Chapter XXIII: Book XVI: The Natural History of the Forest Trees (2)

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.

Many trees bear more than one production, a fact which we have already mentioned[2530] when speaking of the glandiferous trees. In the number of these there is the laurel, which bears its own peculiar kind of grape, and more particularly the barren laurel,[2531] which bears nothing else; for which reason it is looked upon by some persons as the male tree. The filbert, too, bears catkins, which are hard and compact, but of no use[2532] whatever.

(30.) But it is the box-tree that supplies us with the greatest number of products, not only its seed, but a berry also, known by the name of cratægum;[2533] while on the north side it produces mistletoe, and on the south hyphear; two products of which I shall shortly have to speak more[2534] at length. Sometimes, indeed, this tree has all four of these products growing upon it at the same moment.

CHAP. 53.—DIFFERENCES IN TREES IN RESPECT OF THE TRUNKS AND BRANCHES.

Some trees are of a simple form, and have but a single trunk rising from the root, together with numerous branches; such as the olive, for instance, the fig, and the vine; others again are of a shrubby nature, such as the paliurus,[2535] the myrtle, and the filbert; which last, indeed, is all the better, and the more abundant its fruit, the more numerous its branches. In some trees, again, there is no trunk at all, as is the case with one species of box,[2536] and the lotus[2537] of the parts beyond sea. Some trees are bifurcated, while there are some that branch out into as many as five parts. Others, again, divide in the trunk but have no branches, as in the case of the elder; while others have no division in the trunk but throw out branches, such as the pitch-tree, for instance.

In some trees the branches are symmetrically arranged, the pitch-tree and the fir, for example; while with others they are dispersed without any order or regularity, as in the robur, the apple, and the pear. In the fir the branches are thrown out from the trunk straight upwards, pointing to the sky, and not drooping downwards from the sides of the trunk. It is a singular thing,[2538] but this tree will die if the ends of its branches are cut, though, if taken off altogether, no bad effect is produced. If it is cut, too, below the place where the branches were, the part of the tree which is left will continue to live; but if, on the other hand, the top only of the tree is removed, the whole of it will die.

Some trees, again, throw out branches from the roots, the elm for example; while others are branchy at the top, the pine for instance, and the lotus[2539] or Grecian bean, the fruit of which, though wild, resembles the cherry very closely, and is called the lotus at Rome, on account of its sweetness. For sheltering houses these trees are more particularly esteemed, as they throw out their branches to a considerable distance, from a short trunk, thus affording a very extensive shade, and very frequently encroaching upon the neighbouring mansions. There is no tree, however, the shade afforded by which is less long-lived than this, and when it loses its leaves in winter, it affords no shelter from the sun. No tree has a more sightly bark, or one which has greater attractions for the eye; or branches which are longer, stouter, or more numerous; indeed, one might almost look upon them as forming so many trees. The bark[2540] of it is used for dyeing skins, and the root for colouring wool.

The branches of the apple-tree have a peculiar conformation; knots are formed which resemble the muzzles[2541] of wild beasts, several smaller ones being united to a larger.

CHAP. 54.—THE BRANCHES OF TREES.

Some of the branches are barren, and do not germinate; this takes place either from a natural deficiency of strength, or else some injury received in consequence of having been cut, and the cicatrix impeding the natural functions. The same that the branch is in the trees that spread out, is the eye[2542] in the vine, and the joint in the reed. All trees are naturally the thickest in the parts that are nearest the ground. The fir, the larch, the palm, the cypress, and the elm, and, indeed, every tree that has but a single trunk, develope themselves in their remarkable height. Among the branchy trees the cherry is sometimes[2543] found to yield a beam forty cubits in length by two in thickness throughout. Some trees divide into branches from the very ground, as in the apple-tree, for example.

CHAP. 55. (31.)—THE BARK OF TREES.

In some trees the bark[2544] is thin, as in the laurel and the lime; in others, again, it is thick, as in the robur; in some it is smooth, as in the apple and the fig, while in the robur and the palm it is rough: in all kinds it becomes more wrinkled when the tree is old. In some trees the bark bursts spontaneously, as in the vine for instance, while in others it falls off even, as we see in the apple and the arbutus. In the cork-tree and the poplar, the bark is substantial and fleshy; in the vine and the reed it is membraneous. In the cherry it is similar to the coats of the papyrus, while in the vine, the lime, and the fir, it is composed of numerous layers. In others, again, it is single, the fig and the reed for instance.

CHAP. 56.—THE ROOTS OF TREES.

