[2230] This plant has not been identified, but Fée is inclined, from

what Dioscorides says, B. iv. c. 24, to identify it with either the

Lithospermum fruticosum, or else the Anchusa Italica of Linnæus.

[2231] This is not the case, if this plant is identical with the

Heliotropium Europæum, that being an annual.

[2232] The Adiantum Capillus Veneris of Linnæus, or the Asplenium

trichomanes of Linnæus. “Venus hair, or coriander maiden hair; others

name it to be well fern.”—T. Cooper. The leaves of these plants last

the whole of their lives.

[2233] The Teuerium polium of Linnæeus, our poley; the leaves of which

are remarkably long-lived.

[2234] “Spicatæ.”

[2235] Fée is in doubt whether to identify it with the Plantago cynops

of the south of Europe, and the banks of the Rhine.

[2236] “Foxtail.” According to Dalechamps, it is the Saccharum

cylindricum, the Lagurus of Linnæus; but Fée expresses his doubts as to

their identity.

[2237] Fée inclines to think that it may be the Secale villosum of

Linnæus; though the more recent commentators identify it with the

Plantago angustifolia. The Saccharum Ravennæ has been suggested.

[2238] Or “quail.”

[2239] In B. xxv. c. 39.

[2240] Hardouin takes this to be our pimpernel, the Sanguisorba

officinalis of Linnæeus. Sprengel inclines to the Verbascum lychnitis

of Linnæus.

[2241] “Proxuma.”

[2242] See B. xviii. c. 66.

[2243] Supposed by most commentators to be the Parietaria officinalis

of Linnæus; Wall pellitory or parietary. Some, however, have suggested

the Polygonum maritimum, or the Polygonum divaricatum of Linnæus. Fée

expresses doubts as to its identity, but remarks that the modern Greek

name of pellitory is “perdikaki.” See c. 104 of this Book, and B. xxii.

c. 20.

[2244] “Perdix,” the Greek name.

[2245] Probably the Ornithogalum umbellatum of Linnæus. Sprengel

identifies it with the Ornithogalum natans: but that variety is not

found in Greece, while the other is.

[2246] “Puls”

[2247] Probably the Melilotus cœrulea of Linnæus, Fée says.

Desfontaines mentions the Melilotus Cretica or Italica.

[2248] The Avena fatua or sterilis; the barren oat. See B. xviii. c. 44.

[2249] See B. xxii. c. 26.

[2250] The Gallium aparine of Linnæus. See B. xviii. c. 44.

[2251] The Opuntia. The Cactus Opuntia of Linnæus; the cactus, or

Indian fig.

[2252] Perhaps the Convolvulus sepium of Linnæus; though Fée dissents

from that opinion. See B. xxii. c. 39.

[2253] See c. 52 of this Book.

[2254] See B. xxii. c. 31.

[2255] From the Greek πικρὸς.

[2256] In B. xviii. c. 65.

[2257] “Little sword:” the Gladiolus communis of Linnæus. See the

remarks on the hyacinthus of the ancients in the Notes to c. 38 of this

Book.

[2258] Sprengel says that it is the Thesium linophyllum of modern

botany; an opinion at which Fée expresses his surprise. See B. xxii. c.

31.

[2259] The Asphodelus ramosus of Linnæus.

[2260] “Little sword.”

[2261] It is no longer employed as an article of food.

[2262] Od. xi. 539, and xxiv. 13.

[2263] It is difficult to say to what “illud” refers, if, indeed, it is

the correct reading.

[2264] “Hastula regia.”

[2265] “Caulis acinosi.”

[2266] See B. xxii. c. 32.

[2267] “Arrow.” The Sagittaria sagittifolia of Linnæus; our arrow-head,

or adder’s tongue.

[2268] 15th of May.

[2269] The Schœnus mariscus of Linnæus.

[2270] Pliny is guilty of a lapsus memoriæ here, for he has nowhere

given any such advice on the subject. Hardouin refers to B. xviii. c.

67, but erroneously, for there he is speaking of hay, not “ulva” or

sedge.

[2271] The “sharp rush.” The Juncus acutus of Linnæus; the pointed

bulrush.

[2272] The “pointed” rush. The Schœnus mucronatus of Linnæus.

[2273] A variety, Fée says, of the Schœnus nigricans of Linnæus, the

black bulrush.

[2274] The “black head.”

[2275] The Scirpus holoschœnus of Linnæus, Fée thinks.

[2276] None of the rushes, Fée remarks, are barren; and when the head

is inserted in the ground, it is neither more nor less than a sowing of

the seed. Hardouin remarks, however, that by the word “cacumine,” the

bulbous root of the rush is meant, and not the point of the stem.

[2277] “Nassæ.” Baskets with a narrow mouth.

[2278] It has descended in our time to the more humble rushlight; and

even that is fast “going out.”

[2279] Fée identifies it with the Cyperus longus and Cyperus rotundus

of Linnæus, the odoriferous or round souchet.

[2280] In c. 67 of this Book. The bulb, however, of the gladiolus is

inodorous; for which reason Fée is inclined to think that Pliny, with

all his care, is describing a cyperus, perhaps the Cyperus esculentus.

[2281] It would be curious to know who these barbarians were, who

thus _smoked_ cypirus as we do tobacco. Fée queries whether they were

Germans or Gauls, people of Asia or of Africa.

[2282] This applies more particularly, Fée thinks, to the Cyperus

rotundus of Linnæus.

[2283] The Cyperus longus of Linnæus, Fée thinks.

[2284] Sillig finds a difficulty here which does not seem to exist. It

is pretty clear that “cæteris” refers to the other varieties of the

cypiros, mentioned in the preceding Chapter.

[2285] It has not been identified.

[2286] Mentioned also by Dioscorides. It has not been identified.

[2287] B. xii. c. 48.

[2288] Dioscorides says that it grows in Babylonia. It is a variety, no

doubt, of the Andropogon schœnanthus.

[2289] “Ungues,” “nails;” in allusion to the white part of the

finger-nails.

[2290] “Cortex.”

[2291] “Anchusam.”

[2292] In B. xiv. c. 19.

[2293] “In calliblepharum.”

[2294] “Diapasmata.”

[2295] “Pilulæ.” He alludes to the galls produced by an insect of the

Cynips kind, and known as “bedeguar.” They are astringent, but no

longer employed in medicine.

[2296] The efficacy of bears’-grease for promoting the growth of the

hair was believed in, we find, so early as Pliny’s time.

[2297] See c. 11 of this Book. The bulbs of the lily contain a

mucilage, and roasted or boiled they are sometimes employed, Fée says,

to bring inflammations to a head. Employed internally, he thinks

that they would be of no use whatever, and there is nothing in their

composition, he says which would induce one to think that they might be

employed to advantage in most of the cases mentioned by Pliny.

[2298] Or “Poley.” See c. 21 of this Book.

[2299] “Mel.”

[2300] See c. 12 of this Book.

[2301] The Narcissus pseudo-narcissus of Linnæus, the meadow narcissus,

or daffodil. The epithet “herbaceous,” Fée says, applies, not to the

flower, but to the leaves, which are larger and greener than in the

other kinds.

[2302] “Torpor,” or “lethargy.”

[2303] See c. 14 of this Book.

[2304] An ointment made of wax and oil.

[2305] “Ægilopiis.”

[2306] “Diapasmata.”

[2307] This, as Fée remarks, can hardly apply to the Digitalis purpurea

of Linnæus, with which he has identified it, the smell of which is

disagreeable rather than otherwise.

[2308] In c. 16 of this Book.

[2309] The Asarum Europæum of Linnæus; our foalfoot. See B. xii. c. 27.

[2310] In c. 16 of this Book.

[2311] In B. xii. c. 26.

[2312] B. xii. c. 26. Either the Valeriana Italica, Fée says, or the

Valeriana Dioscoridis of Sibthorpe. The Valeriana phu and the Valeriana

officinalis of Linnæus have been suggested by some commentators.

[2313] Or “prurigo.”

[2314] See B. xxxv. cc. 18 and 57.

[2315] “Collyrium.” Saffron is still the base of certain eye-salves.

[2316] Formed, most probably, of all the insoluble substances contained

in the oil employed in making the “unguentum crocinum.”

[2317] A small kind of quince. See B. xv. cc. 10 and 14.

[2318] “Orthopnœa.”

[2319] The Iris fœtidissima of Linnæus. It grows near Constantinople,

and the smell of it is so like that of roast meat, that it is commonly

called, Fée says, the “leg of mutton iris.”

[2320] “Credo.” It does not exactly appear that Pliny puts faith in

this superstition, as Fée and Desfontaines seem to think; but he merely

hazards a supposition as to what are the intentions of these avaricious

herbalists.

[2321] See c. 20 of this Book.

[2322] See c. 21 of this Book. Fée remarks, that in reality it

possesses none of the qualities that are attributed to it.

[2323] The “protection against poisons.”

[2324] We have adopted Sillig’s emendation of this passage; the words

“aiunt, quod alii” being evidently required by the context.

[2325] “Cytinus” appears to be a preferable reading here to “cyanus,”

the “blue-bell.”

[2326] See c. 24 of this Book. Its medicinal properties, Fée says, are

next to nothing.

[2327] See c. 26 of this Book. If it is the Chrysocoma linosyris, it

has no peculiar medicinal properties, Fée says. All these statements

are found in Dioscorides.

[2328] Sec B. xx. c. 45, and c. 41 of this Book. It is a plant of

somewhat stimulating properties, and may possibly be useful, Fée

thinks, for nervous affections.

[2329] “Scopis.” He may possibly mean small brooms made of the sprigs

of the plant.

[2330] See c. 29 of this Book. The melilote is possessed of no peculiar

energy, but decoctions of it are sometimes employed as a lotion.

[2331] Sores “resembling a honey-comb.”

[2332] See c. 30 of this Book.

[2333] In c. 30 of this Book.

[2334] See c. 31 of this Book. Thyme yields an essential oil, possessed

of stimulating properties. Most of the assertions here made as to its

virtues are quite unfounded.

[2335] See c. 33 of this Book. The Pancratium maritimum, if that plant

is identical with it, is but little used, but has a marked action, Fée

says, upon the human frame.

[2336] In c. 33 of this Book.

[2337] Od. iv. l. 221. This has been supposed by many commentators

to have been opium. The origin of the word is νή, “not,” and πένθος,

“grief;” and, as Fée says, it would seem to indicate rather a

composition than a plant. Saffron, mandragore, nightshade, and even

tea and coffee, have been suggested by the active imaginations of

various writers. Fée is of opinion that it is impossible to come to

any satisfactory conclusion, but inclines to the belief that either

the poppy or a preparation from it, is meant. In confirmation of this

opinion, it is a singular fact, that, as Dr. Paris remarks (in his

Pharmacologia), the Nepenthes of Homer was obtained from Thebes in

Egypt, and that tincture of opium, or laudanum, has received the name

of “Thebaic tincture.” Gorræus, in his “Definitiones Medicæ,” thinks

that the herb alluded to is the Inula Campania, or Elecampane, which

was also said to have derived its name of “Helenium” from Helen. Dr.

Greenhill, in Smith’s Dictionary of Antiquities, inclines to the

opinion that it was opium. See the article “Pharmaceutica.”

[2338] See c. 34 of this Book. Both of the plants mentioned share

the medicinal properties of wormwood, being stimulants, tonics,

anthelmintics, and febrifuges. It would be dangerous, however, Fée

says, to administer them in most of the cases mentioned by Pliny, nor

would they be good for strangury, or affections of the chest.

[2339] “Nervis.” Pliny had no knowledge, probably, of the nervous

system; but Fée seems to think that such is his meaning here. See B.

xi. c. 88.

[2340] See B. xi. cc. 24, 28, and 29.

[2341] See c. 34 of this Book; also B. xxii. c. 26.

[2342] See c. 35 of this Book.

[2343] In c. 38 of this Book.

[2344] The Anemone coronaria of Linnæus, Fée thinks.

[2345] Probably the Adonis æstivalis of Linnæus, a ranunculus. These

plants are of an acrid, irritating nature, and rank at the present day

among the vegetable poisons.

[2346] The “wind-flower,” from the Greek ἄνεμος, “wind.”

[2347] See B. xxv. c. 26.

[2348] In B. xix. c. 53.

[2349] As Fée remarks, it would be very dangerous to use it.

[2350] “Cuique animalium.”

[2351] The Œnanthe pimpinellifolia of Linnæus. If taken internally, Fée

says, it would tend to aggravate the disease so treated, in a very high

degree.

[2352] See c. 38. Also B. xxvi. c. 55.

[2353] See c. 38 of this Book; also B. xvi. c. 31.

[2354] From the herb “hysge,” used for dyeing a deep red. See B. ix. c.

65, and B. xxi. c. 36. No such colour, Fée says, can be obtained from

the petals of either the Lilium Martagon or the Gladiolus communis,

with which it has been identified.

