattle.
[869] Fifteenth of May and thirteenth of June.
[870] The same word, σχοῖνος, signifying both a “rush” and a “rope.”
[871] Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 13. Athenæus, B. ii., mentions it also.
[872] Fée is at a loss to identify this plant, but considers it quite
clear that it is not the same with the Eriophorum augustifolium of
Linnæus, a cyperaceous plant, of which the characteristics are totally
different. Dodonæus, however, was inclined to consider them identical.
[873] On the contrary, Theophrastus _does_ mention it, in the Hist.
Plant. B. i. c. 8, and speaks of it as having a bark composed of
several tunics or membranes.
[874] In B. xiii. c. 13, and B. xv. c. 1.
[875] “Tuber.” The Tuber cibarium of Linnæus, the black truffle; and
probably the grey truffle, the Tuber griseum.
[876] This callous secretion of the earth, or corticle, is, as Fée
says, a sort of hymenium, formed of vesicles, which, as they develope
themselves, are found to contain diminutive truffles. Pliny is wrong in
saying that the truffle forms neither cleft nor protuberance, as the
exact contrary is the fact.
[877] Haller speaks of truffles weighing as much as fourteen pounds.
Valmont de Bomare speaks of a truffle commonly found in Savoy, which
attains the weight of a pound.
[878] Those of Africa are in general similar to those found in Europe,
but there is one peculiar to that country, possibly the same that is
mentioned in the following Chapter under the name of “misy.”
[879] “Jura reddenti.”
[880] It is really propagated by spores, included in sinuous chambers
in the interior; but, notwithstanding the attempts that have been made,
it has never yet been cultivated with any degree of success. In c.
13, Pliny seems to recognize the possibility of its multiplication by
germs, where he says that its formation is attributed by some to water.
[881] Fée takes this to be the Tuber niveum of Desfontaines, the
snow-white truffle. It is globular and somewhat piriform, grows to the
size of a walnut, and sometimes of an orange, and is said to be most
delicate eating.
[882] These truffles or morels do not appear to have been identified.
[883] Juvenal alludes to this absurd notion, Sat. v. l. 116. “The long
wished-for thunder will provide a more ample repast.”
[884] Theophrastus, as quoted by Athenæus, B. ii. speaks of this.
[885] “Peziza” was a name given by the ancients to a kind of cupuliform
mushroom; in which, however, we cannot recognize the “pezica” of
Pliny. Some writers think that this was the same as the lycoperdon and
geastrum of botanists, our puff-ball: while others take it to be the
morel, the Morchella esculenta, Sprengel in the number. Fée is inclined
to be of opinion that an edible mushroom is meant, but is quite at a
loss to identify it.
[886] Possibly the Ferula asafœtida of Linnæus; or, according to some,
the Thapsia silphium of Viviani, _Flor. Lib._ It was a plant common,
according to ancient writers, to Syria, Armenia, Media, and Libya; but
it was the produce of this last country, probably, that afforded the
juice or gum resin here mentioned as “laser,” and so highly esteemed
by the ancients, as forming a component part of their perfumes. Fée is
inclined to think that the Laserpitium here spoken of was the Thapsia
silphium, and to reject the more general opinion that it is identical
with the Ferula asafœtida. Pliny has probably caused some confusion
by blending the description of other writers with that given by
Theophrastus, each having in view a different plant. Indeed, whatever
the Laserpitium or Silphium of other countries may have been, it is not
improbable that the odoriferous plant of Cyrenaica was not identical
with the Ferula asafœtida of Linnæus. The foliage of the Thapsia
silphium is exactly similar to that of the Laserpitium as depicted on
medals of Cyrenaica, still extant. We learn from Littré, that Dr. Guyon
showed, in 1842, to the Académie des Sciences, a plant which the Arabs
of Algeria employ as a purgative, and which they call _bonnefa_. It is
the Thapsia Garganica of Desfontaines, and is considered by Guyon to be
identical with the Silphium of the ancients.
[887] See B. xxii. c. 48. In the “Rudens” of Plautus, the scene of
which is near Cyrene, frequent allusion is made to the growth of
laserpitium there, and the preparation and export of the resin, as
forming the staple article of commerce.
[888] Scribonius Largus, who lived in the time of Tiberius, speaks of
using in a prescription laser of Cyrenaica, “if it can be met with;”
“si poterit inveniri.”
[889] “In spem nascentis.”
[890] Fée remarks that Pliny has not found this absurd story in any
of the works from which he has compiled his account, but that it is
entirely his own.
[891] This was probably the Ferula asafœtida of Linnæus.
[892] See B. xx. c. 75.
[893] A.U.C. 661.
[894] Fée remarks, that if Pliny here alludes to Theophrastus, Hist.
Plant. B. vi. c. 3, he has mistaken his meaning.
[895] This, as Fée says, could hardly apply to the Ferula asafœtida of
Linnæus, the stalk of it being extremely acrid, and the juice fetid in
the highest degree.
[896] “Vitia his omnibus.” The reading here is probably corrupt.
[897] “Root-juice,” and “stalk-juice.”
[898] Poinsinet fancies that this name means “staff of the Magi.”
[899] Or “laser,” these names being indifferently applied to the
gum-resin.
[900] The whole of this paragraph has been borrowed from Theophrastus,
Hist. Plant. B. vi. c. iii.
[901] Sprengel takes this to be the Laserpitium ferulaceum of Linnæus,
but Fée thinks it is more than doubtful if the identity can be
established.
[902] From Theophrastus. Dioscorides says, on the other hand, that it
grows in Libya.
[903] From Littré we learn that M. Fraas has suggested that the
Magydaris and Laserpitium are possibly the Ferula Tingitana, and the
Ptychotis verticillata of Decandolle, which last he has found upon
high mountains in the lower region of pines, on Mount Parnassus, among
others.
[904] See B. xxii. cc. 48, 49.
[905] The Rubia tinctorum of Linnæus.
