Chapter XIV: Book XIX (3)

There is another kind, again, that is held in peculiar esteem, and which never exceeds the height of an herbaceous plant; it is known by the name of “halmyridia,”[1140] from the circumstance of its growing on the sea-shore[1141] only. It will keep green and fresh during a long voyage even, if care is taken not to let it touch the ground from the moment that it is cut, but to put it into oil-vessels lately dried, and then to bung them so as to effectually exclude all air. There are some[1142] who are of opinion, that the plant will come to maturity all the sooner if some sea-weed is laid at the root when it is transplanted, or else as much pounded nitre as can be taken up with three fingers; and others, again, sprinkle the leaves with trefoil seed and nitre pounded together.[1143] Nitre, too, preserves the greenness of cabbage when cooked, a result which is equally ensured by the Apician mode of boiling, or in other words, by steeping the plants in oil and salt before they are cooked.

There is a method of grafting vegetables by cutting the shoots and the stalk, and then inserting in the pith the seed of another plant; a plan which has been adopted with the wild cucumber even. There is another kind of wild cabbage, also, the lapsana,[1144] which has become famous since the triumphs of the late Emperor Julius, in consequence of the songs and jokes of his soldiers more particularly; for in the alternate lines sung by them, they used to reproach him for having made them live on lapsana at the siege of Dyrrhachium, and to rally him upon the parsimonious scale on which he was in the habit of recompensing their services. The lapsana is nothing more than a wild cyma.[1145]

CHAP. 42.—WILD AND CULTIVATED ASPARAGUS.

Of all the garden plants, asparagus is the one that requires the most delicate attention in its cultivation. We have already[1146] spoken at considerable length of its origin, when treating of the wild plants, and have mentioned that Cato[1147] recommends it to be grown in reed-beds. There is another kind, again, of a more uncultivated nature than the garden asparagus, but less pungent than corruda;[1148] it grows upon the mountains in different countries, and the plains of Upper Germany are quite full of it, so much so, indeed, that it was a not unhappy remark of Tiberius Cæsar, that a weed grows there which bears a remarkably strong resemblance to asparagus. That which grows spontaneously upon the island of Nesis, off the coast of Campania, is looked upon as being by far the best of all.

Garden asparagus is reproduced from roots,[1149] the fibres of which are exceedingly numerous, and penetrate to a considerable depth. When it first puts forth its shoots, it is green; these in time lengthen out into stalks, which afterwards throw out streaked branches from the head: asparagus admits, also, of being grown from seed.

Cato[1150] has treated of no subject with greater care than this, the last Chapter of his work being devoted to it, from which we may conclude that it was quite new to him, and a subject which had only very recently occupied his attention. He recommends that the ground prepared for it should be a moist or dense soil, the seed being set at intervals of half a foot every way, to avoid treading upon the heads; the seed, he says, should be put two or three into each hole, these being made with the dibble as the line runs—for in his day, it should be remembered, asparagus was only grown from seed—this being done about the vernal equinox. It requires, he adds, to be abundantly manured, and to be kept well hoed, due care being taken not to pull up the young plants along with the weeds. The first year, he says, the plants must be protected from the severity of the winter with a covering of straw, care being taken to uncover them in the spring, and to hoe and stub up the ground about them. In the spring of the third year, the plants must be set fire to, and the earlier the period at which the fire is applied, the better they will thrive. Hence it is, that as reed-beds[1151] grow all the more rapidly after being fired, asparagus is found to be a crop remarkably well suited for growing with them. The same author recommends, however, that asparagus should not be hoed before the plants have made their appearance above-ground, for fear of disturbing the roots; and he says that in gathering the heads, they should be cut close to the root, and not broken off at the surface, a method which is sure to make them run to stalk and die. They should be cut, he says, until they are left to run to seed, and after the seed is ripe, in spring they must be fired, care being taken, as soon as they appear again, to hoe and manure them as before. After eight or nine years, he says, when the plants have become old, they must be renewed, after digging and manuring the ground, by replanting the roots at intervals of a foot, care being taken to employ sheep’s dung more particularly for the purpose, other kinds of manure being apt to produce weeds.

