in the hands of the Roman lictor, but in those of the pedagogue also,
and is still to some extent. Hence it was formerly nicknamed “Arbor
sapientiæ,” the “tree of wisdom.”
[2409] This is no longer done in France, but it is in Russia, where
they extract from it an empyreumatic oil, which is used in preparing
Russia leather, and which imparts to it its agreeable smell.
[2410] Boys, both of whose parents were surviving, used to carry before
the bride a torch of white thorn. This thorn was, not improbably, the
“Cratægus oxyacantha” of Linnæus, which bears a white flower. See B.
xxiv. c. 66.
[2411] The Cytisus laburnum of Linnæus, also known as “false ebony,”
still a native of the Alps.
[2412] But blackish in the centre; whence its name of false ebony.
[2413] Meaning the clusters of the flowers.
[2414] The Anthyllis barba Jovis of modern botanists. The leaves have
upon them a silvery down, whence the name “argyrophylla,” given to it
by Mænch.
[2415] But in c. 30, he says that the poplar grows on hilly or
mountainous declivities.
[2416] This tree has not been satisfactorily identified; but Fée is
of opinion that it is probably a variety of the willow, the Salix
vitellina of Linnæus. Sprengel thinks that it is the Salix capræa.
[2417] The Ligustrum vulgare of Linnæus. It has black fruit and a white
flower, and is rendered famous by the lines of Virgil—Ecl. ii. 17:
“O formose puer, nimium ne crede colori;
Alba ligustra cadunt, vaccinia nigra leguntur.”
It is evidently this juxtaposition that has prompted Pliny to mention
the vaccinium in the succeeding passage. In B. xii. c. 51, and B. xxiv.
c. 45, Pliny seems inclined to confound this shrub with the Cyprus, the
Lawsonia inermis of Linnæus, the Henna of the east, a totally different
plant.
[2418] Wooden tallies used by public officers in keeping their
accounts. They were employed till the middle ages.
[2419] The Primus mahaleb, Desfontaines says; but Fée identifies it
with the black heath-berry, or whortle-berry, still called “vaciet” in
France. It does not, however, grow, as Pliny says, in watery places,
but in woods and on shrubby hills.
[2420] See B. xxi. c. 97.
[2421] These observations, Fée says, are borrowed from Theophrastus,
Hist. Plant. B. iii. c. 4, and are founded on truth.
[2422] “Silvestres,” and “urbaniores.”
[2423] Urbanæ.
[2424] The Nerion oleander of Linnæus; the laurel-rose, or rose of
St. Anthony of the French; it has some distant resemblance to the
olive-tree, but its leaf is that of the laurel, and its flower very
similar to that of the rose.
[2425] See B. xxiv. c. 61.
[2426] “Nerion” is the Greek name.
[2427] It has certain dangerous properties, which cause the herbivorous
animals to avoid touching it. It acts strongly on the muscular system,
and, as Fée remarks, used as an antidote to the stings of serpents, it
is not improbable that its effect would be the worst of the two.
[2428] See B. xiii. c. 37. The tamarisk of the moderns is not an
evergreen, which has caused writers to doubt if it is identical with
the tamariscus of the ancients, and to be disposed to look for it among
the larger ericæ or heaths. The leaves of the larch fall every year;
those of the other evergreens mostly every two or three years.
[2429] See B. xiii. c. 40.
[2430] See B. xiii. c. 40. This assertion of Pliny is erroneous, as
these trees are in reality evergreens, though all trees of that class
are liable to lose their leaves through certain maladies.
[2431] “Quercus.” The ilex or holm-oak is an evergreen.
[2432] Pliny is in error here. Varro, De Re Rust. B. i. c. 7, has made
mention of this tree.
[2433] The hot climates possess a greater number of evergreens than
the temperate regions, but not of the same species or genus. The vine
invariably loses its leaves each year.
[2434] This last assertion, Fée says, is far from true, in relation to
the coniferous trees.
[2435] See B. xv. c. 7.
[2436] The Populus alba of Linnæus.
[2437] The Populus nigra of Linnæus.
[2438] The Populus tremula of Linnæus. This statement as to the leaves
of the poplar is verified by modern experience.
[2439] This does not appear to be exactly correct as to the ivy.
The leaves on the young suckers or the old and sterile branches are
divided into three or five regular lobes, while those which grow on the
branches destined to bear the blossoms are ovals or lanceolated ovals
in shape.
[2440] It is not from the leaves, but from the fruit of the tree that
this down falls; the seeds being enveloped with a cottony substance.
This passage is hopelessly corrupt.
[2441] See B. xviii. c. 68, where he enlarges still further on this
asserted peculiarity; he borrows his statement from Theophrastus, Hist.
Plant. B. i. c. 16.
[2442] These statements are quite conformable with the fact.
[2443] This statement is quite true, so far as the fact that the leaves
have not the same position in the day-time as during the night: the
changes of position vary greatly, however, in the different kinds. It
is generally thought that an organic irritability is the cause of this
phenomenon.
[2444] This seems to be the meaning of “In aliis gentium lana est.”
He alludes, probably, to cotton or silk: see B. vi. c. 20. Thunberg
tells us that at Roodesand, near the Cape of Good Hope, there grows so
thick a down on the Buplevrum giganteum of Lamarck, that it is employed
to imitate a sort of white velvet, and is used for bonnets, gloves,
stockings, &c.
[2445] B. xiii. c. 7.
[2446] “Genere ilicum.” It is not improbable that he here refers to the
variety of the holm-oak which he has previously called “aquifolia,”
apparently confounding it with the holly. See c. 8 of this Book.
[2447] See B. xiii. c. 37.
[2448] This must be understood of the young leaf of the alder, which
has a sort of thick gummy varnish on it.
[2449] B. xiii. c. 7.
[2450] B. xv. c. 15. Pliny is not correct here; the leaf of the pear
is oval or lanceolated, while that of the apple is oval and somewhat
angular, though not exactly “mucronata,” or sharply pointed.
[2451] Not exactly “divided,” but strongly lobed.
[2452] If this is the case, the pitch-tree can hardly be identical with
the false fir, the Abies excelsa of Decandolles. See c. 18 of this
Book, and the Note.
[2453] This passage would be apt to mislead, did we not know that the
leaves of the coniferous trees here mentioned are not prickly, in the
same sense as those of the holly, which are armed with very formidable
weapons.
[2454] More particularly in the Populus tremula, the “quivering” poplar.
[2455] Crepitantia.
[2456] See B. xv. c. 15. Not a species, but an accidental monstrosity.
[2457] See B. xv. c. 37, where he speaks of the Hexastich myrtle.
[2458] The leaves of the elm and the tree supposed to be identical with
the cytisus of the ancients have no characteristics in common. See B.
xiii. c. 47, and the Notes.
[2459] De Re Rust. cc. 5, 30, 45.
[2460] Very inappropriate food for cattle, it would appear: the fig
leaf being charged with a corrosive milky juice; the leaf of the holm
oak, hard and leathery; and that of the ivy, bitter and nauseous in the
highest degree.
[2461] Eighth of February.
[2462] See B. viii. c. 67.
[2463] Catlitio.
[2464] He alludes to the period of the rising of the sap; an entirely
distinct process from germination.
[2465] This statement, as also that relative to the holm oak, and other
trees previously mentioned, is quite incorrect. The blossoms of the
fig-tree are very much concealed, however, from view in the involucre
of the clinanthium.
[2466] This is not the fact, though the blossom of the juniper is of
humble character, and not easily seen. Theophrastus, B. iii. c. 6, only
says that it is a matter of doubt, what Pliny so positively affirms.
[2467] This is the fact; the male tree is sterile, but it fecundates
the female.
[2468] These remarks, borrowed from Theophrastus, are generally
consistent with our experience.
[2469] Fée remarks that Pliny here copies from Theophrastus, a writer
of Greece, without making allowance for the difference of localities.
Theophrastus, however, gives the laurel an earlier period for budding
than Pliny does.
[2470] The Rhamnus paliurus of Linnæus.
[2471] This is entirely fanciful: though it is the case that in some
trees, the ligneous ones, namely, there are two germinations in the
year, one at the beginning of spring, which acts more particularly on
the branches, and the other at the end of summer, which acts more upon
the parts nearer the roots.
[2472] See B. xviii. c. 57.
[2473] There is no such thing as a third budding.
[2474] As already stated, there are never more than two germinations.
[2475] This rupture of the epidermis, caused by the formation beneath
of new ligneous and conical layers, takes place not solely, as Pliny
and Theophrastus state, at the time of germination, but slowly and
continuously.
[2476] On the contrary, they are irregular both in their commencement
and their duration.
[2477] This is not the case; each bud is independent of the one that
has preceded it. A sucker, however, newly developed may give birth to
buds not at the extremity, but throughout the whole length of it.
[2478] See B. xviii. c. 67. What Pliny says here is in general true,
though its germination does not take place with such rapidity as he
states.
[2479] A mere fable, of course.
[2480] In the last Chapter.
[2481] In Paris, Fée says, the almond does not blossom till March. If
the tree should blossom too soon, it is often at the expense of the
fruit.
[2482] Probably the apricot. See B. xv. c. 12.
[2483] See B. xv. c. 11.
[2484] See B. xxiv. c. 8.
[2485] This, of course, is not the fact. As to the succeeding
statements, they are borrowed mostly from Theophrastus, and are in
general correct.
[2486] The rising of the sap.
[2487] The Pleiades. See B. xviii. cc. 59, 60.
[2488] It was supposed in astrology that the stars exercised an effect
equally upon animal and vegetable life.
[2489] 25th of July.
[2490] See B. xviii. c. 68.
[2491] The Cornus mas of botanists; probably the Frutex sanguineus
mentioned in c. 30. See also B. xv. c. 31.
[2492] Probably the Lonicera Alpigena of Linnæus; the fruit of which
resembles a cherry, but is of a sour flavour, and produces vomiting.
[2493] The wood is so durable, that a tree of this kind in the forest
of Montmorency is said to be a thousand years old.
[2494] See B. xviii. cc. 59, 60.
[2495] See c. 6 of this Book.
[2496] See B. xii. c. 7.
[2497] This supposed marvel merely arises from the fact that the fruit
has a strong ligneous stalk, which almost precludes the possibility of
its dropping off. This is the case, too, not only with the pine, but
with numerous other trees as well.
[2498] “Dried” nuts.
[2499] See B. xxiv. c. 41.