[906] Dioscorides speaks of the madder of Ravenna as being the most
esteemed. It is much cultivated at the present day in the South of
France, Holland, and the Levant. That of Lille enjoys a high reputation.
[907] It is covered with bristly hairs, or rather, fine, hooked teeth.
There is, however, no resemblance whatever between it and ervilia or
orobus, the fitch.
[908] B. xxiv. c. 56.
[909] Or “little root;” though, in reality, as Pliny says, it had a
large root. Some writers have supposed, that by this name is meant
the Reseda luteola of Linnæus, the “dyer’s weed” of the moderns; but
neither Pliny nor any of the Greek writers mention the Radicula as
being used for dyeing. Some, again, identify it with the Gypsophila
struthium of Linnæus, without sufficient warranty, however, as Fée
thinks.
[910] The Gypsophila struthium grows in Spain, and possibly, Fée
says, in other countries. Linnæus has “pretended,” he says, that the
Spaniards still employ the root and stalk of the Gypsophila for the
same purposes as the ancients did the same parts of the Radicula. He
himself, however, though long resident in Spain, had never observed
such to be the fact.
[911] This description, Fée says, does not correspond with that of
the Gypsophila struthium, the stalk of which does not at all resemble
that of the ferulaceous plants, and the leaf is quite different in
appearance from that of the olive.
[912] As Fée observes, by the word “hortus” the Romans understood
solely the “vegetable” or “kitchen-garden;” the pleasure garden being
generally denominated “horti.”
[913] See B. v. c. 1.
[914] A fabulous king of Phœnicia, probably, whose story was afterwards
transferred, with considerable embellishments, to the Grecian
mythology. Adonis is supposed to have been identical with the Thammuz
of Scripture, mentioned by Ezekiel, viii. 14, where he speaks of the
“women weeping for Thammuz.” Hardouin considers him to have been a
Syrian deity, identical with the Moon.
[915] Celebrated by Homer, Od. B. vi. and xiii.
[916] “Alio volumine.” As no further mention is made by Pliny of the
Hanging Gardens of Babylon, it is most probable that he contemplated
giving a description of them in another work, an intention which he did
not live to realize.
[917] See further on this subject, c. 53 of the present Book.
[918] The reading, “quam rem,” seems preferable to “quam ob rem,”
adopted by Sillig.
[919] “Effascinationes.” The effects of the evil eye.
[920] “Hortorum.” “Pleasure-gardens.”
[921] “Otii magister.”
[922] For the purpose of teaching philosophy there.
[923] “Hortus.” The “kitchen-garden.”
[924] Ironically said.
[925] He alludes to the pheasant. See B. x. c. 67.
[926] He alludes to Colchis, the country of Medea, the scene of the
exploits of Jason and the Argonauts, and the land of prodigies and
fable.
[927] See B. x. cc. 38 and 67. He alludes to “meleagrides,” or
Guinea-fowls.
[928] See B. x. c. 37. He alludes to the birds called “Memnonides.”
[929] See B. xvii. c. 1.
[930] See B. xiv. c. 28.
[931] He alludes to the finest and most delicate kinds of wheaten
flour. See B. xviii. c. 29.
[932] “Uno asse.”
[933] As “corruda,” or “wild asparagus.” The Brassica capitata alba
of C. Bauhin, or white cabbage, sometimes attains a weight of ten or
twelve pounds.
[934] This is an exaggeration, probably.
[935] He alludes to the artichoke, or Cinara cardunculus of the
botanists, which bears some resemblance to the common thistle.
[936] Martial and Aulus Gellius speak of ice and snow drinks. The
latter must have been very injurious to the stomach.
[937] See B. xxxi. c. 23.
[938] In this corrupt and otherwise unintelligible passage, we have
adopted the proposed emendations of Sillig, who is of opinion that it
bears reference to the abolition of the market-dues, or “portorium,” by
Augustus Cæsar, and the substitution of a property tax of one twentieth
of the land, a method of taxation which inflicted greater hardships
than the former one, as it was assessed according to the _superficies_,
not the _produce_ of the land. His proposed emendations of the text
are as follows: “mox enim certe æquabit _eos pecunia_ quos pecunia
separaverit. Itaque——ac minore fortunæ jure, _quam_ cum _hereditate
datur_ pensio ea pauperum; _his_ in solo sponsor est,” &c.
[939] De Re Rust. cc. 156, 157. He speaks of it as being eaten either
boiled or raw, but in the latter case with vinegar. Fée thinks that
even then it would make a very acrid and indigestible diet.
[940] “Acetaria.” Salads.
[941] He alludes, no doubt, to the words of Virgil, in Georg. iv. l. 6.
“In tenui labor, at tenuis non Gloria——”
though in that instance the poet is speaking of bees.
[942] “Tollenonum haustu.” These would be used in the case of
well-water; they are still to be seen occasionally in this country, and
are very common on the continent. The wheel is also used for drawing
well-water, and is frequently employed in Barbary and Spain.
[943] By the word “fructus” he no doubt means the edible parts solely,
the leaf, stalk, or root, as the case may be.
[944] Fée is surprised to find elecampane figuring among the garden
vegetables. It has a powerful odour, is bitter, and promotes
expectoration. Though not used as a vegetable it is still used as a
preserve, or sweetmeat, mixed with sugar. See further on it in c. 29 of
this Book.
[945] See c. 28 of this Book.
[946] See c. 27 of this Book.
[947] Fée remarks that this juxtaposition of anise and mallows betokens
the most complete ignorance of botany on the part of our author; there
being few plants which differ more essentially. The field-mallow, or
Malva silvestris of Linnæus, or perhaps several varieties of it, are
here referred to. The anise will be further mentioned in c. 74 of this
Book.
[948] Fée suggests that the plant here mentioned may have been an
annual, probably the Lavatorea arborea of botanists, or some kindred
species. In a few months it is known to attain a height of ten feet or
more.