No method of cultivating this plant that has since been tried has been found more eligible than this, with the sole exception that the seed is now sown about the ides of February, by laying it in heaps in small trenches, after steeping it a considerable time in manure; the result of which is that the roots become matted, and form into spongy tufts, which are planted out at intervals of a foot after the autumnal equinox, the plants continuing to be productive so long as ten years even. There is no soil more favourable to the growth of asparagus, than that of the gardens of Ravenna.[1152]

We have already[1153] spoken of the corruda, by which term I mean the wild asparagus, by the Greeks called “orminos,” or “myacanthos,” as well as by other names. I find it stated, that if rams’ horns are pounded, and then buried in the ground, asparagus will come up.[1154]

CHAP. 43.—THISTLES.

It really might have been thought that I had now given an account of all the vegetable productions that are held in any degree of esteem, did there not still remain one plant, the cultivation of which is extremely profitable, and of which I am unable to speak without a certain degree of shame. For it is a well-known fact, that some small plots of land, planted with thistles,[1155] in the vicinity of Great Carthage and of Corduba more particularly, produce a yearly income of six thousand sesterces;[1156] this being the way in which we make the monstrous productions even of the earth subservient to our gluttonous appetites, and that, too, when the very four-footed brutes[1157] instinctively refuse to touch them.

Thistles are grown two different ways, from plants set in autumn, and from seed sown before the nones of March;[1158] in which latter case they are transplanted before the ides of November,[1159] or, where the site is a cold one, about the time that the west winds prevail. They are sometimes manured even, and if[1160] such is the will of heaven, grow all the better for it. They are preserved, too, in a mixture of honey and vinegar,[1161] with the addition of root of laser and cummin—so that a day may not pass without our having thistles at table.[1162]

CHAP. 44.—OTHER PLANTS THAT ARE SOWN IN THE GARDEN: OCIMUM; ROCKET; AND NASTURTIUM.

For the remaining plants a brief description will suffice. The best time for sowing ocimum,[1163] it is said, is at the festival of the Parilia;[1164] though some say that it may be done in autumn as well, and recommend, when it is sown in winter, to drench the seed thoroughly with vinegar. Rocket,[1165] too, and nasturtium[1166] may be grown with the greatest facility either in summer or winter. Rocket, more particularly, is able to stand the cold, and its properties are quite different from those of the lettuce, as it is a great provocative of lust. Hence it is that we are in the habit of mixing these two plants in our dishes, the excess of cold in the one being compensated by the equal degree of heat in the other. Nasturtium has received that name from[1167] the smarting sensation which its pungency causes to the nostrils, and hence it is that a certain notion of smartness has attached itself to the word, it having become quite a proverbial saying, that a sluggish man should eat nasturtium, to arouse him from his torpidity. In Arabia, it is said, this plant attains a size that is quite marvellous.

CHAP. 45.—RUE.

Rue,[1168] too, is generally sown while the west winds prevail, as well as just after the autumnal equinox. This plant has an extreme aversion to cold, moisture, and dung; it loves dry, sunny localities, and a soil more particularly that is rich in brick clay; it requires to be nourished, too, with ashes, which should be mixed with the seed as well, as a preservative against the attacks of caterpillars. The ancients held rue in peculiar esteem; for I find that honied wine flavoured with rue was distributed to the people, in his consulship,[1169] by Cornelius Cethegus, the colleague of Quintus Flamininus, after the closing of the Comitia. This plant has a great liking[1170] for the fig-tree, and for that tree only; indeed, it never thrives better than when grown beneath that tree. It is generally grown from slips, the lower end of which is inserted in a perforated[1171] bean, which holds it fast, and so nurtures the young plant with its juices. It also reproduces itself;[1172] for the ends of the branches bending downwards, the moment they reach the ground, they take root again. Ocimum[1173] is of a very similar nature to rue, except that it dries with greater difficulty. When rue has once gained strength, there is considerable difficulty in stubbing it, as it causes itching ulcerations on the hands, if they are not covered or previously protected by being rubbed with oil. Its leaves, too, are preserved, being packed in bundles for keeping.

