Chapter XX: Book XXI (2)

Such is the succession of the summer flowers in the parts beyond sea: in Italy, the violet is succeeded by the rose, the lily comes on while the rose is still in flower, the cyanus[2097] succeeds the rose, and the amaranth the cyanus. As to the vincapervinca,[2098] it is an evergreen, the branches from which run out like so many strings, the leaves surrounding the stem at each of the knots: though more generally used for the purposes of ornamental gardening, it is sometimes employed in chaplets when there is a deficiency of other flowers. From the Greeks this plant has received the name of “chamædaphne.”

CHAP. 40.—THE DURATION OF LIFE IN THE VARIOUS KINDS OF FLOWERS.

At the very utmost, the white[2099] violet never lasts longer than three years: should it exceed that period, it is sure to degenerate. The rose-tree will last so long as five years without being pruned or cauterized,[2100] methods by which it is made to grow young again. We have already stated[2101] that the nature of the soil is of the very greatest importance; for in Egypt, we find, all these plants are perfectly inodorous, and it is only the myrtle that has any particular smell. In some countries, too, the germination of all the plants precedes that in other parts of the world by so long a period as two months even. The rose-beds should be well spaded immediately after the west winds begin to prevail, and, a second time, at the summer solstice: every care, however, should be paid, between these two periods, to keeping the ground well raked and cleaned.

CHAP. 41. (12.)—PLANTS WHICH SHOULD BE SOWN AMONG FLOWERS FOR BEES. THE CERINTHA.

Bees and beehives, too, are a subject extremely well suited to a description of gardens and garland plants, while, at the same time, where they are successfully managed, they are a source, without any great outlay, of very considerable profit. For bees, then, the following plants should be grown—thyme, apiastrum, the rose, the various violets, the lily, the cytisus, the bean, the fitch, cunila, the poppy, conyza,[2102] cassia, the melilote, melissophyllum,[2103] and the cerintha.[2104] This last is a plant with a white leaf, bent inwards, the stem of it being a cubit in height, with a flower at the top presenting a concavity full of a juice like honey. Bees are remarkably fond of the flowers of these plants, as also the blossoms of mustard, a thing that is somewhat surprising, seeing that it is a well-known fact that they will not so much as touch the blossoms of the olive: for which reason, it will be as well to keep that tree at a distance from them.[2105]

There are other trees, again, which should be planted as near the hives as possible, as they attract the swarm when it first wings its flight, and so prevent the bees from wandering to any considerable distance.

CHAP. 42.—THE MALADIES OF BEES, AND THE REMEDIES FOR THEM.

The greatest care, too, should be taken to keep the cornel[2106] at a distance from the hives; for if the bees once taste the blossoms of it, they will speedily die of flux and looseness. The best remedy in such case is to give them sorb apples beaten up with honey, or else human urine or that of oxen, or pomegranate seeds moistened with Aminean[2107] wine. It is a very good plan, too, to plant broom about the hives, the bees being extremely fond of the blossoms.

CHAP. 43.—THE FOOD OF BEES.

In relation to the food of bees, I have ascertained a very singular fact, and one that well deserves to be mentioned. There is a village, called Hostilia, on the banks of the river Padus: the inhabitants of it, when food[2108] fails the bees in their vicinity, place the hives in boats and convey them some five miles up the river in the night. In the morning the bees go forth to feed, and then return to the boats; their locality being changed from day to day, until at last, as the boats sink deeper and deeper in the water, it is ascertained that the hives are full, upon which they are taken home, and the honey is withdrawn.

(13.) In Spain, too, for the same purpose, they have the hives carried from place to place on the backs of mules.

CHAP. 44.—POISONED HONEY, AND THE REMEDIES TO BE EMPLOYED BY THOSE WHO HAVE EATEN OF IT.

Indeed, the food of bees is of the very greatest importance, as it is owing to this that we meet with poisonous[2109] honey even. At Heraclia[2110] in Pontus, the honey is extremely pernicious in certain years, though it is the same bees that make it at other times. Authors, however, have not informed us from what flowers this honey is extracted; we shall, therefore, take this opportunity of stating what we have ascertained upon the subject.

