BOOK XVI.

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE FOREST TREES.

CHAP. 1.—COUNTRIES THAT HAVE NO TREES.

We have given the precedence in this account to the fruit-trees

and others which, by their delicious juices, first taught man to

give a relish to his food and the various aliments requisite for

his sustenance, whether it is that they spontaneously produce these

delightful flavours, or whether we have imparted them by the methods

of adoption and intermarriage,[2191] thus bestowing a favour, as it

were, upon the very beasts and birds. The next thing, then, would be

to speak of the glandiferous trees, the trees which proffered the

earliest nutriment to the appetite of man, and proved themselves his

foster-mothers in his forlorn and savage state—did I not feel myself

constrained on this occasion to make some mention of the surprise which

I have felt on finding by actual experience what is the life of mortals

when they inhabit a country that is without either tree or shrub.

(1.) I have already stated[2192] that in the East many nations that

dwell on the shores of the ocean are placed in this necessitous

state; and I myself have personally witnessed the condition of the

Chauci,[2193] both the Greater and the Lesser, situate in the regions

of the far North. In those climates a vast tract of land, invaded

twice each day and night by the overflowing waves of the ocean, opens

a question that is eternally proposed to us by Nature, whether these

regions are to be looked upon as belonging to the land, or whether as

forming a portion of the sea?

Here a wretched race is found, inhabiting either the more elevated

spots of land, or else eminences artificially constructed, and of a

height to which they know by experience that the highest tides will

never reach. Here they pitch their cabins; and when the waves cover

the surrounding country far and wide, like so many mariners on board

ship are they: when, again, the tide recedes, their condition is that

of so many shipwrecked men, and around their cottages they pursue

the fishes as they make their escape with the receding tide. It is

not their lot, like the adjoining nations, to keep any flocks for

sustenance by their milk, nor even to maintain a warfare with wild

beasts, every shrub, even, being banished afar. With the sedge[2194]

and the rushes of the marsh they make cords, and with these they

weave the nets employed in the capture of the fish; they fashion the

mud,[2195] too, with their hands, and drying it by the help of the

winds more than of the sun, cook their food by its aid, and so warm

their entrails, frozen as they are by the northern blasts; their

only[2196] drink, too, is rain-water, which they collect in holes dug

at the entrance of their abode: and yet these nations, if this very day

they were vanquished by the Roman people, would exclaim against being

reduced[2197] to slavery! Be it so, then—Fortune is most kind to many,

just when she means to punish them.[2198]

CHAP. 2.—WONDERS CONNECTED WITH TREES IN THE NORTHERN REGIONS.

Another marvel, too, connected with the forests! They cover all

the rest of Germany, and by their shade augment the cold. But the

highest of them all are those not far distant from the Chauci already

mentioned, and more particularly in the vicinity of the two lakes[2199]

there. The very shores are lined with oaks,[2200] which manifest an

extraordinary eagerness to attain their growth: undermined by the

waves or uprooted by the blasts, with their entwining roots they carry

vast forests along with them, and, thus balanced, stand upright as

they float along, while they spread afar their huge branches like

the rigging of so many ships. Many is the time that these trees have

struck our fleets with alarm, when the waves have driven them, almost

purposely it would seem, against their prows as they stood at anchor in

the night; and the men, destitute of all remedy and resource, have had

to engage in a naval combat with a forest of trees!

(2.) In the same northern regions, too, is the Hercynian[2201] Forest,

whose gigantic oaks,[2202] uninjured by the lapse of ages, and

contemporary with the creation of the world, by their near approach

to immortality surpass all other marvels known. Not to speak of other

matters that would surpass all belief, it is a well-known fact that

their roots,[2203] as they meet together, upheave vast hills; or, if

the earth happens not to accumulate with them, rise aloft to the very

branches even, and, as they contend for the mastery, form arcades, like

so many portals thrown open, and large enough to admit of the passage

of a squadron of horse.

(3.) All these trees, in general, belong to the glandiferous

class,[2204] and have ever been held in the highest honour by the Roman

people.

CHAP. 3. (4.)—THE ACORN OAK. THE CIVIC CROWN.

It is with the leaves of this class of trees that our civic crown

is made, the most glorious reward that can be bestowed on military

valour, and, for this long time past, the emblem of the imperial[2205]

clemency; since the time, in fact, when, after the impiety of civil

war, it was first deemed a meritorious action not to shed the blood

of a fellow-citizen. Far inferior to this in rank are the mural[2206]

crown, the vallar,[2207] and the golden[2208] one, superior though

they may be in the value of the material: inferior, too, in merit,

is the rostrate[2209] crown, though ennobled, in recent times more

particularly, by two great names, those of M. Varro,[2210] who was

presented with it by Pompeius Magnus, for his great achievements in the

Piratic War, and of M. Agrippa, on whom it was bestowed by Cæsar, at

the end of the Sicilian War, which was also a war against pirates.

In former days the beaks[2211] of vessels, fastened in front of the

tribunal, graced the Forum, and seemed, as it were, a crown placed

upon the head of the Roman people itself. In later times, however,

they began to be polluted and trodden under foot amid the seditious

movements of the tribunes, the public interest was sacrificed to

private advantage, each citizen sought solely his own advancement, and

everything looked upon as holy was abandoned to profanation—still, from

amid all this, the Rostra[2212] emerged once again, and passed from

beneath the feet of the citizens to their heads. Augustus presented

to Agrippa the rostrate crown, while he himself received the civic

crown[2213] at the hands of all mankind.

CHAP. 4.—THE ORIGIN OF THE PRESENTATION OF CROWNS.

In ancient times crowns[2214] were presented to none but a divinity,

hence it is that Homer[2215] awards them only to the gods of heaven

and to the entire army; but never to an individual, however great his

achievements in battle may have been. It is said, too, that Father

Liber was the first of all who placed a crown on his head, and that it

was made of ivy.[2216] In succeeding times, those engaged in sacrifices

in honour of the gods began to wear them, the victims being decked

with wreaths as well. More recently, again, they were employed in the

sacred games;[2217] and at the present day they are bestowed on such

occasions, not upon the victor, indeed, but upon his country, which

receives, it is proclaimed, this crown at his hands.[2218] Hence arose

the usage of conferring wreaths upon warriors when about to enjoy a

triumph, for them to consecrate in the temples: after which it became

the custom to present them at our games. It would be a lengthy matter,

and, indeed, foreign to the purpose of this work, to enter upon a

discussion who was the first Roman that received each kind of crown;

in fact, they were acquainted with none but such as were given as the

reward of military prowess. It is a well-known fact, however, that this

people has more varieties of crowns than those of all other nations put

together.

CHAP. 5.—PERSONS PRESENTED WITH A CROWN OF LEAVES.

Romulus presented Hostus Hostilius[2219] with a crown of leaves, for

being the first to enter Fidenæ. This Hostus was the grandfather of

King Tullus Hostilius. P. Decius the elder, the military tribune, was

presented with a crown of leaves by the army which had been saved by

his valour, under the command of Cornelius Cossus,[2220] the consul,

in the war with the Samnites. This crown was made at first of the

leaves of the holm oak, but afterwards those of the æsculus[2221] were

preferred, as being a tree sacred to Jupiter: this, however, was soon

employed indifferently with the quercus, according as each might

happen to present itself, the honourable distinction given to the acorn

being the only thing observed. Rigorous laws were, however, enacted,

to maintain the lofty glories of this wreath, by which it was placed

upon an equality even with the supreme honours of the wreath that is

given by Greece in presence of Jove[2222] himself, and to receive

which the exulting city of the victor is wont to break[2223] a passage

through its very walls. These laws are to the effect that the life of

a fellow-citizen must be preserved, and an enemy slain; that the spot

where this takes place must have been held by the enemy that same day;

that the person saved shall admit the fact, other witnesses being of no

use at all; and that the person saved shall have been a Roman citizen.

To preserve an ally merely, even though it should be the life of a

king that is so saved, confers no right to this high reward, nor is

the honour at all increased, even if it is the Roman general that has

been thus preserved, it being the intention of the framers of the law

that it should be the status of the citizen that is everything. When a

man has received this wreath, it is his privilege to wear it for the

rest of his life. When he makes his appearance at the celebration of

the games,[2224] it is customary for the Senate even to rise from their

seats, and he has the right of taking his seat next to the senators.

Exemption, too, from all civic duties is conferred upon him as well

as his father and his father’s father. Siccius Dentatus, as we have

already mentioned[2225] on an appropriate occasion, received fourteen

civic crowns, and Manlius Capitolinus[2226] six,[2227] one, among the

rest, for having saved the life of his general, Servilius. Scipio

Africanus declined to accept the civic crown for having saved the life

of his father at the battle of Trebia. Times these, right worthy of

our everlasting admiration, which accorded honour alone as the reward

of exploits so mighty, and which, while other crowns were recommended

by being made of gold, disdained to set a price upon the safety of a

citizen, and loudly proclaimed thereby that it is unrighteous to save

the life of a man for motives of lucre.

CHAP. 6. (5.)—THIRTEEN VARIETIES OF THE ACORN.