CHAP. 46.—PARSLEY.

Parsley is sown immediately after the vernal equinox, the seed being lightly beaten[1174] first in a mortar. It is thought that, by doing this, the parsley will be all the more crisped, or else by taking care to beat it down when sown with a roller or the feet. It is a peculiarity of this plant, that it changes colour: it has the honour, in Achaia, of forming the wreath of the victors in the sacred contests of the Nemean Games.

CHAP. 47.—MINT.

It is at the same season, too, that mint[1175] is transplanted; or, if it has not yet germinated, the matted tufts of the old roots are used for the purpose. This plant, too, is no less fond of a humid soil than parsley; it is green in summer and turns yellow in winter. There is a wild kind of mint, known to us as “mentastrum:”[1176] it is reproduced by layers, like the vine, or else by planting the branches upside down. It was the sweetness of its smell that caused this plant to change its name among the Greeks, its former name with them being “mintha,” from which the ancient Romans derived their name[1177] for it; whereas now, of late, it has been called by them ἡδύοσμον.[1178] The mint that is used in the dishes at rustic entertainments pervades the tables far and wide with its agreeable odour. When once planted, it lasts a considerable length of time; it bears, too, a strong resemblance to pennyroyal, a property of which is, as mentioned by us more than once,[1179] to flower when kept in our larders.

These other herbs, mint, I mean, and catmint, as well as pennyroyal, are all kept for use in a similar manner; but it is cummin[1180] that is the best suited of all the seasoning herbs to squeamish and delicate stomachs. This plant grows on the surface of the soil, seeming hardly to adhere to it, and raising itself aloft from the ground: it ought to be sown in the middle of the summer, in a crumbly, warm soil, more particularly. There is another wild kind[1181] of cummin, known by some persons as “rustic,” by others as “Thebaic” cummin: bruised and drunk in water, it is good for pains in the stomach. The cummin most esteemed in our part of the world is that of Carpetania,[1182] though elsewhere that of Africa and Æthiopia is more highly esteemed; with some, indeed, this last is preferred to that of Egypt.

CHAP. 48.—OLUSATRUM.

But it is olusatrum,[1183] more particularly, that is of so singular a nature, a plant which by the Greeks is called “hipposelinum,”[1184] and by others “smyrnium.” This plant is reproduced from a tear-like gum[1185] which exudes from the stem; it is also grown from the roots as well. Those whose business it is to collect the juice of it, say that it has just the flavour of myrrh; and, according to Theophrastus,[1186] it is obtained by planting myrrh. The ancients recommended that hipposelinum should be grown in uncultivated spots covered with stones, and in the vicinity of garden walls; but at the present day it is sown in ground that has been twice turned up, between the prevalence of the west winds and the autumnal equinox.

The caper,[1187] too, should be sown in dry localities more particularly, the plot being hollowed out and surrounded with an embankment of stones erected around it: if this precaution is not taken, it will spread all over the adjoining land, and entail sterility upon the soil. The caper blossoms in summer, and retains its verdure till the setting of the Vergiliæ; it thrives the best of all in a sandy soil. As to the bad qualities of the caper which grows in the parts beyond the sea, we have already[1188] enlarged upon them when speaking of the exotic shrubs.

CHAP. 49.—THE CARAWAY.

The caraway[1189] is an exotic plant also, which derives its name, “careum,” from the country[1190] in which it was first grown; it is principally employed for culinary purposes. This plant will grow in any kind of soil, and requires to be cultivated just the same way as olusatrum; the most esteemed, however, is that which comes from Caria, and the next best is that of Phrygia.