There is a certain plant which, from the circumstance that it proves fatal to beasts of burden, and to goats in particular, has obtained the name of “ægolethron,”[2111] and the blossoms of which, steeped in the rains of a wet spring, contract most noxious properties. Hence it is that it is not every year that these dangerous results are experienced. The following are the signs of the honey being[2112] poisonous: it never thickens, the colour is redder than usual, and it emits a peculiar smell which immediately produces sneezing; while, at the same time, it is more weighty than a similar quantity of good honey. Persons, when they have eaten of it, throw themselves on the ground to cool the body, which is bathed with a profuse perspiration. There are numerous remedies, of which we shall have occasion to speak in a more appropriate place;[2113] but as it will be as well to mention some of them on the present occasion, by way of being provided for such insidious accidents, I will here state that old honied wine is good, mixed with the finest honey and rue; salt meats, also, taken repeatedly in small quantities, and as often brought up again.

It is a well-known fact that dogs, after tasting the excretions of persons suffering from these attacks, have been attacked with similar symptoms, and have experienced the same kind of pains.

Still, however, it is equally well ascertained, that honied wine prepared from this honey, when old, is altogether innoxious; and that there is nothing better than this honey, mixed with costus,[2114] for softening the skin of females, or, combined with aloes, for the treatment of bruises.

CHAP. 45.—MADDENING HONEY.

In the country of the Sanni, in the same part of Pontus, there is another kind of honey, which, from the madness it produces, has received the name of “mænomenon.”[2115] This evil effect is generally attributed to the flowers of the rhododendron,[2116] with which the woods there abound; and that people, though it pays a tribute to the Romans in wax, derives no profit whatever from its honey, in consequence of these dangerous properties. In Persis, too, and in Gætulia, a district of Mauritania Cæsariensis, bordering on the country of the Massæsyli, there are poisonous honeycombs found; and some, too, only partly so,[2117] one of the most insidious things that possibly could happen, were it not that the livid colour of the honey gives timely notice of its noxious qualities. What can we suppose to have possibly been the intention of Nature in thus laying these traps in our way, giving us honey that is poisonous in some years and good in others, poisonous in some parts of the combs and not in others, and that, too, the produce in all cases of the self-same bees? It was not enough, forsooth, to have produced a substance in which poison might be administered without the slightest difficulty, but must she herself administer it as well in the honey, to fall in the way of so many animated beings? What, in fact, can have been her motive, except to render mankind a little more cautious and somewhat less greedy?

And has she not provided the very bees, too, with pointed weapons, and those weapons poisoned to boot? So it is, and I shall, therefore, without delay, set forth the remedies to counteract the effects of their stings. It will be found a very excellent plan to foment the part stung with the juice of mallows[2118] or of ivy leaves, or else for the person who has been stung to take these juices in drink. It is a very astonishing thing, however, that the insects which thus carry these poisons in their mouths and secrete them, should never die themselves in consequence; unless it is that Nature, that mistress of all things, has given to bees the same immunity from the effects of poison which she has granted against the attacks of serpents to the Psylli[2119] and the Marsi among men.

CHAP. 46. (14.)—HONEY THAT FLIES WILL NOT TOUCH.

Another marvellous fact, again, connected with honey in Crete. Upon Mount Carina in that island, which is nine miles in circuit, there is not a fly to be found, and the honey that is made there no fly will touch.[2120] It is by this circumstance that honey said to have come from that district is usually tested, it being highly prized for medicinal preparations.

CHAP. 47.—BEEHIVES, AND THE ATTENTION WHICH SHOULD BE PAID TO THEM.

The hives ought to have an aspect due east,[2121] but never looking towards the north-east or the west. The best hives are those made of bark, the next best those of fennel-giant, and the next of osier: many persons, too, have them made of mirror-stone,[2122] for the purpose of watching[2123] the bees at work within. It is the best plan to anoint the hives all over with cow-dung. The lid of the hive should be made to slide from behind, so as to admit of being shut to within, in case the hive should prove too large or their labours unproductive; for, if this is not done, the bees are apt to become discouraged and abandon their work. The slide may then be gradually withdrawn, the increase of space being imperceptible to the bees as the work progresses. In winter, too, the hives should be covered with straw, and subjected to repeated fumigations, with burnt cow-dung more particularly. As this is of kindred[2124] origin with the bees, the smoke produced by it is particularly beneficial in killing all such insects as may happen to breed there, such as spiders, for instance, moths,[2125] and wood-worms;[2126] while, at the same time, it stimulates the bees themselves to increased activity. In fact, there is little difficulty in getting rid of the spiders, but to destroy the moths, which are a much greater plague, a night must be chosen in spring, just when the mallow is ripening, there being no moon, but a clear sky: flambeaux are then lighted before the hives, upon which the moths precipitate themselves in swarms into the flame.