[2355] It has no such effect; and the slave-dealers certainly lost

their pains in cosmetizing their slaves with it, their object being

to make them look younger than they really were, and not older, as

Hardouin seems to think.

[2356] See c. 10 of this Book.

[2357] White specks in the pupil of the eye, or whiteness of the cornea.

[2358] See c. 39 of this Book.

[2359] “Ground-laurel.”

[2360] See c. 50, and B. xxiii. c. 83. The medicinal properties of this

plant are not developed to any great extent; but it was thought till

lately, Fée says, to be an excellent diuretic.

[2361] See c. 49 and B. xxvi. c. 50.

[2362] The Thymus acinos of Linnæus.

[2363] See c. 51 of this Book. It is an alimentary plant, but eaten

raw, it is possessed of some acridity.

[2364] The Cyperus esculentus of Linnæus, the esculent souchet.

[2365] The two varieties are identified with the Cressa Cretica and the

Teucrium iva of Linnæus. The latter plant is said to be a sudorific.

[2366] See B. xxvi. c. 53.

[2367] The Matricaria parthenium of Linnæus. See c. 52.

[2368] De Re Med. ii. 33. It must not be confounded with the plant of

that name mentioned in c. 62 of this Book.

[2369] The Solanum nigrum of Linnæus, or black night-shade. See B.

xxi. c. 108.

[2370] The Physalis alkekengi of Linnæus; red night-shade, alkekengi,

or winter cherry. Fée remarks, that the varieties of this plant in

Egypt are very numerous, and that in many places, till very recently,

it was employed as an article of food.

[2371] “Vesica.”

[2372] The Solanum villosum of Lamarck.

[2373] From δορὺ, a “spear.”

[2374] “Apertius,” as suggested by Sillig, is a preferable reading to

“parcius.”

[2375] From μάνια, “madness.”

[2376] The Physalis somnifera of Linnæus, the somniferous nightshade.

[2377] The Solanum melongena of Linnæus.

[2378] The Corchorus olitorius of Linnæus. See B. xxv. c. 92.

[2379] Theriaca, p. 44.

[2380] See c. 53 of this Book.

[2381] It has not been identified. Dalechamps, without any proof,

identifies it with the Tussilago petasites of modern botany.

[2382] See the Introduction to Vol. III.

[2383] See end of B. iii.

[2384] See end of B. ii.

[2385] See end of B. ii.

[2386] A writer on flowers and chaplets, in the time of Tiberius.

Nothing whatever beyond this seems to be known of him.

[2387] C. Julius Atticus Vestinus, or, according to some authorities,

M. Atticus Vestinus. He was consul A.D. 65; and, though innocent,

was put to death by Nero’s order, for alleged participation in the

conspiracy of Piso.

[2388] See end of B. xiv.

[2389] See end of B. iii.

[2390] See end of B. iii.

[2391] See end of B. xiv.

[2392] See end of B. vii.

[2393] See end of B. xvi.

[2394] See end of B. xx.

[2395] See end of B. xix.

[2396] See end of B. xii.

[2397] See end of B. xx.

[2398] See end of B. xx. See also B. xxv. c. 5.

[2399] See end of B. iii.

[2400] See end of B. ii.

[2401] See end of B. xx.

[2402] See end of B. ii.

[2403] See end of B. viii.

[2404] See end of B. xix.

[2405] See end of B. viii.

[2406] See end of B. vii.

[2407] An alleged disciple of Orpheus, and probably as fabulous a

personage. Many works, now lost, passed under his name.

[2408] One of the most celebrated of the Greek tragic writers; born

B.C. 495. Of his 127 tragedies, only seven have come down to us.

[2409] A Pythagorean philosopher, a native of one of the cities called

Larissa. Being accused of magical practices, he was banished from

the city of Rome by the Emperor Augustus. The explanation of these

charges is, that he probably possessed a superior knowledge of natural

philosophy. See B. xxv. c. 95. B. xxviii. c. 49. B. xxxii. c. 52, and

B. xxxv. c. 50.

[2410] A physician, a native of Athens in the fourth century B.C. He is

supposed to have belonged to the sect of the Dogmatici, and was greatly

celebrated for his classification of diseases. He wrote on diet and

drink, among other subjects.

[2411] Probably the same writer that is mentioned at the end of B.

iv.; or, possibly, a physician of that name, who was a disciple of

Herophilus, and lived about the second century B.C.

[2412] A distinguished Peripatetic philosopher of Eresos in Lesbos, a

disciple of Aristotle, and a contemporary of Theophrastus.

[2413] Of this writer, nothing whatever is known, beyond the mention

made of him in c. 88 of this Book, and in B. xxii. c. 32.

[2414] Nothing whatever is known relative to this writer.

[2415] See end of B. vii.

[2416] See end of B. xx.

[2417] See end of B. xx.

[2418] See end of B. xx.

[2419] For Heraclides of Pontus, see end of B. iv. For Heraclides of

Tarentum, see end of B. xii.

[2420] See end of B. xv.

[2421] See end of B. xii.

[2422] See end of B. xx.

[2423] See end of B. xx.

[2424] See end of B. xx.

[2425] See end of B. xx.

[2426] See end of B. xx.

[2427] See end of B. xx.

[2428] See end of B. xx.

[2429] See end of B. xx.

[2430] See end of B. vii.

[2431] See end of B. xx.

[2432] See end of B. xx.

[2433] See end of B. xii.

[2434] See end of B. xi.

[2435] See end of B. xii.

[2436] See end of B. xx.

[2437] See end of B. xii.

[2438] See end of B. xx.

[2439] See end of B. xx.

[2440] See end of B. vi.

[2441] See end of B. xx.

[2442] See end of B. xx.

[2443] See end of B. xx.

[2444] See end of B. xx.

[2445] See end of B. xii.

[2446] See end of B. xx.

[2447] See end of B. xx.

[2448] See end of B. xix.

[2449] See end of B. xx.

[2450] See end of B. xx.

[2451] See end of B. xx.

[2452] Fée remarks, that at the present day, in all savage nations in

which tatooing is practised, the men display more taste and care in the

operation than is shewn by the females. There is little doubt that it

is the art of tatooing the body, or in other words, first puncturing it

and then rubbing in various colours, that is here spoken of by Pliny.

[2453] “Inscribunt.” “Writing upon,” or “tatooing,” evidently.

[2454] Our “woad,” the Isatis tinctoria of Linnæus, which imparts a

blue colour. The root of this Celtic woad is probably “glas,” “blue,”

whence also our word “glass;” and it is not improbable that the name of

glass was given to it from the blue tints which it presented. Julius

Cæsar and Pomponius Mela translate this word “glastum,” by the Latin

“vitrum,” “glass.”

[2455] “Conjuges nurusque.” Cæsar says that _all_ the people in Britain

were in the habit of staining the body with woad, to add to the horror

of their appearance in battle. Pomponius Mela expresses himself as

uncertain for what purpose it was done, whether it was to add to their

beauty, or for some other reasons to him unknown.

[2456] “Granis.” What the ancients took to be a vegetable substance, is

now known to be an insect, the kermes of the Quercus coccifera.

[2457] See B. ix. c. 63.

[2458] “Paludamentis.” The “paludamentum” was the cloak worn by a

Roman general when in command, his principal officers, and personal

attendants. It was open in front, reached to the knees or thereabout,

and hung over the shoulders, being fastened across the chest by a

clasp. It was commonly white or purple.

[2459] For an account of all these colours see B. ix. cc. 60-65.

[2460] The vaccinium for instance. See B. xvi. c. 31.

[2461] Fée thinks that the art of dyeing with alkanet and madder may be

here alluded to.

[2462] See B. xxxv. c. 1.

[2463] The “good,” “ingenuous,” or “liberal” arts were those which

might be practised by free men without loss of dignity. Pliny is

somewhat inconsistent here, for he makes no scruple at enlarging upon

the art of medicine, which among the Romans was properly not a liberal,

but a servile, art.

[2464] “Surdis.”

[2465] Festus says the “verbenæ,” or _pure_ herbs, were called

“sagmina,” because they were taken from a sacred (sacer) place. It is

more generally supposed that “sagmen” comes from “sancio,” “to render

inviolable,” the person of the bearer being looked upon as inviolable.

[2466] “Clare.”

[2467] Or bearer of the “verbena.” See further on this subject in B.

xxv. c. 59.

[2468] “Corona graminea.”

[2469] For a description of these various crowns, see B. xvi. c. 3.

[2470] Sometimes also, weeds, or wild flowers.

[2471] See Servius on the Æneid, B. viii. l. 128.

[2472] No doubt, the old English custom of delivering seisin by

presenting a turf, originated in this.

[2473] See B. vii. c. 29.

[2474] See B. xvi. c. 5.

[2475] In the Samnite war. He died B.C. 340.

[2476] Titus Manlius Torquatus Imperiosus, consul A.U.C. 414. It was he

who put his own son to death for engaging the enemy against orders.

[2477] Q. Fabius Maximus, surnamed Cunctator, for his skill in avoiding

an engagement with Hannibal, and so wearing out the Carthaginian troops.

[2478] Q. Minutius, the Magister Equitum.

[2479] See Livy, B. xxii.

[2480] The primipilus was the first centurion of the first maniple of

the triarii; also called “primus centurionum.”

[2481] “Ad tibicinem.”

[2482] A.U.C. 652.

[2483] The “Fortunate.”

[2484] A.U.C. 605.

[2485] 13th of September.

[2486] A.U.C. 723.

[2487] Hence we may conclude that the word “gramen” signified not only

“grass,” but any plant in general.

[2488] By reason of the luxury and sensuality universally prevalent.

[2489] This is said in bitter irony.

[2490] Trusting to the good faith and research of the physician.

[2491] “Inseruisse.”

[2492] “Amplecti.”

[2493] In the Twentieth Book.

[2494] It has been thought by some that this is the Scolymus maculatus

of Linnæus; the spotted yellow thistle. But the more general opinion is

that it is the eringo, or Eryngium campestre of Linnæus. It derives its

name from the Greek ἐρεύγειν, from its asserted property of dispelling

flatulent eructations. It is possessed in reality of few medicinal

properties, and is only used occasionally, at the present day, as a

diuretic. See B. xxi. c. 56.

[2495] See B. xxvii. c. 2.

[2496] By the word “toxica,” Poinsinet would understand, not poisons

in general, but the venom of the toad, which was called, he says, in

the Celtic and Celto-Scythic languages, _toussac_ and _tossa_. Fée

ridicules the notion.

[2497] Or rather, Fée says, deep blue. He identifies this with the

Eryngium cyaneum of Linnæus, the eringo, with a blue flower.

[2498] This, as well as the next, is identical, probably, with the

Eryngium maritimum of Linnæus; our sea-holly. The species found in

Greece, in addition to the above, are the Eryngium tricuspidatum,

multifidum, and parviflorum.

[2499] Pliny probably makes a mistake here, and reads σελίνον,

“parsley,” for σκόλυμος, a “thistle.” Dalechamps is of this opinion,

from an examination of the leaf; and Brotier adopts it.

[2500] Or “hundred heads,” the ordinary Eryngium campestre of Linnæus.

It is still called panicaut a cent têtes, by the French.

[2501] It is no longer used for this purpose; but Fée is of opinion

that it owes its French name of “panicaut,” from having been used in

former times as a substitute for bread—_pain_.

[2502] It is not improbable that this plant is the same as the mandrake

of _Genesis_, c. xxx. 14; which is said to have borne some resemblance

to the human figure, and is spoken of by the commentators as male and

female.

[2503] The root contains a small quantity of essential oil, with

stimulating properties; and this fact, Fée thinks, would, to a certain

extent, explain this story of Sappho. It is not improbable that it was

for these properties that it was valued by the rival wives of Jacob.

[2504] White specks in the eye.

[2505] Sprengel identifies this with the Onopordum acanthium; but Fée

thinks that if it belongs to the Onopordum at all, it is more likely to

be the Onopordum acaulton, or the O. Græcum.

[2506] Or “sweet-root,” our liquorice; the Glycyrrhiza glabra of

Linnæus. In reality, Fée remarks, there is no resemblance whatever

between it and the Eryngium, no kind of liquorice being prickly.

[2507] “Echinatis;” literally, “like a hedge-hog.” Pliny, it is

supposed, read here erroneously in the Greek text, (from which

Dioscorides has also borrowed) ἐοικότα ἐχίνῳ “like a hedge-hog,” for

ἐοικότα σχίνῳ “like those of the lentisk.”

[2508] “Pilularum.”

[2509] Or Pleiades.

[2510] Dioscorides compares the root, with less exactness,

with that of gentian.

[2511] The same preparation that is known to us as Spanish liquorice or

Spanish juice.