There are great differences, too, in the roots of trees. In the fig, the robur, and the plane, they are numerous; in the apple they are short and thin, while in the fir and the larch they are single; and by this single root is the tree supported, although we find some small fibres thrown out from it laterally. They are thick and unequal in the laurel and the olive, in which last they are branchy also; while in the robur they are solid and fleshy.[2545] The robur, too, throws its roots downwards to a very considerable depth. Indeed, if we are to believe Virgil,[2546] the æsculus has a root that descends as deep into the earth as the height to which the trunk ascends in the air. The roots of the olive, the apple, and the cypress, creep almost upon the very surface: in some trees they run straight and horizontally, as in the laurel and the olive; while in others they have a sinuous course—the fig for example. In some trees the roots are bristling with small filaments, as in the fir, and many of the forest trees; the mountaineers cut off these fine filaments, and weave with them very handsome flasks,[2547] and various other articles.

Some writers say that the roots of trees do not descend below the level to which the sun’s heat is able to penetrate; which, of course, depends upon the nature of the soil, whether it happens to be thin or dense. This, however, I look upon[2548] as a mistake: and, in fact, we find it stated by some authors that a fir was transplanted, the roots of which had penetrated eight cubits in depth, and even then the whole of it was not dug up, it being torn asunder.[2549] The citrus has a root that goes the very deepest of all, and is of great extent; next after it come the plane, the robur, and the various glandiferous trees. In some trees, the laurel for instance, the roots are more tenacious of life the nearer they are to the surface: hence, when the trunk withers, it is cut down, and the tree shoots again with redoubled vigour. Some think that the shorter the roots are, the more rapidly the tree decays; a supposition which is plainly contradicted by the fig, the root of which is among the very largest, while the tree becomes aged at a remarkably early period. I regard also as incorrect what some authors have stated, as to the roots of trees diminishing[2550] when they are old; for I once saw an ancient oak, uprooted by a storm, the roots of which covered a jugerum of ground.

CHAP. 57.—TREES WHICH HAVE GROWN SPONTANEOUSLY FROM THE GROUND.

It is a not uncommon thing for trees when uprooted to receive new strength when replanted, the earth about their roots forming a sort of cicatrix[2551] there. This is particularly the case with the plane, which, from the density of its branches, presents a remarkably broad surface to the wind: when this happens, the branches are cut off, and the tree, thus lightened, is replaced in its furrow: this, too, has also been done before now with the walnut, the olive, and many others.

(32.) We have many instances cited also of trees falling to the ground without there being any storm or other perceptible cause, but merely by way of portentous omen, and then rising again of themselves. A prodigy of this nature happened to the citizens of Rome during their wars with the Cimbri: at Nuceria, in the grove consecrated to Juno, an elm inclined to such a degree, even after the top had been cut off, as to overhang the altar there, but it afterwards recovered itself to such an extent as to blossom immediately: it was from that very moment, too, that the majesty of the Roman people began to flourish once again after it had been laid low by disaster and defeat. A similar circumstance is said to have taken place also at Philippi, where a willow, which had fallen down, and the top of which had been taken off, rose again; and at Stagira, in the Museum[2552] there, where the same thing occurred to a white poplar; all which events were looked upon as favourable omens. But what is most wonderful of all, is the fact that a plane, at Antandros, resumed its original position even after its sides had been rough-hewn all round with the adze,[2553] and took root again: it was a tree fifteen cubits long, and four ulnæ in thickness.

CHAP. 58.—HOW TREES GROW SPONTANEOUSLY—DIVERSITIES IN THEIR NATURE, THE SAME TREES NOT GROWING EVERYWHERE.

The trees which we owe to Nature are produced in three different ways; spontaneously, by seed sown, or by a slip which throws out a root. Art has multiplied the methods of reproduction, as we shall have occasion to state in its own appropriate Book:[2554] at present our sole subject is the operations of Nature, and the manifold and marvellous methods she adopts. The trees, as we have already stated,[2555] do not all of them grow in every locality, nor will they live, many of them,[2556] when transplanted: this happens sometimes through a natural antipathy on the part of the tree, sometimes through an innate stubbornness, but more frequently through the weakness of the variety so transplanted, either the climate being unfavourable, or the soil repulsive to it.

CHAP. 59.—PLANTS THAT WILL NOT GROW IN CERTAIN PLACES.

Balsamum[2557] will grow nowhere but [in[2558] Judæa]: and the citron of Assyria refuses to bear fruit in any other country. The palm, too, will not grow everywhere, and even if it does grow in some places, it will not bear: sometimes, indeed, it may make a show and promise of bearing, but even then its fruit comes to nothing, it seeming to have borne them thus far in spite of itself. The cinnamon[2559] shrub has not sufficient strength to acclimatize itself in the countries that lie in the vicinity of Syria. Amomum,[2560] too, and nard,[2561] those most delicate of perfumes, will not endure the carriage from India to Arabia, nor yet conveyance by sea; indeed, King Seleucus did make the attempt, but in vain. But what is more particularly wonderful, is the fact that most of the trees by care may be prevailed upon to live when transplanted; for sometimes the soil may be so managed as to nourish the foreigner and give support to the stranger plant; climate, however, can never be changed. The pepper-tree[2562] will live in Italy, and cassia[2563] in the northern climates even, while the incense-tree[2564] has been known to live in Lydia: but how are we to impart to these productions the requisite warmth of the sun, in order to make all the crude juices go off by evaporation, and ripen the resins that distil from them?