CHAP. 48.—THAT BEES ARE SENSIBLE OF HUNGER.

If it is found that the bees are in want of aliment, it will be a good plan to place at the entrance of the hive raisins or dried figs beaten up,[2127] as also carded wool soaked in raisin wine, boiled[2128] must, or hydromel, and sometimes even the raw[2129] flesh of poultry. In certain summers, too, when long-continued drought has deprived them of the nutriment which they usually derive from flowers, similar food must be provided for them.

When the honey is taken, the outlets of the hive should be well rubbed with melissophyllum or broom,[2130] beaten up, or else the middle of it should be encircled with bands of white vine, to prevent the bees from taking to flight. It is recommended, too, that the honey-pots and combs should be washed with water: this water, boiled, it is said, will make an extremely wholesome vinegar.[2131]

CHAP. 49.—THE METHOD OF PREPARING WAX. THE BEST KINDS OF WAX. PUNIC WAX.

Wax is made[2132] from the honeycombs after the honey has been extracted. For this purpose, they are first cleaned with water, and then dried three days in the shade: on the fourth day they are melted on the fire in a new earthen vessel, with sufficient water to cover them, after which the liquor is strained off in a wicker basket.[2133] The wax is then boiled again with the same water and in the same pot, and poured into vessels of cold water, the interior of which has been well rubbed with honey. The best wax is that known as Punic[2134] wax, the next best being that of a remarkably yellow colour, with the smell of honey. This last comes from Pontus, and, to my surprise, it is in no way affected by the poisonous honey which it has contained.[2135] The next in quality is the Cretan wax, which contains the largest proportion of propolis,[2136] a substance of which we have previously made mention when treating of bees. Next to these varieties comes the Corsican wax, which, being the produce of the box-tree, is generally thought to be possessed of certain medicinal properties.

The Punic wax is prepared in the following manner: yellow wax is first blanched in the open air, after which it is boiled in water from the open sea, with the addition of some nitre.[2137] The flower of the wax, or, in other words, the whitest part of it, is then skimmed off with spoons, and poured into a vessel containing a little cold water. After this, it is again boiled in sea-water by itself, which done, the vessel is left to cool. When this operation has been three times repeated, the wax is left in the open air upon a mat of rushes, to dry in the light of the sun and moon; for while the latter adds to its whiteness, the sun helps to dry[2138] it. In order, however, that it may not melt, it is the practice to cover it with a linen cloth: if, when it has been thus refined, it is boiled once more, the result is a wax of the greatest possible whiteness.

Punic wax is considered the best for all medicinal preparations. Wax is made black by the addition of ashes of papyrus, and a red colour is given to it by the admixture of alkanet; indeed, by the employment of various pigments, it is made to assume various tints, in which state it is used for making models,[2139] and for other purposes without number, among which we may mention varnishing walls[2140] and armour, to protect them from the air. We have given the other particulars relative to bees and honey, when speaking[2141] of the nature of those insects. We have now stated pretty nearly all that we have to say on the subject of the pleasure garden.

CHAP. 50. (15.)—PLANTS WHICH GROW SPONTANEOUSLY: THE USE MADE OF THEM BY VARIOUS NATIONS, THEIR NATURE, AND REMARKABLE FACTS CONNECTED WITH THEM. THE STRAWBERRY, THE TAMNUS, AND THE BUTCHER’S BROOM. THE BATIS, TWO VARIETIES OF IT. THE MEADOW PARSNIP. THE HOP.

We now come to the plants which grow spontaneously, and which are employed as an aliment by most nations, the people of Egypt in particular, where they abound in such vast quantities, that, extremely prolific as that country is in corn, it is perhaps the only one that could subsist without it: so abundant are its resources in the various kinds of food to be obtained from plants.

In Italy, however, we are acquainted with but very few of them; those few being the strawberry,[2142] the tamnus,[2143] the butcher’s broom,[2144] the sea[2145] batis, and the garden batis,[2146] known by some persons as Gallic asparagus; in addition to which we may mention the meadow parsnip[2147] and the hop,[2148] which may be rather termed amusements for the botanist than articles of food.

CHAP. 51.—THE COLOCASIA.