[2512] In B. xi. c. 119. It certainly has the effect of palling the

appetite, but in many people it has the effect of creating thirst

instead of allaying it. Fée thinks that from the fecula and sugar that

it contains, it may possibly be nourishing, and he states that it is

the basis of a favourite liquor in the great cities of France. Spanish

liquorice water is used in England, but only by school-boys, as a

matter of taste, and by patients as a matter of necessity.

[2513] The Greek for “without thirst.”

[2514] Or “mouth medicine.” Beyond being a bechic, or cough-medicine,

it has no medicinal properties whatever.

[2515] “Pterygiis.” The word “pterygia” has been previously used as

meaning a sort of hang-nail, or, perhaps, whitlow.

[2516] “Scabiem.”

[2517] Swellings of the anus more particularly.

[2518] It has in reality no such effect.

[2519] Probably the Fagonia Cretica and the Trapa natans of Linnæus.

See B. xxi. c. 58. The first, Fée remarks, is a native of Candia, the

ancient Crete, and a stranger to the climates of Greece and Italy. This

may account for Pliny calling it a garden plant.

[2520] This is said. Fée remarks, in reference to the Trapa natans, the

seed of which is rich in fecula, and very nutritious.

[2521] “Contrahat ventrem.” It would not act, Fée says, as an

astringent, but would have the effect of imparting nutriment in a very

high degree, without overloading the stomach.

[2522] A harmless, or, perhaps, beneficial, superstition.

[2523] The synonym of this plant is probably unknown. Dalechamps

identifies it with the Sagittaria sagittifolia, C. Bauhin with the

Centaurea calcitrapa, and Clusius, Belli, and Sprengel, with the

Poterium spinosum. None of these plants, however, are prickly and

aquatic, characteristics, according to Theophrastus, of the Stœbe:

Hist. Plant. B. iv. c. 11. Fée considers its identification next to

impossible.

[2524] Probably the Hippophaës rhamnoides of Linnæus. This, however,

Fée says, has no milky juice, but a dry, tough, ligneous root. Sprengel

identifies it with the Euphorbia spinosa of Linnæus, on account of its

milky juice; but that plant, as Fée remarks, does not bear berries,

properly so called, and the fruit is yellow and prickly.

[2525] See B. xxvii. c. 66. It is identified by Fée with the Carduus

stellatus or Centaurea calcitrapa of Linnæus, the common star-thistle.

[2526] As compounds of ἵππος, a “horse.” Hardouin, however, thinks that

the names ἱπποφαὲς and ἱππόφαιστον have another origin, and that they

are compounds of φάος, “lustre,”—from the brilliancy which they were

said to impart to cloths—and ἵππος, in an augmentative sense, meaning

“great lustre.”

[2527] See B. xxi. c. 55. Only two species of the nettle, Fée remarks,

were known to the ancients, the Urtica urens and the U. dioica; and

these have been confounded by Pliny and other writers.

[2528] In B. xv. c. 7. The Urtica urens has no oleaginous principles,

and the oil of nettles, as Fée says, must have been a medicinal

composition, the properties of which are more than hypothetical. The

plant boiled, he remarks, can have no medicinal properties whatever,

and it is with justice excluded from the modern Materia Medica. It

is, however, still employed by some few practitioners, and the leaves

are used, in some cases, to restore the vital action, by means of

urtication.

[2529] “Cicutæ.”

[2530] Mercury, as already mentioned in a previous Note, is not

poisonous.

[2531] “Testudinis.” He may, possibly, mean a turtle.

[2532] See B. x. c. 86.

[2533] The process of “urtication,” alluded to in Note [2528].

[2534] Fée considers this extremely doubtful.

[2535] An abominable refinement (if we may use the term) in gluttony,

which would appear to have been practised among the Romans; though

Fée thinks it possible that such a practice may have been considered

advisable in the medical treatment of certain maladies. Be this as

it may, the system of using vomits has prevailed to some extent in

this country, and during the present century, too, among persons in

the fashionable world, when expected to play their part at several

entertainments in one evening.

[2536] “Sapa.” Grape-juice boiled down to one-third.

[2537] De Morb. Mul. text. 47.

[2538] See B. xviii. c. 13.

[2539] See B. xxi. c. 55.

[2540] See Hippocrates, Hippiatr.

[2541] In B. xxi. c. 55.

[2542] The Lamium maculatum of Linnæus: dead nettle, or archangel. The

same as the Leuce, mentioned in B. xxvii. c. 77.

[2543] “Cum micâ salis.”

[2544] The Spartium scorpius of Linnæus, or the Scorpiurus sulcata of

Linnæus: scorpion-grass, or scorpion-wort.

[2545] Its properties are entirely inert, and it has no such virtues as

those here mentioned. As Fée remarks, we might be quite sure, however,

from the form of the seeds, that this property would be ascribed to it

in the Materia Medica of the ancients.

[2546] Supposed to be the Salsola tragus of Linnæus, kali, or

glass-wort.

[2547] Not the Asparagus officinalis, Fée says, but the Asparagus

acutifolius, the stem of which is somewhat prickly.

[2548] See B. xxi. cc. 56 and 104, in which last Chapter it is called

“leucanthes.” Desfontaines suggests that it may be either the Carduus

leucographus, or the Cnicum Casabonæ.

[2549] Literally, “many-cornered.” “Leucacantha” means “whitethorn,”

and “Leucanthes” “white-flowered.”

[2550] Fée thinks this very improbable.

[2551] It must not be confounded, Fée says, with the Helxine, a

tuberous root, mentioned in B. xxi. c. 56. He thinks also that Pliny

is in error in giving it the name of “Perdicium,” which may possibly

have been a synonym of the other Helxine. Fée comes to the conclusion

that the Perdicium of B. xxi. c. 62, if not the same as the Helxine

of c. 56, cannot be identified; that the Helxine of B. xxi. c. 56, is

the Acarna gummifera; and that the Helxine here mentioned is identical

with the Perdicium of this and the next Chapter, being the Parietaria

officinalis of Linnæus, parietary or wall pellitory. The confusion has

probably arisen from the similarity of the name of the ἰξίνη, the plant

mentioned in B. xxi. c. 56, and the ἑλξίνη, the Helxine of the present

Chapter.

[2552] “Perdices.” As stated in the last Note, the name has probably

been given in error to the Helxine or pellitory.

[2553] Or horehound.

[2554] See B. xxi. c. 64.

[2555] From ἕλκω, to “drag.”

[2556] In c. 56. Properly the “Ixine.” See Note [2551] above.

[2557] Pellitory possesses no colouring properties whatever.

[2558] It has no medicinal virtues beyond acting, possibly, in some

degree, as a diuretic.

[2559] The Parthenium of Celsus, mentioned by Pliny in B. xxi. 104, is

not identical with this Perdicium (though there also he gives it that

name), but is the Matricaria Parthenium of Linnæus, a different plant.

See Notes to c. 19. B. xxii

[2560] In reference to what was said at the beginning of the preceding

Chapter.

[2561] Or “pitcher plant.”

[2562] See c. 16 of this Book.

[2563] Plutarch, in his life of Pericles, tells the same story about

the slave, but does not speak of the appearance of Minerva. He relates

a story, however, of her appearance to Sylla, pointing out a spot near

the Acropolis, where the Parthenium grew.

[2564] Or “Virgin” plant, Minerva being called “Parthenos,” the

“virgin.”

[2565] One who “cooks entrails.” See B. xxxiv. cc. 19 and 31.

[2566] See B. xxi. c. 56. The white is identified with the Acarna

gummifera of Linnæus, the dark or black with the Brotera corymbosa of

Linnæus.

[2567] See B. xii. c. 33.

[2568] Viscus.

[2569] Olivier states (_Voyage dans l’Empire Ottoman_, i. 312) that

the women in the isles of Naxos and Scio still chew this glutinous

substance, in the same manner that mastich is used in other places.

[2570] Fée is inclined to doubt this, and thinks that, as it is a

creeping plant, the name may have been derived from χαμαί, “on the

ground.”

[2571] Theophrastus, Galen, and Dioscorides state to the same effect,

and Fée thinks it possible it may possess a certain degree of activity.

[2572] Fée says that it possesses no such poisonous properties.

[2573] Rheum, or catarrhs.

[2574] From οὖλον φόνον, “dreadful death,” a name which, Fée observes,

it does not merit, its properties not being poisonous.

[2575] From κυνὸς ὄζη “smell of a dog.” This is a more justifiable

appellation, as the smell of it is very disagreeable.

[2576] The Cochlearia coronopus of Linnæus, crow’s-foot, or buck’s-horn

plantain.

[2577] The Anchusa tinctoria of Linnæus, alkanet, orcanet, or dyers’

bugloss.

[2578] See B. xii. c. 46.

[2579] This plant is no longer used for medicinal purposes; but Fée

thinks that, as the leaves in all probability contain nitrate of

potash, they may have diuretic properties.

[2580] The Anchusa Italica of Linnæus, according to Fée, false alkanet,

or wild bugloss. Though resembling the genuine plant in its external

features, it has no colouring properties. Sprengel identifies it with

the Lithospermum fruticosum of Linnæus, a plant, as Fée remarks, very

different in its appearance from the genuine alkanet.

[2581] In erroneously giving it this name, Fée remarks that Pliny has

confounded the pseudoanchusa with the ἔχιον of the Greeks, the Echium

rubrum of Linnæus, and has attributed to it the characteristics of the

latter plant.

[2582] Fée remarks, that all that Pliny says of the medicinal

properties of this plant does not merit the honour of a discussion.

[2583] Fée identifies it with the Echium Creticum of Linnæus.

Desfontaines takes it to be the Anchusa tinctoria of Linnæus. Fée is of

opinion that the name really given to this plant was “enchrysa,” and

not “anchusa.”

[2584] The Lithospermum fruticosum of Linnæus; cromill, or stone-crap.

[2585] Fée, adopting the opinion of Sibthorpe, thinks that under these

names Pliny is speaking of _several_ varieties of the Anthemis, or

camomile, and he identifies them as follows: the Leucanthemis, or white

camomile, he considers to be the same as the Anthemis Chia of Linnæus;

the Eranthemis to be the Anthemis rosea of Sibthorpe; the Melanthion

to be the Anthemis tinctoria, or dyers’ camomile of Sibthorpe: and

the Chamæmelon to be the Matricaria chamomilla of Linnæus, the common

camomile. Sprengel differs from these opinions as to the identification

of the several varieties.

[2586] “Spring flower.”

[2587] “Ground apple.”

[2588] “Black flower.”

[2589] “Malinis,” apple-colour.

[2590] See Note [2585].

[2591] “Fruticis.” The camomile is still extensively used in medicine

for fomentations, and the decoction of it is highly esteemed, taken

fasting, as a tonic.

[2592] Il. xiv. 347.

[2593] The Melilotus officinalis of Linnæus. See B. xiii. c. 32, and

the Notes.

[2594] White specks in the black of the eye, with a red tinge.

[2595] Or “Mother of the Lotus;” the Nymphæa lotus of Linnæus. See B.

xiii. c. 32. “Ex loto sata” may probably mean that it springs from the

seed of the lotus, in which case, as Fée remarks, it must be identified

with the Lotus.

[2596] B. xviii. c. 67, and B. xix. c. 58.

[2597] This apparent marvel is owing to the necessity of light to

certain flowers for the purposes of fecundation, while those which open

at night require more moisture than light for their reproduction.

[2598] Or “three-grained,” probably, Fée says, from the three cells in

the capsule. He identifies this plant with the Croton tinctorium of

Linnæus, the turnsole, or sun-flower.

[2599] Fée identifies it with the Heliotropium Europæum of Linnæus,

the heliotrope, or verrucaria. The Heliotropium of Ovid and other

poets, with a violet or blue flower, is, no doubt, a different plant,

and is identified by Sprengel, Desfontaines, and Fée with the Hesperis

matronalis of Linnæus, rocket or julian, or, as we not inaptly call it,

from its pleasant smell, cherry-pie. Pliny speaks of his Heliotropium

as having a “blue flower,” cœruleum. This is probably an error on his

part, and it is supposed by commentators that he read in the Greek text

ὑποπόρφυρον, “somewhat purple,” by mistake for ὑπόπυῤῥον, “somewhat

red,” as we find it.

[2600] As known at the present day, they grow to a much greater height

than this.

[2601] This, Fée remarks, cannot apply to either the Heliotropium

Europæum or the Croton tinctorium. He thinks it not improbable that

Pliny may have named one plant, and given a description of another.

[2602] The Heliotropium Europæum, Fée says, has no medicinal properties.

[2603] Midday, namely.

[2604] “Sic firmior.”

[2605] The “wart plant;” from “verruca,” a “wart.”

[2606] This notion arose probably, Fée thinks, from the clusters of its

flowers resembling the tail of a scorpion in appearance.

[2607] Probably an inflammation of the membranes of the brain.

[2608] At the beginning of this Chapter.