It is a well-known fact that acorns[2228] at this very day constitute

the wealth of many nations, and that, too, even amid these times of

peace. Sometimes, also, when there is a scarcity of corn they are dried

and ground, the meal being employed for making a kind of bread. Even

to this very day, in the provinces of Spain,[2229] we find the acorn

introduced at table in the second course: it is thought to be sweeter

when roasted in the ashes. By the law of the Twelve Tables, there is a

provision made that it shall be lawful for a man to gather his acorns

when they have fallen upon the land of another.

The varieties of the glandiferous trees are numerous, and they are

found to differ in fruit, locality, sex, and taste; the acorn of the

beech having one shape, that of the quercus another, and that, again,

of the holm-oak another. The various species also, among themselves,

offer a considerable number of varieties. In addition to this, some

of these trees are of a wild nature, while the fruits of others are

of a less acrid flavour, owing to a more careful cultivation. Then,

too, there is a difference between the varieties which grow on the

mountains and those of the plains; the males differ from the females,

and there are considerable modifications in the flavour of their fruit.

That of the beech[2230] is the sweetest of all; so much so, that,

according to Cornelius Alexander, the people of the city of Chios,

when besieged, supported themselves wholly on mast. The different

varieties cannot possibly be distinguished by their respective names,

which vary according to their several localities. The quercus[2231]

and the robur[2232] we see growing everywhere, but not so with the

æsculus;[2233] while a fourth kind, known as the cerrus,[2234] is

not so much as known throughout the greater part of Italy. We shall

distinguish them, therefore, by their characteristic features, and when

circumstances render it necessary, shall give their Greek names as well.

CHAP. 7. (6.)—THE BEECH.

The acorn of the beech[2235] is similar in appearance to a kernel,

enclosed in a shell of triangular shape. The leaf is thin and one of

the very lightest, is similar in appearance to that of the poplar, and

turns yellow with remarkable rapidity. From the middle of the leaf,

and upon the upper side of it, there mostly shoots a little green

berry, with a pointed top.[2236] The beech is particularly agreeable

to rats and mice; and hence it is, that where this tree abounds, those

creatures are sure to be plentiful also. The leaves are also very

fattening for dormice, and good for thrushes too. Almost all trees bear

an average crop but once in two years; this is the case with the beech

more particularly.

CHAP. 8.—THE OTHER ACORNS—WOOD FOR FUEL.

The other trees that bear acorns, properly so called, are the robur,

the æsculus, the cerrus, the holm-oak,[2237] and the cork-tree:[2238]

it is contained in a rivelled calyx, which embraces more or less of it,

according to the several varieties. The leaves of these trees, those

of the holm-oak excepted, are weighty, pulpy, long, and jagged at the

edges, and they do not turn yellow before they fall, as with the beech:

they are also longer or shorter, as the case may be.

There are two kinds[2239] of holm-oak: one of them, which belongs to

Italy, has a leaf not very unlike that of the olive; some of the Greeks

give it the name of “milax,”[2240] and in our provinces it is known as

the aquifolia. The acorn of these two kinds is shorter and more slender

than in the others: Homer[2241] calls it “acylos,” and by that name

distinguishes it from the ordinary acorn: it is generally said that the

male tree of the holm-oak bears no fruit.

The best acorn, and the very largest, is that which grows upon the

quercus, and the next to it is the fruit of the æsculus: that of the

robur, again, is diminutive, and the fruit of the cerrus has a meagre,

wretched look, being enclosed in a calyx covered with prickles, like

the outer coat of the chesnut. With reference to the acorn of the

quercus, that which grows upon the female tree[2242] is sweeter and

more tender, while that of the male is more solid and compact. The

acorn, however, of the latifolia[2243] is the most esteemed, an oak

so called from the remarkable broadness of its leaves. The acorns

differ also among themselves in size, and the comparative fineness of

the outer shell; as also in the circumstance that some have beneath

the shell a rough coat of a rusty colour, while in others a white

flesh immediately presents itself. Those, too, are more particularly

esteemed, the two extremities of the nut of which, taken lengthwise,

are as hard as a stone: and it is considered preferable that this

peculiarity should present itself rather in the shell than in the

flesh: in either case, however, it only exists in the fruit of the

male tree. In some kinds, again, the acorn is oval, in others round;

while in others it is of a more pointed form. The colour, too, varies

considerably, according as it is blacker or whiter; this last being

held in the highest esteem. The extremities of the acorn are bitter,

but the flesh in the middle of it is sweet;[2244] another difference,

too, consists in the comparative length or shortness of the stalk.

As for the trees themselves, the one that bears the acorn of largest

size is known as the “hemeris;”[2245] a small tree with a thick bushy

foliage all around it, and often hollowed at the place where the

branch is joined to the trunk. The quercus has a stronger wood, and

less susceptible of decay: this also is a very branchy tree, but is

much taller than the last, while the trunk is considerably thicker.

The ægilops,[2246] however, is the highest of them all, and is much

attached to wild, uncultivated spots. Next to this in height is the

latifolia, but its wood is far from being so useful either for building

purposes or for charcoal. When rough-hewn it is very apt to spoil,

hence it is that it is generally used in an unhewn state. As charcoal,

it is considered only economical in smelting copper; for the moment

the workman ceases to blow, the fire dies out, and hence it requires

to be repeatedly rekindled; while at the same time it gives out great

quantities of sparks. The best charcoal is that obtained from the wood

of young trees.[2247] Square billets of wood, newly cut, are piled

compactly together with clay, and built up in the form of a chimney;

the pile is then set fire to, and incisions are made in the coat of

clay as it gradually hardens, by the aid of long poles, for the purpose

of letting the moisture of the wood evaporate.

The worst kind of all, however, both for timber and for making

charcoal, is the oak known as the “haliphlœos,”[2248] the bark of which

is remarkably thick, and the trunk of considerable size, but mostly

hollow and spongy: it is the only one of this species that rots while

the tree is still alive. In addition to this, it is very frequently

struck by lightning, although it is not so remarkably lofty in height:

for this reason it is not considered lawful to employ its wood for

the purposes of sacrifice. It is but rarely that it bears any acorns,

and when it does they are bitter: no animal will touch them, with the

sole exception of swine, and not even they, if they can get any other

food. An additional reason also for its exclusion from all religious

ceremonials, is the circumstance that the fire is very apt to go out in

the middle of the sacrifice when the wood of it is used for fuel.

The acorn of the beech, when given to swine,[2249] makes them brisk and

lively, and renders the flesh tender for cooking, and light and easy

of digestion; while, on the other hand, that of the holm oak has the

effect of making them thin, pallid, meagre, and lumpish. The acorn of

the quercus is of a broad shape, and is the heaviest as well as the

sweetest of them all. According to Nigidius, the acorn of the cerrus

occupies the next rank to this, and, indeed, there is no acorn that

renders the flesh of swine more firm, though at the same time it is

apt to impart a certain degree of hardness. The same author assures us

also, that the acorn of the holm oak is a trying diet for swine, unless

it is given in very small quantities at a time. He says, too, that

this acorn is the last to fall, and that the flesh of swine, if fed

upon the acorns of the æsculus, the robur, or the cork-tree, will be of

a spongy nature.

CHAP. 9.—THE GALL-NUT.

All[2250] the glandiferous trees produce the gall-nut as well: they

only bear acorns, however, in alternate years. The gall-nut of the

hemeris[2251] is considered the choicest of all, and the best adapted

for the preparation of leather: that of the latifolia closely resembles

it, but is somewhat lighter, and not by any means so highly approved.

This last tree produces the black gall-nut also—for there are two

varieties of it—this last being deemed preferable for dyeing wool.

(7.) The gall-nut begins to grow just as the sun is leaving the sign

of Gemini,[2252] and always bursts forth in its entirety in a single

night.[2253] The white variety grows, too, in a single day, but if

the heat happens to overtake it, it shrinks immediately, and never

arrives at its proper size, which is about that of a bean. The black

gall-nut will remain green for a longer period, and sometimes attains

the size of an apple[2254] even. The best kind is that which comes from

Commagene,[2255] and the most inferior are those produced by the robur:

it may easily be tested by means of certain holes in it which admit of

the passage of the light.[2256]

CHAP. 10.—OTHER PRODUCTIONS ON THESE TREES BESIDES THE ACORN.

The robur, in addition to its fruit, has a great number of other

productions: it bears[2257] the two varieties of the gall-nut, and a

production which closely resembles the mulberry,[2258] except that it

differs from it in being dry and hard: for the most part it bears a

resemblance to a bull’s head, and in the inside there is a fruit very

similar to the stone of the olive. Little balls[2259] also are found

growing on the robur, not unlike nuts in appearance, and containing

within them a kind of soft wool, which is used for burning in lamps;

for it will keep burning without oil, which is the case also with the

black gall-nut. It bears another kind, too, of little ball, covered

with hair,[2260] but used for no purpose: in spring, however, this

contains a juice like honey. In the hollows formed by the union of

the trunk and branches of this tree there are found also small round

balls,[2261] which adhere bodily to the bark, and not by means of a

stalk: at the point of junction they are white, but the rest of the

body is spotted all over with black: inside they are of a scarlet

colour, but on opening them they are found to be empty, and are of a

bitter taste.