[949] In Fée’s opinion this tree cannot have belonged to the family
of Malvaceæ; the Adansonia and some other exotics of the family, with
which Pliny undoubtedly was not acquainted, being the only ones that
attain these gigantic proportions.
[950] There is no resemblance between mallows and hemp, any more than
there is between mallows and anise.
[951] “Carnosa.”
[952] Hardouin thinks that he alludes to the Conferva, or river sponge,
again mentioned in B. xxvii. c. 45. Fée, however, dissents from that
opinion.
[953] In B. xvi. cc. 11 and 13, and in cc. 12 and 14 of the present
Book.
[954] In c. 11 of the present Book.
[955] The Cucumis sativus of Linnæus.
[956] “Lapis specularis.” See B. xxxvi. c. 45. Columella, De Re Rust.
B. xi. c. 3, speaks of this mode of ripening cucumber, and the fondness
of the Emperor Tiberius for them.
[957] Theophrastus and Columella say the same of the cucumber, and
Palladius of the melon, but there is no ground, probably, for the
belief. In very recent times, however, Fée says, it was the usage to
steep the seeds of the melon in milk. This liquid, in common with any
other, would have the effect of softening the exterior integuments, and
thereby facilitating the germination, but no more.
[958] Still known as the “green” or “gherkin” cucumber, and much used,
when young, for pickling.
[959] Probably in the sense of a very dark green, for _black_ cucumbers
are a thing unheard of.
[960] He is evidently speaking of the pompion, or pumpkin, the
Cucurbita pepo of Linnæus: quite distinct from the cucumber.
[961] Cucumbers are not difficult of digestion to the extent that Pliny
would have us to believe.
[962] As Fée says, it is a loss of time to combat such absurd
prejudices as these.
[963] This is conformable with modern experience.
[964] Fée says that this is the melon, the Cucumis melo of Linnæus.
[965] B. xi. c. 3. Columella professes to borrow it from the people of
Mendes in Egypt.
[966] Theophrastus enumerates these varieties, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c.
4.
[967] Theophrastus only says that the Laconian cucumber thrives better
with watering than the others.
[968] It is impossible to identify this plant, as no ancient writer
has given any description of it: it has been suggested, however, that
it may have been the Plantago Psyllium, or else the Inula pulicaria
of Linnæus. Of course there is no truth in the story here told of the
effects of its juice upon the cucumber.
[969] This depth would probably have the effect of retarding, or else
utterly impeding, the growth of the plant.
[970] See c. 44 of this Book. The Parilia was a festival celebrated on
the nineteenth of April, the anniversary of the foundation of Rome.
[971] First of March.
[972] Seventh of March.
[973] See B. xviii. c. 56.
[974] The “camerarium,” and the “plebeium.” The former, Fée thinks, is
the Cucurbita longior of Dodonæus and J. Bauhin, the long gourd, and
other varieties probably of the calabash gourd, the Cucurbita leucantha
of Duchesne. The latter is probably the Cucurbita pepo and its
varieties. Fée thinks that the name “cucurbita,” as employed by Pliny,
extends not only to the gourd, but the citrul or small pumpkin as well.
[975] As Fée says, he must be speaking of the fruit here, and not the
plant, which attains a far greater length than nine feet.
[976] The young shoots of the gourd, Fée says, would afford an insipid
food, with but little nutriment.
[977] The varieties thus employed, Fée says, must have been the
Cucurbita lagenaria of Linnæus, and the Cucurbita latior of Dodonæus.
[978] This is not the fact. The seed produces fruit similar to that
from which it was taken, and no more.
[979] The trumpet gourd, the Cucurbita longior of Dodonæeus, is still
employed, Fée says, by gardeners for this purpose.
[980] See B. xx. c. 2.
[981] In B. xviii. c. 34.
[982] Though borrowed from Theophrastus and the Greek school, this
distinction is absurd and unfounded.
[983] It is not the fact that the seed of the round kind, after
repeated sowings, will produce long roots. Pliny, however, has probably
miscopied Theophrastus, who says, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 4, that this
transformation takes place when the seed is sown very thick. This
assertion, however, is no more founded on truth than that of Pliny.
[984] Also from Theophrastus, B. vii. c. 4, though that author is
speaking of radishes, ῥαφανίδες, and not turnips.
[985] Properly _radish_.
[986] Properly _radish_.
[987] Radish.
[988] Properly _radish_.
[989] See B. xx. c. 49. Fée queries whether this radish may not be the
Raphanus raphanistrum of botanists. See B. xviii. c. 34.
[990] See B. xviii. c. 35.
[991] “Nostratibus.” Poinsinet would render this, “Those of my native
country,” _i. e._ the parts beyond the Padus. As Pliny resided at Rome
during the latter part of his life, there can be little doubt but that
he alludes to the vicinity of Rome.
[992] See B. xviii. c. 34.
[993] This property extends to most of the Cruciferæ.
[994] “Cibus illiberalis.”
[995] The variety Oleifera of the Raphanus sativus is still cultivated
extensively in Egypt and Nubia for the extraction of the oil. The
variety Oleifera of the Brassica napus is also greatly cultivated in
Egypt. Fée suggests that Pliny may possibly confound these two plants
under the one name of “raphanus.” It is worthy of remark, too, that the
Colza oil, so much used in France and Belgium for burning in lamps, is
expressed from the seed of the Brassica oleracea, a species of cabbage.
[996] The Raphanus sativus of Linnæus. This passage, however, down to
“crisped leaf,” properly applies to the cabbage, and not the radish,
Pliny having copied the Greek, and taken the word ῥάφανος, properly
“cabbage,” to mean “radish;” which in the later Greek writers it
sometimes does, though not in this instance.
[997] Mount Algidus was near Tusculum, fifteen miles from Rome. Its
coldness contributed greatly to the goodness of its radishes.
[998] Or “wild.” Fée suggests that this is the Raphanus rusticanus of
Lobellius, the Cochlearia Armoracia of Linnæus, the wild radish, or
horse-radish.
[999] Or “white.” From the extreme whiteness of the roots.