CHAP. 50.—LOVAGE.

Lovage[1191] grows wild in the mountains of Liguria, its native country, but at the present day it is grown everywhere. The cultivated kind is the sweetest of the two, but is far from powerful; by some persons it is known as “panax.” Crateuas, a Greek writer, gives this name, however, to the plant known to us as “cunila bubula;”[1192] and others, again, call the conyza[1193] or cunilago, cunila, while they call cunila,[1194] properly so called, by the name of “thymbra.” With us cunila has another appellation, being generally known as “satureia,” and reckoned among the seasoning plants. It is usually sown in the month of February, and for utility rivals wild marjoram. These two plants are never used together, their properties being so extremely similar; but it is only the wild marjoram of Egypt that is considered superior to cunila.

CHAP. 51.—DITTANDER.

Dittander,[1195] too, was originally an exotic plant: it is usually sown after the west winds have begun to prevail. As soon as it begins to shoot, it is cut down close to the ground, after which it is hoed and manured, a process which is repeated the succeeding year. After this, the shoots are fit for use, if the rigour of the winter has not injured them; for it is a plant quite unable to withstand any inclemency[1196] of the weather. It grows to the height of a cubit, and has a leaf like that of the laurel,[1197] but softer; it is never used except in combination with milk.

CHAP. 52.—GITH.

Gith[1198] is employed by bakers, dill and anise by cooks and medical men. Sacopenium,[1199] so extensively used for adulterating laser, is also a garden plant, but is only employed for medicinal purposes.

CHAP. 53.—THE POPPY.

There are certain plants which are grown in company[1200] with others, the poppy, for instance, sown with cabbages and purslain, and rocket with lettuce. Of the cultivated poppy[1201] there are three kinds, the first being the white[1202] poppy, the seed of which, parched, and mixed with honey, used to be served up in the second course at the tables of the ancients; at the present day, too, the country people sprinkle it on the upper crust of their bread, making it adhere by means of the yolk of eggs, the under crust being seasoned with parsley and gith to heighten the flavour of the flour. The second kind is the black[1203] poppy, from which, upon an incision being made in the stalk, a milky juice distils; and the third is that known to the Greeks by the name of “rhœas;”[1204] and by us as the wild poppy. This last grows spontaneously, but in fields, more particularly, which have been sown with barley: it bears a strong resemblance to rocket, grows to the height of a cubit, and bears a red flower, which quickly fades; it is to this flower that it is indebted for its Greek name.[1205]

As to the other kinds of poppies which spring up spontaneously, we shall have occasion to speak of them when treating of the medicinal plants.[1206] That the poppy has always been held in esteem among the Romans, we have a proof in the story related of Tarquinius[1207] Superbus, who, by striking down the tallest poppies in his garden, surreptitiously conveyed, unknown to them, his sanguinary message through the envoys who had been sent by his son.

CHAP. 54.—OTHER PLANTS WHICH REQUIRE TO BE SOWN AT THE AUTUMNAL EQUINOX.

There are some other plants, again, which require to be sown together at the time of the autumnal equinox; coriander, for instance, anise, orage, mallows, lapathum, chervil, known to the Greeks as “pæderos,”[1208] and mustard,[1209] which has so pungent a flavour, that it burns like fire, though at the same time it is remarkably wholesome for the body. This last, though it will grow without cultivation, is considerably improved by being transplanted; though, on the other hand, it is extremely difficult to rid the soil of it when once sown there, the seed when it falls germinating immediately. This seed, when cooked in the saucepan,[1210] is employed even for making ragouts, its pungency being rendered imperceptible by boiling; the leaves, too, are boiled just the same way as those of other vegetables.

There are three different kinds of mustard,[1211] the first of a thin, slender form, the second, with a leaf like that of the rape, and the third, with that of rocket: the best seed comes from Egypt. The Athenians have given mustard the name of “napy,”[1212] others, “thapsi,”[1213] and others, again, “saurion.”[1214]

CHAP. 55.—WILD THYME; SISYMBRIUM.