[2609] “Scorpion’s tail.” Dioscorides gives this name to the

Helioscopium, or great Heliotropium.

[2610] Fée is surprised that no mention is made of its colouring

properties, it being extremely rich in the colouring principle, and

having been much used in former times for dyeing purposes.

[2611] This notion, Fée says, was long attached to the Heliotropium

Europæum, and to it, it is indebted for its present name of

“verrucaria.”

[2612] “Cortex seminis.”

[2613] Fée identifies it with the Asplenium trichomanes of Linnæus,

spleen-wort, or ceterach. The Adiantum of Hippocrates and other Greek

writers, he takes to be the Adiantum capillus Veneris of Linnæus,

Venus’ hair, or maiden hair. Though Pliny would seem not to have been

acquainted with the latter plant, he ascribes to the first one many of

its properties and characteristics, deriving his information, probably,

from a writer who was acquainted with both. See B. xxi. c. 60.

[2614] From ἀ, “not,” and διαίνω, “to wet.” This is owing, Fée remarks,

to the coat of waxen enamel or varnish with which the leaves are

provided. The same is the case also with the leaf of the cabbage and

other plants.

[2615] The Asplenium trichomanes, Fée says, would not admit of being

clipped for ornamental gardening.

[2616] “Fine hair,” and “thick hair.” These names originated more

probably in the appearance of the plant than in any effects it may have

produced as a dye for the hair.

[2617] On the contrary, Fée says, the root is composed of numerous

fibres.

[2618] “Stone-breaking.”

[2619] Fée is of opinion that they possess no such property.

[2620] Loss of the hair.

[2621] See B. xxi. c. 65. The Picris asplenioides of Linnæus, Fée

thinks, though Sprengel identifies it with the Helminthia echioides of

Linnæus; but the leaves of that plant are not round.

[2622] See B. xxi. c. 67.

[2623] See B. xxi. c. 68.

[2624] “Plant of the heroes.”

[2625] Mere varieties of the plant, so called with reference, probably,

to the relative energy of their properties.

[2626] Regarded in a medicinal point of view the bulb of the asphodel

possesses some emollient properties, and nothing more. As an

application to sores and abscesses it may reduce the inflammation, and

being rich in mucilage, the pulp may form a nourishing food. All the

other statements as to its medicinal properties are, as Fée remarks,

quite fabulous.

[2627] Theriaca, p. 39.

[2628] In B. xxi. c. 68.

[2629] This practice, as Fée remarks, was based on sound principles,

the acrid properties of the bulbs being removed by boiling.

[2630] Most medicinal roots are gathered at this period, their

properties being, as Pliny says, most fully developed in the autumn.

[2631] See B. xvi. c. 11.

[2632] Other readings are Diocles, Socles, and Socrates. If “Sophocles”

is the correct reading, all memorials of this physician have perished,

beyond the mention made of him by Cælius Aurelianus, Chron. c. i.

[2633] “Vitia.”

[2634] The Atriplex halimus of Linnæus, sea orach. Belon says that it

is found in great abundance in Candia, the ancient Crete, where it is

known as “halimatia,” and the tops of the stalks are used as food.

[2635] Hence its name, ἅλιμον, from ἅλς, the “sea,” and not, as Pliny

says, from its salt taste.

[2636] “Mitius.” Fée says that if this word means “cultivated,” the

plant mentioned cannot be the Atriplex halimus; in which case he is

inclined to identify it with the Atriplex portulacoides of Linnæus;

the leaves and young stalks of which, preserved in vinegar, have an

agreeable taste.

[2637] Some other plant, probably, Fée thinks.

[2638] As to the Acanthus or thorn, in a more general sense, see B.

xxiv. c. 66, and the Notes.

[2639] Pliny the Younger speaks of the Acanthus being used for a

similar purpose, Epist. B. v. Ep. 6.

[2640] The Acanthus spinosus of Linnæus.

[2641] The Acanthus mollis of Linnæus; the brankursine.

[2642] “Lad’s love.”

[2643] “Black-leafed.” Fée thinks it probable that this name may have

been given to the variety “niger,” of Miller, which grows in great

abundance in Sicily and Italy.

[2644] “Bull’s side,” apparently. Fée says that the identification of

this plant is quite uncertain; the Buplevrum rigidum of Linnæus, the

Buplevrum Baldense of Willdenow, and the Ammi majus of Linnæus, having

been suggested. The first, he thinks, could never have been used as a

vegetable, and the second is only found on Mount Baldo in Carniola,

and in Croatia. Though the Ammi majus is more than a cubit in height,

and could never have been used as a vegetable, he looks upon it as

the most likely of the three. The seeds of it were formerly used as a

carminative.

[2645] Sprengel and Desfontaines consider it to be the Buplevrum

rotundifolium: but Fée is of a contrary opinion, and thinks that it is

impossible to identify it.

[2646] Though Hardouin attempts to defend him, it is more than

probable that it is Pliny himself who is in error here; and that he

has confounded the plant Buprestis with the insect of that name, which

belongs to the class of Cantharides, and received its name (burn-cow)

from its fatal effects when eaten by cattle.

[2647] See B. xxx. c. 10.

[2648] “Stag’s food.” Fée adopts the opinion of Sprengel and Sibthorpe,

that this is the Pastinaca sativa of Linnæus, the cultivated parsnip.

Desfontaines identifies it with the Sium sisarum; but, as Fée says,

that plant is but rarely found in Greece.

[2649] See B. xx. c. 18. For the olusatrum, see B. xx. c. 46.

[2650] The parsnip is no longer employed for its medicinal properties;

but for a long time, the seed was looked upon as a diuretic and

febrifuge. The root contains a considerable quantity of saccharine

matter.

[2651] Sprengel identifies it with the Chærophyllum sativum of Linnæus,

the scandix cerifolium, our common chervil; but Fée considers it to

be the same as the Scandix pecten Veneris of Linnæus, the Venus’ comb

chervil. Pliny has mentioned a “scandix” also in B. xxi. c. 52, but

erroneously, Fée thinks.

[2652] It is not used for any medicinal purposes at the present day.

[2653] Acharn. A. ii. sc. 4: “Get some scandix from your mother, and

give it me.” The same joke also appears in the “Equites;” and A.

Gellius, B. xv. c. 20, says that Theopompus speaks of the mother of

Euripides as having been a greengrocer.

[2654] Fée identifies it with the Anthriscus odoratus of Linnæus, the

cultivated chervil. See B. xxi. c. 52.

[2655] See B. xxi. c. 65.

[2656] See B. xxi. c. 52.

[2657] This is the Caucalis grandiflora of Linnæus, Fée thinks.

[2658] “Medicine for the heart.” All these statements as to its

medicinal properties, are quite erroneous, Fée says.

[2659] “Pituitas.”

[2660] On Antidotes for the stings of serpents. See end of B. xix.

[2661] The Sium angustifolium has been named, but Fée prefers

identifying it with the Sium latifolium of Linnæus, water-parsley.

[2662] Fée says that at the present day it is held in suspicion as an

article of food, and that it is said to produce madness in ruminating

animals. He thinks it not improbable that Pliny here attributes to it

some of the properties which in reality belong to cresses.

[2663] See B. xxvi. c. 25. Sprengel identifies it with the Carduus

marianus of Linnæus. Fée inclines, however, to the belief that it is

the Sonchus palustris of Linnæus; the marsh sow-thistle.

[2664] Sprengel identifies it with the Scolymus maculatus of Linnæus,

but Fée prefers the Scolymus Hispanicus of Linnæus, the Spanish thistle.

[2665] Fée says that the Scolymus grandiflorus is still eaten in

Barbary.

[2666] The “meadow-plant.”

[2667] Works and Days, l. 582.

[2668] The Sonchus oleraceus of Linnæus, the common sow-thistle.

[2669] A poor old woman, who hospitably entertained Theseus when on his

expedition for the purpose of slaying the Marathonian bull. Theseus

instituted a sacrifice at Athens in honour of her. See Ovid, Remed. Am.

l. 747, and Callim. Fragm. 40.

[2670] The Sonchus arvensis of Linnæus, the field sow-thistle.

[2671] The Sonchus oleraceus asper of Linnæus, the prickly-leafed

sow-thistle. These plants are eaten as a salad in some countries. They

possess but little energy in a medicinal point of view, but they are

cooling and slightly laxative. The marvels here related by Pliny, Fée

says, are entirely fabulous.

[2672] Sibthorpe thinks that this is the Chondrilla ramosissima of

Linnæus; but Fée identifies it with the Chondrilla juncea of Linnæus.

The Lactuca perennis has also been suggested. See B. xxi. cc. 52 and 65.

[2673] In the Isle of Lemnos, at the present day, a milky juice is

extracted from the root of the Chondrilla juncea.

[2674] To keep the hairs in their proper place.

[2675] “Boleti.”

[2676] She having been put to death by him.

[2677] “Rimosa stria.”

[2678] This description would apply to many of the fungi known as

toadstools at the present day.

[2679] A true description, Fée says, of the agaric oronge, or the

laseras mushroom.

[2680] The true origin of fungi has not been discovered till a

comparatively recent period, since the days of Linnæus even. It is now

known that they are propagated by microscopic granules which are lodged

in particular receptacles, or else by a dissolution and dispersion of

their filamentous tissues.

[2681] “Clavus caligaris.” A nail of a caliga, or military boot. See B.

vii. c. 44, and B. ix. c. 33.

[2682] The peasants, Fée says, who are in the habit of gathering them,

may probably be better trusted than the most learned authors that

have written on the subject. He thinks it the best plan, however, to

avoid all risks, by confining ourselves to the use of the common field

mushroom, the morel, and one or two other well-known kinds.

[2683] A prejudice entirely without foundation, Fée remarks.

[2684] Fée says that from this it is evident that Pliny understands

only the stalk mushrooms under the name of “boleti;” the fungi which

adhere to trees living more years, many of them, than Pliny mentions

days.

[2685] “Ex pituita.” Fée thinks that under the name of “boleti,” Pliny

means exclusively agaries or mushrooms of the division Amanites, which

contains both the best and the most noxious kinds—the oronge for

instance, and the false oronge.

[2686] The Agaricus campestris of Linnæus, Fée thinks, our common field

mushroom, or, possibly, the Agaricus deliciosus of Linnæus.

[2687] The Agaricus procerus of Schœfer, probably, the tall columelle,

Fée thinks.

[2688] A cap worn by the Flamen; or chief-priest, of a somewhat conical

shape; very similar in form to the Russian helmet of the present day.

[2689] “Swine mushrooms.” Fée suggests that this may be the Boletus

edulis of Bulliard.

[2690] A valued friend of the philosopher Seneca, as we learn from

Tacitus, and Seneca’s Epistles, Ep. 63.

[2691] See Martial’s Epigrams, B. i. Ep. 21.

[2692] In B. xvi. c. 11. In that passage, however, the pine is

mentioned, and not the beech.

[2693] In B. xx. c. 13, _et passim_.

[2694] Fée says that the fungi are but little used in modern medicine:

the white bolet, he says, or larch bolet, is sometimes employed as a

purgative, and some German writers have spoken in praise of the Boletus

suaveolens of Bulliard as a remedy for pulmonary phthisis. The agaric

known as amadue, or German tinder, is also employed in surgery. Fée

remarks that all that Pliny says as to the medicinal properties of

mushrooms and fungi is more or less hazardous.

[2695] Rheums, or catarrhs.

[2696] See B. xxxiv. c. 50.

[2697] “Sucinis novaculis.” This may possibly mean “knives of amber;”

and it is not improbable that the use of amber may have been thought a

means of detecting the poisonous qualities of fungi.

[2698] This, as Fée remarks, is the case. All kinds of fungi, too, it

is said, may be eaten with impunity, if first boiled in salt water.

[2699] In reality, rain only facilitates their developement.

[2700] In B. xix. c. 15.

[2701] In B. xix. c. 15.

[2702] In B. xix. c. 15. Asafœtida, Fée says, if it bears any relation

to the laser of the ancients, had till very recently the reputation

of being an emmenagogue, a hydragogue, a vermifuge, and a purgative.

Applied topically, too, it is emollient, and is used for the cure of

corns and tumours. Whatever Laser may have been, there is little doubt

that much that is here stated by Pliny is either fabulous or erroneous.

[2703] “Cauterium.”

[2704] What Pliny here says of Laser, Dioscorides, B. iii. c. 94, says

of the root of Silphium.

[2705] “Dead” corns.

[2706] Or pottage—“In sorbitione.”

[2707] Probably to prevent it turning sour on the stomach.

[2708] Dioscorides, however, gives this advice, B. iii. c. 94.

[2709] In c. 56 of this Book.

[2710] It is this, in fact, combined with its utility, that ought to

cause it to be so highly esteemed.

[2711] In B. xi. c. 4, _et seq._

[2712] Bee-bread, or bee-glue.