[1000] Probably meaning, “radish of Armorica.”
[1001] Fée suggests that he is here speaking of the beet-root, in
reality a native of the north of Europe.
[1002] Thirteenth of February.
[1003] The festival of Vulcan, beginning on the twenty-third of August,
and lasting eight days.
[1004] A natural production, the carbonate of sodium of the chemists,
known from time immemorial by the name of “natron.” See B. xxx. c. 46;
from which passage it would appear that it was generally employed for
watering the leguminous plants.
[1005] Dioscorides recommends these puerilities with the cabbage, and
not the radish; though Celsus gives similar instructions with reference
to the radish.
[1006] It was a general belief with the ancients that the phthiriasis,
or morbus pediculosus, has its seat in the heart. It was supposed
also that the juice of the radish was able, by reason of its supposed
subtlety, to penetrate the coats of that organ.
[1007] This is said by other ancient authors, in reference to the
_cabbage_ and the vine. See B. xxiv. c. i.
[1008] There is some doubt as to the identity of this plant, but Fée,
after examining the question, comes to the conclusion that it is the
Daucus Carota, or else Mauritanicus of Linnæus, the common carrot, or
that of Mauritania. Sprengel takes it to be either this last or the
Daucus guttatus, a plant commonly found in Greece.
[1009] The Pastinaca sativa of Linnæus, or common parsnip.
[1010] The marsh-mallow, probably, the Althæa officinalis of Linnæus.
[1011] The carrot. The Daucus Carota of Linnæus.
[1012] In B. xxv. c. 64.
[1013] “Siser.” The Sium sisarum of Linnæus. See also B. xx. c. 17. It
is said to have been originally a native of China.
[1014] It is supposed that this is the same with Gelb, near Neuss, in
Germany, mentioned by Tacitus, Hist. B. iv. cc. 26, 32.
[1015] The Inula Helenium of Linnæus. Its English name is derived from
Inula campana, that under which it is so highly recommended in the
precepts of the School of Health at Salerno. See also B. xx. c. 19. At
the present day it is universally rejected as an article of food in any
shape.
[1016] The School of Salerno says that it may be preserved by being
pickled in brine, or else in the juice of rue, which, as Fée remarks,
would produce neither more nor less than a veritable poison. The modern
Pharmacopœias give the receipt of a conserve of elecampane, which,
however, is no longer used.
[1017] “Defrutum.” Must, boiled down to one half.
[1018] The daughter of Augustus Cæsar.
[1019] The same account nearly is given in Columella, De Re Rust. B.
xi. c. 3.
[1020] Under this general name were included, probably, garlic,
scallions, chives, and some kinds of onions; but it is quite impossible
to identify the ancient “bulbus” more closely than this.
[1021] It has been suggested that this was probably the onion, the
Allium cepa of Linnæus.
[1022] The Scilla maritima of Linnæus, the sea-squill.
[1023] See B. xx. c. 39. He might have added that it renders vinegar
both an emetic, and a violent purgative.
[1024] The leaves are in all cases green, and no other colour; but in
one kind the squamæ, or bracted leaves, are white, and in another, red.
[1025] Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 11, gives it this name. As
none of the sea-squills can be eaten with impunity, Fée is inclined to
doubt if this really was a squill.
[1026] They still abound in those places. The Spanish coasts on the
Mediterranean, Fée says, as well as the vicinity of Gibraltar, are
covered with them.
[1027] In c. 39.
[1028] Fée thinks that this may be the Muscaria botryoïdes of Miller,
_Dict. No. I._ See also B. xx. c. 41.
[1029] A variety, probably, of the common onion, the Allium cepa of
Linnæus.
[1030] Some variety of the genus Allium, Fée thinks.
[1031] Fée queries whether this may not be some cyperaceous plant with
a bulbous root.
[1032] A white bulb, if we may judge from the name. The whole of this
passage is from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 11.
[1033] This has not been identified. The old reading was “ægilops,” a
name now given to a kind of grass.
[1034] The Iris sisyrinchium of Linnæus.
[1035] The Arum colocasia of Linnæus, held in great esteem by the
ancient Egyptians as a vegetable. The root is not a bulb, but
tubercular, and the leaf bears no resemblance to that of the Lapathum,
dock or sorrel. It was sometimes known by the name of “lotus.”
[1036] In Gaul. See B. iv. c. 31.
[1037] This passage, and indeed nearly the whole of the Chapter, is
borrowed from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. i. c. 9.
[1038] Fée thinks that by the expression μονόῤῥιζα, Theophrastus means
a root that strikes vertically, instead of spreading.
[1039] Gramen. See B. xviii. c. 67, and B. xxiv. c. 118.
[1040] Atriplex. See B. xx. c. 83.
[1041] See B. xx. c. 93.
[1042] Poinsinet suggests that this may mean the “mole-plant,” ἀσπάλαξ
being the Greek for “mole.”
[1043] “Perdicium.” See B. xxii. cc. 19, 20.
[1044] “Crocus.” See B. xxi. c. 17, _et seq._
[1045] This is not the fact. All these assertions are from
Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 3.
[1046] Fée thinks that the ocimum of Pliny is not the basil of the
moderns, the Ocimum basilicum of the naturalists. The account, however,
here given would very well apply to basil.
[1047] The Heliotropium Europæum of botany. See B. xxii. c. 19.
[1048] These assertions, Fée says, are not consistent with modern
experience.
[1049] See c. 45 of this Book.
[1050] “Gethyum.” The Allium schœnoprasum, probably, of botany, the
ciboul or scallion.
[1051] The Allium cepa of Linnæus.
[1052] The inhabitants of Pelusium, more particularly, were devoted to
the worship of the onion. They held it, in common with garlic, in great
aversion as an article of food. At Pelusium there was a temple also in
which the sea-squill was worshipped.
[1053] With some little variation, from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B.
vii. c. 4.