[2500] But in B. xxiv. c. 32, he speaks of the fruit of the black
poplar as an antidote for epilepsy. In fact, he is quite in error in
denying a seed to any of these trees.
[2501] See c. 29 of this Book.
[2502] The Rhamnus alaternus of Linnæus, the Phylica elatior of
C. Bauhin. In reality, it bears a small black berry, of purgative
qualities.
[2503] “Infelices,” “unhappy” rather.
[2504] Daughter of Sithon, king of Thrace, who hanged herself on
account of the supposed inconstancy of her lover, Demophöon. See Ovid,
Heroid. 2.
[2505] This must not be taken to the letter; indeed, Fée thinks that
the proper meaning is:—“Young trees do not produce fruit till they have
arrived at a certain state of maturity.” Trees mostly continue on the
increase till they die.
[2506] See B. xvii. c. 2. The assertion here made has not been
confirmed by experience.
[2507] “Frugiperda:” in the Greek, ὠλεσίκαρπον. See Homer. Od. x. l.
510. It has been suggested, Pliny says, that the willow seed had this
epithet from its effect in causing abortion; but he does not seem to
share the opinion.
[2508] This cannot be a willow, Fée remarks; indeed, Theophrastus, B.
iii. c. 5, speaks of a black poplar as growing there.
[2509] See B. xv. c. 13. It is not impossible that Pliny may have
mistaken here the Persea, or Balanites Ægyptiaca, for the Persica, or
peach. See p. 296.
[2510] Fée remarks, that this expression is remarkable as giving a just
notion of the relative functions of the male and female in plants. He
says that one might almost be tempted to believe that they suspected
something of the nature and functions of the pistils and stamens.
[2511] This statement, which is drawn from Theophrastus, is rather
fanciful than rigorously true.
[2512] B. xiii. c. 7.
[2513] Or “forerunner.” The Spaniards call a similar fig “brevas,” the
“ready ripener.”
[2514] See B. xv. c. 19.
[2515] See B. xv. c. 21.
[2516] This does not happen in the northern climates; though sometimes
it is the case that a fruit-tree blossoms again towards the end of
summer, and if the autumn is fine and prolonged, these late fruits will
ripen. Such a phenomenon, however, is of very rare occurrence.
[2517] See B. xviii. c. 74.
[2518] “Insanæ.” There are some varieties of the vine which blossom
more than once, and bear green grapes and fully ripe ones at the same
moment.
[2519] De Re Rust. c. 7.
[2520] The suggested reading, “apud matrem magnam,” seems preferable to
“apud mare,” and receives support from what is said relative to Smyrna
in B. xiv. c. 6.
[2521] See B. v. c. 3.
[2522] B. xviii. c. 51.
[2523] B. xv. c. 19.
[2524] This is not the fact: the fruits of all trees have their proper
time for ripening.
[2525] He speaks here in too general terms; the pear, for instance, is
not more fruitful when old than when young.
[2526] He speaks of the process of caprification. See B. xv. c. 21.
[2527] So our proverb, “Soon ripe, soon rotten;” applicable to mankind
as well as trees. See B. xxiii. c. 23.
[2528] See B. xv. c. 27. The mulberry tree will live for several
centuries.
[2529] This stimulates the sap, and adds to its activity: but the tree
grows old all the sooner, being the more speedily exhausted.
[2530] In cc. 9-14 of the present Book.
[2531] This passage is quite unintelligible; and it is with good reason
that Fée questions whether Pliny really understood the author that he
copied from.
[2532] Fée remarks, that Pliny does not seem to know that the catkin is
an assemblage of flowers, and that without it the tree would be totally
barren.
[2533] Pliny blunders sadly here, in copying from Theophrastus, B.
iii. c. 16. He mixes up a description of the box and the cratægus, or
holm-oak, making the latter to be a seed of the former: and he then
attributes a mistletoe to the box, which Theophrastus speaks of as
growing on the cratægus.
[2534] See c. 93, where he enlarges on the varieties of the mistletoe.
[2535] See B. xxiv. c. 71.
[2536] He means the garden or border-box, mentioned in c. 28 of this
Book.
[2537] See B. xiii. c. 17: the African lotus, probably; the Zizyphus
lotus of Desfontaines.
[2538] This statement is entirely incorrect. If a tree loses the
terminal bud, it will grow no higher; but it will not die if the
extremities of the branches are cut. Such, in fact, is much more likely
to happen when they are all cut off, from the extreme loss of juices
which must naturally ensue at the several cicatrices united.
[2539] The Celtis australis of Linnæus. Pliny is in error in calling
this tree the “Grecian bean.” In B. xiii. c. 22, he erroneously calls
the African lotus by the name of “celtis,” which only belongs to the
lotus of Italy; that of Africa being altogether different.
[2540] The bark, which is astringent, is still used in preparing skins,
and a black colouring matter extracted from the root is employed in
dyeing wool.
[2541] Quite an accidental resemblance, if, indeed, it ever existed.
[2542] “Oculus”—the bud on the trunk.
[2543] This must be either a mistake or an exaggeration; the cherry
never being a very large tree.
[2544] It is evident that he is speaking of the epidermis only, and not
the cortical layers and the liber.
[2545] The roots of trees being ligneous, “carnosæ,” Fée remarks, is an
inappropriate term.
[2546] Georg. ii. 291.
[2547] “Lagenas.” Fée takes this to mean here vessels to hold liquids,
and remarks that the workers in wicker cannot attain this degree of
perfection at the present day.
[2548] Pliny is in error in rejecting this notion.
[2549] See B. xii. c. 5, and B. xiii. c. 29. What Pliny states of the
fir, or Abies pectinata, Theophrastus relates of the πεύκη, or Abies
excelsa of Decandolles. There is little doubt that in either case the
statement is incorrect.
[2550] On the contrary, the roots of trees increase in size till the
period of their death.
[2551] By preventing the action of the air from drying the roots, and
so killing the tree.
[2552] A grove, probably, consecrated to the Muses.
[2553] These stories must be regarded as either fables or impostures;
though it is very possible for a tree to survive after the epidermis
has been removed with the adze.
[2554] See B. xvii. c. 9.
[2555] In c. 7 of this Book.
[2556] It is not improbable that he has in view here the passage in
Virgil’s Georgics, B. ii. l. 109, _et seq._
[2557] Or balm of Gilead. See B. xii. c. 54. Bruce assures us that it
is indigenous to Abyssinia; if so, it has been transplanted in Arabia.
It is no more to be found in Judæa.
[2558] This is inserted, as it is evident that the text without it is
imperfect. Fée says that even in Judæa it was transplanted from Arabia.
[2559] As to the identification of the cinnamomum of Pliny,
see B. xii. cc. 41 and 42, and the Notes.
[2560] As to the question of the identity of the amomum, see B. xii. c.
28.
[2561] See B. xii. c. 26.
[2562] This cannot be the ordinary Piper nigrum, or black pepper, which
does not deserve the title “arbor.” It is, no doubt, the pepper of
Italy, which he mentions in B. xii. c. 14.
[2563] The Cassia Italica, probably, of B. xii. c. 43. The cassia of
the East could not possibly survive in Italy. The fact is, no doubt,
that the Romans gave the names of cassia, piper, and amomum, to certain
indigenous plants, and then persuaded themselves that they had the
genuine plants of the East.
[2564] See B. xii. c. 30.
[2565] Under the name of Cedrus, no doubt, several of the junipers have
been included. See B. xiii. c. 11.
[2566] Fée is inclined to doubt this statement. The myrtle has been
known to stand the winters of Lower Brittany.
[2567] Owing, no doubt, as Fée says, solely to bad methods of
cultivation. The same, too, with the grafted peach and the Greek nut or
almond.
[2568] The Cupressus sempervirens of Linnæus, the Cupressus fastigiata
of Decandolle.
[2569] De Re Rust. cc. 48, 151.
[2570] “Morosa;” meaning that it reaches maturity but very slowly.
[2571] Tristis tentantum sensu torquebit amaror.—Virg. Georg. ii. 247.
[2572] This statement is exaggerated.
[2573] It is still to be seen very frequently in the cemeteries of
Greece and Constantinople.
[2574] The cypress is in reality monœcious, the structure of the same
plant being both male and female.
[2575] This was formerly done with the cypress, in England, to a
considerable extent. Such absurdities are now but rare.
[2576] The Cupressus fastigiata of Decandolle: and a variety of the
Cupressus sempervirens of Linnæus.
[2577] The Cupressus horizontalis of Miller; the variety B of the C.
sempervirens of Linnæus.
[2578] The present name given to this tree in the island of Crete, is
the “daughter’s dowry.”
[2579] De Re Rust. c. 151.
[2580] B. iii. c. 12.
[2581] This, Fée says, is the case with none of the coniferous trees.
[2582] Of course this spontaneous creation of the cypress is fabulous;
and, indeed, the whole account, which is borrowed from Theophrastus, is
greatly exaggerated.
[2583] B. xix. c. 15.
[2584] This story, which is borrowed from Theophrastus, is evidently
fabulous.
[2585] Meaning Asia Minor.
[2586] Hist. Plant. B. iii c. 10.
[2587] See B. vi. c. 23.
[2588] Bacchus, after the alleged conquest by him of India, was said to
have returned crowned with ivy, and seated in a car drawn by tigers.
[2589] It is a mistake to suppose that the ivy exhausts the juices of
trees. Its tendrils fasten upon the cortical fissures; and, if the tree
is but small, its development is apt to be retarded thereby. It is
beneficial, rather than destructive, to walls.
[2590] This plant is really monœcious or androgynous.
[2591] The Rosa Eglanteria.
[2592] The Hedera helix of Linnæus, or, possibly, a variety of it with
variegated leaves.
[2593] The Hedera arborea of C. Bauhin, the common ivy.
[2594] The Hedera major sterilis of C. Bauhin.
[2595] The first variety of the common ivy, the Hedera helix of Linnæus.
[2596] A wreath of ivy was the usual prize in the poetic contests.
[2597] See B. v. c. 16, and B. vi. c. 23.
[2598] The “red berry” and the “golden fruit.”
[2599] The berries are yellow in the first variety of the common ivy,
the Hedera poetica of C. Bauhin.
[2600] This is the case sometimes with the black ivy, the Hedera
arborea of C. Bauhin. Only isolated cases, however, are to be met with.
[2601] There is an ivy of this kind, the Hedera humi repens of
botanists; but most of the commentators are of opinion that it is the
ground ivy, the Glechoma hederacea of Linnæus, that is spoken of.