[2713] In B. xi. c. 6. It is a vegetable substance, Fée says, not

elaborated by the bees. It is still employed in medicine, he says, for

resolutive fumigations.

[2714] The Babylonians employed it for the purpose of embalming.

[2715] It is of an emollient nature, and is preferred to sugar for

sweetening liquids, in a multitude of instances.

[2716] Fée denies this; but there is no doubt that honey has this

tendency with some persons.

[2717] Fée says that this is not the case.

[2718] In B. xi. c. 13.

[2719] In B. xxi. c. 44.

[2720] “Aqua mulsa.” See B. xiv. c. 20, where it is described as

Hydromeli, or Melicraton.

[2721] Fée says that this must have been a wholesome beverage, but

that it would cease to be so after undergoing fermentation. In the

description of its uses there are some errors, Fée says, combined with

some rational observations.

[2722] See B. xviii. c. 29; also c. 61 of this Book.

[2723] This seems to be the meaning of “præparci” here, though it

generally signifies “niggardly,” or “sordid.”

[2724] Fée combats this theory at considerable length; but there can

be little doubt that the same substance has not the same taste to all

individuals.

[2725] Seneca makes a similar observation, De Irâ, B. iii. c. 10.

[2726] “Animi seu potius animæ.”

[2727] It is the oil, Fée says, and not the hydromel, that combats the

effects of the white lead, a subcarbonate of lead.

[2728] In B. xxi. c. 105.

[2729] Mead, or metheglin.

[2730] This is, perhaps, the meaning of “nervis” here, but it is very

doubtful. See Note [312], in p. 77 of Vol. III.

[2731] “Mulsum.”

[2732] “Dulci.” Fée thinks, but erroneously, that by this word he means

“must,” or grape-juice, and combats the assertion. Honied wine, he

says, is used at the present day (in France, of course,) as a popular

cure for recent wounds and inveterate ulcers. As a beverage, it was

very highly esteemed by the ancients. See B. vii. c. 54.

[2733] “Hospes.” It may possibly mean his “guest,” but the other is

more probable.

[2734] “Intus mulso, foris oleo.” The people of Corsica were famous for

being long-lived, which was attributed to their extensive use of honey.

[2735] “Regius morbus.”

[2736] Honied wine being considered so noble a beverage, Celsus says,

that “during its cure, the patient must be kept to his chamber, and the

mind must be kept cheerful, with gaiety and pastimes, for which reason

it is called the ‘royal disease,’” B. iii. c. 24. In the text Pliny

calls it “arquatorum morbus,” the “disease of the bow-like,” if we may

be allowed the term. The origin of this term, according to Scribonius

Largus, is the word “arcus,” the rainbow, from a fancied resemblance of

the colour of the skin, when affected with jaundice, to the green tints

of the rainbow.

[2737] In B. xiv. c. 11.

[2738] In B. xi. c. 8, and B. xxi. c. 49.

[2739] When it curdles on the stomach.

[2740] In c. 49 of this Book.

[2741] “Malagmata.”

[2742] Fée, at some length, and with considerable justice, combats

this assertion; though at the same time he remarks that Pliny is right

in calling the attention of the medical world to the use of simple

substances.

[2743] “Scripulatim”—“By scruples.”

[2744] He forgets that many of them could only be produced by the

agency of an Eastern sun.

[2745] See B. xviii. c. 20.

[2746] See B. xiv. c. 5.

[2747] Fée says that it can have no such effect.

[2748] The bran of wheat, Fée says, is of a soothing nature, and that

of barley slightly astringent.

[2749] See B. xv. c. 12, and B. xvii. c. 14.

[2750] The only truth in this statement, Fée says, is, that wheat bran

makes a good gargle.

[2751] See B. xviii. c. 19.

[2752] See B. xvi. c. 80. This insect, or weevil, Fée says, is the

Calandra granaria. It strongly resembles the worm or maggot found in

nuts. It can be of no efficacy whatever for the removal of carious

teeth.

[2753] In B. xviii. c. 20.

[2754] See B. xviii. c. 13.

[2755] Or multipede. For these purposes, as Fée says, it is of no use

whatever.

[2756] It is no better, Fée says, than rye or barley-meal.

[2757] See B. xviii. cc. 19, 29.

[2758] In B. xviii. c. 29.

[2759] “Trimestris.” See B. xviii. c. 12.

[2760] Fée remarks, that this meal is still valued for its maturative

properties.

[2761] Hair-grass, probably, or darnel. See B. xviii. c. 44.

[2762] In B. xviii. c. 14. Injections of meal are still employed, Fée

says, for diarrhœa.

[2763] The flour of the grain called “far,” Fée thinks. See B. xviii.

c. 10.

[2764] This statement is probably founded upon the notion that corn has

the property of attracting liquids, even when enclosed in vessels.

[2765] A paste of this kind, if applied to a recent wound, would have

the effect of preventing cicatrization, and giving free access to the

flow of blood.

[2766] See B. xviii. c. 19.

[2767] Or “flour.” See B. xiii. c. 26.

[2768] Fée remarks, that the Greeks _were_ acquainted with alica, to

which they gave the name of χόνδρος; indeed, Galen expressly states

that it was well known in the days of Hippocrates, who says that it is

more nourishing than ptisan. Festus says that alica is so called, “quod

alit,” because it nourishes the body.—See B. xviii. c. 29.

[2769] In c. 55 of this Book.

[2770] See B. xviii. c. 24.

[2771] See B. xviii. c. 25.

[2772] “Mel frugum.”

[2773] See B. xviii. c. 22. It is still used in medicine in Egypt, and

as a cosmetic.

[2774] Or “bad habit.”

[2775] In B. xv. c. 7. See also B. xxiii. c. 49. Fée thinks it not

unlikely that oil of sesame might have this effect. The people of Egypt

still look upon this grain as an antophthalmic, but, as Fée says,

without any good reason.

[2776] “Like sesame.”

[2777] Sprengel has identified this plant, the “smaller” Sesamoides

of Dioscorides, with the Astragalus sesameus of Linnæus, or else with

the Reseda canescens. Other naturalists have mentioned the Catananche

cærulea of Linnæus, the Passerina hirsuta of Linnæus, and the Passerina

polygalæofolia of Lapeyrouse. Fée is of opinion that it has not been

identified.

[2778] Altogether a different plant; Sprengel identifies it with

the Reseda Mediterranea, but Fée dissents from that opinion, and is

inclined to agree with the opinion of Dalechamps, that it is the Daphne

Tartonraira of Linnæus, which is a strong purgative.

[2779] In B. xxv c. 106.

[2780] Fée remarks that this Chapter includes a number of gross

prejudices which it is not worth while to examine or contradict.

[2781] “Hordeum murinum.” Anguillara, Matthioli, and Sprengel identify

it with the Lolium perenne of Linnæus; but, as Fée says, it is clear

that Pliny had in view the modern Hordeum murinum, mouse-barley.

[2782] See B. xviii. c. 15.

[2783] At the present day, as Fée says, oatmeal is preferred to

barley-meal.

[2784] Being our “barley-water,” in fact.

[2785] Our “starch” probably. See B. xviii. c. 17.

[2786] A prejudice, Fée says, which is totally without foundation.

[2787] Bread, as made at the present day, is but little used in

modern medicine, beyond being the basis of many kinds of poultices. A

decoction of bread with laudanum, is known in medicine, Fée says, as

the “white decoction.”

[2788] “Unseparated from the bran.”

[2789] Probably like the military bread, made of the coarsest meal, and

unfermented.

[2790] See B. xviii. c. 12.

[2791] “Saccos.” See B. xiv. c. 28.

[2792] See B. xviii. c. 30. Bean meal is but little used in modern

medicine, but most that Pliny here says is probably well founded; with

the exception, however, of his statement as to its employment for

diseases of the chest.

[2793] Most of the properties here ascribed to the lentil, Fée says,

are quite illusory.

[2794] This, Fée remarks, is not the fact.

[2795] This statement, Fée thinks, is probably conformable with truth.

[2796] Fée remarks, that we must not confound the cholera of the

ancients with the Indian cholera, our cholera morbus. Celsus describes

the cholera with great exactness, B. iv. c. 11.

[2797] They would be of no benefit, Fée thinks, in such a case.

[2798] It bears no relation whatever to the lentil, not being a

leguminous plant. Fée would include under this head the Lemna minor,

the Lemna gibba, and the Lemna polyrrhiza of modern botany, all being

found together in the same stagnant water.

[2799] Fée remarks, that Pliny is clearly speaking of two essentially

different plants under this name; the first, he thinks, may very

probably be the Ervum tetraspermum of Linnæus.

[2800] This, Fée thinks, is the Salvia officinalis of Linnæus, our

common sage, which has no affinity whatever with the lentil.

[2801] Sprengel thinks that he is speaking here of the Salvia triloba

of Linnæus.

[2802] The Trygon pastinaca of Linnæus.

[2803] “Sage,” the plant, no doubt, that he has been describing.

[2804] See B. xviii. c. 32. Fée thinks that the wild cicer is identical

with our cultivated one, the Cicer rietinum.

[2805] See B. xviii. cc. 26 and 32.

[2806] Or “ram’s head” cicer; from its fancied resemblance to it: the

name is still given to the cultivated plant.

[2807] Or “pigeon” cicer. See B. xviii. c. 32. Fée thinks it probable

that this plant may be a variety of the Ervum.

[2808] In B. xviii. c. 38. The Ervum ervilia of Linnæus; it is no

longer employed in medicine.

[2809] Fée says that this is the case, and that the use of it is said

to produce a marked debility.

[2810] See B. xviii. c. 10.

[2811] Fée remarks that it is surprising to find the ancients setting

so much value on the lupine, a plant that is bitter and almost

nauseous, difficult to boil, and bad of digestion.

[2812] It must be the rue, Fée says, that acts as the vermifuge.

[2813] See c. 24 of this Book.

[2814] Lees of olive oil.

[2815] This is not the fact.

[2816] In B. xviii. c. 22. Racine, in his letters to Boileau, speaks of

a chorister of Notre Dame, who recovered his voice by the aid of this

plant.

[2817] It is still used, Fée says, for coughs.

[2818] In B. xviii. c. 22.

[2819] Dioscorides says, horehound. The Horminum, apparently, has not

been identified.

[2820] See B. xviii. c. 44. Darnel acts upon the brain to such an

extent as to produce symptoms like those of drunkenness; to which

property it is indebted for its French name of _ivraie_. It is no

longer used in medicine.

[2821] Georg. i. 153; “Infelix lolium, et steriles dominantur avenæ.”

[2822] Fée identifies this plant with the Cuscuta Europæa of Linnæus.

Sprengel takes it to be the Panicum verticillatum of Linnæus.

[2823] The Avena sativa of Linnæus; the cultivated oat, and not the

Greek oat of B. xviii. c. 42.

[2824] The term “locusta” has been borrowed by botanists to

characterize the fructification of gramineous plants.

[2825] In B. xviii. c. 44. The present, Fée thinks, is a different

plant from the Cuscuta Europæa, and he identifies it with the Orobanche

caryophyllacea of Smith, or else the Orobanche ramosa of Linnæus. The

Orobanche is so called from its choking (ἄγχει) the orobus or ervum. It

is also found to be injurious to beans, trefoil, and hemp. In Italy,

the stalks are eaten as a substitute for asparagus.

[2826] See B. viii. c. 43.

[2827] See B. x. c. 95, and B. xi. cc. 24, 28.

[2828] As to the beers of the ancients, see B. xiv. c. 29. Very few

particulars are known of them; but we learn from the Talmud, where

it is called _zeitham_, that zythum was an Egyptian beverage made of

barley, wild saffron, and salt, in equal parts. In the Mishna, the Jews

are enjoined not to use it during the Passover.

[2829] “Spuma;” literally, “foam.”

[2830] A physician who lived, probably, at the end of the second or the

beginning of the first century B.C., as he was one of the tutors of

Heraclides of Erythræ. His definition of the pulse has been preserved

by Galen, De Differ. Puls. B. iv. c. 10, and an anecdote of him is

mentioned by Sextus Empiricus.

[2831] See end of B. ii.

[2832] A native of Mytilene, in the island of Lesbos, the earliest of

the Æolian lyric poets. He flourished at the latter end of the seventh

century B.C. Of his Odes only a few fragments, with some Epigrams, have

come down to us.

[2833] In contradistinction to the fruits which hang from trees.

[2834] See B. xvii. c. 18.

[2835] In B. xii. cc. 60 and 61.

[2836] All this passage is found in Dioscorides, B. v. c. 1, who

probably borrowed it from the same sources as our author.

[2837] Fée remarks, that all the statements here made as to the

medicinal properties of the vine are entirely unfounded, except that

with reference to the bark of the vine: as it contains a small quantity

of tannin, it might possibly, in certain cases, arrest hæmorrhage.

[2838] This cannot be the bryony, Fée says, but simply a variety of the

grape vine with white fruit. See further in c. 5 of this Book.