[1054] Supposed to be identical with the Allium Ascalonicum of Linnæus,
the chalotte. Pliny is the only writer who mentions the Alsidenian
onion.
[1055] To the Ascalonian onion, the scallion, or ciboul, owes its
English name.
[1056] Owing to the acetic acid which the bulb contains, and which acts
on the membranes of the eye.
[1057] “Pinguitudinis.”
[1058] Fée queries whether the early white onion of Florence, the
smallest now known among the cultivated kinds, may not possibly be
identical with the setanian, or else the Tusculan, variety.
[1059] From σχίζω, to “divide” or “tear off.”
[1060] “Capitata.”
[1061] For this reason, Fée is inclined to regard it as a variety
either of garlic, Allium sativum, or of the chalotte, Allium
Ascalonicum of Linnæus.
[1062] The Allium porrum of Linnæus.
[1063] This prejudice in favour of the leek, as Fée remarks, still
exists. It is doubtful, however, whether its mucilage has any
beneficial effect upon the voice. See B. xx. c. 21.
[1064] Fée says, that it is a practice with many gardeners, more
harmful than beneficial, to cut the leaves of the leek as it grows,
their object being to increase the size of the stalk.
[1065] Martial, B. xiii. Epig. 19, mentions the leeks of Aricia.
[1066] Fée thinks that this may be the wild leek, which is commonly
found as a weed in Spain.
[1067] M. Annæus Mela, the brother of L. Seneca the philosopher, and
the father of the poet Lucan.
[1068] Though Pliny would seem inclined, as Fée says, to credit this
story, the juice of the leek is in reality quite harmless.
[1069] The Allium sativum of Linnæus. It was much eaten by the Roman
soldiers and sailors, and by the field labourers. It is in reference to
this vegetable, “more noxious than hemlock,” that Horace exclaims—
“O dura messorum ilia!”
[1070] It was thought to have the property of neutralizing the venom of
serpents; and though persons who had just eaten of it were not allowed
to enter the Temple of the Mother of the Gods, it was prescribed to
those who wished to be purified and absolved from crimes. It is still
held in considerable esteem in the south of Europe, where, by the lower
classes, great medicinal virtues are ascribed to it.
[1071] Theophrastus says, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 4, that this is the
largest of all the varieties of garlic.
[1072] Second of May.
[1073] Seventeenth of December.
[1074] The Allium oleraceum of Linnæus.
[1075] Fée refuses credence to this story.
[1076] “Ursinum.” The Allium ursinum of Linnæus. Instead, however, of
having the comparatively mild smell of millet, its odour is powerful;
so much so, as to impart a strong flavour to the milk of the cows that
eat of it. It is very common, Fée says, in nearly every part of France.
[1077] The whole nearly of this Chapter is borrowed from Theophrastus,
Hist. Plant. B. vii. cc. 1 and 2. It must be borne in mind that what
the Romans called the “third” day would with us be the “second,” and so
on; as in reckoning, they included the day reckoned _from_, as well as
the day reckoned _to_.
[1078] Fée remarks, that most of the observations made in this Chapter
are well founded.
[1079] This statement, Fée remarks, is entirely a fiction, it being
impossible for seed to acquire, the second year, a faculty of
germinating which it has not had in the first.
[1080] This is true, but, as Fée observes, the instances might be
greatly extended.
[1081] Fée says that basil, the Ocimum basilicum of Linnæus, is not
meant here, nor yet the leguminous plant that was known to the Romans
by that name.
[1082] A singular superstition truly! Theophrastus says the same in
relation to cummin seed.
[1083] This is not done at the present day.
[1084] This can hardly be our basil, the Ocimum basilicum, for that
plant is an annual.
[1085] Fée suggests that Pliny may have intended here to except the
Monocotyledons, for otherwise his assertion would be false.
[1086] This, Fée says, cannot be basil, for when cut it will not shoot
again.
[1087] The radish is not mentioned in the parallel passage by
Theophrastus.
[1088] The lettuce, as Fée remarks, will not shoot again when cut down.
[1089] This puerility, Fée observes, runs counter to the more moral
adage, that “stolen goods never prosper.”
[1090] See B. xi. c. 15.
[1091] This variety, Fée says, is the Apium graveolens of Linnæus.
[1092] Or marsh-parsley.
[1093] Pliny has mistranslated, or rather misread, the passage of
Theophrastus, who says, B. vii. c. 6, that this kind of parsley is
μανόφυλλον, “thinly covered with leaves,” and not μονόφυλλον, “having
a single leaf.” Palladius (_In Aprili._) translates it, “molli folio,”
“with a soft leaf;” but, though Fée commends this version, it is not
correct.
[1094] Or “horse-parsley.” Hardouin takes this to be Macedonian
parsley, the Bubon Macedonicum of Linnæus. Fée, following C. Bauhin
and Sprengel, is inclined to identify it with Macerona, the Smyrnium
olusatrum of Linnæus.
[1095] Or “mountain-parsley.” Probably the Athamanta oreoselinum of
Linnæus. Some commentators, however, take it to be the Laserpitium
formosum of Wilidenow. Sprengel identifies it with the Selinum
oreoselinum of Linnæus.
[1096] The Apium petroselinum, probably, of Linnæus.
[1097] The Lactuca sativa of Linnæus. This account of the Greek
varieties is from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 4.
[1098] This, no doubt, is fabulous, and on a par with the Greek
tradition that Adonis concealed himself under the leaves of a lettuce,
when he was attacked and killed by the wild boar. The Coss, or Roman,
lettuce, as Fée remarks, is the largest of all, and that never exceeds
fifteen to twenty inches in height, leaves, stalk and all.
[1099] This would seem not to be a distinct variety, as the rounded
stalk is a characteristic of them all.
[1100] “Sessile.” A cabbage-lettuce, probably; though Hardouin dissents
from that opinion.
[1101] Columella more particularly. There are still varieties known
respectively as the black, brown, white, purple, red, and blood-red
lettuce.
[1102] Martial, B. v. Epig. 79, gives to this lettuce the epithet of
“vile.”