Sprengel takes it to be the Anthirrinum Azarina, from which opinion,
however, Fée dissents.
[2602] The Smilax aspera of Linnæus; the sarsaparilla plant.
[2603] Fée is inclined to question this; but the breadth of the tablets
may have been very small in this instance.
[2604] Of course this is fabulous: though it is not impossible that
the writing on the tablets may sometimes have caused “a noise in the
world,” and that hence the poets may have given rise to this story.
[2605] Pliny borrows this fabulous story from Cato, De Re Rust. c. 3.
[2606] The reeds cannot be appropriately ranked among the shrubs.
[2607] For musical purposes, namely.
[2608] B. v. c. 20.
[2609] “Calamus.” The so-called reed of the East, used for making darts
and arrows, does not belong to the genus Arundo, but to those of the
Bambos and Nastus.
[2610] Few readers of history will fail to recollect the report made to
King Henry V. by Davy Gam, before the battle of Agincourt:—“The enemy
are so numerous,” said the messenger, “that their arrows will darken
the sun.” “We must e’en be content to fight in the dark then,” was the
warrior’s reply.
[2611] See B. vii. c. 2. This is probably an exaggeration. He alludes
to the Bambos arundinacea of Lamarck, the Arundo arbor of C. Bauhin.
[2612] The Arundo donax of Linnæus.
[2613] Or the pipe-reed.
[2614] The tibia, or pipe, was played lengthwise, like the flageolet or
clarionet.
[2615] A variety of the Arundo donax. The Orchomenian reed is of the
same class. The fistula was played sideways; and seems to have been
a name given both to the Syrinx or the Pandæan pipes, and the flute,
properly so called.
[2616] In the last Chapter. The Arundo donax, probably, so far as
European warfare was concerned.
[2617] A variety of the Arundo donax of Linnæus.
[2618] This is not the fact.
[2619] The Arundo versicolor of Miller.
[2620] Constantinus and Schneider, upon Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B.
iv. c. 11, suspect the correctness of this word.
[2621] See B. xx. c. 88, and B. xxxii. c. 52.
[2622] The Arundo phragmites of Linnæus. The Plotias, no doubt, was
only a variety of it.
[2623] “Arundo tibialis.” The story about the time taken by it to grow,
and the increase of the waters, is, of course, fabulous.
[2624] The “yoke reed,” or “reed for a double flute.”
[2625] Perhaps so called from the silkiness of its flossy pinicules.
[2626] This seems to be the meaning of “ad inclusos cantus.”
[2627] B. xviii. c. 74.
[2628] Lingulis.
[2629] The words “dextræ” and “sinistræ,” denote the treble and the
bass flutes; it is thought by some, because the former were held with
the right hand, and the latter with the left. Two treble or bass flutes
were occasionally played on at the same time.
[2630] See B. xiii. c. 32.
[2631] These were of the variety Zeugites, previously mentioned.
[2632] Fée suggests, that what he mentions here may not have been a
reed at all, but one of the cyperaceous plants, the papyrus, perhaps.
[2633] De Re Rust. c. 6. It was the donax that was thus employed; as it
is in France at the present day.
[2634] Oculis. See B. xvii. c. 33.
[2635] See B. xix. c. 42.
[2636] The white willow, Salix Alba of Linnæus.
[2637] The Salix vitellina more particularly is used in France for this
purpose.
[2638] The Salix helix of Linnæus.
[2639] The Salix amygdalina of Linnæus.
[2640] De Re Rust. c. 6. Fée remarks that the notions of modern
agriculturists are very different on this point.
[2641] The Salix purpurea of Linnæus: the Salix vulgaris rubens of C.
Bauhin.
[2642] This belongs, probably, to the Salix helix of Linnæus.
[2643] Fée queries whether this may not be the Salix incana of Schrank
and Hoffmann, the bark of which is a brown green.
[2644] Belonging to the Salix helix of Linnæus.
[2645] Belonging to the Salix purpurea of Linnæus.
[2646] Field-mouse or squirrel colour. See B. viii. c. 82. The same,
probably, as the Salix vitellina of Linnæus.
[2647] A variety, Fée thinks, of the Salix rubens.
[2648] The Scirpus lacustris of Linnæus.
[2649] And not in front of them.
[2650] Mapalia.
[2651] Egypt, namely.
[2652] The bramble is sometimes found on the banks of watery spots and
in marshy localities, but more frequently in mountainous and arid spots.
[2653] Known to us as blackberries. This tree is the Rubus fruticosus
of Linnæus; the same as the Rubus tomentosus, and the Rubus
corylifolius of other modern botanists.
[2654] The Rosa canina of Linnæus: the dog-rose or Eglantine.
[2655] The Rubus Idæus of botanists; the ordinary raspberry.
[2656] See B. xxiv. c. 75.
[2657] See B. xxiv. c. 35.
[2658] They are still used for dyeing, but not for staining the hair.
[2659] Only as a purgative, probably.
[2660] Though the acid it contains would curdle milk, still its natural
acridity would disqualify it from being used for making cheese.
[2661] The white sap or inner bark; the aubier of the French. Fée
remarks, that its supposed analogy with fat is incorrect.
[2662] He means the outer ligneous layers of the wood. They differ only
in their relative hardness.
[2663] “Pulpæ.” The ligneous fibres which form the tissue of the bark.
[2664] “Venæ.” By this term he probably means the nutritive vessels and
the ligneous fibres united. It was anciently the general belief that
the fibres acted their part in the nutriment of the tree.
[2665] “Graphium.” Properly a stylus or iron pen.
[2666] “Glandia.” This analogy, Fée remarks, does not hold good.
[2667] See B. xiii. c. 29, and c. 27 of this Book.
[2668] And at an angle with the grain or fibre of the wood.
[2669] And at right angles. In the Dicotyledons, the disposition of the
fibres is longitudinal and transversal.
[2670] Guttum.
[2671] For the simple reason, because the part near the root is of
greater diameter.
[2672] Soft ligneous layers.
[2673] In c. 72 of this Book.
[2674] Hard wood—such as we know generally as “heart;” “heart of oak”
for instance.
[2675] Probably that of the ligneous layers near the pith or sap.
[2676] “Limo:” the alburnum previously mentioned.
[2677] This practice was formerly forbidden by the forest laws of
France.
[2678] In B. xviii.
[2679] Pliny borrows this superstition from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant.
B. vi. c. 1.
[2680] This was the name of mimic sea-fights, exhibited at Rome in
the Circus or amphitheatres, or else in lakes dug expressly for the
purpose. Hardouin says, there were five Naumachiæ at Rome, in the 14th
region of the City.
[2681] This practice is no longer followed.
[2682] De Re Rust. c. 31; also cc. 17 and 37.
[2683] This practice is observed in modern times.
[2684] C. 37.
[2685] Pliny, no doubt, observes an analogy between the hair of
the human head, and trees as forming the hair of the earth. The
superstition here mentioned, Fée says, was, till very recently,
observed in France to a considerable extent.
[2686] De Re Rust. 1, 37.
[2687] Terebinthine or turpentine.
[2688] “Ad fabrorum intestina opera medulla sectilis.” This passage is
probably corrupt.
[2689] In c. 74.
[2690] With reference to the fir, namely.
[2691] B. iii. c. 5.
[2692] B. iv. c. 3.
[2693] An additional proof, perhaps, that the cedar of the ancients
is only one of the junipers, and that, as Fée says, they were not
acquainted with the real cedar.
[2694] B. iii. c. 4.
[2695] “Spiras.” It seems to have been the opinion of the ancients that
the internal knots of the wood are formed spirally. Such is not the
fact, as they consist of independent layers.
[2696] Centra.
[2697] He takes this account from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. v. c. 3.
[2698] The greatest height, Fée says, of any tree known, is that of the
palm, known as ceroxylon; it sometimes attains a height of 250 feet.
Adanson speaks of the baobab as being 90 feet in circumference.
[2699] In c. 74.
[2700] See B. xix. c. 6.
[2701] A spot enclosed in the Campus Martius, for the resort of the
people during the Comitia, and when giving their votes.
[2702] “Diribitorium.” This was the place, probably, where the
diribitores distributed to the citizens the tabellæ, with which they
voted in the Comitia, or else, as Wunder thinks, divided the votes,
acting as “tellers,” in the modern phrase.
[2703] Caligula.
[2704] B. xxxvi. c. 14.
[2705] See B. xxxvi. c. 14. This was a mortar made of volcanic ashes,
which hardened under water. It is now known as Pozzuolane.
[2706] The Pinus cedrus of Linnæus.
[2707] The canoes were formed probably of the fir.
[2708] The Celtis australis of Linnæus.
[2709] See B. xiii. c. 27.
[2710] This, Fée says, is not the case, if the Syrian terebinth is the
same as the Pistacia terebinthus of Linnæus.
[2711] This is not the case; a nail has a firm hold in all resinous
woods.
[2712] This is evidently a puerile absurdity: but it is borrowed from
Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. v. c. 4.
[2713] The savages of North America, and, indeed, of all parts of the
globe, seem to have been acquainted with this method of kindling fire
from the very earliest times.
[2714] See B. xxiv. c. 49. The Viticella, belonging to the genus
clematis.
[2715] This unfounded notion is borrowed from Theophrastus, B. v. c. 4.
[2716] In the modern botanical sense of the word, the male trees do not
bear at all.
[2717] Asia Minor, namely. See B. xxxv. c. 21.
[2718] The junctures where the pieces of wood are united by glue. This
is to be observed very easily in the greater part of the oaken statuary
that is so plentiful in the churches of Belgium.
[2719] Cypress is perhaps the most lasting of all woods.
[2720] One of the earliest appellations, probably, of Jupiter among the
Romans. See Ovid’s Fasti, B. iii. l. 445, _et seq._
[2721] This is correct. Their resin defends them from the
action of the air, from damp, and the attacks of noxious insects.
[2722] A variety of the oak. See c. 6 of this Book.
[2723] As mentioned at the end of c. 74.
[2724] See B. xi. c. 2.
[2725] See B. xvii. c. 37.
[2726] In c. 74.
[2727] There is nothing very surprising in this, as most woods are
preserved better when completely immersed in water, than when exposed
to the variations of the atmosphere.
[2728] He borrows this fable from Theophrastus, B. v. c. 5.
[2729] This process, Fée says, would be attended with no success.