[2839] “Impetigines.”

[2840] Alkaline ashes, which would differ but very little, Fée says,

from those of other vegetable productions.

[2841] This statement as to the caustic properties of the ashes is

based upon truth.

[2842] In B. xii. c. 60.

[2843] Saracenus, upon Dioscorides, B. v. c. 6, thinks that Pliny, in

copying from the Greek, has made a mistake here, and that he has taken

οὖλον, the “gums,” for οὐλὴ, a “cicatrix;” the corresponding passage in

Dioscorides being οὖλα πλαδαρὰ, “flaccidity,” or “humidity of the gums.”

[2844] In B. xii. c. 61. See also B. xiii. c. 2, B. xiv. c. 18, and

B. xv. c. 7. Œnanthe, or vine-blossom, possesses no active medicinal

properties, and the statements made here by Pliny are in all

probability unfounded.

[2845] Not the white vine, or Bryonia alba of modern botany, but

probably some variety of the cultivated vine with white fruit. The

flower of the bryony is inodorous, and would be of no utility in the

composition of perfumes.

[2846] “Pterygia.”

[2847] See B. xii. c. 61. It was prepared from vine-blossoms gathered

in Africa.

[2848] This remark is founded, in a great measure, upon fact. The skin

of the black grape contains a colouring principle in considerable

abundance, and a small proportion of tannin; that of the white grape

possesses no colouring principle, but a considerable quantity of

tannin. The white grape contains more saccharine matter than the black

one, and they are both of them of a laxative nature.

[2849] Littré remarks, that under the name of “lethargus,” a febrile

malady is probably meant, which belongs probably to the class of

pseudo-continuous fevers.

[2850] Fée thinks that in reality there can be little or no difference

in their effects, but that, being eaten in larger quantities at the

vintage than afterwards, it stands to reason that the result will be

different.

[2851] The fermentation, producing a certain amount of alcohol, would

naturally produce this result.

[2852] “Sapa:” must boiled down to one-third.

[2853] This, as Fée remarks, is quite impossible; grapes put in

rain-water would spoil immediately, and become totally unfit to eat.

[2854] By the transformation, namely, of the juices into alcohol.

[2855] See B. xiv. c. 3.

[2856] A notion quite unfounded, as Fée remarks. See B. xiv. c. 18.

[2857] A prejudice equally destitute of foundation.

[2858] Grape-stones have an astringent effect, and Fée states that in

modern times an oil is extracted from them of an agreeable flavour,

and applicable to many economical purposes. They are no longer used in

medicine.

[2859] In B. xiv. c. 22.

[2860] Hence the name “theriaca,” from θὴρ, a “wild animal,” and

ἀκέομαι, “to cure.”

[2861] By reason, probably, of their astringent properties.

[2862] Though no longer used medicinally, they are still considered to

be good pectorals.

[2863] See B. xx. cc. 23 and 81.

[2864] “Ceria;” known in modern medicine as “favus.”

[2865] The Pastinaca opopanax of Linnæus. See B. xii. c. 57.

[2866] Identified with the Delphinium staphis agria of Linnæus.

[2867] “Taminian grape.”

[2868] Or wild vine.

[2869] The fruit is formed of three oblong capsules, containing a

triangular seed of black brown colour, about the size of a kidney bean.

[2870] This is not the white vine or bryony, mentioned in c. 16 of this

Book, but the Tamus communis of Linnæus.

[2871] The seeds, which are remarkably pungent and powerful in their

effects, are only used, at the present day, in medicinal preparations

for cattle.

[2872] This is still done at the present day; to which it is indebted

for its French name _l’herbe pediculaire_, or louse-plant.

[2873] Pliny seems again to have fallen into the error of mistaking

οὖλον, the “gums” for οὐλὴ, a “cicatrix;” the corresponding passage in

Dioscorides, B. iv. c. 156, being “defluxions of the gums.”

[2874] They would be of no use whatever, Fée says, for such a purpose.

[2875] As tending to carry off “pituita,” or phlegm.

[2876] In B. xii. c. 61.

[2877] “Ampelos agria.” Fée observes, that this Chapter is full of

errors, Pliny beginning by speaking of the wild vine, the variety

Labrusca of the Vitis vinifera of Linnæus, and then proceeding to

describe what is really the Bryonia dioica of modern botany, and

applying its characteristics to the wild vine, or labrusca.

[2878] This is not the case with the wild vine.

[2879] The root of the wild vine is not of a purgative nature.

[2880] As already stated, this is not identical with the wild vine, but

is the Tamus communis of Linnæus.

[2881] The Solanum dulcamara of modern botany has been suggested;

though there is but little resemblance between the leaves of that

variety of nightshade and those of the wild vine.

[2882] The Bryonia alba of Linnæus; the bryony, white vine, or white

jalap.

[2883] This description, Fée says, is pretty correct, and the account

of its properties sufficiently exact. It is a violent poison, and is no

longer used in medicine.

[2884] It is still called by the French _navet du diable_, or devil’s

turnip.

[2885] “Exulcerant corpus.” Our author, Fée says, may here be taxed

with some exaggeration.

[2886] The fruit is no longer used for this purpose.

[2887] It is a matter of extreme doubt if there is any foundation for

this statement.

[2888] It would be productive of no good effect in such case, nor,

indeed, in most of the cases here mentioned.

[2889] “Purgat” is the reading given by Sillig; but, judging from

the corresponding passage in Dioscorides, ὑποταράττει, “turbat,” or

“conturbat,” is the proper reading.

[2890] “Pterygiis.”

[2891] This is in reality not the modern bryony, or white vine, but the

Tamus communis of Linnæus, the black vine, or _taminier_ of the French,

the uva taminia, probably, of Chapter 13.

[2892] In the last Chapter.

[2893] The shoots of the Tamus communis are still eaten in Tuscany as

a substitute for asparagus, to which, however, they are inferior in

quality. It is there known by the name of _tamaro_.

[2894] An absurdity, as Fée remarks, not worthy of discussion. The

same, too, as to the next assertion.

[2895] Of course there are as many varieties of must, or grape-juice,

as there are of wines. Must is of a purgative and emollient nature, but

is no longer employed in medicine.

[2896] See c. 30 of this Book. Of course there is little or no truth in

this assertion.

[2897] In reality it has no such effect.

[2898] See B. x. c. 86.

[2899] See B. xxii. c. 36, and B. xxx. c. 10.

[2900] In cases of poisoning by opium or hemlock, the use of it, Fée

says, would be prejudicial.

[2901] See B. xxi. c. 105.

[2902] “Toxica.”

[2903] In B. xiv. cc. 8, 9, 10. It is impossible, with any degree of

accuracy, to discuss the properties of these various wines, as they no

longer exist.

[2904] “Cognominatum” appears to be a better reading than

“cognominatus,” which Sillig has adopted; as it is much more probable

that the work received its name from the subject than that the writer

did.

[2905] All these wines are described in B. xiv.

[2906] “Nervis.” As to the meaning of this word, see B. xi. c. 88.

[2907] These wines also are described in B. xiv.

[2908] “Feritas.”

[2909] The colour of our Port.

[2910] “Apothecis.”

[2911] “Cariem trahunt.”

[2912] While the ancients thought that the cariousness or results of

old age were removed by the agency of smoke.

[2913] See B. xiv. c. 6.

[2914] “Saliva.”

[2915] In the time of the Emperor Tiberius. See B. xiv. c. 28.

[2916] Odyssey, B. iv. l. 219, _et seq._

[2917] “Sapientiam vino obumbrari.”

[2918] Works and Days, l. 594.

[2919] “Merum.”

[2920] It is surprising, as Fée says, to find coriander enumerated

among the poisons. Mistletoe, too, and mercury are neither of them

poisons. As to hemlock, see B. xiv. c. 7.

[2921] See Lucan’s Pharsalia, B. ix. ll. 722, 791.

[2922] See B. xi. c. 71.

[2923] This method is still employed with race-horses. See B. xiv. c.

28.

[2924] It is still a very prevalent notion that the growth of dogs is

stunted by giving them raw spirits.

[2925] The wines of Surrentum and Stata were Campanian wines.

[2926] “Volgo.”

[2927] “Sacco.” A strainer of linen cloth. See B. xiv. c. 28, and

B. xix. c. 19. While it diminished the strength, however, it was

considered to injure the flavour.

[2928] In that case, Fée says, they would differ but little from the

wines of the present day. See B. xiv. c. 25.

[2929] See B. xiv. c. 24.

[2930] See B. xiv. cc. 9, 10.

[2931] “Sapa.”

[2932] See B. xiv. c. 25.

[2933] Surrentine, Alban, Falernian, &c.

[2934] The colour of Tent and Burgundy.

[2935] The colour of Port.

[2936] See B. xiv. c. 25.

[2937] See B. xiv. cc. 3, 4.

[2938] See B. xiv. c. 4: Vol. III. p. 227.

[2939] “Tremore nervorum;” perhaps “nervousness.”

[2940] See B. xi. c. 71. There is little doubt that generous wine

promotes the rapid circulation of the blood.

[2941] In B. xiv. cc. 18, 19, 20.

[2942] In accordance with the suggestion of Sillig, we insert “sunt

quæ,” otherwise the passage is defective.

[2943] This would be a vigorous liquor, Fée thinks, and a good tonic;

similar, in fact, to the modern antiscorbutic wines.

[2944] Fée queries whether this was made from the fermented berries, or

from an infusion of them in wine. In the former case it would bear some

slight resemblance to our gin.

[2945] “Apsinthites.” See B. xiv. c. 19.

[2946] See B. xiii. c. 9.

[2947] In B. xiv. c. 10.

[2948] The vinegar of the present day does not appear to have any such

property.

[2949] Celsus says the same thing, B. i. c. 3.

[2950] “Posca,” or vinegar and water, sometimes mixed with eggs, was

the common drink of the lower classes at Rome, and of the soldiers when

on service.

[2951] There is little doubt that it would be advantageous to employ

vinegar in such a case; the animal would be compelled to withdraw its

hold, and vomiting would be facilitated. Strong salt and water, Fée

thinks, would be still more efficacious.

[2952] It would be of no use whatever, Fée thinks, in any of these

cases.

[2953] An operation which, though known to the Greeks and Romans,

appears to have been completely lost sight of in the middle ages.

[2954] Or leather bag, “utrem.”

[2955] See B. xxx. c. 21. From Livy and Plutarch we learn that Hannibal

employed this method of splitting the rocks when making his way across

the Alps. Fée, at considerable length, disputes the credibility of this

account, and thinks it only a wonderful story invented by the Romans to

account for their defeat by Hannibal.

[2956] See B. xix. c. 5.

[2957] Sillig has little doubt that this passage is incomplete, and

that the end of it should be to the effect, “the result of which was,

that he was effectually cured.” A very similar story is related of

Servius Clodius, a Roman knight, in B. xxv. c. 7.

[2958] In B. xx. c. 39. It is still employed in medicine; but the

statements here made, as Fée says, do not merit a serious discussion.

[2959] See B. xiv. c. 21. The modern oxymel, as Fée remarks, consists

of honey dissolved in white vinegar, and bears no resemblance to the

monstrous composition here described, and which no stomach, he says,

could possibly support.

[2960] See Lucan’s Pharsalia, B. ix. ll. 723, 776.

[2961] Fée thinks that there may be some foundation for this statement,

as vinegar acts efficaciously as a remedy to the effects of narcotic

poisons. Mistletoe, as already stated, is not a poison.

[2962] Grape-juice boiled down to one-third. See B. xiv. c. 11.

[2963] See c. 18 of this Book. The account here given of the medicinal

properties of sapa is altogether unfounded.

[2964] A worm that grows in the pine-tree, the Phalæna bombyx

pityocampa of Linnæus.

[2965] A mere absurdity, of course. See c. 18 of this Book.

[2966] The lees of wine are charged with sub-tartarate of potash, a

quantity of colouring matter more or less, and a small proportion of

wine. They are no longer used in medicine. Under the term “fæx vini,”

Pliny includes the pulp or husks of grapes after the must has been

expressed.

[2967] In consequence of the carbonic gas disengaged before the

fermentation is finished, asphyxia being the result.

[2968] By the use of this term he evidently means grape husks.

[2969] Or flower-de-luce. See B. xxi. cc. 19, 83.

[2970] Wine-lees would only have the effect of increasing the

inflammation.

[2971] See B. xxiv. c. 67.

[2972] Their properties are similar to those of wine-lees, but they are

no longer used in medicine. The statements here made by our author, Fée

remarks, are entirely fabulous.

[2973] Or horned serpent. See B. xi. c. 45.

[2974] See B. xx. c. 71.

[2975] This, as Fée observes, is probably the case.

[2976] It must be remembered that red hair was greatly admired by the

Romans.

[2977] The thicker parts of boiled grape-juice. These lees have no

affinity with those of wine or vinegar.