Sometimes, too, the robur bears a kind of pumice,[2262] as well as

little balls, which are formed of the leaves rolled up; upon the veins

of the leaves, too, there are watery pustules, of a whitish hue, and

transparent while they are soft; in these a kind of gnat[2263] is

produced, and they come to maturity just in the same way that the

ordinary gall-nut does.

CHAP. 11. (8.)—CACHRYS.

The robur bears cachrys,[2264] too; such being the name given to

a small round ball that is employed in medicine for its caustic

properties. It grows on the fir likewise, the larch, the pitch-tree,

the linden, the nut-tree, and the plane, and remains on the tree

throughout the winter, after the leaves have fallen. It contains a

kernel very similar to that of the pine-nut, and increases in size

during the winter. In spring the ball opens throughout, and it finally

drops when the leaves are beginning to grow.

Such is the multiplicity of the products borne by the robur in addition

to its acorns; and not only these, but mushrooms[2265] as well, of

better or worse quality, the most recent stimulants that have been

discovered for the appetite; these last are found growing about its

roots. Those of the quercus are the most highly esteemed, while those

of the robur, the cypress, and the pine are injurious.[2266] The robur

produces mistletoe[2267] also, and, if we may believe Hesiod,[2268]

honey as well: indeed, it is a well-known fact, that a honey-like[2269]

dew falling from heaven, as we have already mentioned,[2270] deposits

itself upon the leaves of this tree in preference to those of any

other. It is also well known that the wood of this tree, when burnt,

produces a nitrous[2271] ash.

CHAP. 12.—THE KERMES BERRY.

The holm oak, however, by its scarlet berry[2272] alone challenges

competition with all these manifold productions. This grain appears at

first sight to be a roughness on the surface of the tree, as it were,

a small kind of the aquifolia[2273] variety of holm oak, known as the

cusculium.[2274] To the poor in Spain it furnishes[2275] the means of

paying one half of their tribute. We have already, when speaking[2276]

of the purple of the murex, mentioned the best methods adopted for

using it. It is produced also in Galatia, Africa, Pisidia, and Cilicia:

the most inferior kind is that of Sardinia.

CHAP. 13.—AGARIC.

It is in the Gallic provinces more particularly that the glandiferous

trees produce agaric;[2277] such being the name given to a white fungus

which has a strong odour, and is very useful as an antidote. It grows

upon the top of the tree, and gives out a brilliant light[2278] at

night: this, indeed, is the sign by which its presence is known, and by

the aid of this light it may be gathered during the night. The ægilops

is the only one among the glandiferous trees that bears a kind of

dry cloth,[2279] covered with a white mossy shag, and this, not only

attached to the bark, but hanging down from the branches as well, a

cubit even in length: this substance has a strong odour, as we have

already[2280] stated, when speaking of the perfumes.

The cork is but a very small tree, and its acorn is of the very

worst[2281] quality, and rarely to be found as well: the bark[2282] is

its only useful product, being remarkably thick, and if removed it will

grow again. When straitened out, it has been known to form planks as

much as ten feet square. This substance is employed more particularly

attached as a buoy to the ropes[2283] of ships’ anchors and the

drag-nets of fishermen. It is employed also for the bungs of casks and

as a material for the winter shoes[2284] of females; for which reason

the Greeks not inappropriately call them[2285] “the bark of a tree.”

There are some writers who speak of it as the female of the holm oak;

and in the countries where the holm does not grow, they substitute for

it the wood of the cork-tree, more particularly in cartwrights’ work,

in the vicinity of Elis and Lacedæmon for instance. The cork-tree does

not grow throughout the whole of Italy, and in no[2286] part whatever

of Gaul.

CHAP. 14. (9.)—TREES OF WHICH THE BARK IS USED.

The bark also of the beech, the lime, the fir, and the pitch-tree is

extensively used by the peasantry. Panniers and baskets are made of

it, as also the large flat hampers which are employed for the carriage

of corn and grapes: roofs of cottages,[2287] too, are made of this

material. When a spy has been sent out he often leaves information for

his general, written upon fresh bark, by cutting letters in the parts

of it that are the most juicy. The bark of the beech is also employed

for religious purposes in certain sacred rites.[2288] This tree,

however, when deprived of its bark, will not survive.

CHAP. 15. (10.)—SHINGLES.

The best shingles are those made of the wood of the robur; the next

best being those furnished by the other glandiferous trees and the

beech. Those most easily made are cut from the wood of the resinous

trees, but they do not last,[2289] with the exception of those made

of pine. Cornelius Nepos informs us, that Rome was roofed solely with

shingles down to the time of the war with Pyrrhus, a period of four

hundred and seventy years. It is well known that it was remarkable for

the fine forests in its vicinity. Even at the present day, the name

of Jupiter Fagutalus points out in what locality there stood a grove

of beeches;[2290] the Querquetulan Gate shows where the quercus once

stood, and the Viminal Hill is the spot where the “vimen”[2291] was

sought in ancient times. In many other parts, too, there were groves to

be found, and sometimes as many as two. Q. Hortensius, the Dictator, on

the secession of the plebeians to the Janiculum, passed a law in the

Æsculetum,[2292] that what the plebeians had enacted should be binding

upon every Roman citizen.[2293]

CHAP. 16.—THE PINE.

In those days they regarded as exotics, because they did not exist in

the vicinity[2294] of the City, the pine and the fir, as well as all

the other varieties that produce pitch; of which we shall now proceed

to speak, in order that the method of seasoning wine, from the very

first, may be fully known. Whereas there are several among the trees

already mentioned in Asia or the East, that produce pitch, in Europe

there are but six varieties of kindred trees that supply it. In this

number there are the pine[2295] and the pinaster,[2296] which have

long thin leaves like hair, and pointed at the end. The pine yields

the least resin of them all: in the pine nut, indeed, of which we have

previously spoken,[2297] it is sometimes to be found, but hardly in

sufficient quantities to warrant us in reckoning the pine among the

resinous trees.

CHAP. 17.—THE PINASTER.

The pinaster is nothing else but a wild pine: it rises to a surprising

height, and throws out branches from the middle, just as the pine does

from the top. This tree yields a more copious supply of resin than

the pine: the mode in which this is done we shall set forth[2298] on

a future occasion. It grows also in flat countries. Many people think

that this is the same tree that grows along the shores of Italy, and

is known as the “tibulus;”[2299] but this last is slender, and more

compact than the pine; it is likewise free from knots, and hence is

used in the construction of light gallies;[2300] they are both almost

entirely destitute of resin.

CHAP. 18.—THE PITCH-TREE: THE FIR.

The pitch-tree[2301] loves the mountain heights and cold localities.

This is a funereal tree, and, as an emblem of death, is placed before

the door of the deceased, and is left to grow in the vicinity of the

funeral pile. Still, however, it is now some time since it was admitted

into our gardens, in consequence of the facility with which it is

clipped into various shapes. It gives out considerable quantities

of resin,[2302] which is intermingled with white granulations like

pearls, and so similar in appearance to frankincense, that when mixed,

it is impossible to distinguish them; hence the adulterations we find

practised in the Seplasia.[2303] All this class of trees have a short

bristly leaf, thick and hard, like that of the cypress. The branches of

the pitch-tree are of moderate size, and extend from almost the very

root of the tree, adhering to the sides like so many arms: the same is

the case with the fir,[2304] the wood of which is held in great esteem

for ship-building.

This tree grows upon the summits of lofty mountains, as though, in

fact, it had an antipathy to the sea, and it does not at all differ

from the pitch-tree in appearance: the wood is also very highly

esteemed for the construction of rafters, and many other appliances of

life. A flow of resin, which in the pitch-tree constitutes its great

merit, is looked upon as a defect in the fir,[2305] though it will

generally exude in some small quantity on exposure of the wood, to the

action of the sun. On the other hand, the wood which in the fir-tree is

remarkably fine, in the pitch-tree is only used for making shingles,

vats, and a few other articles of joiners’ work.

CHAP. 19.—THE LARCH: THE TORCH-TREE.

The fifth kind of resinous tree has the same localities, and is very

similar in appearance; it is known as the larch.[2306] The wood of

this tree is far more valuable, being unimpaired by time, and proof

against all decay; it is of a reddish colour, and of an acrid smell.

Resin[2307] flows from this wood in still greater quantities; it is of

the colour of honey, more viscous than the other varieties, and never

turns hard.

A sixth variety is the torch-tree,[2308] properly so called, which

gives out more resin than any of the others, with the exception of the

pitch-tree; but its resin is more liquid than that of this last. The

wood, too, of this tree is more particularly employed for kindling

fires and giving torch-light in religious ceremonials. Of this tree it

is the male only that bears what is known to the Greeks by the name of

“syce,”[2309] remarkable for its extremely powerful odour. When the

larch[2310] is changed into the torch-tree, it is a proof that it is in

a diseased state.