[2730] It is not quite clear whether he intends this observation to
apply to the poplar and the palm, or to the last only. It is true,
however, in neither case, and is contrary, as Fée observes, to all
physical laws.
[2731] The resistance that woods offer when placed vertically is in the
same ratio as that presented by them when employed horizontally. This
paragraph is borrowed from Theophrastus, B. iii. c. 4, and B. v. cc. 6,
7, 8.
[2732] Ferula.
[2733] In c. 77.
[2734] See c. 24.
[2735] Fée thinks, from the context, that the meaning is, that the vine
was employed in the construction of chariots; it depends entirely on
the punctuation adopted.
[2736] This could only have happened in the first year that they were
so employed.
[2737] De Re Rust. c. 31.
[2738] It is singular, Fée says, to find the wood of the palm, and that
of the poplar, which are destitute of veins, enumerated among those
employed for veneering.
[2739] In c. 27.
[2740] According to Adanson, the baobab will live for more than six
thousand years.
[2741] The Celtis australis of Linnæus.
[2742] In consequence of the disputes between the patricians and
plebeians.
[2743] Thus deriving Lucina from “lucus,” a grove.
[2744] Capillos.
[2745] An area before the temple of Vulcan.
[2746] “Stationes municipiorum.” A sort of exchange, near the Forum,
where the citizens met to discuss the topics of the day.
[2747] See B. iv. c. 18. Of course, this story must be regarded as
fabulous.
[2748] Quercus.
[2749] These are fables founded upon the known longevity of trees,
which, as Fée remarks, Pliny relates with a truly “infantine
simplicity.”
[2750] See B. v. c. 43.
[2751] See B. v. c. 29.
[2752] The palm is by no means a long-lived tree.
[2753] The pomegranate, on the contrary, has been known to live many
centuries.
[2754] He has elsewhere said that the vine is extremely long-lived.
[2755] In the last Chapter he has spoken of a laurel having existed for
many centuries.
[2756] To its great detriment, probably.
[2757] Fée says that no holm-oak is ever known to attain this size.
[2758] See c. 62.
[2759] Sprengel says that this is the parasitic plant, which he calls
Cassyta filiformis. Fée says that this opinion, though perhaps not to
be absolutely rejected, must be accepted with reserve.
[2760] It does not seem to have been identified.
[2761] See B. xviii. c. 33.
[2762] Serpyllum. See B. xx. c. 90.
[2763] A mistletoe, apparently, growing upon the wild olive. Fée says
that no such viscus appears to be known.
[2764] See B. xxvii. c. 66. The Calcitrapa stellata of Lamarck. Fée
remarks that Pliny has committed a great error, in making it a parasite
of the Spina fullonia. Dioscorides only says that the two plants grow
in the same spots.
[2765] The Viscum Europæum of modern naturalists.
[2766] The Viscum album of Linnæus; but Sprengel takes it to be the
Loranthus Europæus.
[2767] Fée questions whether this may not be the Loranthus Europæus.
[2768] The Viscum album of Linnæus; the oak mistletoe or real mistletoe.
[2769] This is not the fact: it grows upon a vast multitude of other
trees.
[2770] It is no longer used for this purpose.
[2771] The mistletoe never in any case loses its leaves, upon whatever
tree it may grow.
[2772] This is, of course, untrue; but the seeds, after being voided by
birds, are more likely to adhere to the bark of trees, and so find a
nidus for germination.
[2773] The exact opposite is the case, the female being the fruitful
plant.
[2774] The method used in Italy for making bird-lime is very similar at
the present day.
[2775] Magos.
[2776] Decandolle was of opinion, that the mistletoe of the
Druids was not a viscum, but the Loranthus Europæus, which is much more
commonly found on oaks.
[2777] Δρῦς, an “oak.” It is much more probable that it was of Celtic
origin.
[2778] Omnia sanantem.
[2779] “Sagum.” Properly, a “military cloak.”
[2780] It was, in comparatively recent times, supposed to be
efficacious for epilepsy.
[2781] See end of B. ii.
[2782] Author of a History or Annals of Rome. Nothing further is known
of him.
[2783] See end of B. vi.
[2784] See end of B. ii.
[2785] See end of B. iii.
[2786] See end of B. vii.
[2787] See end of B. iii.
[2788] See end of B. ii.
[2789] See end of B. ii.
[2790] See end of B. vii.
[2791] He is wholly unknown; but is conjectured to have lived
in the reign of Caligula or Tiberius.
[2792] See end of B. vii.
[2793] See end of B. xii.
[2794] He is unknown; but Solinus speaks of him as a valuable writer.
[2795] M. Vitruvius Pollio, an eminent architect, employed by Augustus.
His valuable work on architecture is still extant.
[2796] See end of B. xiv.
[2797] See end of B. iii.
[2798] See end of B. vii.
[2799] See end of B. iii.
[2800] See end of B. ii.
[2801] See end of B. ii.
[2802] He alludes to the various shrubs and trees, mentioned
as growing in the sea, B. xiii. c. 48; but which there is little doubt,
in reality belong to the class of fuci.
[2803] “Fiunt verius quam nascuntur;” a distinction
perpetuated in the adage, “Poeta nascitur, non fit.”
[2804] He probably alludes to his remark in B. xvi. c. 1.
[2805] Q. Luctatius Catulus, the colleague of Marius. Being afterwards
condemned to die by Marius, he suffocated himself with the fumes of
charcoal.
[2806] A.U.C. 659.
[2807] Valerius Maximus, B. ix. c. 1, relates this story somewhat
differently.
[2808] The Celtis Australis of Linnæus.
[2809] See B. xxxvi. cc. 3 and 24.
[2810] When, in his capacity of ædile, he gave theatrical
representations for the benefit of the public.
[2811] As Fée remarks, this usage has been reversed in modern times,
and plants often receive their botanical names from men.
[2812] See B. xviii. c. 4.
[2813] Or north north-east, as Fée says. He adds that this aspect in
reality is not favourable to vegetation. Pliny commits the error of
copying _exactly_ from Theophrastus, and thereby giving advice to Roman
agriculturists, which was properly suited to the climate of Greece only.
[2814] This is borrowed from Theophrastus; but, as Fée remarks, if
suitable to the climate of Greece, it is not so to that of Italy or
France, where vegetation is much more promoted by a south wind.
[2815] This assertion, Fée says, is erroneous. See B. xvi. c. 46.
[2816] B. xviii. c. 66.
[2817] See c. 30 of this Book. These notions as to critical periods
to plants connected with the constellations, Fée says, are now almost
dispelled; though they still prevail in France, to some extent.
[2818] “Coitus.” See B. xvi. cc. 39 and 42.
[2819] See B. xvi. c. 46.
[2820] From Theophrastus, De Causis, B. ii. c. 1.
[2821] He alludes to the words of Virgil, Georg. i. 100:—
“Humida solstitia, atque hiemes orate serenas,
Agricolæ; hiberno lætissima pulvere farra.”
Fée remarks, that the cultivators of the modern times are more of the
opinion of the poet than the naturalist.
[2822] Because rains would cause the young fruit to fall off. He here
attacks the first portion of the precepts of Virgil; but only, it
appears, in reference to the vine.
[2823] “Lactescentibus.” Fée remarks on the appropriateness of this
expression, as the act of germination, he says, in the cereals and all
the seeds in which the perisperm is feculent, changes the fecula into
an emulsive liquid, in which state the seed may be said, with Pliny, to
be “lactescent.”
[2824] Which appears to have been extensively done with the young
garden trees.
[2825] Georg. ii. 398.
[2826] Taken altogether, a southern aspect is preferable to all others.
[2827] See B. ii. c. 46.
[2828] Cc. 46 and 47.
[2829] He seems to lose sight of the fact that they _bud_ before those
that look to the north.
[2830] B. xvi. cc. 30, 31.
[2831] A rich black mould, probably.
[2832] A ferruginous argilla.
[2833] It must of necessity denote a soil rich in humus, though not, of
course, adapted for all kinds of cultivation.
[2834] He alludes to the difficulty with which argilla, from its
tenacity, is employed in cultivation.
[2835] Columella says the contrary, and so does Virgil, Georg. ii.
226, speaking of this fact as a method of ascertaining the respective
qualities of the earth.
[2836] Virgil, Georg. ii. 220, says the contrary.
[2837] In allusion to what Virgil says, Georg. ii. 254:—
“Quæ gravis est, ipso tacitam se pondere prodit,
Quæque levis——”
Fée remarks, however, that it is easy enough to analyse the earth, and
ascertain the proportions of humus, and of the siliceous, cretaceous,
or argillaceous earths; the relative proportions of which render it
strong or light, as the case may be.
[2838] As Fée says, these earths vary according to the nature of the
soils that are brought down by the streams; in general, however, they
are extremely prolific.
[2839] Fée says that Pliny is here guilty of some degree of
exaggeration. See B. iii. c. 9, p. 195 of Vol. 1: also B. xviii. c. 29.
[2840] “Tophus;” formed of volcanic scoriæ. Fée remarks, that it is
somewhat similar in nature to marl, and that though unproductive by
itself, it is beneficial when mixed with vegetable earth. Tufa and marl
appear to have been often confounded by the ancient writers.
[2841] Georg. ii. 189.
[2842] The Pteris aquilina of the modern botanists.
[2843] Marine salt, or sub-hydrochlorate of soda, Fée thinks, is here
alluded to. It is still used with varied success in some parts of the
west of France.
[2844] Hardouin says, that he here alludes to the proverbial saying
among the ancients, “Perflare altissima ventos”—“The winds blow only on
the most elevated ground.”
[2845] In B. xiv. cc. 4 and 12.
[2846] “Emisso.” Fée would appear to think that the lake suddenly
_made its appearance_, after an earthquake, and from the context he
would appear to be right. These accounts are all of them borrowed from
Theophrastus.
[2847] See B. v. c. 36.
[2848] See B. xv. c. 2.
[2849] See B. xiv. c. 8.
[2850] See B. xiv. c. 8.
[2851] See B. iii. c. 9.
[2852] See B. iii. c. 17.
[2853] Sumen. Properly, “udder.” A cow’s udder was considered one of
the choicest of delicacies by the Romans.
[2854] This is, of course, an exaggeration. The stake must have been
driven in very deep to disappear so speedily.
[2855] De Re Rust. 5.
[2856] This he says in reference to his belief, with Epicurus, in the
eternity of matter.
[2857] De Re Rust. 1.
[2858] See B. iii. c. 6.