[1103] It has been suggested that this may have been wild endive, the
Cichoreum intubus of botanists.
[1104] Or “poppy-lettuce.” See B. xx. c. 26. The Lactuca virosa,
probably, of modern botany, the milky juice of which strongly resembles
opium in its effects.
[1105] For its medicinal qualities, most probably.
[1106] “Lac.”
[1107] So called, Columella informs us, from Cæcilius Metellus, Consul
A.U.C. 503.
[1108] Meaning “antaphrodisiac.” The other name has a kindred meaning.
[1109] A.U.C. 731.
[1110] Antonius Musa. For this service he received a large sum of
money, and the permission to wear a gold ring, and a statue was erected
by public subscription in honour of him, near that of Æsculapius. He is
supposed to be the person described by Virgil in the Æneid, B, xii. l.
390, _et seq._, under the name of Iapis. See B. xxix. c. 5 of this work.
[1111] Vinegar and honey; a mixture very ill-adapted, as Fée observes,
to preserve either the medicinal or alimentary properties of the
lettuce.
[1112] “Caprina lactuca.” See B. xx. c. 24.
[1113] Endive, in fact, belongs to the same family as the lettuce.
[1114] This is not the case; unless, indeed, under the name “lactuca,”
Pliny would include several plants, that in reality are not lettuces.
[1115] The stalk, in fact, is more intensely bitter than the leaves.
[1116] “Erraticum.” Wild endive.
[1117] From which comes the French “chicorée,” and our “chicory,” or
“succory.”
[1118] In B. xx. c. 29, and B. xxi. c. 52.
[1119] The usual times for sowing the lettuce are before winter and
after February.
[1120] An excess of manure is injurious to the lettuce.
[1121] As already stated in a previous Note (p. 179), lettuces when cut
down will not grow again, with the exception of a few worthless lateral
branches.
[1122] From Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 4.
[1123] Not the Beta sicla of modern botany, Fée thinks. The black beet
of the ancients would be one of the dark purple kinds.
[1124] It was only the leaf of beet, and not the root, that was eaten
by the ancients. From Martial, B. xiii. Epig. 10, we learn that the
leaves were preserved in a mixture of wine and pepper.
[1125] Though not positively unwholesome, the leaves would form an
insipid dish, that would not agree with all stomachs. Galen says that
it cannot be eaten in great quantities with impunity, but Diphilus the
physician, as quoted by Athenæus, B. ix. c. 3, says the reverse. Some
MSS. read here “innocentiorem,” “more harmless.”
[1126] Columella says the same, De Re Rust. B. xi. c. 3.
[1127] Fée would seem to render this, “when wine has been spoiled by
cabbage leaves being mixed with it.”
[1128] De Re Rust. cc. 156, 157.
[1129] In B. xx. c. 33.
[1130] Or “parsley” cabbage, so called from its crisped leaves: the
curled colewort, or Brassica viridis crispa of C. Bauhin.
[1131] The same as our Brussels sprouts. Columella, however, B. xi. c.
3, and B. xii. c. 7, speaks of the Brassica cyma as a distinct variety
of cabbage.
[1132] See B. viii. c. 77.
[1133] The Brassica oleracea capitata of Lamarck, and its varieties.
[1134] The ordinary cabbage, or Brassica oleracea of Linnæus.
[1135] A variety, Fée thinks, of the Lacuturrian cabbage.
[1136] The Brassica oleracea botrytis of Linnæus, the cauliflower.
[1137] Or Calabrian cabbage: it has not been identified.
[1138] The Brassica oleracea Sabellica of Linnæus, or fringed cabbage.
[1139] Or “Lake-towers.” The turnip-cabbage or rape-colewort, the
Brassica oleracea gongyloides of Linnæus.
[1140] Generally thought to be the Crambe maritima of botanists,
sea-cabbage, or sea-kale. Some, however, take it to be the Convolvulus
soldanella of Linnæus. See B. xx. c. 38.
[1141] From ἅλς, the “sea.”
[1142] He alludes to the statement made by Columella, probably, De Re
Rust. B. xi. c. 3.
[1143] Fée remarks, that probably we here find the first germs of the
practice which resulted in the making of sour-krout (sauer-kraut).
Dalechamps censures Pliny for the mention of trefoil here, the passage
which he has translated speaking not of that plant, but of the trefoil
or three-leaved cabbage.
[1144] The same as the “chara,” probably, mentioned by Cæsar, Bell.
Civ. B. iii. Hardouin thinks that it is the common parsnip, while
Clusius and Cuvier would identify it with the Crambe Tatarica
of Hungary, the roots of which are eaten in time of scarcity at
the present day. Fée suggests that it may belong to the Brassica
napo-brassica of Linnæus, the rape-colewort. See B. xx. c. 37.
[1145] Or cabbage-sprout.
[1146] In B. xvi. c. 67. The Asparagus officinalis of Linnæus.
[1147] De Re Rust. c. 161.
[1148] Or wild sperage. See B. xvi. c. 67; also B. xx. c. 43.
[1149] “Spongiis.” Fée is at a loss to know why the name “spongia”
should have been given to the roots of asparagus. Probably, as
Facciolati says, from their growing close and matted together. See the
end of this Chapter.
[1150] De Re Rust. c. 161.
[1151] See B. xvii. c. 47.
[1152] On the contrary, Martial says that the asparagus of Ravenna was
no better than so much wild asparagus.
[1153] In B. xvi. c. 67. See also c. 19 of this Book.
[1154] Dioscorides mentions this absurdity, but refuses to credit it.
[1155] Probably the artichoke, the Cinara scolymus of Linnæus. See
further on this subject, B. xx. c. 99.
[1156] About £24 sterling. “Sestertia” has been suggested, which would
make the sum a thousand times as much.
[1157] The ass, of course, excepted, which is fond of thistles.
[1158] Seventh of March.
[1159] Thirteenth of November.
[1160] “Si Dîs placet.”