The wood of all these trees, when set fire to, gives out immoderate

volumes of sooty smoke,[2311] and sputters every now and then with

a sudden crackling noise, while it sends out red-hot charcoal to a

considerable distance—with the sole exception of that of the larch,

which will neither burn[2312] nor char, nor, in fact, suffer any more

from the action of fire than a stone. All these trees are evergreens,

and are not easily[2313] distinguished by the foliage, even by those

who are best acquainted with them, so nearly related are they to one

another. The pitch-tree, however, is not so high as the larch; which,

again, is stouter, and has a smoother bark, with a more velvety leaf,

more unctuous to the touch, thicker, and more soft and flexible.[2314]

The pitch-tree, again, has a leaf more sparsely scattered and drier;

it is thinner also, and of a colder nature, rougher all over in

appearance, and covered with a resinous deposit: the wood of this tree

is most like that of the fir. The larch, when the roots are once

burnt, will not throw out fresh shoots, which the pitch-tree will do,

as was found to be the case in the island of Lesbos, after the Pyrrhæan

grove had been burnt there.

In the same species too, the variety of sex[2315] is found to

constitute a considerable difference: the male is the shorter tree, and

has a harder wood; while the female is taller, and bears a leaf more

unctuous to the feel, smooth and free from all rigidity. The wood of

the male tree is hard and awry, and consequently not so well suited

for carpenters’ work; while that of the female is softer, as may be

very easily perceived on the application of the axe, a test, in fact,

which, in every variety, immediately shows us which trees are males;

the axe in such case meeting with a greater resistance, falling with

a louder noise, and being withdrawn from the wood with considerably

greater difficulty: the wood of the male tree is more parched too, and

the root is of a blacker hue. In the vicinity of Mount Ida, in Troas,

the circumstance whether the tree grows in the mountain districts or

on the sea-shore, makes another considerable difference. In Macedonia

and Arcadia, and in the neighbourhood of Elis, the names of the several

varieties have been totally altered, and it has not been agreed by

authors which name ought to be given to each: we have, therefore,

contented ourselves with employing the Roman denominations solely.

The fir is the largest of them all, the female being the taller of

the two; the wood, too, is softer and more easily worked. This tree

is of a rounder form than the others, and its leaves are closely

packed and feathered, so as not to admit of the passage of rain; the

appearance, too, of the tree is altogether more cheerful. From the

branches of these different varieties, with the sole exception of the

larch,[2316] there hang numbers of scaly nuts of compact shape, like

so many catkins. The nuts found upon the male fir have a kernel in the

fore-part, which is not the case with those on the female tree. In

the pitch-tree, again, these kernels, which are very small and black,

occupy the whole of the catkin, which is smaller and more slender than

in the other varieties; hence it is that the Greeks call this tree by

the name of phthirophoron.[2317] In this tree, too, the nuts on the

male are more compressed, and less moist with resin.

CHAP. 20.—THE YEW.

Not to omit any one of them, the yew[2318] is similar to these other

trees in general appearance. It is of a colour, however, but slightly

approaching to green, and of a slender form; of sombre and ominous

aspect, and quite destitute of juice: it is the only one, too, among

them all, that bears a berry. In the male tree the fruit is injurious;

indeed, in Spain more particularly, the berries contain a deadly

poison.[2319] It is an ascertained fact that travellers’ vessels,[2320]

made in Gaul of this wood, for the purpose of holding wine, have

caused the death of those who used them. Sextius says, that in Greece

this tree is known by the name of “smilax,” and that in Arcadia it is

possessed of so active a poison, that those who sleep beneath it, or

even take food[2321] there, are sure to meet their death from it. There

are authors, also, who assert that the poisons which we call at the

present day “toxica,” and in which arrows are dipped, were formerly

called taxica,[2322] from this tree. It has been discovered, also, that

these poisonous qualities are quite neutralized by driving a copper

nail into the wood of the tree.

CHAP. 21. (11.)—METHODS OF MAKING TAR—HOW CEDRIUM IS MADE.

In Europe, tar is extracted from the torch-tree[2323] by the agency

of fire; it is employed for coating ships and for many other useful

purposes.[2324] The wood of the tree is chopped[2325] into small

billets, and then put into a furnace, which is heated by fires lighted

on every side. The first steam that exudes flows in the form of water

into a reservoir made for its reception: in Syria this substance is

known as “cedrium;”[2326] and it possesses such remarkable strength,

that in Egypt the bodies of the dead, after being steeped in it, are

preserved from all corruption.[2327]

CHAP. 22.—METHODS BY WHICH THICK PITCH IS PREPARED.

The liquid that follows is of a thicker consistency, and constitutes

pitch, properly so called. This liquid, thrown again into a brazen

cauldron, and mixed with vinegar, becomes still[2328] thicker, and when

left to coagulate, receives the name of “Bruttian”[2329] pitch. It is

used, however, only for pitching the insides of dolia[2330] and other

vessels, it differing from the other kinds in being more viscous, of a

redder colour, and more unctuous than is usually the case. All these

varieties of pitch are prepared from the pitch-tree, by putting red-hot

stones, with the resinous wood, in troughs made of strong oak; or if

these troughs are not attainable, by piling up billets of the wood in

the method employed for the manufacture of charcoal.[2331] It is this

pitch that is used for seasoning wine, being first pounded and reduced

to a fine powder: it is of a blacker colour, too, than the other

sort. The same resin, if boiled gently with water, and then strained

off, becomes viscous, and assumes a red colour; it is then known as

“distilled[2332] pitch:” for making this, the refuse portions of the

resin and the bark of the tree are generally selected.

Another method is adopted for the manufacture of that used as

crapula.[2333] Raw flower of resin is taken, direct from the tree, with

a plentiful sprinkling of small, thin chips of the wood. These are then

pounded[2334] down and passed through a sieve, after which they are

steeped in water, which is heated till it comes to a boil. The unctuous

portion that is extracted from this is the best resin: it is but rarely

to be met with, and then only in a few places in Italy, in the vicinity

of the Alps: it is in considerable request for medicinal purposes. For

this, they generally boil a congius of white resin to two congii of

rain-water:[2335] some persons, however, think it better[2336] to boil

it without water for one whole day by a slow fire, taking care to use a

vessel of white copper.[2337] Some, again, are in the habit of boiling

the resin of the terebinth[2338] in a flat pan[2339] placed upon hot

ashes, and prefer it to any other kind. The resin of the mastich[2340]

is held in the next degree of estimation.[2341]

CHAP. 23. (12.)—HOW THE RESIN CALLED ZOPISSA IS PREPARED.

We must not omit, too, that the Greeks call by the name of

zopissa[2342] the pitch mixed with wax which has been scraped from

off the bottoms of sea-going ships;[2343] for there is nothing, in

fact, that has been left untried by mankind. This composition is found

much more efficient for all those purposes in which pitch and resin

are employed, in consequence of the superior hardness which has been

imparted to it by the sea-salt.

The pitch-tree is opened[2344] on the side that faces the sun, not by

means of an incision, but of a wound made by the removal of the bark:

this opening being generally two feet in width and one cubit from the

ground, at the very least. The body of the tree, too, is not spared in

this instance, as in others, for even the very chips from off it are

considered as having their use; those, however, from the lower part

of the tree are looked upon as the best, the wood of the higher parts

giving the resin a bitter[2345] taste. In a short time all the resinous

juices of the entire tree come to a point of confluence in the wound so

inflicted: the same process is adopted also with the torch-tree. When

the liquid ceases to flow, the tree is opened in a similar manner in

some other part, and then, again, elsewhere: after which the whole tree

is cut down, and the pith[2346] of it is used for burning.[2347]

So, too, in Syria they take the bark from off the terebinth; and,

indeed, in those parts they do not spare even the root or branches,

although in general the resin obtained from those parts is held in

disesteem. In Macedonia they subject the whole of the male larch to the

action of fire, but of the female[2348] only the roots. Theopompus

has stated in his writings that in the territory of the Apolloniates

there is found a kind of mineral pitch,[2349] not inferior to that

of Macedonia. The best pitch[2350] everywhere is that obtained from

trees planted on sunny spots with a north-east aspect; while that

which is produced from more shaded localities has a disagreeable

look and a repulsive odour. Pitch, too, that is produced amid the

cold of winter is of inferior quality, being in smaller quantity,

too, and comparatively colourless. Some persons are of opinion that

in mountainous localities this liquid is produced in the greatest

abundance, and that it is of superior colour and of a sweeter taste

and has a finer smell so long as it remains in a state of resin; but

that when, on the other hand, it is subjected to boiling, it yields

a smaller quantity of pitch, because so much of it goes[2351] off in

a serous shape. They say that the resinous trees, too, that grow on

mountains are thinner than those that are found on plains, but that

they are apt, both of them, to be unproductive in clear, dry weather.

Some trees, too, afford a flow of resinous juice the year after the

incision is made, some, again, in the second year, and others in the

third. The wound so made is filled with resin, but not with bark, or by

the cicatrization of the outer coat; for the bark in this tree never

unites. Among these varieties some authors have made the sappium[2352]

to constitute a peculiar kind, because it is produced from the seed

of a kindred variety, as we have already stated when speaking of the

nuts[2353] of trees; and they have given the name of tæda[2354] to

the lower parts of the tree; although in reality this tree is nothing

else but a pitch-tree, which by careful cultivation has lost some

small portion of its wild character. The name “sappinus” is also given

to the timber of these trees when cut, as we shall have occasion to

mention[2355] hereafter.

CHAP. 24. (13.)—TREES THE WOOD OF WHICH IS HIGHLY VALUED. FOUR

VARIETIES OF THE ASH.