But the plant of this nature that is the most famous in Egypt is the colocasia,[2149] known as the “cyamos”[2150] to some. It is gathered in the river Nilus, and the stalk of it, boiled, separates[2151] into fine filaments when chewed, like those of the spider’s web. The head,[2152] protruding from among the leaves, is very remarkable; and the leaves, which are extremely large, even when compared with those of trees, are very similar to those of the plant found in our rivers, and known by the name of “personata.”[2153] So much do the people of that country take advantage of the bounteousness displayed by their river, that they are in the habit of plaiting[2154] the leaves of the colocasia with such skill as to make vessels of various shapes, which they are extremely fond of using for drinking vessels. At the present day, however, this plant is cultivated in Italy.[2155]

CHAP. 52.—THE CICHORIUM. THE ANTHALIUM OR ANTICELLIUM, OR ANTHYLLUM. THE ŒTUM. THE ARACHIDNA. THE ARACOS. THE CANDRYALA. THE HYPOCHŒRIS. THE CAUCALIS. THE ANTHRISCUM. THE SCANDIX. THE TRAGOPOGON. THE PARTHENIUM OR LEUCANTHES, AMARACUS, PERDICIUM, OR MURALIS. THE TRYCHNUM OR STRYCHNUM, HALICACABUM, CALLIAS, DORYCNION, MANICON, PERITTON, NEURAS, MORIO, OR MOLY. THE CORCHORUS. THE APHACE. THE ACYNOPOS. THE EPIPETRON. PLANTS WHICH NEVER FLOWER. PLANTS WHICH ARE ALWAYS IN FLOWER.

In Egypt, next to the colocasia, it is the cichorium that is held in the highest esteem, a plant which we have already spoken[2156] of under the name of wild endive.[2157] It springs up after the rising of the Vergiliæ, and the various portions of it blossom in succession: the root is supple, and hence is used for making withes even. The anthalium[2158] grows at a greater distance[2159] from the river; the fruit of it is round,[2160] and about the size of a medlar, but without either kernel or rind; the leaves of the plant are similar to those of the cyperus. The people there eat the fruit of it cooked upon the fire, as also of the œtum,[2161] a plant which has a few leaves only, and those extremely diminutive, though the root is large in proportion.[2162] The arachidna,[2163] again, and the aracos have numerous branchy roots, but neither leaves nor any herbaceous parts, nor, indeed, anything that makes its appearance above ground.

The other plants that are commonly eaten in Egypt are the chondrylla,[2164] the hypochœris,[2165] the caucalis,[2166] the anthriscum,[2167] the scandix, the come, by some persons known as the tragopogon,[2168] with leaves very similar to those of saffron, the parthenium,[2169] the trychnum,[2170] and the corchorus;[2171] with the aphace[2172] and acynopos,[2173] which make their appearance at the equinox. There is a plant also, called the epipetron,[2174] which never blossoms;[2175] while the aphace, on the other hand, as its flowers die, from time to time puts forth fresh ones, and remains[2176] in blossom throughout the winter and the spring, until the following summer.

CHAP. 53.—FOUR VARIETIES OF THE CNECOS.

The Egyptians have many other plants also, of little note; but they speak in the highest terms of the cnecos;[2177] a plant unknown to Italy, and which the Egyptians hold in esteem, not as an article of food, but for the oil it produces, and which is extracted from the seed. The principal varieties are the wild and the cultivated kinds; of the wild variety, again, there are two sorts, one of which is less prickly[2178] than the other, but with a similar stem, only more upright: hence it is that in former times females used it for distaffs, from which circumstance it has received the name of “atractylis”[2179] from some; the seed of it is white, large, and bitter. The other variety[2180] is more prickly, and has a more sinewy stem, which may be said almost to creep upon the ground; the seed is small. The cnecos belongs to the thorny plants: indeed, it will be as well to make some classification of them.

CHAP. 54.—PLANTS OF A PRICKLY NATURE: THE ERYNGE, THE GLYCYRRIZA, THE TRIBULUS, THE ANONIS, THE PHEOS OR STŒBE, AND THE HIPPOPHAES.

For some plants, in fact, are thorny, while others, again, are destitute of prickles: the species of thorny plants are very numerous. The asparagus[2181] and the scorpio[2182] are essentially thorny plants, having no leaves at all upon them. Some plants, again, that are prickly have leaves as well, such as the thistle, for instance, the erynge,[2183] the glycyrriza,[2184] and the nettle;[2185] all these plants being provided with leaves that prick or sting.