[1161] Oxymel.
[1162] This is evidently said contemptuously.
[1163] See further as to the identity of this plant, B. xx. c. 48.
[1164] Twenty-second of April.
[1165] Brassica eruca of Linnæus. See B. xx. c. 49.
[1166] Cresses, or nosesmart, the Lepidium sativum of Linnæus. See B.
xx. c. 50.
[1167] “Quod nasum torqueat.”
[1168] The Ruta graveolens of Linnæus. See B. xx. c. 51. This offensive
herb, though looked upon by the Romans as a vegetable, is now only
regarded as an active medicament of almost poisonous qualities.
[1169] A.U.C. 421.
[1170] It so happens that it thrives best on the same soil as the
fig-tree.
[1171] This practice has no beneficial effect whatever.
[1172] This is not the fact; for its branches never come in contact
with the ground.
[1173] Pliny has derived the greater part of this Chapter from
Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 5, and Columella, B. xi. c. 3.
[1174] For the purpose of separating the seeds, which are slightly
joined together; and of disengaging a portion of the perisperm. At the
present day this is not done, for fear of bursting the kernel of the
seed.
[1175] See B. xx. c. 53.
[1176] Called by the Greeks καλαμίνθη, according to Apuleius.
[1177] Or “Mentha.”
[1178] “Sweet-smelling.”
[1179] “Sæpius.” See B. xviii. c. 60.
[1180] The Cuminum cyminum of botanists. See B. xx. c. 57.
[1181] See B. xx. c. 57.
[1182] In Hispania Tarraconensis. See B. iii. c. 4.
[1183] Or “black-herb:” the herb Alexander, the Smyrnium olusatrum of
Linnæus. See B. xx. c. 46.
[1184] “Horse-parsley.”
[1185] See B. xvii. c. 14, and B. xxi. c. 14.
[1186] Hist. Plant. B. ix. c. 1. This story originated, no doubt, in
the fancied resemblance of its smell to that of myrrh.
[1187] The Capparis spinosa of Linnæus. See B. xiii. c. 44, also B. xx.
c. 59.
[1188] In B. xiii. c. 44.
[1189] The Carum carvi of Linnæus.
[1190] Caria, in Asia Minor.
[1191] The Ligusticum levisticum of Linnæus.
[1192] “Ox cunila.” One of the Labiatæ, probably; but whether one of
the Satureia or of the Thymbra is not known. See B. xx. cc. 60, 61.
[1193] See B. xxi. c. 32.
[1194] Scribonius Largus gives this name to savory, the Satureia
hortensis of Linnæus. The whole of this passage is very confused, and
its meaning is by no means clear.
[1195] The Lepidium sativum of Linnæus. See B. xx. c. 70.
[1196] It is an annual, in fact.
[1197] Its leaf has no resemblance whatever to that of the laurel.
[1198] The Nigella sativa of Linnæus. See B. xx. c. 71.
[1199] Or sagapenum. See B. xx. c. 75. It is mentioned also in B. xii.
c. 56, as being used for adulterating galbanum. As to laser, see c. 15
of the present Book.
[1200] This practice, as Fée remarks, is not followed; and indeed,
unless it is intended to transplant them, it would be attended with
injurious results to the young plants.
[1201] As to the poppy, for further particulars see B. xx. c. 76 and
the Note.
[1202] The variety Album of the Papaver somniferum of modern botanists.
[1203] The variety Nigrum of the Papaver somniferum. The white poppy
has also a milky juice.
[1204] The Papaver rhœas of modern botanists, the corn-poppy, or wild
poppy. The seed of the poppy does not partake of the qualities of its
capsular envelope, and at the present day it is extensively employed in
the South of Europe for sprinkling over pastry.
[1205] “Rhœas,” the “crimson,” or “pomegranate” poppy.
[1206] See B. xx. cc. 76-79.
[1207] See c. 17 of this Book, also Ovid’s Fasti, B. ii. l. 703, _et
seq._
[1208] “Lad’s love.”
[1209] Black mustard, Fée thinks.
[1210] He can hardly mean a pottage made of boiled mustard-seed alone,
as Fée seems to think. If so, however, Fée no doubt is right in
thinking that it would be intolerable to a modern palate.
[1211] See B. xx. c. 87.
[1212] Perhaps a corruption of its Greek name, σίνηπι.
[1213] Hardouin suggests “thlaspi.”
[1214] Its bite being as sharp as the venom of the “saurus,” or lizard.
[1215] Hardouin, from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vi. c. 7, suggests
a reading, “whence the streams bring down branches of them torn off,
and so plant them.”
[1216] The plants. Fée says, that we find in these localities, are
nearly always ferns, or else Marchantia, or mosses of the genus Hypnum.
Fée queries whether one of these may not have been the sisymbrium of
Pliny. Water-cresses, again, have been suggested.
[1217] In B. viii. c. 41. The Anæthum fœniculum of Linnæus.
[1218] In B. xiii. c. 42.
[1219] The Cannabis sativa of Linnæus. See B. xx. c. 97.
[1220] Hemp-seed is never smoke-dried now.
[1221] See B. v. c. 29. The same hemp is mentioned as being used for
making hunting-nets, by Gratius, in the Cynegeticon.
[1222] See B. v. c. 29.
[1223] See B. iii. c. 17, and B. xvii. c. 3.
[1224] This, as Fée says, is no doubt erroneous. It is seldom known to
attain a couple of inches in circumference.
[1225] In B. xiii. c. 42.
[1226] These absurd notions are borrowed from Theophrastus, De Causis,
c. 8.
[1227] See B. xx. c. 91.
[1228] Or, according to some readings, “limodorum,” a parasitical
plant, probably the Lathræa phelypea of Sprengel. Fée suggests that
this plant may be the Polygonum convolvulus of Linnæus, or else one of
the Cuscutæ, or a variety of Orobanche.
[1229] “Scabies.” A fungous excrescence, Fée thinks, now known as
“puccinia,” or “uredo.”