[2859] De Re Rust. 151.
[2860] “Pulla.” The “vegetable” earth of modern botanists.
[2861] “Teneram.”
[2862] Iliad, xviii. 541 and 548.
[2863] Vulcan.
[2864] De Oratore, sec. 39.
[2865] See B. xiii. c. 4.
[2866] “Sapiunt,” rather than “redolent.”
[2867] This supposed flavour of the earth is, in reality, attributable
to the extraneous vegetable matter which it contains.
[2868] See B. xii. c. 52, as to this notion.
[2869] The reason being, that in such cases the soil is saturated with
thyme, origanum, mint, and other odoriferous herbs.
[2870] This opinion is contrary to that expressed by Columella, B.
ii. c. 1; but the justice of it is universally recognized. Upon this
theory, too, is based the modern practice of alternating the crops
in successive years, the necessity of providing for heavy rents, not
allowing the land to enjoy absolute rest.
[2871] This has not come to pass even yet, nearly two thousand years
since the days of Pliny.
[2872] See B. v. c. 3, and B. xviii. c. 21.
[2873] Fée taxes our author here with exaggeration. For Byzacium, see
B. v. c. 3, and B. xviii. c. 21.
[2874] Nevertheless, as Fée remarks, the method is often practised with
great success. Pliny is at issue here with Theophrastus, De Causis, B.
iii. c. 25.
[2875] A natural mixture of argilla and calcareous stones, or
subcarbonate of chalk. Fée remarks, that the ancients were not
acquainted with the proper method of applying it. Marl only exercises
its fertilizing influence after being reduced to dust by the action
of the atmosphere, by absorbing the oxygen of the air, and giving to
vegetation the carbonic acid that is necessary for their nourishment.
[2876] “White argilla.” This, Fée thinks, is the calcareous marl, three
varieties of which are known, the compact, the schistoid, and the
friable.
[2877] At the present day there are only two varieties of marl
recognized, the argillaceous and the calcareous; it is to the latter,
Fée thinks, that the varieties here mentioned as anciently recognized,
belonged.
[2878] The Marga terrea of Linnæus. It abounds in various parts of
Europe.
[2879] From the Greek, meaning “not bitter marl.”
[2880] Marl does not begin to fertilize till several years after it has
been laid down; hence, it is generally recommended to marl the land a
little at a time, and often. If the ground is fully marled, it requires
to be marled afresh in about eight or ten years, and not fifty, as
Pliny says.
[2881] “Argentaria.” Used, probably, in the same way as whitening in
modern times. See B. xxxv. c. 58.
[2882] An exaggeration, no doubt.
[2883] Probably meaning “smooth marl;” a variety, Fée thinks, of
argillaceous marl, and, perhaps, the potter’s argillaceous marl, or
potter’s argil. He suggests, also that it may have possibly been
the Marga fullonum saponacea lamellosa of Valerius; in other words,
fullers’ earth.
[2884] Creta fullonia.
[2885] See B. xxxv. c. 46.
[2886] This would rather seem to be a name borrowed from the Greek,
αἰγλήεις, “shining,” and πελιὸς, “white.” Notwithstanding the
resemblance, however, it is just possible that it may have been derived
from the Gallic. Fée queries whether this is the schistoid calcareous
marl, or the schistoid argillaceous marl, the laminæ of which divide
with great facility, and the varieties of which display many colours.
[2887] A variety of the terreous marl.
[2888] It has the effect of augmenting their fruitfulness, and
ameliorating the quality of the fruit. Lime is still considered an
excellent improver for strong, humid soils.
[2889] From this passage, Fée thinks that the Columbine marl must have
been of the white, slightly sparkling kind.
[2890] Though ashes fertilize the ground, more particularly when of an
argillaceous nature, they are not so extensively used now as in ancient
times. Pliny alludes here more particularly to wood and dunghill ashes.
[2891] This, however, he omits to do.
[2892] He alludes, probably, to Theophrastus, De Causis, B. iii. c. 22.
[2893] Odyssey xxiv. 225.
[2894] From “stercus,” “dung.” A fabulous personage, most probably.
[2895] De Re Rust. i. 38.
[2896] De Re Rust. ii. 15.
[2897] Mixed with other manures, it is employed at the present day in
Normandy.
[2898] This manure is still extensively employed in Flanders,
Switzerland, and the vicinity of Paris. In the north of England it is
mixed with ashes, and laid on the fields. There was an old prejudice,
that vegetation grown with it has a fetid odour, but it has for some
time been looked upon as exploded.
[2899] Or urine. In the vicinity of Paris, a manure is employed called
urate, of which urine forms the basis.
[2900] Fée seems to think that this passage means that the bad smell
of urine is imparted to it by the wine that is drunk. It is difficult
to say what could have been the noxious qualities imparted by wine to
urine as a manure, and Pliny probably would have been somewhat at a
loss to explain his meaning.
[2901] In lapse of time, if exposed to the air, it is reduced to the
state of humus or mould.
[2902] Consisting of lime mixed with vegetable ashes.
[2903] De Re Rust. i. 38.
[2904] “Herbas.” This would appear to mean grass only here; though Fée
seems to think that it means various kinds of herbs.
[2905] This method is sometimes adopted in England with buckwheat,
trefoil, peas, and other leguminous plants; and in the south of France
lupines are still extensively used in the same manner, after the usage
of the ancient Romans here described. The French also employ, but more
rarely, for the same purpose, the large turnip, vetches, peas, trefoil,
Windsor beans, sanfoin, lucerne, &c.; but it is found a very expensive
practice.
[2906] De Re Rust. 37.
[2907] “Frondam putidam.” Fée thinks that this expression is used
in reference to the “ebulum,” dane-wort, wall-wort, or dwarf-elder,
previously mentioned.
[2908] “Concidito.” Sillig adopts the reading “comburito,” “burn the
shoots, and dig in, &c.” But in the original the word is “concidito.”
[2909] De Re Rust. 30.
[2910] This is still extensively practised in England and France, and
other countries. The azote, even, that exhales from the bodies of the
animals, is supposed to have a fertilizing influence, to say nothing of
the dung, grease of the body, and urine.
[2911] De Re Rust. 37.
[2912] “Exsugunt,” “suck up,” or “drain,” is one reading in Cato; and
it is not improbable that it is the correct one.
[2913] Georg. i. 77, 78:
“Urit enim lini campum seges, urit avenæ,
Urunt Lethæo perfusa papavera somno.”
[2914] Fée is of opinion, that, with reference to this branch of
agriculture, the ancients displayed more skill and intelligence than
the moderns.
[2915] This absurdity is copied from Varro and Columella.
[2916] _I. e._ in the early part of spring. In modern times, the period
for manuring varies, according to the usage of different localities,
being practised in all the four seasons of the year, according to the
crops, weather, and climate.
[2917] See B. xvi. c. 58.
[2918] The palm is grown in Africa from shoots thrown out from the
axillæ of the leaves; and it is in this circumstance, Fée thinks, that
the story told by Trogus must have originated. Some of the ferns throw
out adventitious buds from the summit of the leaf, and the orange tree
and some others occasionally have them at the base of the leaf.
[2919] Virgil says, Georgics ii. 14:
“Pars autem posito surgunt de semine; ut altæ
Castaneæ, nemorumque Jovi quæ maxime frondet.”
[2920] This method of reproduction is seldom or never employed; plants
or cuttings only being used for the purpose.
[2921] Besides which, it is doubtful if they will reproduce the
variety, the seed of which was originally sown.
[2922] In some cases, they are more particularly liable to disease—the
apple, for instance.
[2923] Because the mode of cultivation adopted has little or no
influence upon them. The palm, however, to bear good fruit, requires
the careful attention of man. It is not capable of being grafted.
[2924] In B. xv. c. 39. The laurel may be grown from cuttings or
shoots, and from seed.
[2925] Known as the Laurus tinus, or Viburnum tinus of Linnæus.
[2926] This is not done at the present day, as it is found that the oil
which they contain turns rancid, and prevents germination.
[2927] These methods of preparation are no longer employed.
[2928] It is for this reason, as already stated, that they should be
sown at once.
[2929] See B. xv. c. 39. He there calls it “sterilis,” “barren.”
[2930] See B. xv. c. 37. The myrtle reproduces itself in its native
countries with great facility, but in such case the flowers are only
single. Where a double flower is required, it is grown from layers.
[2931] No better, Fée says, than the ordinary method of making a myrtle
hedge.
[2932] The almond requires a dry, light earth, and a southern aspect.
[2933] These precautions are no longer observed at the present day.
[2934] This precaution, too, is no longer observed.
[2935] The citron is produced, at the present day, from either the
pips, plants, or cuttings.
[2936] This passage is borrowed almost verbatim from Virgil, Georgics
ii. 50, _et seq._
[2937] “Perna.” This method of reproduction is still adopted, but it is
not to be recommended, as the young tree, before it throws out a root,
is liable to be overthrown by high winds. Virgil mentions it, Georg.
ii. 23.
[2938] Palladius only says that the growth of the quince in such case
is very slow.
[2939] This experiment has been tried for curiosity’s sake, and has
succeeded; the roots become dry, lose their fibres, and then develop
buds, from which branches issue; while the buds of the summit become
changed into roots.
[2940] “Seminarii:” “nurseries,” as they are more commonly called.
[2941] The distance, in reality, ought to vary according to the nature
and species of the trees, and the height they are to be allowed to
attain.
[2942] De Re Rust. 48.
[2943] These precautions are not looked upon as necessary for the
indigenous trees at the present day. For the first year, however, Fée
says, the hurdles might be found very useful.
[2944] As the young cypress is very delicate, in the northern climates,
Fée says, this mode of protecting it in the nursery might prove
advantageous.
[2945] There is some exaggeration in this account of the extreme
smallness of the seed of the cypress.
[2946] Wine and oil-presses, for instance.
[2947] B. xix. c. 48, and B. xx. c. 11. As Fée remarks, this is
a fabulous assertion, which may still be based upon truth; as in
gum-resin, for instance, we find occasionally the seeds of the parent
tree accidentally enclosed in the tear-like drops.
[2948] In B. xvi. c. 47.
[2949] In c. 11 of this Book.
[2950] “Volgiolis.” This word is found nowhere else, and the reading is
doubtful.
[2951] This is, at least, an exaggeration.
[2952] See B. xvi. c. 31, and c. 60.
[2953] It is propagated at the present day both from seed and suckers,
but mostly from the latter, as the seed does not germinate for two
years.