It is for the sake of their timber that Nature has created the other

trees, and more particularly the ash,[2356] which yields it in greater

abundance. This is a tall, tapering tree, with a feather-like leaf: it

has been greatly ennobled by the encomiums of Homer, and the fact that

it formed the spear of Achilles:[2357] the wood of it is employed for

numerous purposes. The ash which grows upon Mount Ida, in Troas, is so

extremely like the cedar,[2358] that, when the bark is removed, it will

deceive a purchaser.

The Greeks have distinguished two varieties of this tree, the one long

and without knots, the other short, with a harder wood, of a darker

colour, and a leaf like that of the laurel. In Macedonia they give the

name of “bumelia”[2359] to an ash of remarkably large size, with a

wood of extreme flexibility. Some authors have divided this tree into

several varieties, according to the localities which it inhabits, and

say that the ash of the plains has a spotted wood, while that of the

mountain ash is more compact. Some Greek writers have stated that the

leaf of the ash is poisonous[2360] to beasts of burden, but harmless to

all the animals that ruminate.[2361] The leaves of this tree in Italy,

however, are not injurious to beasts of burden even; so far from it,

in fact, that nothing has been found to act as so good a specific for

the bites of serpents[2362] as to drink the juice extracted from the

leaves, and to apply them to the wounds. So great, too, are the virtues

of this tree, that no serpent will ever lie in the shadow thrown by

it, either in the morning or the evening, be it ever so long; indeed,

they will always keep at the greatest possible distance from it. We

state the fact from ocular demonstration,[2363] that if a serpent and

a lighted fire are placed within a circle formed of the leaves of the

ash, the reptile will rather throw itself into the fire than encounter

the leaves of the tree. By a wonderful provision of Nature, the ash has

been made to blossom before the serpents leave their holes, and the

fall of its leaf does not take place till after they have retired for

the winter.

CHAP. 25. (14.)—TWO VARIETIES OF THE LINDEN-TREE.

In the linden-tree the male[2364] and the female are totally different.

In the male the wood is hard and knotty, of a redder hue, and with

a stronger smell; the bark, too, is thicker, and, when taken off,

has no flexibility. The male bears neither seed nor blossom as the

female does, the trunk of which is thicker, and the wood white and of

excellent quality. It is a singular[2365] thing, but no animal will

touch the fruit of this tree, although the juice of the leaves and the

bark is sweet. Between the bark and the wood there are a number of

thin coats, formed by the union of numerous fine membranes; of these

they make those bands[2366] which are known to us as “tiliæ.” The

finer membranes are called “philyræ,” and are rendered famous by the

honourable mention that the ancients have made of them as ribbons for

wreaths[2367] and garlands. The wood of this tree is proof against the

attacks of worms:[2368] it is of moderate height[2369] only, but of

very considerable utility.

CHAP. 26. (15.)—TEN VARIETIES OF THE MAPLE.

The maple, which is pretty nearly of the same[2370] size as the lime,

is inferior to the citrus[2371] only for the beauty of its wood when

employed for cabinet work, and the exquisite finish it admits of.

There are numerous varieties[2372] of this tree; the light maple,

remarkable for the extreme whiteness of its wood, is known as the

“Gallic”[2373] maple in Italy beyond the Padus, being a native of the

countries beyond the Alps. Another kind is covered with wavy spots

running in all directions. In consequence of its superior beauty it

has received its name,[2374] from its strong resemblance to the marks

which are seen in the tail of the peacock; the finest kinds are those

which grow in Istria and Rhætia. An inferior sort of maple is known as

“crassivenium.”[2375]

The Greeks distinguish the varieties according to their respective

localities. The maple of the plains,[2376] they say, is white, and

not wavy; they give it the name of “glinon.” On the other hand, the

mountain maple,[2377] they say, is of a more variegated appearance,

and harder, the wood of the male tree being more particularly so, and

the best adapted for specimens of elegant workmanship. A third kind,

again, according to the Greeks, is the zygia,[2378] with a red wood,

which is easily split, and a pale, rough bark. Other authors, however,

prefer to make of this last a peculiar species, and give it in Latin

the name of “carpinus.”

CHAP. 27. (16.)—BRUSCUM: MOLLUSCUM; THE STAPHYLODENDRON.

But the most beautiful feature of all in the maple is what is known

as bruscum, and, even more particularly so, the molluscum. These are

both of them tuberosities of this tree, the bruscum presenting veins

more violently contorted, while those of the molluscum are disposed

in a more simple and uniform manner: indeed, if this last were of

sufficiently large size to admit of tables being made of it, there is

no doubt that it would be preferred to the wood of the citrus even. At

the present day, however, we find it but little used except for the

leaves of tablets, or as a veneer for couches.[2379] Tuberosities are

also found on the alder,[2380] but as much inferior to those already

mentioned, as the alder itself is to the maple. In the maple the male

tree[2381] is the first to blossom. The trees that frequent dry spots

are preferred to those that grow in watery localities, which is the

case also with the ash.

There is found in the countries beyond the Alps a tree, the wood of

which is very similar to that of the white maple, and which is known as

the staphylodendron.[2382] This tree bears a pod[2383] in which there

is found a kernel, which has the flavour of the hazel-nut.

CHAP. 28.—THREE VARIETIES OF THE BOX-TREE.

One of the most highly esteemed of all the woods is the box,[2384]

but it is seldom veined, and then only the wood of the root. In

other respects, it is a wood, so to say, of quiet and unpretending

appearance, but highly esteemed for a certain degree of hardness

and its pallid hue: the tree, too, is very extensively employed in

ornamental gardening.[2385] There are three[2386] varieties of it: the

Gallic[2387] box, which is trained to shoot upwards in a pyramidal

form, and attains a very considerable height; the oleaster,[2388] which

is condemned as being utterly worthless, and emits a disagreeable

odour; and a third, known as the “Italian” box,[2389] a wild variety,

in my opinion, which has been improved by cultivation. This last

spreads more than the others, and forms a thick hedge: it is an

evergreen, and is easily clipped.

The box-tree abounds on the Pyrenean[2390] range, the mountains of

Cytorus, and the country about Berecynthus.[2391] The trunk grows to

the largest size in the island of Corsica,[2392] and its blossom is

by no means despicable; it is this that causes the honey there to be

bitter.[2393] The seed of the box is held in aversion by all animals.

That which grows upon Mount Olympus in Macedonia is not more slender

than the other kinds, but the tree is of a more stunted growth. It

loves spots exposed to the cold winds and the sun: in fire, too, it

manifests all the hardness of iron; it gives out no flame, and is of no

use whatever for the manufacture of charcoal.[2394]

CHAP. 29. (17.)—FOUR VARIETIES OF THE ELM.

Midway between the preceding ones and the fruit-trees stands the elm,

partaking of the nature of the former in its wood, and being akin to

the latter in the friendship which it manifests for the vine.[2395]

The Greeks distinguish two varieties of this tree: the mountain[2396]

elm, which is the larger of the two, and that of the plains, which

is more shrubby. Italy gives the name of “Atinia”[2397] to the more

lofty kinds, and gives the preference to those which are of a dry

nature and will not grow in damp localities. Another variety is the

Gallic elm,[2398] and a third, the Italian,[2399] with leaves lying

closer together, and springing in greater numbers from a single

stalk. A fourth kind is the wild elm. The Atinia does not produce any

samara,[2400] that being the name given to the seed of the elm. All

the elms will grow from slips or cuttings, and all of them, with the

exception of the Atinia, may be propagated from seed.

CHAP. 30. (18.)—THE NATURES OF THE VARIOUS TREES ACCORDING TO THEIR

LOCALITIES: THE MOUNTAIN TREES, AND THE TREES OF THE PLAIN.

Having now made mention of the more remarkable trees, it remains for

me to state some general facts connected with them all. The cedar, the

larch, the torch-tree, and the other resinous trees prefer mountainous

localities:[2401] the same is the case also with the aquifolia, the

box, the holm-oak, the juniper, the terebinth, the poplar, the wild

mountain-ash, and the yoke-elm.[2402] On the Apennines there is also

found a shrub known as the “cotinus,”[2403] famous for imparting to

cloth a purple colour like that of the murex. The fir, the robur, the

chesnut, the lime, the holm-oak, and the cornel will grow equally well

on mountain or in valley; while the maple,[2404] the ash, the service,

the linden, and the cherry, more particularly prefer a watery spot on

the slope of a hilly declivity. It is not often that we see the plum,

the pomegranate, the olive, the walnut, the mulberry, or the elder,

growing on an elevated site: the cornel, too, the hazel, the quercus,

the wild ash, the maple, the ash, the beech, and the yoke-elm, descend

to the plains; while the elm, the apple, the pear, the laurel, the

myrtle, the blood-red[2405] shrub, the holm-oak, and the brooms[2406]

that are employed in dyeing cloths, all of them aspire to a more

elevated locality.

The sorb,[2407] and even still more the birch,[2408] are fond of a cold

site; this last is a native of Gaul, of singular whiteness and slender

shape, and rendered terrible as forming the fasces of the magistracy.