[2978] They are rich in tannin and gallic acid, and Fée states that

they have been proposed as a substitute for quinine. The statements

here made by Pliny, he says, in reference to their properties, are

hypothetical.

[2979] “Nervosis.”

[2980] No medicinal use is now made of it, but its properties would be

very similar to those of the leaves.

[2981] Impure metallic oxide. See B. xix. c. 4, and B. xxxiv. c. 52.

The ashes of the branches would be an impure sub-carbonate of potass,

which would act, Fée says, as a powerful irritant.

[2982] A sort of pyroligneous acid, which would have the noxious effect

of throwing inward the eruptions.

[2983] This juice or tear (lacrima) Fée thinks to be the same with the

Enhæmon, mentioned in B. xii. c. 38; the properties of which are quite

inactive, though Dioscorides, B. i. c. 139, speaks of it as a poison.

[2984] Probably in consequence of the tannin and gallic acid, which it

contains in great abundance.

[2985] Fée says that all these statements as to the medicinal

properties of olives are false.

[2986] Or preserved olives. See B. xv. c. 4.

[2987] B. xv. c. 8.

[2988] Fée thinks that it would exercise quite a contrary effect. Marc

of olives is no longer used in medicine.

[2989] It would produce no good effect in the treatment of ulcers.

[2990] Fée remarks that it would have no such effect.

[2991] See B. xii. c. 60.

[2992] See B. xxii. c. 21.

[2993] Fée thinks that it might prove useful in this case.

[2994] Unboiled.

[2995] See c. 35. There is no analogy, Fée says, between marc of olives

and the leaves of the wild olive.

[2996] This is hardly a peculiarity, for he has said already that the

cultivated olive is employed with honey to arrest the flow of blood.

[2997] The tannin which it contains in great abundance may possibly

have this effect.

[2998] In B. xv. c. 2.

[2999] See B. xii. c. 60.

[3000] See B. xii. c. 60. An inferior kind of omphacium.

[3001] “Non mordeat.” Probably in the sense of “have no pungency.”

[3002] Or “Œnanthinum.” See B. xii. c. 61, and B. xv. c. 7.

[3003] See c. 30 of this Book.

[3004] Fée remarks, that a modern physician would dread to administer

such a dose, rue being a very dangerous plant in its effects. He also

remarks that it is doubtful whether Pliny is speaking throughout this

Chapter of olive oil or of oil of œnanthe; and such is the fact, though

most probably the latter is intended to be spoken of.

[3005] “Ptisanæ succo.”

[3006] Fée thinks that it can have no such efficacy, whether it be

olive oil or oil of œnanthe that is the subject of discussion.

[3007] “Acapni.” See B. xi. c. 15.

[3008] “Oleum cicinum.” See B. xv. c. 7.

[3009] It is still used in medicine for the same purpose.

[3010] “Præcordia;” either the diaphragm, or the parts above it, such

as the heart and chest.

[3011] See B. ix. c. 52.

[3012] See B. xv. c. 7.

[3013] Fée is at a loss to know how these wicks could have been made:

most probably, however, the seeds were beaten up into a pulp for the

purpose. The oil is still used for lamps in some countries, though, as

Pliny says, in consequence of its extreme thickness, the light it gives

is not good.

[3014] “A sole ustis.” Not _coup de soleil_, or “sun-stroke,” as Littré

renders it. Oil of almonds is still a favourite ingredient in cosmetics.

[3015] There is no truth, Fée says, in this assertion.

[3016] Fixed oil of laurel contains a certain proportion of volatile

oil, to which it is indebted for the excellence of its smell. It is

still used as a liniment for rheumatic pains and other affections.

[3017] As prepared by the ancients, it has no analogous properties with

oil of laurel. Myrtle oil is no longer used in medicine.

[3018] Such is not the case.

[3019] The wild myrtle, or little holly. See B. xv. c. 7. The oil would

be inodorous, and not possessed, as Pliny says, of properties similar

to those of oil of myrtle.

[3020] See B. xv. c. 7. Fée thinks that it may have possibly been

prepared from a decoction of leaves of cypress.

[3021] See B. xiii. cc. 1. 29, and B. xv. c. 7.

[3022] See B. xv. c. 7. Oil of walnuts is used but little in medicine

at the present day, but it is employed for numerous other purposes.

[3023] “Granum Cnidium.” See B. xv. c. 7.

[3024] It would only resemble castor oil in its drastic properties; the

latter is a fixed natural oil, the former an artificial one.

[3025] See B. xv. c. 7. An oil is still extracted in Italy from the

fruit of the Pistacia lentiscus; but it is no longer used in medicine.

[3026] From the Greek ἄκοπος, “relieving weariness.”

[3027] Or “ben.” See B. xii c. 46, and B. xv. c. 7. Oil of ben is still

made, but it has no such effects as those mentioned by our author.

[3028] Pliny appears to have made the same error here in compiling from

the Greek, as he has done in Chapters 4 and 13, in mistaking the Greek

word signifying “scars,” for that meaning “gums.”

[3029] In B. xii. c. 51, and B. xv. c. 7.

[3030] The cyprus, or henna, is but little known in Europe: but it

is employed for many purposes in the East. The leaves, which have a

powerful smell, are used for the purpose of dyeing and staining various

parts of the body.

[3031] Pliny has most probably committed an error here in mentioning

the “strutheum,” or sparrow-quince; for the corresponding passage in

Dioscorides, B. i. c. 124, speaks of the “struthion,” the Gypsophila

struthium of Linnæus, or possibly, as Littré thinks, the Saponaria

officinalis. See B. xix. c. 18.

[3032] This, Fée thinks, may probably be the case.

[3033] See B. xv. c. 7.

[3034] In B. xii. c. 54. Balm of Mecca, Fée says, possesses properties

little different from the turpentines extracted from the Coniferæ.

[3035] “Tremulis.”

[3036] In B. xii. c. 59. Whatever malobathrum may have been, this was

an artificial oil, no doubt.

[3037] “Hyoscyaminum.” A fixed oil with narcotic properties, and most

probably, highly dangerous in its effects.

[3038] From the Greek θέρμος, a lupine.

[3039] In B. xxi. c. 75.

[3040] A fixed oil, charged with a small proportion of essential oil.

[3041] Fée is of opinion that applied to the body it would exterminate

vermin.

[3042] Malignant cancer.

[3043] In B. xxi. c. 11.

[3044] In B. xv. c. 7.

[3045] Similar, probably, to the narcotic oil, or _baume tranquille_ of

the French.

[3046] See B. xv. c. 7.

[3047] In B. xv. c. 7.

[3048] Probably because its oleaginous properties would tend to prevent

imbibition and absorption, while its narcotic qualities would in some

degree neutralize the strength of the wine. Almonds have a somewhat

similar effect.

[3049] “Pissinum.” See B. xv. c. 7.

[3050] This is not the fact.

[3051] On the contrary, they are used at the present day as a pectoral;

and many so-called pectoral sirops are prepared from them.

[3052] See B. vi. c. 37, and B. xiii. c. 9.

[3053] They have no properties, when burnt, to distinguish them from

the ashes of other vegetables.

[3054] Impure metallic oxide.

[3055] “Calliblephara.”

[3056] See B. xii. cc. 46, 47.

[3057] Fée is of opinion that this is not the “myrobalanum” of B. xii.

c. 46, the behen or ben nut, but the phœnicobalanus of c. 47 in that

Book; and, indeed, there can be little doubt that Pliny has committed

an error here in substituting one for the other.

[3058] “Ciet,” “promote,” is the reading adopted by Sillig, but

“sistit” is supported by the parallel passage in Dioscorides.

[3059] See B. xii. c. 62, and the Note, in reference to the mistake

which Pliny appears to have committed in reference to this term.

[3060] In reality, it is quite inert.

[3061] In consequence of the malic and tartaric acid which they contain.

[3062] Quinces are of an astringent nature; and an astringent sirop,

Fée says, is still prepared from them.

[3063] They are no longer used for this purpose.

[3064] Fée observes that it has no such effect.

[3065] B. xiii. c. 2.

[3066] Or “sparrow-quince.” See B. xv. c. 10.

[3067] He states this so gravely, that he would almost appear to

believe it.

[3068] “Honey apples.” See B. xv. c. 15, where this apple is also

called the “musteum.”

[3069] A purgative sirop of apples, causing thirst, was made by the

ancients, the receipt for which was attributed to King Sapor.

[3070] Or “round” apples. See B. xv. c. 15.

[3071] See B. xii. c. 7.

[3072] See B. xi. c. 15, and B. xii. c. 7.

[3073] As Fée says, this observation is quite unaccountable. He queries

whether a sweet fruit may not possibly be meant, the sweet lime, for

instance, the flavour of which is very sickly, and would require to be

heightened by the assistance of an acid.

[3074] See B. xiii. c. 34; where, however, he has only distinguished

them according to their flavour, sweet, vinous, &c.

[3075] “Without pips.” See B. xiii. c. 34.

[3076] This and the previous precaution given, Fée considers to be mere

puerilities.

[3077] Than that of the ordinary grape, probably.

[3078] See B. xiii. c. 34.

[3079] The “leather apple,” apparently. It is more probable, as

Hardouin says, that it was so called from the toughness of the rind.

[3080] “Pterygiis.”

[3081] See B. ix. c. 72, and B. xxxii. c. 3.

[3082] “Alumen scissum.” See B. xxxi. c. 39, and B. xxxv. c. 52.

[3083] See B. xii. c. 15, and B. xxiv. c. 77.

[3084] An absurd notion, without any apparent foundation.

[3085] All vegetable productions rich in tannin are thought to possess

the property of acting as a vermifuge.

[3086] The calyx of the blossom of the pomegranate. Its properties are

remarkably astringent.

[3087] This would be nearly an impossibility, as the calyx is hard and

coriaceous, and of considerable size. Nothing, however, is allowed to

stand in the way of superstition.

[3088] “Ipsa corpuscula.” The _exact_ meaning of this expression is

somewhat doubtful: Hardouin takes it to be the lower part of the

cytinus.

[3089] In B. xiii. c. 34.

[3090] The corolla of the flower. Dioscorides, B. i. c. 152, makes

the “balaustium” to be the blossom of the wild pomegranate, and the

“cytinus” to be that of the cultivated fruit. Theophrastus, however,

and Galen, give the same account of the cytinus as Pliny. Holland has

this quaint marginal Note on the passage: “Here is Pliny out of the

way;” not improbably in reference to the statement of Dioscorides.

[3091] Or Quinarius. See Introduction to Vol. III.

[3092] These statements, Fée says, are quite unfounded.

[3093] See B. xii. c. 15, and B. xxiv. c. 77.

[3094] Fée thinks that there is no doubt that this was really the

pomegranate, left to grow wild. Dalechamps and Fée suggest that, misled

by the resemblance of the Greek names, Pliny has here attributed to the

wild pomegranate the properties attributed to the red poppy, or corn

poppy. Hardouin, however, is not of that opinion, and thinks that the

mention of the _roots_ of the plant proves that Pliny has not committed

any error here; as in B. xx. c. 77, he has attributed the narcotic

effects of the poppy to the head only.

[3095] This depends considerably, as Fée says, upon the kind of pear.

[3096] See B. xv. c. 16.

[3097] There is no truth whatever in this statement.

[3098] They are equally inefficacious for the purpose,

[3099] See B. xxiv. c. 1. An absurdity, upon which Fée has uselessly

expended a dozen lines of indignation.

[3100] In reality it has no affinity with vinegar or any other acid,

and the fact that it curdles milk is no proof whatever that such is the

case.

[3101] See B. xviii. c. 17.

[3102] Being of a caustic nature, it might have this effect, Fée

thinks. It is, however, no longer employed in medicine. He is also of

opinion that the juice of the fig-tree might be useful in making cheese.

[3103] Here, also, the caustic nature of their juices might render them

useful.

[3104] “Ceria:” now known in surgery as “favus.”

[3105] This and the next statement are equally untrue.

[3106] See B. xv. c. 19.

[3107] “Medicatæ.” See B. xvi. c. 51.

[3108] They produce heart-burn and flatulency.

[3109] “Ad carnes eos transtulit.” Dalechamps takes this to mean

“showed them that the flesh was increased by eating figs.” This

Pythagoras was probably the Samian pugilist who gained a victory in Ol.

48.

[3110] This herb is rich in mucilage, and of a soothing nature.

[3111] “Æris flore.”

[3112] “Pterygiis.”

[3113] This is the case, as they are remarkably rich in alkaline salts.

The assertion, however, as to their properties, is, as Fée says,

hypothetical.

[3114] “Thymos.”

[3115] Metallic ashes, or dross. See B. xxxiv. c. 52.

[3116] “Suavitatem.” Fée is justly at a loss to understand how this

could be. It is doubtful whether Pliny does not mean that by the use of

this substance meat was _kept fresh_.