Some plants have thorns at the base of their leaves, the tribulus[2186] and the anonis[2187] for instance; others, again, have thorns, not on the leaves but on the stem, the pheos[2188] for example, known as the stœbe to some. The hippophaës[2189] has thorns at the joints; the tribulus presents the peculiarity of bearing a fruit that is thorny.

CHAP. 55.—FOUR VARIETIES OF THE NETTLE. THE LAMIUM AND THE SCORPIO.

But of all these plants, it is the nettle that is the best known to us, the calyces[2190] of the blossoms of which produce a purple down: it frequently exceeds two cubits even in height.[2191] There are numerous varieties of this plant; the wild nettle, known also as the female nettle, does not inflict so bad a sting as the others. Among the several varieties of the wild nettle, the one known as the dog[2192]-nettle, stings the worst, the stem of it even possessing that property; the leaves of the nettle are indented at the edge. There is one kind also, which emits a smell, known as the Herculanean[2193] nettle. The seed of all the nettles is copious, and black. It is a singular fact that, though possessed of no spinous points, the down[2194] of the nettle is of a noxious nature, and that, though ever so lightly touched, it will immediately produce an itching sensation, and raise a blister on the flesh similar in appearance to a burn: the well-known remedy for it is olive oil.

The stinging property of the nettle does not belong to the plant at the earliest period of its growth, but only developes itself under the influence of the sun. The plant first begins to grow in the spring, at which period it is by no means a disagreeable food;[2195] indeed, it has become quite a religious observance to employ it as such, under the impression that it is a preventive from diseases the whole year through. The root, too, of the wild nettle, has the effect of rendering all meat more tender that is boiled with it.[2196] The kind that is innoxious and destitute of all stinging properties, is known as the “lamium.”[2197] Of the scorpio[2198] we shall have occasion to speak when treating of the medicinal plants.

CHAP. 56. (16).—THE CARDUUS, THE ACORNA, THE PHONOS, THE LEUCACANTHOS, THE CHALCEOS, THE CNECOS, THE POLYACANTHOS, THE ONOPYXOS, THE HELXINE, THE SCOLYMOS, THE CHAMÆLEON, THE TETRALIX, AND ACANTHICE MASTICHE.

The carduus[2199] has leaves and a stem covered with a prickly down; the same is the case, too, with the acorna,[2200] the leucacanthos,[2201] the chalceos,[2202] the cnecos,[2203] the polyacanthos,[2204] the onopyxos,[2205] the helxine,[2206] and the scolymos;[2207] the chamæleon,[2208] however, has no prickles upon the leaves. There is, however, this difference among these plants, that some of them have numerous stems and branches, such as the carduus, for instance; while others, again, have a single stem and no branches, the cnecos, for example. Some, again, such as the erynge,[2209] are prickly at the head only; and some blossom in the summer, the tetralix and the helxine, for instance. The scolymos blossoms late, and remains a considerable period in flower: the acorna being distinguished only for its red colour and its unctuous juice. The atractylis would be similar in every respect to the last, were it not that it is somewhat whiter, and produces a juice the colour of blood, a circumstance to which it owes the name of “phonos,”[2210] given to it by some. The smell of this plant is powerful, and the seed only ripens at a late period, and never before autumn, although the same may be said of all the prickly plants, in fact. All of them are capable, however, of being reproduced from either seed or root.

The scolymos, which belongs to the thistle[2211] genus, differs from the rest of them in the circumstance that the root of it is boiled and eaten. It is a singular fact that this genus of plants bears blossoms, buds, and fruit the whole of the summer through, without any interruption: when the leaf is dried, the prickles lose their pungency. The helxine is a plant but rarely seen, and in some countries only. It throws out leaves at the root, from the middle of which there is a protuberance in the shape of an apple, covered with leaves of its own: the head of it contains a thick juice of a sweet flavour, the name given to which is “acanthice mastiche.”[2212]

CHAP. 57.—THE CACTOS; THE PTERNIX, PAPPUS, AND ASCALIAS.