Nearly as great a marvel, too, is the fact that the nature of the tree may be modified by circumstances, and yet the tree itself be none the less vigorous in its growth. Nature originally gave the cedar[2565] to localities of burning heat, and yet we find it growing in the mountains of Lycia and Phrygia. She made the laurel, too, averse to cold, and yet there is no tree that grows in greater abundance on Mount Olympus. At the city of Panticapæum, in the vicinity of the Cimmerian Bosporus, King Mithridates and the inhabitants of the place used every possible endeavour, with a view to certain religious ceremonies, to cultivate the myrtle[2566] and the laurel: they could not succeed, however, although trees abound there which require a hot climate, such as the pomegranate and the fig, as well as apples and pears of the most approved quality. In the same country, too, the trees that belong to the colder climates, such as the pine, the fir, and the pitch-tree, refuse to grow. But why go search for instances in Pontus? In the vicinity of Rome itself it is only with the greatest difficulty[2567] that the cherry and the chesnut will grow, and the peach-tree, too, at Tusculum: the Greek nut, too, is grown there from grafts only at a cost of considerable labour, while Tarracina abounds with whole woods of it.

CHAP. 60. (33.)—THE CYPRESS.

The cypress[2568] is an exotic, and has been reckoned one of the trees that are naturalized with the greatest difficulty; so much so, indeed, that Cato[2569] has expatiated upon it at greater length and more frequently than any of the others. This tree is naturally of a stubborn[2570] disposition, bears a fruit that is utterly useless, a berry that causes a wry[2571] face when tasted, and a leaf that is bitter: it also gives out a disagreeable pungent smell,[2572] and its shade is far from agreeable. The wood that it furnishes is but scanty, so much so indeed, that it may be almost regarded as little more than a shrub. This tree is sacred to Pluto, and hence it is used as a sign of mourning[2573] placed at the entrance of a house: the female[2574] tree is for a long time barren. The pyramidal appearance that it presents has caused it not to be rejected, but for a long time it was only used for marking the intervals between rows of pines: at the present day, however, it is clipped and trained to form hedge-rows, or else is thinned and lengthened out in the various designs[2575] employed in ornamental gardening, and which represent scenes of hunting, fleets, and various other objects: these it covers with a thin small leaf, which is always green.

There are two varieties of the cypress; the one[2576] tapering and pyramidal, and which is known as the female; while the male tree[2577] throws its branches straight out from the body, and is often pruned and employed as a rest for the vine. Both the male and the female are permitted to throw out their branches, which are cut and employed for poles and props, being worth, after thirteen years’ growth, a denarius a-piece. In respect of income, a plantation of cypress is remarkably profitable, so much so, indeed, that it was a saying in old times that a cypress-wood is a dowry for a daughter.[2578] The native country of this tree is the island of Crete, although Cato[2579] calls it Tarentine, Tarentum being the first place, I suppose, in which it was naturalized: in the island of Ænaria,[2580] also, if the cypress is cut down, it will grow again[2581] from the root. But, in the Isle of Crete, in whatever place the earth is moved, this tree will shoot up[2582] of its own natural vigour, and immediately appear above the soil; indeed, in that island there is no occasion even to solicit the soil, for it grows spontaneously there, on the mountains of Ida more particularly, and those known as the White Mountains. On the very summit of these elevations, from which the snows never depart, we find the cypress growing in great abundance; a thing that is truly marvellous—seeing that, in other countries, it will only grow in warm localities; from which it would appear to have a great dislike to its native climate.

CHAP. 61.—THAT THE EARTH OFTEN BEARS PRODUCTIONS WHICH IT HAS NEVER BORNE BEFORE.

It is not only the quality of the soil and the unchanging influences of the climate that affect the nature of trees, but wet and showery weather also, temporarily at least. Indeed, the torrents very often bring down with them seeds, and sometimes we find those of unknown kinds even floating along. This took place in the territory of Cyrenaica, at the period when laser was first grown there, as we shall have occasion to mention when we speak of the nature of the various herbs.[2583] A forest, too, sprang[2584] up in the vicinity of the city of Cyrene, just after a shower of rain, of a dense, pitchy nature, about the year of the City of Rome 430.

CHAP. 62. (34.)—THE IVY.—TWENTY VARIETIES OF IT.