[2954] See B. xv. c. 14. Probably a variety of the jujube; but if so,
it could hardly be grafted on trees of so different a nature as those
here mentioned.
[2955] This tree has not been identified. Dalechamps thinks that it is
a species of gooseberry, probably the same as the Ribes grossularia of
Linnæus. It has been also suggested that it may be the Spina cervina
of the Italians, the Rhamnus catharticus of Linnæus, the purgative
buckthorn.
[2956] Fée doubts if the plum can be grafted on the thorn.
[2957] First of March.
[2958] The thickness of the thumb. See the last Chapter.
[2959] He alludes to the Atinian elm, of which he has already said the
same in B. xvi. c. 29.
[2960] From being about nine feet in circumference.
[2961] A “little altar.”
[2962] 13th of February.
[2963] _I. e._ each at an angle with the other, in this form:—
* * *
* *
* * *
It was probably so called from the circumstance that each triangle
resembles V, or five.
[2964] This is the reason why a soil of only middling quality is
generally selected for nurseries and seed-plots; otherwise it might be
difficult to transplant the young trees to an improved soil.
[2965] The ordinary depth, at the present day, is about two feet; but
when in an argillaceous soil, as Pliny says, the hole is made deeper.
If the soil is black mould, the hole is not so deep, and of a square
form, just as recommended by Pliny.
[2966] De Re Rust. 43.
[2967] This would be either useless, or positively injurious to the
tree.
[2968] See B. xiv. c. 14. It seems impossible to say with exactness
how this passage came to be inserted in the context; but Sillig is
probably right in suspecting that there is a considerable lacuna here.
It is not improbable that Pliny may have enlarged upon the depth of the
roots of trees, and the method of removing them in ancient times. Such
being the case, he might think it not inappropriate to introduce the
story of Papirius, who, when only intending to have a stump cut down
that grew in the way, took the opportunity of frightening the prætor of
Præneste, by the suddenness of the order to his lictor, and probably
the peremptory tone in which it was given. This was all the more
serious to the prætor, as Papirius had been rebuking him just before in
the severest terms.
[2969] From the bundle of fasces, or rods.
[2970] This precept is borrowed from Virgil, Georg. ii. 348, et seq.
[2971] There is little doubt that they took the right view.
[2972] De Re Rust. 28.
[2973] This precaution is omitted by the modern nurserymen, though Fée
is inclined to think it might be attended with considerable advantage,
as the fibres of the side that has faced the south are not likely to be
so firm as those of the northern side. This precaution, however, would
be of more importance with exotic trees than indigenous ones. It is
still practised to some extent with the layers of the vine.
[2974] Fée suggests that Pliny may have here misunderstood a passage in
Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. ii. 8, with reference to the planting of the
fig.
[2975] There would be no such result, Fée says.
[2976] This is a useless precaution; but at the same time, Pliny’s
fears of its consequences are totally misplaced.
[2977] At 11 A.M., or 2 P.M.; _i. e._ between south and south-east, and
south and south-west.
[2978] De Re Rust. 28.
[2979] Wet moss, or moist earth, is used for the purpose at the present
day.
[2980] De Re Rust. 28. It is most desirable to transplant trees with a
layer of the earth in which they have grown; but if carried out to any
extent, it would be an expensive process.
[2981] “Tradunt.” This expression shows that Pliny does not give credit
to the statement. Columella and Palladius speak of _three_ stones being
laid under the root, evidently as a kind of charm.
[2982] See B. xix. c. 30. A somewhat similar practice is also
recommended in B. xv. c. 18; but, of course, as Fée remarks, it can
lead to no results.
[2983] De Re Rust. 28.
[2984] Fée remarks that this is a useful precaution, more particularly
in the case of the coniferous trees, the fig, and others that are
rich in juice; but if universally used, would be attended with great
expense. The French use for the purpose a mixture of fresh earth and
cow-dung, to which they give the name of “onguent Saint-Fiacre.” See p.
481.
[2985] This is from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. ii. 7. The question,
however, depends entirely upon the nature of the tree, the quality of
the soil, and various other considerations, as Pliny himself admits.
[2986] See B. xv. c. 24. This notion, Fée remarks, still prevails to a
very considerable extent.
[2987] By depriving it of the light, and the heat of the sun; but, most
probably, from no other reason.
[2988] “Quoniam et protecta vinearum ratione egent.” This passage is
probably in a mutilated state.
[2989] “In se convoluta.”
[2990] The plane was much valued for its shade by convivial parties.
Hence we find in Virgil, Georg. iv. 146—“Atque ministrantem platanum
potantibus umbram.”
[2991] He clearly alludes to the quivering poplar, Populus tremula of
Linnæus.
[2992] This is quite a fallacy. Even in the much more probable cases of
the upas and mangineel, it is not the fact.
[2993] Theophrastus, De Causis, B. iii. c. 8, says, that trees that
grow on declivities have shorter branches than those of the same kind
growing on plains.
[2994] De Re Rust. c. 16.
[2995] This assertion is doubtful; at the present day, in Andalusia,
the palm, the poplar, and many other trees are much larger than the
olive.
[2996] “Thousand pounders.” This, as Fée remarks, is clearly an
exaggeration.
[2997] Virgil, Georg. ii. 57, makes the same remark.
[2998] This shrub has not been identified.
[2999] See B. xii. c. 26.
[3000] De Re Rust. c. 51.
[3001] The French call cultivation by layers “marcotte,” as applied to
trees in general; and “provignage,” as applicable to the vine. The two
methods described by Pliny are still extensively practised.
[3002] Taken from Cato, De Re Rust. c. 133.
[3003] The Juniperus sabina of Linnæus: see B. xxiv. c. 61. It produces
seed, and there is only one variety that is barren; the plant being, in
reality, diœceous.
[3004] The rosemary, in reality, is a hermaphroditic plant, and in all
cases produces seed.
[3005] See B. xvi. c. 33.
[3006] This, Fée remarks, is in reality no more a case of grafting than
the growing of a tree from seed accidentally deposited in the cleft of
a rock.
[3007] Still used for the reproduction of fruit-trees and shrubs in the
pleasure garden.
[3008] Georg. ii. 73.
[3009] This story is borrowed from Theophrastus, De Caus. B. ii. c. 19.
Fée remarks, that it is very doubtful if an operation of so coarse a
nature could be productive of such results; and he says, that, at all
events, the two woods must have been species of the same genus, or else
individuals of the same family. The mode of grafting here described is
called by agriculturists in foreign countries, “Pliny’s graft.”
[3010] These statements as to the locality of the sap are erroneous.
[3011] The fig is the only fruit that is not improved by grafting; but
then it is not similar to most fruit, being, as Fée says, nothing more
than a fleshy floral receptacle.
[3012] This remark is founded on sound notions of vegetable physiology;
but at the same time it is contradictory to what he states in the
sequel as to grafting the pear on the plane, the apple on the cornel,
&c.
[3013] Georg. ii. 78.
[3014] An unnecessary precaution. It is not the situation of the
branches so much as the nature of the soil, traversed by the roots,
corresponding to them, that would be likely to have an influence on the
graft. There is little doubt that Pliny borrowed the present passage
from Columella, De Re Rust. v. 11; and De Arbor. 20.
[3015] This is sound advice.
[3016] See B. xvi. c. 39, 40, and 41.
[3017] In reprehending this absurd notion, Fée bestows a passing
censure on the superstitions of this nature, contained in the English
Vox Stellarum, one of our almanacks; and in the French “Almanach des
Bergers,” “Shepherds’ Almanack.”
[3018] This is borrowed by Palladius, in the operations of February,
tit. 17, and October, tit. 12.
[3019] De Re Rust. 40.
[3020] This is the onguent Saint-Fiacre of the French, and is still
used to protect the graft from all contact with the exterior air.
[3021] “Altitudinem,” as Dalechamps suggests, would appear to be a
better reading than “latitudinem.”
[3022] See B. xxv. c. 40.
[3023] Borrowed from Columella, B. iv. c. 29. This method is still
employed for young plants; in France it is called “salting” the plants.
[3024] De Re Rust. 41.
[3025] The first of these methods is now the only one at all employed
with the vine; indeed, it is more generally reproduced by means of
layers and suckers.
[3026] It is not accurately known what was the form or particular merit
of this auger or wimble.
[3027] Fée remarks, that the period here named is very indefinite. May
and the early part of June are the periods now selected for grafting
the vine.
[3028] This is borrowed from Varro, De Re Rust. B. i. c. 40. In
reality, it makes no difference whether the stock is that of a wild
tree or of the cultivated species.
[3029] “Emplastrum.” Properly, the little strip of bark, which is
fitted in with the eye, and which is _plastered_ or soldered down.
[3030] “Scutula.” So called from its resemblance to a “little shield.”
[3031] De Re Rust. 42.
[3032] Cato says, three and a-half.
[3033] Chalk and cow-dung. See c. 24 of this Book.
[3034] Perhaps “Tuliæ;” which would mean, according to Festus, the
“cascades” or “waterfalls” of Tibur, now Tivoli.
[3035] Fée says, that if we take the word “grafted” here in the
strictest sense, Pliny must have seen as great a marvel as any of those
mentioned in the “Arabian Nights;” in fact, utter impossibilities. He
thinks it possible, however, that a kind of mock grafting may have been
produced in the case, still employed in some parts of Italy, and known
as the “greffe-Diane.” A trunk of an orange tree is split, and slips
of numerous trees are then passed into it, which in time throw out
their foliage and blossoms in various parts of the tree, or at the top;
the consequence of which is, that the stock appears to bear several
varieties of blossoms at the same moment. It is not improbable that
Pliny was thus imposed upon.
[3036] The plane and the oak are no longer employed for the purpose.
[3037] See B. xv. c. 25.
[3038] See c. 29 of this Book.
[3039] See B. xv. c. 17.
[3040] The mulberry is incapable of being grafted on the elm.
[3041] De Re Rust. 45. The method of planting here described is still
the one most generally approved of for the olive.
[3042] De Re Rust. 44. The rules here given are still very generally
observed.
[3043] B. xv. c. 6.
[3044] See c. 2 of this Book, and B. xviii. c. 69.
[3045] The olive is an extremely long-lived tree; it has been known to
live as long as nine or ten centuries. A fragment of the bark, with a
little wood attached, if put in the ground, will throw out roots and
spring up. Hence it is not to be wondered at, that the ancients looked
upon it as immortal.