The cactos,[2213] too, is a plant that grows only in Sicily, having peculiar characteristics of its own: the root throws out stalks which creep along the ground, the leaves being broad and thorny. The name given to these stalks is “cactos,” and they are not disliked as an article of food,[2214] even when old. The plant, however, has one stem which grows upright, and is known by the name of “pternix;” it has the same sweet flavour as the other parts, though it will not keep. The seed of it is covered with a kind of down, known as “pappus:”[2215] when this is removed, as well as the rind[2216] of the fruit, it is tender, and like the pith of the palm: the name given to it is “ascalias.”

CHAP. 58.—THE TRIBULUS: THE ANONIS.

The tribulus[2217] grows nowhere except in marshy places: though held in abomination elsewhere,[2218] it is employed on the banks of the Nilus and Strymon as an article of food. It always bends towards the water, and has a leaf like that of the elm, with a long stalk. In other parts of the world there are two varieties of this plant; the one[2219] with leaves like those of the chicheling vetch, the other with leaves protected by prickles. This last variety blossoms also at a later period than the other, and is mostly found in the hedge-rows about farm-houses. The seed of it is black, rounder than that of the other, and enclosed in pods: that of the other variety bears a resemblance to sand.

Among the prickly plants there is also another kind, known as the “anonis:”[2220] indeed, it has thorns upon the branches, to which leaves are attached similar to those of rue, the stem being entirely covered also with leaves, in form resembling a garland. It comes up in land that has been newly ploughed, being highly prejudicial to the corn, and long-lived in the extreme.

CHAP. 59.—PLANTS CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO THEIR STEMS: THE CORONOPUS, THE ANCHUSA, THE ANTHEMIS, THE PHYLLANTHES, THE CREPIS, AND THE LOTUS.

Some, again, among the prickly plants have a stem which creeps along the ground, that, for instance, known as the “coronopus.”[2221] On the other hand, the anchusa,[2222] the root of which is employed for dyeing wood and wax, has an upright stem; which is the case also with some of the plants that are prickly in a less degree, the anthemis,[2223] for example, the phyllanthes,[2224] the anemone, and the aphace:[2225] the crepis,[2226] again, and the lotus,[2227] have a foliated stem.

CHAP. 60.—PLANTS CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO THEIR LEAVES. PLANTS WHICH NEVER LOSE THEIR LEAVES: PLANTS WHICH BLOSSOM A LITTLE AT A TIME: THE HELIOTROPIUM AND THE ADIANTUM, THE REMEDIES DERIVED FROM WHICH WILL BE MENTIONED IN THE FOLLOWING BOOK.

The leaves of plants, as well as those of trees, differ from one another in the length of the footstalk, and in the breadth or narrowness of the leaf, and the angles and indentations perceptible on its edge. Other differences are also constituted in respect of their smell and blossom. The blossom remains on longer in some of those plants which flower only a little at a time, such as the ocimum,[2228] the heliotropium,[2229] the aphace, and the onochilis,[2230] for example.

(17.) Many of these plants, the same as certain among the trees, never lose their leaves, the heliotropium,[2231] the adiantum[2232] and the polium,[2233] for instance.

CHAP. 61.—THE VARIOUS KINDS OF EARED PLANTS: THE STANYOPS; THE ALOPECUROS; THE STELEPHUROS, ORTYX, OR PLANTAGO; THE THRYALLIS.

The eared[2234] plants form another variety: among them we find the cynops,[2235] the alopecuros,[2236] the stelephuros,[2237] also known to some persons as the ortyx,[2238] and to others as the plantago, of which last we shall have occasion[2239] to speak more at length among the medicinal plants, and the thryallis.[2240] The alopecuros, among these, has a soft ear and a thick down, not unlike a fox’s tail in fact, to which resemblance it owes its name. The plant most like[2241] it is the stelephuros, were it not that it blossoms only a little at a time. In the cichorium and similar plants, the leaves are near the ground, the buds springing from the root just after the rising of the Vergiliæ.[2242]

CHAP. 62—THE PERDICIUM. THE ORNITHOGALE.

It is not in Egypt only that the perdicium[2243] is eaten; it owes its name to the partridge,[2244] which bird is extremely fond of digging it up. The roots of it are thick and very numerous: and so, too, with the ornithogale,[2245] which has a tender white stalk, and a root half a foot in thickness, bulbous, soft, and provided with three or four other offsets attached to it. It is generally used boiled in pottage.[2246]

CHAP. 63.—PLANTS WHICH ONLY MAKE THEIR APPEARANCE AT THE END OF A YEAR. PLANTS WHICH BEGIN TO BLOSSOM AT THE TOP. PLANTS WHICH BEGIN TO BLOSSOM AT THE LOWER PART.