[3117] See B. xviii. c. 17.

[3118] Fée thinks that, owing to its acridity, it may possibly have

this effect.

[3119] There is probably no foundation for this statement.

[3120] Favus.

[3121] Plutarch, Sympos. ii. 7, tells the same absurd story.

[3122] To “erineon,” the Greek for wild fig.

[3123] Supposed to be the Campanula rapunculus of Linnæus, the rampion;

though Fée expresses some doubts. Guilandin has suggested the Hieracium

Sabaudum of Linnæus, an opinion which Fée thinks not altogether

destitute of probability.

[3124] The leaves of this tree contain a large proportion of tannin, to

which they owe their astringent properties.

[3125] Prunes, the produce of the plum-tree, called the plum of Saint

Julien, are still used as a purgative.

[3126] A most singular assertion, as Fée says, and one that universal

experience proves to be unfounded.

[3127] On the contrary, it quenches thirst.

[3128] Fée thinks that, owing to the hydro-cyanic acid which the

kernels contain, there may possibly be some foundation for this

statement of their curative effects.

[3129] Both the root and the fruit are of an astringent nature. From

this fruit an extract is prepared, Fée says, rich in tannin, and called

in France Acacia nostras, from its resemblance to the juice of the

Egyptian Acacia.

[3130] “Limus.” Fée thinks that this may possibly be the Evernia

prunastri of modern botany. It has been suggested, however, that Pliny

has committed an error here, and that in copying from the Greek source

he has mistaken the author’s mention of the cure of lichens by the gum

of the plum-tree, for an account of a lichen which grows on the tree.

Such, in fact, is the statement of Dioscorides in B. i. c. 174, though

he does not mention chaps and condylomata.

[3131] In B. xiii. cc, 14, 15, where he calls it a fig-tree. He alludes

to the sycamore.

[3132] See B. xvi. c. 72.

[3133] This statement is entirely unfounded.

[3134] Considering that the leaves and bark are rich in tannin and

gallic acid, it might be worth while to ascertain if there is any truth

in this assertion.

[3135] But Horace says, Sat. B. ii. s. 4, l. 22, that mulberries are

remarkably wholesome as a dessert.

[3136] In B. xvi. c. 41.

[3137] “All-healing,” “mouth-medicine,” and “medicine for the trachea.”

[3138] See B. xii. c. 60. A rob, or sirop of mulberries is prepared for

much the same purposes at the present day, but without the omphacium,

myrrh, or saffron. An “arteriace” is also mentioned in B. xx. c. 79.

[3139] Hermolaüs Barbarus is possibly right in suggesting “cytini,”

which name has been previously mentioned in connection with the calyx

of the pomegranate.

[3140] From the account given by Dioscorides, B. i. c. 181, this

appears to he the meaning of the passage, which is very elliptically

expressed, if, indeed, it is not imperfect.

[3141] In a powdered state, probably, as mentioned by Dioscorides.

[3142] The use of the word “conluebant” would almost make it appear

that he is speaking of a liquid.

[3143] The juice (if, indeed, Pliny intends to specify it as an

ingredient) will not, as Fée remarks, combine with oil. Dioscorides

says, B. i. c. 180, that the _leaves_ are bruised and applied with oil

to burns.

[3144] Black cherries, Fée says, bigaroons, and others, with a firm

flesh, are the most unwholesome. See B. xv. c. 30.

[3145] This property. Fée says, is attributed by some, in modern times,

not to the flesh, or pericarpus of the cherry, but to the stalks of the

fruit.

[3146] See B. xv. c. 22.

[3147] See B. xv. c. 23.

[3148] They are no longer used in medicine, Fée says, but the buds of

the pine and fir, the properties of which are analogous, are still

used, though not in cases of hæmoptysis.

[3149] In a rancid state particularly, they would have this effect.

[3150] Fée thinks that the mixture might be useful in these cases.

[3151] See B. xv. c. 24.

[3152] “Hilariorem.” At the present day it is not a decoction of the

root, but the fixed oil of the kernels, that is used as a cosmetic; for

which purpose it is used with oil of sweet almonds and wax.

[3153] Their narcotic effect is owing to the prussic, or hydro-cyanic,

acid which they contain.

[3154] Almonds were a favourite food with the monks in the middle ages;

not improbably because they tended to dispel the fumes of wine. Almond

milk, similar to our custard, was a standing dish at their “charities”

and anniversaries.

[3155] See B. xviii. c. 17.

[3156] They would be of no use whatever in these cases.

[3157] Otherwise turpentine.

[3158] See B. xxii. c. 71.

[3159] See Note [3154] above. Plutarch tells us that Drusus, the

brother of Tiberius, one of the greatest drinkers of his time, used

almonds for this purpose. Fée will not believe that they have any such

preventive effect.

[3160] Almonds will kill small animals, birds, for instance.

[3161] They are much more used in modern medicine than bitter almonds.

[3162] There is some ground, Fée says, for this assertion.

[3163] See B. xv. c. 24, where Pliny expresses himself at a loss as to

their identification.

[3164] See B. xv. c. 24.

[3165] Κάρυα, from κάρος, “heaviness,” or κάρη, the “head.” See Vol.

III. p. 316.

[3166] A mere prejudice, no doubt.

[3167] The rancidity of the oil which they contain, renders them

irritating to the throat and stomach.

[3168] Fée remarks, that it is difficult to see how this could be done.

[3169] This statement, as Fée remarks, is quite unfounded.

[3170] This assertion is also entirely imaginary.

[3171] “Cortex juglandium.” Fée says that by this term is meant, not

the green outer shell, husk, or pericarpus of the walnut, but the bark

of the tree.

[3172] This asserted use of them has not been verified by modern

experience.

[3173] The various receipts for the preparation of this Mithridate

or antidote differ very widely; and, indeed, the probability is, as

Dr. Heberden says, that Mithridates was as much a stranger to his own

antidote, as modern physicians have since been to the medicines daily

advertised under their names. Mithridates is said to have so fortified

himself against all noxious drugs and poisons, that none would produce

any effect when he attempted to destroy himself—a mere fable, no doubt.

[3174] This, we are told by Galen, was regularly done by the Emperor

Marcus Aurelius, De Antid. B. i. c. i.

[3175] See B. xv. c. 24.

[3176] An emulsion of them fresh, with honey, might be useful, Fée

thinks, in such a case.

[3177] Either of these additions would certainly neutralize the good

effects of the emulsion. The addition of raisin wine, however, is

recommended by Dioscorides.

[3178] See B. xiii. c. 10.

[3179] They are of no efficacy whatever for such a purpose.

[3180] See B. xv. c. 25. They are no longer used in medicine, and,

as Fée says, it is extremely doubtful if they possess any of the

properties here attributed to them.

[3181] They are still looked upon as very nourishing, as, indeed, is

the case with all the feculent fruits.

[3182] See B. xv. c. 26.

[3183] They are productive of colic and diarrhœa.

[3184] See B. xiii. c. 16.

[3185] See B. xv. c. 31.

[3186] The juice of the sap would, to all appearance, produce an

acetate or oxide of iron.

[3187] See B. xv. c. 28.

[3188] All parts of the laurel, the berries in particular, are

impregnated with an essential oil with a powerful odour and of an

exciting nature. Upon this volatile principle, and nothing else, the

whole of its medicinal properties are based.

[3189] This assertion, Fée says, is no better than fabulous.

[3190] See Lucan’s Pharsalia, B. ix. ll. 723, 776.

[3191] See the Pharsalia, B. ix. l. 719.

[3192] “Irino.” See B. xiii. c. 2.

[3193] This assertion, Fée says, is untrue.

[3194] See B. xv. c. 39.

[3195] All these statements as to the properties of the berries, Fée

says, are hypothetical and more than doubtful.

[3196] The Laurus nobilis of modern botany.

[3197] A statement, Fée says, that is altogether illusory.

[3198] Of the berries, Fée thinks.

[3199] See c. 45 of this Book; also B. xxvii. c. 13.

[3200] Fée thinks that this oil, in conjunction with adipose

substances, might be useful for the treatment of rheumatic affections.

[3201] The Ruscus hypophyllum of Linnæus. It is quite inodorous, Fée

says, and has no analogous properties whatever with the next-mentioned

plant.

[3202] See B. xv. c. 39.

[3203] In B. xv. c. 39.

[3204] The peasantry of France, Fée says, still use as a purgative the

berries of the Daphne mezereum, and of the Daphne laureola; and in

Aragon and Catalonia, the leaves of the Thymelea are used for a similar

purpose. The employment of them, however, is not unattended with danger.

[3205] A variety with white berries, but which variety it appears

impossible to say.

[3206] See B. xv. c. 37.

[3207] The leaves and berries are bitter, and rich in volatile oil.

[3208] This is consistent with fact.

[3209] A work of some kind, (perhaps a play, if the comic writer,

Menander, is the person alluded to) the title of which means “the Women

Dining together.” Hardouin, with justice, ridicules the notion of

Ortelius that this is the name of some place or town.

[3210] The astringency communicated by the tannin which they contain

would probably make them useful for dysentery; if at the same time, as

Fée says, they are not too exciting, by reason of their essential oil.

[3211] See B. xi. c. 71.

[3212] “Succus seminis.” Sillig has “succus feminis,” apparently a

misprint—the only one that has been met with thus far in his elaborate

edition.

[3213] It might change the colour of the hair, but for a short time

only.

[3214] See B. xv. c. 37.

[3215] Cerates, or adipose or oleaginous plasters.

[3216] In reality they have no such effect.

[3217] “Pterygia.”

[3218] Fée says here—“Pliny terminates, by a credulity quite unworthy

of him, a Chapter, full of false or exaggerated assertions, relative to

the properties of the myrtle.”

[3219] Or “myrtle-wine.” See B. xiv. c. 19; also B. xv. c. 35.

[3220] “Alarum perfusiones.”

[3221] See B. xv. cc. 7, 37: the Ruscus aculeatus of Linnæus, or little

holly of the French, belonging to the Asparagea, and not the myrtles.

[3222] Being of the same family, of course there is a great resemblance.

[3223] In reality they have no such lithotriptic nature, Fée says.

[3224] A kindred plant with the one already mentioned by our author: it

is still used for making brooms in some parts of Europe.

[3225] See end of B. xx.

[3226] See end of B. xiv.

[3227] See end of B. xii.

[3228] See end of B. xx.

[3229] See end of B. xx.

[3230] See end of B. ii.

[3231] See end of B. vii.

[3232] For Fabianus Papirius, see end of B. ii; for Fabianus Sabinus,

see end of B. xviii.

[3233] See end of B. iii.

[3234] See end of B. ii.

[3235] See end of B. xx.

[3236] See end of B. ii.

[3237] See end of B. viii.

[3238] See end of B. xix.

[3239] See end of B. viii.

[3240] See end of B. vii.

[3241] See end of B. xxi.

[3242] See end of B. xxi.

[3243] See end of B. xxi.

[3244] See end of B. xxi.

[3245] See end of B. iv.

[3246] See end of B. xxi.

[3247] See end of B. xxi.

[3248] See end of B. xxi.

[3249] See end of B. vii.

[3250] See end of B. xx.

[3251] See end of B. xx.

[3252] See end of B. xx.

[3253] See end of B. xii.

[3254] See end of B. xv.

[3255] See end of B. xii.

[3256] See end of B. xx.

[3257] See end of B. xx.

[3258] See end of B. xx.

[3259] See end of B. xx.

[3260] See end of B. xx.

[3261] See end of B. xx.

[3262] See end of B. xx.

[3263] See end of B. vii.

[3264] See end of B. xx.

[3265] See end of B. xx.

[3266] See end of B. xii.

[3267] See end of B. xi.

[3268] See end of B. xii.

[3269] See end of B. xx.

[3270] See end of B. xii.

[3271] See end of B. xx.

[3272] See end of B. xx.

[3273] See end of B. vi.

[3274] See end of B. xx.

[3275] See end of B. xx.

[3276] See end of B. xx.

[3277] See end of B. xx.

[3278] See end of B. xii.

[3279] See end of B. xx.

[3280] See end of B. xx.

[3281] See end of B. xix.

[3282] See end of B. xx.

[3283] See end of B. xx.

[3284] See end of B. xx.

END OF VOL. IV.

J. BILLING, PRINTER AND STEREOTYPER, WOKING, SURREY.

Transcriber’s Notes:—

The spelling, hyphenation, punctuation and accentuation are as the

original, except for apparent typographical errors which have been

silently corrected.

The footnotes for each of the six volumes have been renumbered, the

references to notes in other volumes have been changed accordingly.

Footnote [2369] in the original incorrectly reads:—

The Solanum nigrum of Linnæus, or black night-shade. See B. xxiii. c.

108.

This has been changed to:—

The Solanum nigrum of Linnæus, or black night-shade. See B. xxi. c.

108.