[3046] B. xviii. c. 74.
[3047] B. xviii. c. 74.
[3048] B. ii. c. 47, and B. xviii. c. 68.
[3049] There is a contradiction here; a few lines above, he says that
they _do_ plant their trees in Greece at this period. He may possibly
mean “sow.”
[3050] See B. xvi. c. 41. The rules here laid down by Pliny are, as
Fée remarks, much too rigorous, and must be modified according to
extraneous circumstances.
[3051] 13th of February.
[3052] B. xv. c. 26.
[3053] 1st of March.
[3054] 15th of March.
[3055] B. xvi. cc. 30, 46, 67, and 78.
[3056] De Re Rust. B. v. c. 11. A very absurd and useless method, Fée
remarks.
[3057] In c. 24 of this Book.
[3058] All the precepts given in this Chapter have been already given
in cc. 3 and 4 of the present Book.
[3059] The maple, linden, elm, and arundo donax, are still employed,
as well as the willow, for this purpose; the latter, however, but very
rarely. The account of its cultivation here given is borrowed from
Columella, De Re Rust. B. iv. c. 30.
[3060] The Salix viminalis of Linnæus, or white osier.
[3061] The Salix alba of Linnæus. These stakes, or props, are for the
support of the vine.
[3062] For making baskets and bindings.
[3063] The Populus canescens of Willdenow.
[3064] The Arundo donax of Linnæus. This account is mostly from
Columella, B. iv. c. 32.
[3065] B. xvi. c. 67.
[3066] First of March.
[3067] This method is condemned by Columella, De Arbor. 29, as the
produce is poor, meagre, and weak. It is but little practised at the
present day.
[3068] A mere superstition, of course.
[3069] “Pedamenta,” uprights, stays, stakes, or props.
[3070] This is not the fact, for the chesnut both grows and buds very
slowly.
[3071] A black, hot kind of earth. See c. 3 of this Book.
[3072] In reality, the chesnut will not thrive in a tufaceous, or,
indeed, in any kind of calcareous, soil.
[3073] In B. xv. c. 25.
[3074] The heaps of five in which they are sown.
[3075] The chesnut is grown with the _greatest difficulty_ from layers
and slips, and never from suckers. Pliny borrows this erroneous
assertion from Columella, B. iv. c. 32. In mentioning the heaps of
five nuts, Pliny seems to have had some superstitious observance in
view, for Columella only says that they must be sown thickly, to
prevent accident. The same is done at the present day, in order to make
provision for the depredations of field-mice, rats, and mice, which are
particularly fond of them.
[3076] The willow and the reed.
[3077] See B. xvi. cc. 5, 6, and 56.
[3078] In B. xvi. c. 60.
[3079] “Armamentis.” More properly, “rigging,” or “tackle.” He alludes
to the trees from which the uprights or stays for the vine are cut, or
which produce osiers for baskets and bindings required in the vintage.
[3080] See B. xiii. c. 42, and B. xvi. c. 65.
[3081] “Gemma.” A name now given by botanists to the buds in general.
[3082] “Oculus.” A bud undeveloped is still so called.
[3083] Germen.
[3084] This remark is not confirmed by experience.
[3085] On the contrary, the fig-tree has been known to live to a very
great age.
[3086] See B. xvi. c. 51.
[3087] This method of planting the vine is still extensively used;
especially the low kinds.
[3088] See c. 13 of this Book.
[3089] Sagittæ.
[3090] Trigemmes.
[3091] “Pampinarius.” This assertion has been found to be erroneous.
[3092] This practice has been condemned by modern cultivators.
[3093] From Columella, B. iii. c. 19.
[3094] In c. 24 of this Book.
[3095] “Marra.” Probably a mattock, with several prongs.
[3096] Occupies more space when thus loosened.
[3097] As compared with the original level of the ground.
[3098] Query, if this is the meaning of “extendi”?
[3099] This method is no longer used.
[3100] This, Fée remarks, is not the case: the tree might bear four
kinds of grapes, but not four kinds on the same bunch.
[3101] De Arbor. c. 9. This is not the fact.
[3102] He was little aware, Fée says, that all ligneous plants have a
radiating pith, distinct from the central one.
[3103] See B. xvi. c. 72.
[3104] Oliver de Serres distinguishes only three—the low, middling, and
tall vines.
[3105] See B. xiv. c. 4.
[3106] See B. xiv. c. 4.
[3107] “Jugum.” The cross-piece running along the top of the stay at
right angles; a rail or trail.
[3108] “Compluviatæ quadruplici.” Four cross-pieces running at right
angles to the prop or stay. See B. xvi. c. 68.
[3109] When these trenches and furrows are employed by the moderns,
they are made to run as much as possible from east to west. Most of the
rules here mentioned by Pliny are still adopted in France.
[3110] Fée regards this precept as a puerility.
[3111] See B. xviii. c. 77.
[3112] See B. xviii. c. 77. Decuman roads or paths ran from east to
west; cardinal roads were those at right angles to them.
[3113] “Pagina.” A set, compartment, or bed.
[3114] “Transtris.” “Ridges,” would appear to be the proper reading
here; more especially as it agrees with what has been previously said
in this Chapter in reference to declivitous ground.
[3115] De Re Rust. 40.
[3116] He differs somewhat in these measurements from Columella, B. iv.
c. 11.
[3117] This is condemned by Columella, B. iv. c. 11; but is approved of
by Virgil, Cato, and other authors.
[3118] In c. 34 of this Book.
[3119] Stays of elder would be utterly worthless, as they would soon
rot, and break directly, upon the least strain.
[3120] This applies solely, Fée observes, to the vine trained on the
trail or cross-piece.
[3121] This certainly appears to be a _non sequitur_, as applied to the
vine.
[3122] In the present Chapter.
[3123] Pampinarium.
[3124] Fructuarium.
[3125] Custos.
[3126] The pilferer, “or little thief,” apparently.
[3127] This, Fée observes, is not in accordance with the fact.
[3128] “Draco.” Male vines appear to have been a kind that threw out no
stock-branches, but ran to wood.
[3129] Than three buds, as already mentioned in the present Chapter.
[3130] “Pollices.” Branches, so called from the resemblance, being cut
off above the first eye. See Columella, De Re Rust. B. iv. c. 24.
[3131] Small forks of hazel are still used for the purpose, in Berri
and the Orleanais.
[3132] This plan is highly recommended by the modern growers.
[3133] This, as Fée remarks, is based upon sound reason.
[3134] In B. xiv. cc. 4 and 5.
[3135] B. xviii. c. 66.
[3136] 13th of April.
[3137] 10th of May.
[3138] A mere puerility—the dust, in fact, being injurious to the
grape, by obstructing the natural action of heat and humidity.
[3139] 15th of May. This clearing of the leaves, though still
practised, Fée says, is by no means beneficial; the only result is,
that the grapes become of a higher colour, but in no degree riper than
they otherwise would have been.
[3140] The proper period for pruning varies in reality according to the
climate.
[3141] See B. xviii. c. 59.
[3142] See Columella, De Re Rust. B. iv. c. 29.
[3143] The real reason, as Fée remarks, is the comparative facility of
cutting aslant rather than horizontally; indeed, if the latter were
attempted, injury to the wood would be the certain result.
[3144] The pruning should come first, in every case, Fée says.
[3145] De Re Rust. c. 33. The advice given by him, though good, is not
applicable to all vineyards.
[3146] A sort of clover, probably. See B. xviii. c. 42, and a few lines
below.
[3147] From the Greek ὠκέως, “quickly”—Varro says.
[3148] See c. 15 of this Book.
[3149] It is still practised in Dauphiné and the department of the
Basses Alpes. It is very prevalent, also, in the South of Italy.
[3150] All these trees are still employed for the purpose in Italy.
[3151] B. xvi. c. 68.
[3152] Palmæ.
[3153] From Columella, B. v. c. 7.
[3154] This method is no longer employed.
[3155] Rasilis.
[3156] Columella, B. v. c. 6.
[3157] Columella, B. v. c. 6.
[3158] Capreolis.
[3159] As being too dense and shady.
[3160] From the Greek, meaning the “vine-band.” It was, probably, a
kind of rush.
[3161] Fée thinks that he may mean the Festuca fluitans more
particularly, by the name _ulva_.
[3162] It is no longer used, and Fée doubts its utility.
[3163] Hardouin suggests “Tarracina.”
[3164] In c. 16 of this Book.
[3165] To drain the upper part of the tree.
[3166] Pergulas. See B. xiv. c. 3.
[3167] See B. xviii. c. 56. These, of course, are mere superstitions.
[3168] Animalium.
[3169] In B. xiii. c. 6.
[3170] In B. xiii. c. 47.
[3171] This is the opinion of Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. iv. c. 16.
[3172] In c. 2 of this Book.
[3173] “Vermiculatio.” Fée understands this to apply to the attacks of
insects in general, the Dermestes typographus more particularly.
[3174] Or, in other words, the evil influences of the heavenly bodies:
this, of course, is not believed in at the present day.
[3175] Necrosis, in particular portions of the plant.
[3176] See B. xvi. c. 19. He alludes to an exuberant secretion of
resin, in which case the tree becomes charged with it like a torch.
[3177] He alludes to the epidemic and contagious maladies by which
trees are attacked. The causes of these attacks are often unknown,
but they may probably proceed, in many instances, from springs of hot
water, or gaseous emanations secreted in the earth.
[3178] The woodpecker more particularly. See B. x. c. 20.
[3179] It is not known, with certainty, what these worms or
caterpillars were. The larva of the capricorn beetle, or of the
stag-beetle, has been suggested. Geoffroi thinks that it may have been
the larva of the palm-weevil. This taste for caterpillars, probably, no
longer prevails in any part of Europe.
[3180] This passage, which is quite conformable to truth, is from
Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. iv. c. 16, and B. iii. c. 12.
[3181] See B. xvi. c. 80.
[3182] The effects produced upon young shoots by frost, are still so
called.
[3183] Probably from the black colour which it turns.
[3184] In this case it would be very similar to what we call sun-stroke.
[3185] “Clavum,” a nail. He appears to allude to a gall that appears on
the bark of the olive, the eruption forming the shape of a nail, and,
in some instances, a “patella,” or platter. The Coccus adonideum is an
insect that is very destructive to the olive.
[3186] De Re Rust. 6.
[3187] A sort of Erineum, Fée suggests. See B. xv. c. 6.