From its flexibility it is employed also in making circlets and the

ribs of panniers. In Gaul,[2409] too, they extract a bitumen from it

by boiling. To a cold site, also, belongs the thorn, which affords

the most auspicious torches[2410] of all for the nuptial ceremony;

from the circumstance, as Massurius assures us, that the shepherds, on

the occasion of the rape of the Sabine women, made their torches of

the wood of this tree: at the present day, however, the woods of the

yoke-elm and the hazel are more generally employed for this purpose.

CHAP. 31.—TREES WHICH GROW ON A DRY SOIL: THOSE WHICH ARE FOUND IN WET

LOCALITIES: THOSE WHICH ARE FOUND IN BOTH INDIFFERENTLY.

The cypress, the walnut, the chesnut, and the laburnum,[2411] are

averse to water. This last tree is also a native of the Alps, and

far from generally known: the wood is hard and white,[2412] and the

flowers, which are a cubit[2413] in length, no bee will ever touch. The

shrub, too, known as Jupiter’s beard,[2414] manifests an equal dislike

to water: it is often clipped, and is employed in ornamental gardening,

being of a round, bushy form, with a silvery leaf. The willow, the

alder, the poplar,[2415] the siler,[2416] and the privet,[2417] so

extensively employed for making tallies,[2418] will only grow in damp,

watery places; which is the case also with the vaccinium,[2419] grown

in Italy for drugging our slaves,[2420] and in Gaul for the purpose of

dyeing the garments of slaves a purple colour. All those trees[2421]

which are common to the mountains and the plains, grow to a larger

size, and are of more comely appearance when grown on the plains, while

those found on the mountains have a better wood and more finely veined,

with the exception of the apple and the pear.

CHAP. 32. (19.)—DIVISION OF TREES INTO VARIOUS SPECIES.

In addition to these particulars, some of the trees lose their leaves,

while others, again, are evergreens. Before, however, we treat of this

distinction, it will be necessary first to touch upon another. There

are some trees that are altogether of a wild nature, while there are

others, again, that are more civilized, such being the names[2422] by

which man has thought fit to distinguish the trees. Indeed, these last,

which by their fruits or some other beneficial property, or else by the

shade which they afford, show themselves the benefactors of man, are

not inappropriately called “civilized”[2423] trees.

CHAP. 33. (20.)—TREES WHICH DO NOT LOSE THEIR FOLIAGE. THE

RHODODENDRON. TREES WHICH DO NOT LOSE THE WHOLE OF THEIR FOLIAGE.

PLACES IN WHICH THERE ARE NO TREES.

Belonging to this last class, there are the following trees which do

not lose their leaves: the olive, the laurel, the palm, the myrtle,

the cypress, the pine, the ivy, the rhododendron,[2424] and, although

it may be rather called a herb than a tree, the savin.[2425] The

rhododendron, as its name indicates, comes from Greece. By some it is

known as the nerium,[2426] and by others as the rhododaphne. It is an

evergreen, bearing a strong resemblance to the rose-tree, and throwing

out numerous branches from the stem; to beasts of burden, goats, and

sheep it is poisonous, but for man it is an antidote[2427] against the

venom of serpents.

(21.) The following among the forest-trees do not lose their leaves:

the fir, the larch, the pinaster, the juniper, the cedar, the

terebinth, the box, the holm-oak, the aquifolia, the cork, the yew,

and the tamarisk.[2428] A middle place between the evergreens and

those which are not so, is occupied by the andrachle[2429] in Greece,

and by the arbutus[2430] in all parts of the world; as they lose all

their leaves with the exception of those on the top of the tree. Among

certain of the shrubs, too, the bramble and the calamus, the leaves do

not fall. In the territory of Thurii, where Sybaris formerly stood,

from the city there was a single oak[2431] to be seen that never lost

its leaves, and never used to bud before midsummer: it is a singular

thing that this fact, which has been so often alluded to by the Greek

writers, should have been passed over in silence by our own.[2432]

Indeed, so remarkable are the virtues that we find belonging to some

localities, that about Memphis in Egypt, and at Elephantina in Thebais,

the leaves[2433] fall from none of the trees, not the vine even.

CHAP. 34. (22.)—THE NATURE OF THE LEAVES WHICH WITHER AND FALL.

All the trees, with the exception of those already mentioned—a list

which it would be tedious to enumerate—lose their leaves, and it has

been observed that the leaf does not dry up and wither unless it is

thin, broad, and soft; while, on the other hand, the leaves that do

not fall are those which are fleshy, thick, and narrow.[2434] It is

an erroneous theory that the leaf does not fall in those trees the

juices of which are more unctuous than the rest; for who could make

out that such is the case with the holm-oak, for instance? Timæus, the

mathematician, is of opinion that the leaves fall while the sun is

passing through the sign of Scorpio, being acted upon by the influences

of that luminary, and a certain venom which exists in the atmosphere:

but then we have a right to wonder how it is that, the same reasons

existing, the same influence is not exercised equally on all.

The leaves of most trees fall in autumn, but in some at a later

period, remaining on the tree till the approach of winter, it making

no difference whether they have germinated at an earlier period or a

later, seeing that some that are the very first to bud are among the

last to lose their leaves—the almond, the ash, and the elder, for

instance: the mulberry, on the other hand, buds the last of all, and

loses its leaves among the very first. The soil, too, exercises a very

considerable influence in this respect: the leaves falling sooner where

it is dry and thin, and more particularly when the tree is old: indeed,

there are many trees that lose them before the fruit is ripe, as in

the case of the late fig, for instance, and the winter pear: on the

pomegranate, too, the fruit, when ripe, beholds nothing but the trunk

of the parent tree. And not even upon those trees which always retain

their foliage do the same leaves always remain, for as others shoot up

beneath them, the old leaves gradually wither away: this takes place

about the solstices more particularly.

CHAP. 35.—TREES WHICH HAVE LEAVES OF VARIOUS COLOURS; TREES WITH LEAVES

OF VARIOUS SHAPES. THREE VARIETIES OF THE POPLAR.

The leaves continue the same upon every species of tree, with the

exception of the poplar, the ivy, and the croton, which we have already

mentioned as being called the “cicus.”[2435]

(23.) There are three kinds of poplar; the white,[2436] the

black,[2437] and the one known as the Libyan[2438] poplar, with a very

diminutive leaf, and extremely black; much esteemed also for the fungi

which grow from it. The white poplar has a parti-coloured leaf, white

on the upper side and green beneath. This poplar, as also the black

variety, and the croton, have a rounded leaf when young, as though

it had been described with a pair of compasses, but when it becomes

older the leaf throws out angular projections. On the other hand, the

leaf of the ivy,[2439] which is angular at first, becomes rounder,

the older the tree. From the leaves of the poplar there falls a very

thick down;[2440] upon the white poplar, which, it is said, has a

greater quantity of leaves than the others, this down is quite white,

resembling locks of wool. The leaves of the pomegranate and the almond

are red.

CHAP. 36.—LEAVES WHICH TURN ROUND EVERY YEAR.

We find a most remarkable and, indeed, a marvellous peculiarity[2441]

existing in the elm, the lime, the olive, the white poplar, and the

willow; for immediately after the summer solstice the leaves of these

trees turn completely round; indeed, we have no sign which indicates

with greater certainty that that period has past.

(24.) These trees also present in their leaves the same difference

that is to be observed in those of all the rest: the underside, which

looks towards the ground, is of a green, grassy colour, and has a

smooth surface;[2442] while the veins, the callous skin, and the

articulations, lie upon the upper face, the veins making incisions in

the parts beneath, like those to be seen upon the human hand. The leaf

of the olive is whiter above, and not so smooth; the same is the case,

too, with that of the ivy. The leaves of all trees turn[2443] every day

towards the sun, the object being that the under side may be warmed by

its heat. The upper surface of them all has a down upon it, in however

small quantity it may be; in some countries this down is used as a kind

of wool.[2444]

CHAP. 37.—THE CARE BESTOWED ON THE LEAVES OF THE PALM, AND THE USES TO

WHICH THEY ARE APPLIED.

We have already said[2445] that in the East strong ropes are made of

the leaves of the palm, and that they are improved by lying in the

water. Among ourselves, too, the leaves of the palm are generally

plucked immediately after harvest, the best being those that have no

divisions in them. These leaves are left to dry under cover for four

days, after which they are spread out in the sun, and left out in the

open air all night, till they have become quite white and dry: after

this they are split before they are put to any use.

CHAP. 38.—REMARKABLE FACTS CONNECTED WITH LEAVES.

The broadest leaves are those of the fig, the vine, and the plane;

while those of the myrtle, the pomegranate, and the olive are narrow.

The leaf of the pine and the cedar is fine and resembles hair,

while that of the holly and one variety of the holm oak[2446] is

prickly—indeed, in the juniper, we find a thorn in place of a leaf.

The leaf of the cypress and the tamarisk[2447] is fleshy, and that

of the alder is remarkable for its thickness.[2448] In the reed, the

willow, and the palm,[2449] the leaf is long, and in the latter tree

it is double as well: that of the pear is rounded, and it is pointed

in the apple.[2450] In the ivy the leaf is angular, and in the plane

divided.[2451] In the pitch-tree[2452] and the fir the leaf is indented

like the teeth of a comb; while in the robur it is sinuous on the whole

of the outer margin: in the bramble it has a spiny surface. In some

plants the leaf has the property of stinging, the nettle for instance;

while in the pine,[2453] the pitch-tree, the fir, the larch, the cedar,

and the holly, it is prickly. In the olive and the holm-oak it has a

short stalk, in the vine a long one: in the poplar the stalk of the

leaf is always quivering,[2454] and the leaves of this tree are the

only ones that make a crackling noise[2455] when coming in contact with

another.