Most mountains abound with wild thyme and sisymbrium, those of Thrace, for example, where[1215] branches of these wild plants are torn up and brought away for planting. So, too, the people of Sicyon seek for wild thyme on their mountains, and the Athenians on the slopes of Hymettus. Sisymbrium, too, is planted in a similar manner; it grows to the greatest perfection upon the walls of wells, and around fish preserves and ponds.[1216]

CHAP. 56. (9.)—FOUR KINDS OF FERULACEOUS PLANTS. HEMP.

The other garden plants are of the ferulaceous kind, such as fennel, for instance, very grateful to serpents, as already stated,[1217] and used for numerous seasonings when dried; thapsia, too, which bears a close resemblance to fennel, and already mentioned by us when speaking[1218] of the exotic shrubs. Then, too, there is hemp,[1219] a plant remarkably useful for making ropes, and usually sown after the west winds have begun to prevail: the more thickly it is sown, the thinner are the stalks. The seed is gathered when ripe, just after the autumnal equinox, and is dried by the agency of the sun, the wind, or smoke.[1220] The hemp itself is plucked just after vintage-time, and is peeled and cleaned by the labourers at night.

The best hemp is that of Alabanda,[1221] which is used more particularly for making hunting-nets, and of which there are three varieties. The hemp which lies nearest the bark or the pith is the least valuable, while that which lies in the middle, and hence has the name of “mesa,” is the most esteemed. The hemp of Mylasa[1222] occupies the second rank. With reference to the size to which it grows, that of Rosea,[1223] in the Sabine territory, equals the trees in height.[1224]

We have already mentioned two kinds of fennel-giant when speaking[1225] of the exotic shrubs: the seed of it is used in Italy for food; the plant, too, admits of being preserved, and, if stored in earthen pots, will keep for a whole year. There are two parts of it that are used for this purpose, the upper stalks and the umbels of the plant. This kind of fennel is sometimes known by the name of “corymbia,” and the parts preserved are called “corymbi.”

CHAP. 57. (10.)—THE MALADIES OF GARDEN PLANTS.

The garden plants, too, like the rest of the vegetable productions, are subject to certain maladies. Thus, for[1226] instance, ocimum, when old, degenerates into wild thyme, and sisymbrium[1227] into mint, while the seed of an old cabbage produces rape, and vice versâ. Cummin, too, if not kept well hoed, is killed by hæmodorum,[1228], a plant with a single stalk, a root similar to a bulb in appearance, and never found except in a thin, meagre soil. Besides this, cummin is liable to a peculiar disease of its own, the scab:[1229] ocimum, too, turns pale at the rising of the Dog-star. All plants, indeed, will turn of a yellow complexion on the approach of a woman who has the menstrual discharge[1230] upon her.

There are various kinds of insects,[1231] too, that breed upon the garden plants—fleas, for instance, upon turnips, and caterpillars and maggots upon radishes, as well as lettuces and cabbages; besides which, the last two are exposed to the attacks of slugs and snails. The leek, too, is infested with peculiar insects of its own; which may very easily be taken, however, by laying dung upon the plants, the insects being in the habit of burrowing in it. Sabinus Tiro says, in his book entitled “Cepurica,”[1232] which he dedicated to Mæcenas, that it is not advisable to touch rue, cunila, mint, or ocimum with any implement of iron.

CHAP. 58.—THE PROPER REMEDIES FOR THESE MALADIES. HOW ANTS ARE BEST DESTROYED. THE BEST REMEDIES AGAINST CATERPILLARS AND FLIES.