It is a remarkable thing that the herb lotus[2247] and the ægilops[2248] never make their appearance above ground till the end of a year after the seed has been sown. The anthemis,[2249] too, offers the singular peculiarity that it begins to blossom at the top, while in all the other plants which flower gradually, it is at the lower part that the blossom first makes its appearance.

CHAP. 64.—THE LAPPA, A PLANT WHICH PRODUCES WITHIN ITSELF. THE OPUNTIA, WHICH THROWS OUT A ROOT FROM THE LEAF.

In the lappa,[2250] too, which clings so tenaciously, there is this remarkable peculiarity, that within it there grows a flower, which does not make its appearance, but remains concealed and there produces the seed, like those among the animals which produce within themselves. In the vicinity of Opus there grows a plant[2251] which is very pleasant eating to man, and the leaf of which, a most singular thing, gives birth to a root by means of which it reproduces itself.

CHAP. 65.—THE IASIONE. THE CHONDRYLLA. THE PICRIS, WHICH REMAINS IN FLOWER THE WHOLE YEAR THROUGH.

The iasione[2252] has a single leaf only, but that so folded and involved, as to have all the appearance of being several in number. The chondrylla[2253] is bitter, and the juice of the root is of an acrid taste. The aphace, too, is bitter, and so is the plant called “picris,”[2254] which also remains in flower the whole year through: it is to this bitterness that it is indebted for its name.[2255]

CHAP. 66.—PLANTS IN WHICH THE BLOSSOM MAKES ITS APPEARANCE BEFORE THE STEM. PLANTS IN WHICH THE STEM APPEARS BEFORE THE BLOSSOM. PLANTS WHICH BLOSSOM THREE TIMES IN THE YEAR.

The peculiarities also of the squill and saffron deserve remark; for while all other plants put forth their leaves first, and then a round stem, these show the stem before the leaf makes its appearance: in the saffron, however, the blossom is protruded by the stem, but in the squill it is the stem that first makes its appearance, and then the flower emerges from it. This plant blossoms three times in the year, indicating thereby, as previously stated,[2256] the three seasons for ploughing.

CHAP. 67.—THE CYPIROS. THE THESION.

Some authors reckon among the bulbs the root of the cypiros, or gladiolus;[2257] it is a pleasant food, and when boiled and kneaded up with bread, makes it more agreeable to the taste, and at the same time more weighty. Not unlike it in appearance is the plant known to us as the “thesion,”[2258] but it is of an acrid flavour.

CHAP. 68.—THE ASPHODEL, OR ROYAL SPEAR. THE ANTHERICUS OR ALBUCUS.

Other plants of the bulbous kind differ in the leaf: that of the asphodel[2259] is long and narrow, that of the squill broad and supple, and the form of that of the gladiolus is bespoken by its name.[2260] The asphodel is used as an article of food, the seed of it being parched, and the bulb roasted;[2261] this last, however, should be cooked in hot ashes, and then eaten with salt and oil. It is beaten up also with figs, and forms, as Hesiod assures us, a very delicate dish. It is said, too, that the asphodel, planted before the doors of a farm-house, will act as a preservative against the effects of noxious spells.

Homer,[2262] too, makes mention of the asphodel. The bulbs of it are like moderately-sized turnips, and there is no plant the root of which has more of them, as many as eighty bulbs being often grouped together. Theophrastus, and nearly all the Greek writers, with Pythagoras at the head of them, have given the name of “anthericos” to its stem, which is one cubit, and often two, in length, the leaves being very similar to those of the wild leek; it is to the root, or in other words, the bulbs, that they have given the name of asphodel. The people of our country call this plant[2263] “albucus,” and they give the name of “royal[2264] spear” to the asphodel the stem of which bears berries,[2265] thus distinguishing two[2266] varieties of it. The albucus has a stalk a cubit in length, large, naked, and smooth, in reference to which, Mago recommends that it should be cut at the end of March and the beginning of April, the period at which it blossoms, and before the seed has begun to swell; he says, too, that the stalks should be split, and exposed on the fourth day in the sun, after which, when dry, they should be made up into bundles.