In one variety of the apple-tree[2456] we find a small leaf protruding

from the very middle of the fruit, sometimes, indeed, a couple of

them. Then, again, in some trees the leaves are arranged all round

the branches, and in others at the extremities of them, while in the

robur they are found upon the trunk itself. They are sometimes thick

and close, and at others thinly scattered, which is more particularly

the case where the leaf is large and broad. In the myrtle[2457] they

are symmetrically arranged, in the box, concave, and, upon the apple,

scattered without any order or regularity. In the apple and the pear

we find several leaves issuing from the same stalk, and in the elm and

the cytisus[2458] they are covered with ramified veins. To the above

particulars Cato[2459] adds that the leaves of the poplar and the

quercus should not be given to cattle after they have fallen and become

withered, and he recommends the leaves of the fig,[2460] the holm-oak,

and the ivy for oxen: the leaves, too, of the reed and the laurel are

sometimes given them to eat. The leaves of the service-tree fall all at

once, but in the others only by degrees. Thus much in reference to the

leaves.

CHAP. 39. (25.)—THE NATURAL ORDER OF THE PRODUCTION OF PLANTS.

The following is the order in which the operations of Nature take

place throughout the year. The first is fecundation, which takes place

when the west wind begins to prevail, generally about the sixth day

before the ides of February.[2461] By the agency of this wind all the

productions of the earth are impregnated; to such an extent, indeed,

that the mares even in Spain are impregnated by it, as we have already

stated.[2462] This is the generating principle of the universe, and it

receives its name of Favonius, as some think, from our word “fovere,”

which means “to warm and cherish:” it blows from due west at the

opening of the spring. The peasantry call this period of the year the

“time of heat,”[2463] because Nature is then longing to receive the

seeds of her various productions, and is imparting life to everything

that is planted. The vegetables conceive[2464] on various days, each

according to its respective nature: some immediately, as with animals,

others, again, more slowly, carrying with them for a longer period the

produce of their conception, a state which has from that circumstance

obtained the name of “germination.” When the plant flowers, it may be

said to bring forth, and the flower makes its appearance by bursting

its little capsule, which has acted to it as an uterus. The period of

training and education is the growth of the fruit. This, as well as

that of germination, is a laborious process.

CHAP. 40.—TREES WHICH NEVER BLOSSOM. THE JUNIPER.

The appearance of the blossom bespeaks the arrival of the spring and

the birth anew of the year; this blossom is the very pride and delight

of the trees. Then it is that they show themselves quite renewed, and

altogether different from what they really are; then it is that they

quite revel in the contest with each other which shall excel in the

various hues and tints which they display. This merit has, however,

been denied to many of them; for they do not all blossom, and there are

certain sombre trees which do not participate in this joyous season of

the year. The holm-oak, the pitch-tree, the larch, and the pine are

never bedecked with blossoms, and with them there is no particular

forerunner sent forth to announce the yearly birth of their respective

fruits. The same is the case, too, with the cultivated and the wild

fig,[2465] which immediately present their fruit in place of any

blossom. Upon the fig, too, it is remarkable that there are abortive

fruit to be seen which never ripen.

The juniper, also, is destitute[2466] of blossom; some writers,

however, distinguish two varieties of it, one of which blossoms but

bears no fruit,[2467] while the other has no blossom, but presents the

berries immediately, which remain on the tree for so long a period as

two years: this assertion, however, is utterly fallacious, and all the

junipers always present the same sombre appearance. So, too, in life,

the fortunes of many men are ever without their time of blossoming.

CHAP. 41.—THE FECUNDATION OF TREES. GERMINATION: THE APPEARANCE OF THE

FRUIT.

All trees germinate, however,[2468] even those which do not blossom.

In this respect there is a very considerable difference in relation to

the various localities; for in the same species we find that the tree,

when planted in a marshy spot, will germinate earlier than elsewhere;

next to that, the trees that grow on the plains, and last of all those

that are found in the woods: the wild pear, too, is naturally later

in budding than the other pears. At the first breath of the west

wind[2469] the cornel buds, and close upon it the laurel; then, a

little before the equinox, we find the lime and the maple germinating.

Among the earlier trees, too, are the poplar, the elm, the willow, the

alder, and the nut-trees. The plane buds, too, at an early period.

Others, again, germinate at the beginning of spring, the holly, for

instance, the terebinth, the paliurus,[2470] the chesnut, and the

glandiferous trees. On the other hand, the apple is late in budding,

and the cork-tree the very last of all. Some trees germinate twice,

whether it is that this arises from some exuberant fertility of the

soil, or from the inviting temperature of the atmosphere; this takes

place more particularly in the several varieties of the cereals.

Excessive germination, however, has a tendency to weaken and exhaust

the tree.

Besides the spring budding, some trees have naturally another

budding, which depends upon the influence of their own respective

constellations,[2471] a theory which we shall find an opportunity of

more conveniently discussing in the next Book but one.[2472] The winter

budding takes place at the rising of the Eagle, the summer at that of

the Dog-star, and a third budding[2473] again at that of Arcturus.

Some persons think that these two buddings are common to all trees,

but that they are to be remarked more particularly in the fig, the

vine, and the pomegranate; seeing that, when this is the case, the crop

of figs, in Thessaly and Macedonia more particularly, is remarkably

abundant: but it is in Egypt more especially that illustrations of this

vast abundance are to be met with. All the trees in general, when they

have once begun to germinate, proceed continuously with it; the robur,

however, the fir-tree, and the larch germinate intermittently, ceasing

thrice, and as many times[2474] beginning to bud again, and hence it is

that they shed the scales of their bark[2475] three several times; a

thing that takes place with all trees during the period of germination,

the outer coat of the tree bursting while it is budding.

With these last trees the first budding takes place[2476] at the

beginning of spring, and lasts about fifteen days; and they germinate a

second time when the sun is passing through the sign of Gemini: hence

it is that we see the points of the first buds pushed upwards by those

beneath, a joint marking the place where they unite.[2477] The third

germination of these trees takes place at the summer solstice, and

lasts no more than seven days: at this period we may very distinctly

detect the articulations by which the buds are joined to one another

as they grow. The vine is the only tree that buds twice; the first

time when it first puts forth the grape, and the second time when the

grape comes to maturity. In the trees which do not blossom there is

only the budding, and then the gradual ripening of the fruit. Some

trees blossom while they are budding, and pass rapidly through that

period; but the fruit is slow in coming to maturity, as in the vine,

for instance. Other trees, again, blossom and bud but late, while the

fruit comes to maturity with great rapidity, the mulberry,[2478] for

example, which is the very last to bud of all the cultivated trees, and

then only when the cold weather is gone: for this reason it has been

pronounced the wisest among the trees. But in this, the germination,

when it has once begun, bursts forth all over the tree at the very same

moment; so much so, indeed, that it is accomplished in a single night,

and even with a noise that may be audibly heard.[2479]

CHAP. 42.—IN WHAT ORDER THE TREES BLOSSOM.

Of the trees which, as we have already stated,[2480] bud in winter

at the rising of the Eagle, the almond blossoms the first of all, in

the month of January[2481] namely, while by March the fruit is well

developed. Next to it in blossoming is the plum[2482] of Armenia,

and then the tuber and the early peach,[2483] the first two being

exotics, and the latter forced by the agency of cultivation. Among

the forest trees, the first that blossoms in the course of nature is

the elder,[2484] which has the most pith of any, and the male cornel,

which has none[2485] at all. Among the cultivated trees we next have

the apple, and immediately after—so much so, indeed, that it would

almost appear that they blossom simultaneously—the pear, the cherry,

and the plum. Next to these is the laurel, and then the cypress, and

after that the pomegranate and the fig: the vine, too, and the olive

are budding when these last trees are in flower, the period of their

conception[2486] being the rising of the Vergiliæ,[2487] that being

their constellation.[2488] As for the vine, it blossoms at the summer

solstice, and the olive begins to do so a little later. All blossoms

remain on the trees seven days, and never fall sooner; some, indeed,

fall later, but none remain on more than twice seven days. The blossoms

are always off before the eighth day[2489] of the ides of July, the

period of the prevalence of the Etesian[2490] winds.

CHAP. 43. (26.)—AT WHAT PERIOD EACH TREE BEARS FRUIT. THE CORNEL.

Upon some trees the fruit does not follow immediately upon the fall of

the blossom. The cornel[2491] about the summer solstice puts forth a

fruit that is white at first, and after that the colour of blood. The

female[2492] of this tree, after autumn, bears a sour berry, which no

animal will touch; its wood, too, is spongy and quite useless, while,

on the other hand, that of the male tree is one of the very strongest

and hardest[2493] woods known: so great a difference do we find in

trees belonging to the same species. The terebinth, the maple, and the

ash produce their seed at harvest-time, while the nut-trees, the apple,

and the pear, with the exception of the winter or the more early kinds,

bear fruit in autumn. The glandiferous trees bear at a still later

period, the setting of the Vergiliæ,[2494] with the exception of the

æsculus,[2495] which bears in the autumn only; while some kinds of the

apple and the pear, and the cork-tree, bear fruit at the beginning of

winter.