[1230] See B. xvii. c. 47. Fée says that he has met with persons, in
their sound senses, who obstinately defend the notion here mentioned by
Pliny.
[1231] See Theophrastus. Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 5. Many of these
insects, however, do not breed upon the plants, but are only attracted
to them.
[1232] “Book on Gardening.”
[1233] The Heliotropium Europæum of botanists. See B. xxii. c. 29.
[1234] This may possibly, Fée says, be efficacious against some insects.
[1235] See B. xviii. c. 45.
[1236] A mere puerility, of course, though it is very possible that the
insects may collect in it, and so be more easily taken. Garden-pots, on
sticks, are still employed for this purpose.
[1237] See B. xvi. c. 30.
[1238] “Culices,” including both flies and gnats, probably.
[1239] See B. xii. c. 56.
[1240] An almost literal translation of Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B.
vii. c. 6.
[1241] This is certainly not true with reference to the leguminous and
gramineous plants. It is pretty generally known as a fact, that wheat
has germinated after being buried in the earth two thousand years:
mummy-wheat, at the present day, is almost universally known.
[1242] Rain-water, if collected in cisterns, and exposed to the heat
of the sun, is the most beneficial of all; rain has the effect also of
killing numerous insects which have bred in the previous drought.
[1243] From Theophrastus, B. vii. c. 5. Evening is generally preferred
to morning for this purpose; the evaporation not being so quick, and
the plant profiting more from the water.
[1244] It should, however, be of a middling temperature, and warmed to
some extent by the rays of the sun.
[1245] These statements are consistent with modern experience.
[1246] See B. xx. c. 85.
[1247] He says this probably in reference partly to the large leaves
which characterize the varieties of dock.
[1248] Dishes made of rice or barley. See B. xviii. c. 13.
[1249] See B. xx. c. 85.
[1250] He does not give the name of the poet, but, as Fée says, we do
not experience any great loss thereby.
[1251] From Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 6.
[1252] See B. xv. c. 32.
[1253] “Absinthium.” See B. xxvii. c. 28.
[1254] See B. xxv. c. 30.
[1255] Fée remarks, that though rarely to be met with, the salt flavour
is still to be found in the vegetable kingdom.
[1256] The “cicercula,” or Lathyrus sativus of Linnæus. See B. xviii.
c. 32.
[1257] See B. xii. c. 57.
[1258] Or pepper-wort. See B. xx. c. 66.
[1259] See B. xx. c. 54.
[1260] The same, probably, as olusatrum. See cc. 37 and 48 of this
Book, and B. xx. c. 46: also B. xxvii. c. 109.
[1261] In B. xii. c. 57.
[1262] See c. 48 of this Book.
[1263] Rosemary, or “sea-dew.”
[1264] See B. xx. c. 74.
[1265] Fée suggests, though apparently without any good reason, that
this paragraph, to the end of the Book, is an interpolation of the
copyists.
[1266] See end of B. xiv.
[1267] See end of B. ii.
[1268] See end of B. xiv.
[1269] See end of B. iii.
[1270] See end of B. iii.
[1271] See end of B. vii.
[1272] See end of B. ii.
[1273] See end of B. vii.
[1274] See end of B. viii.
[1275] See end of B. xvi.
[1276] See end of B. x.
[1277] Beyond the mention made of this writer in c. 57, nothing
whatever is known of him.
[1278] C. Licinius Macer, a Roman annalist and orator, born about B.C.
110. Upon being impeached by Cicero, he committed suicide. He wrote a
History or Annals of Rome, which are frequently referred to by Livy and
Dionysius of Halicarnassus.
[1279] Nothing whatever appears to be known of this writer.
[1280] See end of B. xiv.
[1281] Nothing whatever is known relative to this writer on
Horticulture.
[1282] Nothing certain is known of him; but it has been suggested that
he may have been the father of the rhetorician Castritius, so often
mentioned by Aulus Gellius, and who lived in the time of the Emperor
Adrian.
[1283] Nothing whatever is known relative to this writer.
[1284] The author of a Greek poem on venomous serpents, mentioned in B.
xx. c. 96, and B. xxii. c. 40, and by the Scholiast on the Theriaca of
Nicander.
[1285] See end of B. ii.
[1286] See end of B. iii.
[1287] See end of B. ii.
[1288] See end of B. xi.
[1289] Nothing whatever is known of him. His Book seems to have been a
compendium of “Things useful to life.”
[1290] A physician and Pythagorean philosopher, born at one of the
cities called Larissa, but which, is now unknown. He was banished by
the Emperor Augustus, B.C. 28, on the charge of practising magic, a
charge probably based on his superior skill in natural philosophy. He
is frequently mentioned by Pliny in the course of this work.
[1291] Fée remarks, that the commencement of this exordium is contrary
to truth, and that Pliny appears to forget that in the Eighteenth Book
he has treated, at very considerable length, of the various cereals,
the art of preparing bread, pottages, ptisans, &c. He suggests, that
the author may have originally intended to place the Eighteenth Book
_after_ the present one, and that on changing his plan he may have
neglected to alter the present passage. From his mention, however,
of man’s “ignorance by what means lie exists,” it is not improbable
that he may have considered that the nutritive qualities of plants
are really based upon their medicinal virtues, a point of view little
regarded by the majority of mankind in his time, but considered by
Pliny to be the true key to a just appreciation of their utility.
[1292] “Quibus cuncta constant.” See B. xxiv. c. 1.
[1293] See B. xxxiv. c. 42.
[1294] The “theamedes.” See B. xxxvi. c. 25.
[1295] Pliny is the only author who makes mention of this singularly
absurd notion.
[1296] In B. xix. c. 24: so, too, Dioscorides, B. iv. c. 154. The wild
cucumber of Pliny, as Fée observes, is in reality not a cucumber, but a
totally different plant, the Cucumis silvestris asininus of C. Bauhin,
the Momordica elaterium of Linnæus, or squirting cucumber.