The same author recommends as a remedy against ants, which are by no means the slightest plague in a garden that is not kept well watered, to stop up the mouths of their holes with sea-slime or ashes. But the most efficient way of destroying them is with the aid of the plant heliotropium;[1233] some persons, too, are of opinion that water in which an unburnt brick has been soaked is injurious to them. The best protection for turnips is to sow a few fitches with them, and for cabbages chickpeas, these having the effect of keeping away caterpillars. If, however, this precaution should have been omitted, and the caterpillars have already made their appearance, the best remedy is to throw upon the vegetables a decoction of wormwood,[1234] or else of house-leek,[1235] known to some as “aïzoüm,” a kind of herb already mentioned by us. If cabbage-seed, before it is sown, is steeped in the juice of house-leek, the cabbages, it is said, are sure not be attacked by any insect.

It is said, too, that all caterpillars may be effectually exterminated, if the skull[1236] of a beast of burden is set up upon a stake in the garden, care being taken to employ that of a female only. There is a story related, too, that a river crab, hung up in the middle of the garden, is a preservative against the attacks of caterpillars. Again, there are some persons who are in the habit of touching with slips of blood-red cornel[1237] such plants as they wish to preserve from caterpillars. Flies,[1238] too, infest well-watered gardens, and more particularly so, if there happen to he any shrubs there; they may be got rid of, however, by burning galbanum.[1239]

(11.) With reference to the deterioration to which seed is subject,[1240] there are some seeds which keep better than others, such, for instance, as that of coriander, beet, leeks, cresses, mustard, rocket, cunila, nearly all the pungent plants in fact. The seed, on the other hand, of orage, ocimum, gourds, and cucumbers, is not so good for keeping. All the summer seeds, too, last longer than the winter ones; but scallion seed is the very worst for keeping of them all. But of those, even, which keep the very longest, there is none that will keep beyond four years—for sowing[1241] purposes, at least; for culinary purposes, they are fit for use beyond that period.

CHAP. 59.—WHAT PLANTS ARE BENEFITTED BY SALT WATER.

A peculiar remedy for the maladies to which radishes, beet, rue, and cunila are subject, is salt water, which has also the additional merit of conducing very materially to their sweetness and fertility. Other plants, again, are equally benefitted by being watered with fresh water, the most desirable for the purpose being that which is the coldest and the sweetest to drink: pond and drain-water, on the other hand, are not so good, as they are apt to carry the seeds of weeds along with them. It is rain,[1242] however, that forms the principal aliment of plants; in addition to which, it kills the insects as they develope themselves upon them.

CHAP. 60. (12.)—THE PROPER METHOD OF WATERING GARDENS.

The proper times[1243] for watering are the morning and the evening, to prevent the water from being heated[1244] by the sun; with the sole exception, however, of ocimum, which requires to be watered at midday; indeed, this plant, it is generally thought, will grow with additional rapidity, if it is watered with boiling water when sown. All plants, when transplanted, grow all the better and larger for it, leeks and turnips more particularly. Transplanting, too, is attended with certain remedial effects, and acts as a preservative to certain plants, such as scallions, for instance, leeks, radishes, parsley, lettuces, rape, and cucumbers. All the wild plants[1245] are generally smaller in the leaf and stalk than the cultivated ones, and have more acrid juices, cunila, wild marjoram, and rue, for example. Indeed, it is only the lapathum[1246] that is better in a wild state than cultivated: in its cultivated state it is the same plant that is known to us as the “rumix,” being the most vigorous[1247] by far of all the plants that are grown; so much so, indeed, that it is said that when it has once taken root, it will last for ever, and can never be extirpated from the soil, more particularly if water happens to be near at hand. Its juices, which are employed only in ptisans,[1248] as an article of food, have the effect of imparting to them a softer and more exquisite flavour. The wild variety[1249] is employed for many medicinal purposes.

So true it is, that the careful research of man has omitted nothing, that I have even met with a poem,[1250] in which I find it stated, that if pellets of goats’ dung, the size of a bean, are hollowed out, and the seed of leeks, rocket, lettuces, parsley, endive, and cresses is inserted in them, and then sown, the plants will thrive in a marvellous degree. Plants[1251] in a wild state, it is generally thought, are more dry and acrid than when cultivated.