[3188] “Impetigo.” “Tetter,” or “ringworm,” literally.
[3189] From Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. iv. c. 16.
[3190] Σφακελισμὸς and κράδος.
[3191] From Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. iv. c. 16. Fée is at a loss
to know what is meant by these viscous dews, and is unable to identify
the disease here mentioned as “scabies.” It is not improbable that it
was caused by an insect.
[3192] See cc. 35 and 45 of this Book.
[3193] See B. xviii. c. 69.
[3194] In c. 35. See also c. 45 of this Book.
[3195] From Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. iv. c. 16. If the terminal
bud of the palm is taken off, it will mostly die.
[3196] “Decidunt.” The French use a similar word—_couler_. In this case
the pollen, being washed off by the showers, has not the opportunity of
fecundating the ovary of the flower.
[3197] The insect Ichneumon or Pupivora, probably, which breeds in
the larvæ or else in the body of the caterpillar. The passage is from
Theophrastus, B. iv. c. 16.
[3198] Caused probably by a maggot or moth passing from one grape
or olive to another, and spinning its web in vast quantities. See
Theophrastus, B. iv. c. 17.
[3199] See B. xviii. c. 74.
[3200] On the contrary, this sweet juice is secreted by the insect
itself, an aphis or vine-fretter.
[3201] The north-west wind. See Horace, Sat. B. i. s. v. l. 71.
[3202] See B. ii. c. 46.
[3203] He probably means if applied _to the bark_ of young trees.
[3204] The cork-tree forms no exception to the rule—if a complete ring
of the bark that lies under the epidermis is removed, the death of the
tree is the inevitable result. See B. xvi. c. 13.
[3205] Probably the Arbutus integrifolia. See B. xiii. c. 40.
[3206] This in reality is not the bark, but merely the epidermis, which
is capable of reproduction in many trees.
[3207] See c. 16 of this Book.
[3208] This method, however, is often found efficacious in preserving
the life of the oak, as well as many other trees, by excluding the
action of the air and water.
[3209] It prevents them from increasing in height, but does not cause
their death.
[3210] De Re Rust. B. i. c. 2.
[3211] In B. viii. c. 76, and B. xv. c. 8.
[3212] This statement is fabulous. Goats are apt to injure trees by
biting the buds and young shoots. Fabulous as it is, however, Fée
remarks that it still obtains credit among the peasantry in France.
[3213] This fabulous story is taken from Theophrastus, De Causis, B. v.
c. 25.
[3214] Also from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. iv. cc. 19-20, and De
Causis, B. v. c. 22. It is just possible that on some of the branches
being torn off by an animal, the tree may have grown with increased
vigour.
[3215] In B. xiii. c. 9, and in c. 30 of this Book.
[3216] See B. xvi. c. 47.
[3217] It must be remembered that ivy is not a parasite, and that it
has no suckers to absorb the nutriment of another tree.
[3218] See B. xvi. c. 62.
[3219] C. Bauhin gives this name to several species of Atriplex. Lacuna
was of opinion that the Halimon of Dioscorides was the same as the
Viburnum.
[3220] A superstitious belief only, as Fée remarks.
[3221] See B. xix. c. 26.
[3222] Virgil shared this belief: see Georg. ii. l. 299.
[3223] This may be true in some measure as to nitre, alum, and warm
sea-water; but not so as to the shells of beans and pigeon-pease, which
would make an excellent manure for it.
[3224] This, as Fée remarks, is not by any means impossible, nor,
indeed, are any other of the cases mentioned in this paragraph, owing
to some accidental circumstance.
[3225] See B. xxix. c. 29.
[3226] These stories can, of course, be only regarded as fabulous.
[3227] This may easily be accounted for, by the seed accidentally
lodging in a crevice of the tree.
[3228] A. U. C. 600.
[3229] An exaggerated account merely of a land-slip.
[3230] See c. 43 of this Book.
[3231] See c. 45 of this Book.
[3232] In B. xvi. cc. 53, 56, 66, 67, and 90.
[3233] This was the native place of Ovid, who alludes to its cold
streams, Tristia, B. iv. El. x. ll. 3, 4:—
“Sulmo mihi patria est, gelidis uberrimus undis,
Millia qui novies distat ab urbe decem.”
Irrigation of the vine is still practised in the east, in Italy, and in
Spain; but it does not tend to improve the quality of the wine.
[3234] The Sagrus, now the Sangro.
[3235] “Uredo rubigo” and “uredo caries.”
[3236] Cc. 45 and 70.
[3237] Still practised upon the cherry-tree.
[3238] He alludes to the medical operation for the removal of carious
bones, described by Celsus, B. viii. c. 3.
[3239] This is still done by some persons; but it can be productive of
no beneficial result.
[3240] See B. xv. c. 21: the Cynips psenes of Linn. It penetrates the
fig at the base, and deposits an egg in each seed, which is ultimately
eaten by the larva; hence the supposed transformation.
[3241] A kind of wasp, probably.
[3242] A puerility borrowed from Columella, B. v. c. 10.
[3243] From Columella, B. v. c. 10.
[3244] Trucidatio.
[3245] For the removal of moss and lichens, which obstruct evaporation,
and collect moisture to an inconvenient degree, besides harbouring
insects.
[3246] Agriculturists, Fée says, are not agreed upon this question.
[3247] Or laser. See B. xix. c. 15.
[3248] See B. xviii. c. 35.
[3249] Pœnâ emendantur.
[3250] It is very doubtful whether this is not likely to prove very
injurious to them. This passage is from Theophrastus, De Causis, B.
iii. c. 23.
[3251] Without any efficacy, beyond a doubt.
[3252] The action of salt upon vegetation is, at the best, very
uncertain.
[3253] These recipes are worthless, and almost impracticable.
[3254] This method is still adopted, but with none of the accessories
here mentioned by Pliny.
[3255] A dangerous practice, Fée remarks, and certainly not to be
adopted.
[3256] Mitior.
[3257] De Re Rust. 93.
[3258] At the present day, fumigations are preferred to any such
mixtures as those here described. Caterpillars are killed by the fumes
of sulphur, bitumen, or damp straw.
[3259] “Convolvulus.” He alludes to the vine Pyralis, one of the
Lepidoptera, the caterpillar of which rolls itself up in the leaves of
the tree, after eating away the foot-stalk.
[3260] The “fly,” or “winged” insect. The grey weevil, Fée thinks, that
eats the buds and the young grapes.
[3261] An absurd superstition.
[3262] This may possibly be efficacious, but the other precepts here
given are full of absurdity.
[3263] It might possibly drive them to a distance, but would do no more.
[3264] An absurd notion, very similar to some connected with the same
subject, which have prevailed even in recent times.
[3265] De Re Rust. 160. The words of this charm over the split reed
while held near the injured limb, were as follow:—“Sanitas fracto—motas
danata daries dardaries astataries”—mere gibberish.
[3266] De Re Rust. 139. This prayer was offered to the deity of the
sacred grove, after a pig had been first offered—“If thou art a god, or
if thou art a goddess, to whom this grove is sacred, may it be allowed
me, through the expiation made by this pig, and for the purpose of
restraining the overgrowth of this grove, &c.” It must be remembered
that it was considered a most heinous offence to cut down or lop a
consecrated grove. See Ovid, Met. B. viii. c. 743.
[3267] See end of B. ii.
[3268] See end of B. iii.
[3269] See end of B. ii.
[3270] See end of B. vii.
[3271] See end of B. vii.
[3272] See end of B. iii.
[3273] See end of B. x.
[3274] See end of B. xi.
[3275] See end of B. xvi.
[3276] See end of B. vii.
[3277] See end of B. ix.
[3278] See end of B. xiv.
[3279] See end of B. viii.
[3280] See end of B. xiv.
[3281] Fabianus Papirius; see end of B. ii.
[3282] See end of B. x.
[3283] See end of B. xiv.
[3284] A Roman rhetorician, preceptor of Antony and Augustus. He is
said to have claimed descent from Epidius, a deity worshipped on the
banks of the Sarnus.
[3285] See end of B. ii.
[3286] See end of B. vii.
[3287] See end of B. iii.
[3288] See end of B. ii.
[3289] See end of B. ii.
[3290] See end of B. ii.
[3291] See end of B. viii.
[3292] See end of B. viii.
[3293] See end of B. viii.
[3294] See end of B. viii.
[3295] For Xenophon of Athens, see end of B. iv. For Xenophon of
Lampsacus, see end of B. iii.
[3296] See end of B. viii.
[3297] See end of B. viii.
[3298] See end of B. viii.
[3299] See end of B. viii.
[3300] See end of B. viii.
[3301] See end of B. viii.
[3302] See end of B. viii.
[3303] See end of B. viii.
[3304] See end of B. vi.
[3305] See end of B. viii.
[3306] See end of B. xiv.
[3307] See end of B. viii.
[3308] See end of B. viii.
[3309] See end of B. ii.
[3310] See end of B. x.
[3311] See end of B. viii.
[3312] See end of B. viii.
[3313] See end of B. viii.
[3314] See end of B. viii.
[3315] See end of B. xii.
[3316] See end of B. viii.
[3317] See end of B. viii.
END OF VOL. III.
J. BILLING, PRINTER AND STEREOTYPER, WOKING, SURREY.
Transcriber’s notes:
The spelling, hyphenation, punctuation and accentuation are as the
original, except for apparent typographical errors which have been
silently corrected.
‘BOOK XII.’ heading is ‘BOOK X.’ in the original and has been
corrected.
‘BOOK XIV’ and ‘BOOK XV’ are both titled ‘THE NATURAL HISTORY OF
THE FRUIT-TREES.’ ‘BOOK XIV’ describes the grape vine and ‘BOOK XV’
describes the olive and various other trees.
Footnote [1718] ‘See B. xii. c. 95.’ in the original is incorrect and
has been changed by the transcriber to read ‘See B. xii. c. 48.’
Footnote [3192] ‘See cc. 35 and 50 of this Book.’ in the original is
incorrect and has been changed by the transcriber to read ‘See cc. 35
and 45 of this Book.’
Footnote [3236] Refers to chapter 70 of book XVII which does not exist.
In ‘GREEK AND ROMAN MONEY’ the following changes have been made:—
Obolus, G 1-1/2 .5 pence. Silver.
now reads:—
Obolus, G 1-1/2 pence + .5 farthings. Silver.
Quadrans. R 53,125 farthing. Copper.
now reads:—
Quadrans. R .53125 farthings. Copper.