The fir puts forth blossoms of a saffron colour about the summer

solstice, and the seed is ripe just after the setting of the Vergiliæ.

The pine and the pitch-tree germinate about fifteen days before the

fir, but their seed is not ripe till after the setting of the Vergiliæ.

CHAP. 44.—TREES WHICH BEAR THE WHOLE YEAR. TREES WHICH HAVE ON THEM THE

FRUIT OF THREE YEARS.

The citron-tree,[2496] the juniper, and the holm-oak are looked upon as

having fruit on them the whole year through, and upon these trees we

see the new fruit hanging along with that of the preceding year. The

pine, however, is the most remarkable of them all; for it has upon it

at the same moment the fruit that is hastening to maturity, the fruit

that is to come to maturity in the ensuing year, and the fruit that is

to ripen the next year but one.[2497] Indeed, there is no tree that is

more eager to develope its resources; for in the same month in which

a nut is plucked from it, another will ripen in the same place; the

arrangement being such, that there is no month in which the nuts of

this tree are not ripening. Those nuts which split while still upon the

tree, are known by the name of azaniæ;[2498] they are productive of

injury to the others, if not removed.

CHAP. 45.—TREES WHICH BEAR NO FRUIT: TREES LOOKED UPON AS ILL-OMENED.

The only ones among all the trees that bear nothing whatever, not so

much as any seed even, are the tamarisk,[2499] which is used only for

making brooms, the poplar,[2500] the alder, the Atinian elm,[2501] and

the alaternus,[2502] which has a leaf between that of the holm-oak

and the olive. Those trees are regarded as sinister,[2503] and are

considered inauspicious, which are never propagated from seed, and

bear no fruit. Cremutius informs us, that this tree, being the one

upon which Phyllis[2504] hanged herself, is never green. Those trees

which produce a gum open of themselves after germination: the gum never

thickens until after the fruit has been removed.

CHAP. 46.—TREES WHICH LOSE THEIR FRUIT OR FLOWERS MOST READILY.

Young trees are unproductive[2505] so long as they are growing. The

fruits which fall most readily before they come to maturity are the

date, the fig, the almond, the apple, the pear, and the pomegranate,

which last tree is also very apt to lose its blossom through excessive

dews and hoar frosts. For this reason it is, too, that the growers

bend the branches of the pomegranate, lest, from being straight, they

may receive and retain the moisture that is so injurious to them. The

pear and the almond,[2506] even if it should not rain, but a south

wind happen to blow or the weather become cloudy, are apt to lose

their blossoms, and their first fruit as well, if, after the blossom

has fallen, there is a continuance of such weather. But it is the

willow that loses its seed the most speedily of all, long, indeed,

before it is ripe; hence it is that Homer has given it the epithet of

“fruit-losing.”[2507] Succeeding ages, however, have given to this term

an interpretation conformable to their own wicked practices, it being a

well-known fact that the seed of the willow has the effect of producing

barrenness in females.

In this respect, however, Nature has employed her usual foresight,

bestowing but little care upon the seed of a tree which is produced so

easily, and propagated by slips. There is, however, it is said, one

variety of willow,[2508] the seed of which arrives at maturity: it is

found in the Isle of Crete, at the descent from the grotto of Jupiter:

the seed is unsightly and ligneous, and in size about as large as a

chick-pea.

CHAP. 47.—TREES WHICH ARE UNPRODUCTIVE IN CERTAIN PLACES.

Certain trees also become unproductive, owing to some fault in the

locality, such, for instance, as a coppice-wood in the island of

Paros, which produces nothing at all: in the Isle of Rhodes, too, the

peach-trees[2509] never do anything more than blossom. This distinction

may arise also from the sex; and when such is the case, it is the

male[2510] tree that never produces. Some authors, however, making a

transposition, assert that it is the male trees only that are prolific.

Barrenness may also arise from a tree being too thickly covered with

leaves.

CHAP. 48.—THE MODE IN WHICH TREES BEAR.

Some among the fruit-trees[2511] bear on both the sides of the branches

and the summit, the pear, for instance, the fig-tree, and the myrtle.

In other respects the trees are pretty nearly of a similar nature to

the cereals, for in them we find the ear growing from the summit, while

in the leguminous varieties the pod grows from the sides. The palm, as

we have already[2512] stated, is the only one that has fruit hanging

down in bunches enclosed in capsules.

CHAP. 49.—TREES IN WHICH THE FRUIT APPEARS BEFORE THE LEAVES.

The other trees, again, bear their fruit beneath the leaves, for the

purpose of protection, with the exception of the fig, the leaf of

which is very large, and gives a great abundance of shade; hence it is

that we find the fruit placed above it; in addition to which, the leaf

makes its appearance after the fruit. There is said to be a remarkable

peculiarity connected with one species of fig that is found in Cilicia,

Cyprus, and Hellas; the fruit grows beneath the leaves, while at the

same time the green abortive fruit, that never reaches maturity, is

seen growing on the top of them. There is also a tree that produces an

early fig, known to the Athenians by the name of “prodromos.”[2513] In

the Laconian varieties of this fruit more particularly, we find trees

that bear two crops[2514] in the year.

CHAP. 50. (27.)—TREES THAT BEAR TWO CROPS IN A YEAR. TREES THAT BEAR

THREE CROPS.

In the island of Cea there are wild figs that bear three times in

one year. By the first crop the one that succeeds is summoned forth,

and by that the third. It is by the agency of this last crop that

caprification[2515] is performed. In the wild fig, too, the fruit

grows on the opposite side of the leaves. There are some pears and

apples, too, that bear two crops in the year, while there are some

early varieties also. The wild apple bears twice[2516] in the year,

its second crop coming on after the rising of Arcturus,[2517] in sunny

localities more particularly. There are vines, too, that will even bear

three times in the year, a circumstance that has procured for them the

name of “frantic”[2518] vines. On these we see grapes just ripening,

others beginning to swell, and others, again, in blossom, all at the

same moment.

M. Varro[2519] informs us, that there was formerly at Smyrna,

near[2520] the Temple of the Mother of the Gods, a vine that bore two

crops in the year, as also an apple-tree of a similar nature in the

territory of Consentia. This, however, is constantly to be witnessed

in the territory of Tacapa,[2521] in Africa, of which we shall have

to speak more fully on another occasion,[2522] so remarkable is the

fertility of the soil. The cypress also bears three times in the year,

for its berries are gathered in the months of January, May, and

September, being all three of different size.

There are also certain peculiarities observed in the different modes

in which the trees bear their fruit, the arbutus and the quercus being

most fruitful in the upper part, the walnut and the marisca[2523] fig

in the lower. All trees, the older they grow, the more early they bear,

and this more particularly in sunny spots and where the soil is not

over-rich. All the forest-trees are slower in bringing their fruit to

maturity; and indeed, in some of them the fruit never becomes fully

ripe.[2524] Those trees, too, about the roots of which the earth is

ploughed or broken and loosened, bring their fruit to maturity more

speedily than those in which this has been neglected; by this process

they are also rendered more fruitful.

CHAP. 51.—WHICH TREES BECOME OLD WITH THE GREATEST RAPIDITY, AND WHICH

MOST SLOWLY.

There are great differences also in trees in respect to age. The

almond and the pear[2525] are the most fruitful when old, which is

the case also with the glandiferous trees and a certain species of

fig. Others, again, are most prolific when young, though the fruit is

later in coming to maturity, a thing particularly to be observed in

the vine; for in those that are old the wine is of better quality,

while the produce of the younger trees is given in greater abundance.

The apple-tree becomes old very early, and the fruit which it produces

when old is of inferior quality, being of smaller size and very liable

to be attacked by maggots: indeed, these insects will breed in the

tree itself. The fig is the only one of all the fruit-trees that is

submitted to any process with the view of expediting the ripening of

the fruit,[2526] a marvellous thing, indeed, that a greater value

should be set upon produce that comes out of its proper season!

All trees which bear their fruit before the proper time become

prematurely[2527] old; indeed, some of them wither and die all of a

sudden, being utterly exhausted by the too favourable influence of the

weather, a thing that happens to the vine more particularly.

(28.) On the other hand, the mulberry becomes aged[2528] but very

slowly, and is never exhausted by its crops. Those trees, too, the wood

of which is variegated, arrive at old age but slowly,—the palm, the

maple, and the poplar, for instance.

(29.) Trees grow old more rapidly when the earth is ploughed and

loosened about the[2529] roots; forest trees at a later period.

Speaking in general terms, we may say that care employed in the culture

of trees seems to promote their fertility, while increased fertility

accelerates old age. Hence it is that the carefully tended trees are

the first to blossom, and the first to bud; in a word, are the most

precocious in every respect: but all natural productions which are in

any way weakened are more susceptible of atmospheric influences.

CHAP. 52.—TREES WHICH BEAR VARIOUS PRODUCTS. CRATÆGUM.