CHAP. 61.—THE JUICES AND FLAVOURS OF GARDEN HERBS.

This, too, reminds me that I ought to make some mention of the difference between the juices and flavours of the garden herbs, a difference which is more perceptible here than in the fruits even.[1252] In cunila, for instance, wild marjoram, cresses, and mustard, the flavour is acrid; in wormwood[1253] and centaury,[1254] bitter; in cucumbers, gourds, and lettuces, watery; and in parsley, anise, and fennel, pungent and odoriferous. The salt flavour is the only one that is not to be found[1255] in plants, with the sole exception, indeed, of the chicheling[1256] vetch, though even then it is to be found on the exterior surface only of the plant, in the form of a kind of dust which settles there.

CHAP. 62.—PIPERITIS, LIBANOTIS, AND SMYRNIUM.

To come to a full understanding, too, both here as elsewhere, how unfounded are the notions which are generally entertained, I shall take this opportunity of remarking that panax[1257] has the flavour of pepper, and siliquastrum even more so, a circumstance to which it owes its name of piperitis:[1258] libanotis,[1259] again, has just the odour of frankincense, and smyrnium[1260] of myrrh. As to panax, we have spoken of it at sufficient length already.[1261] Libanotis grows in a thin, crumbly soil, and is generally sown in spots exposed to the falling dews; the root, which is just like that of olusatrum,[1262] has a smell in no way differing from that of frankincense; when a year old, it is extremely wholesome for the stomach; some persons give it the name of rosmarinum.[1263] Smyrnium is a garden herb that grows in similar soils, and has a root which smells like myrrh: siliquastrum too, is grown in a similar manner.

Other plants, again, differ from the preceding ones, both in smell and taste, anise[1264] for example; indeed, so great is the difference in this respect, and in their relative virtues, that not only are the properties of each modified by the other, but quite neutralized even. It is in this way that our cooks correct the flavour of vinegar in their dishes with parsley, and our butlers employ the same plant, enclosed in sachets, for removing a bad odour in wine.

[1265]Thus far, then, we have treated of the garden plants, viewed as articles of food only; it remains for us now (for up to the present we have only spoken of their various methods of cultivation, with some succinct details relative thereto), to enlarge upon the more elaborate operations of Nature in this respect; it being quite impossible to come to a full understanding as to the true characteristics of each individual plant, without a knowledge of its medicinal effects, a sublime and truly mysterious manifestation of the wisdom of the Deity, than which nothing can possibly be found of a nature more elevated. It is upon principle that we have thought proper not to enlarge upon the medicinal properties of each plant when treating of it; for it is a quite different class of persons that is interested in knowing their curative properties, and there is no doubt that both classes of readers would have been inconvenienced in a very material degree, if these two points of view had engaged our attention at the same moment. As it is, each class will have its own portion to refer to, while those who desire to do so, will experience no difficulty in uniting them, with reference to any subject of which we may happen to treat.

SUMMARY.—Remarkable facts, narratives, and observations, one thousand one hundred and forty-four.

ROMAN AUTHORS QUOTED.—Maccius Plautus,[1266] M. Varro,[1267] D. Silanus,[1268] Cato the Censor,[1269] Hyginus,[1270] Virgil,[1271] Mucianus,[1272] Celsus,[1273] Columella,[1274] Calpurnius Bassus,[1275] Mamilius Sura,[1276] Sabinus Tiro,[1277] Licinius Macer,[1278] Quintus Hirtius,[1279] Vibius Rufus,[1280] Cæsennius[1281] who wrote the Cepurica, Castritius[1282] who wrote on the same subject, Firmus[1283] who wrote on the same subject, Petrichus[1284] who wrote on the same subject.

FOREIGN AUTHORS QUOTED.—Herodotus,[1285] Theophrastus,[1286] Democritus,[1287] Aristomachus,[1288] Menander[1289] who wrote the Biochresta, Anaxiläus.[1290]