The same author states, also, that the Greeks give the name of “pistana” to the aquatic plant known to us as the “sagitta;”[2267] and he recommends that it should be stripped of its bark, and dried in a mild sun, between the ides of May[2268] and the end of October. He says, too, that it is usual to cut down to the root, throughout all the month of July, the variety of the gladiolus called “cypiros,” which is a marsh-plant also, and at the end of three days to dry it in the sun, until it turns white; but that care must be taken every day to carry it under cover before sunset, the night dews being very injurious to marsh plants when cut.

CHAP. 69. (18.)—SIX VARIETIES OF THE RUSH: FOUR REMEDIES DERIVED FROM THE CYPIROS.

Mago has likewise given similar recommendations as to the rush known to us as the “mariscus,”[2269] and which is so extensively employed for weaving mats. He says that it should be gathered in the month of June, up to the middle of July, and for drying it he gives the same precepts that have been already[2270] mentioned, in the appropriate place, when speaking of sedge. He describes a second kind, also, which I find is generally called the “marine” rush, and is known to the Greeks as the “oxyschœnos.”[2271]

Generally speaking, there are three varieties of this last rush: the pointed rush, which is barren, and by the Greeks is called the male rush and the “oxys:”[2272] the female rush,[2273] which bears a black seed, and is called the “melancranis,”[2274] thicker and more bushy than the preceding one: and a third kind, called the “holoschœnus,”[2275] which is larger still. Of these varieties, the melancranis grows separately from the others, but the oxys and the holoschœnus will grow upon the self-same clod. The holoschœnus is the most useful for all kinds of basket-work, being of a particularly supple and fleshy nature; it bears a fruit, which resembles eggs attached to one another. The rush, again, which we have spoken of as the male rush,[2276] is reproduced from itself, the summit of it being bent down into the earth; the melancranis, however, is propagated from seed. Beyond this, the roots of all the varieties of the rush die every year.

The rush is in general use for making kipes[2277] for sea-fishing, the more light and elegant kinds of basket-work, and the wicks of lamps, for which last purpose the pith is more particularly employed.[2278] In the vicinity of the maritime Alps, the rushes grow to such a vast size, that when split they measure nearly an inch in diameter; while in Egypt, on the other hand, they are so extremely fine, that the people there make sieves of them, for which, indeed, there can be nothing better.

Some authors, again, distinguish another kind of rush, of a triangular shape, to which they give the name of cyperos,[2279] though many persons make no distinction between it and the “cypiros,” in consequence of the resemblance of the names; for our own part, however, we shall observe the distinction. The cypiros, as we have already[2280] stated, is identical with the gladiolus, a plant with a bulbous root, the most esteemed being those grown in the Isle of Crete, the next best those of Naxos, and the next those of Phœnicia. The cypiros of Crete is white, with an odour strongly resembling that of nard; the produce of Naxos has a more pungent smell, that of Phœnicia but little odour of any kind, and that of Ægypt none at all; for it grows in that country as well.

This plant disperses hard tumours of the body—for we shall here begin to speak of the remedies derived from the various flowers and odoriferous plants, they being, all of them, of very considerable utility in medicine. As to the cypiros, then, I shall follow Apollodorus, who forbids it to be taken in drink, though at the same time he admits that it is extremely useful for calculi of the bladder, and recommends it in fomentations for the face. He entertains no doubt, however, that it is productive of abortion, and he mentions, as a remarkable fact, that the barbarians,[2281] by inhaling the fumes of this plant at the mouth, thereby diminish the volume of the spleen. They never go out of the house, he says, till they have inhaled these fumes, through the agency of which they daily become stronger and stronger, and more robust. He states, also, that the cypiros, employed as a liniment with oil, is an undoubted remedy for chafing of the skin, and offensive odours of the arm-pits.

CHAP. 70.—THE CYPEROS: FOURTEEN REMEDIES. THE CYPERIS. THE CYPIRA.

The cyperos, as we have just stated, is a rush of angular shape, white near the ground, and black and solid at the top. The lower leaves are more slender than those of the leek, and those at the top are small, with the seed of the plant lying between them. The root resembles a black olive,[2282] and when it is of an oblong shape, the plant is known as the “cyperis,”[2283] being employed in medicine to a great extent. The cyperos most highly esteemed is that of the vicinity of the Temple of Jupiter Hammon, the next best being that of Rhodes, the next that of Theræ, and the worst of all that of Egypt, a circumstance which tends greatly to add to the misunderstanding on the subject, as that country produces the cypiros as well: but the cypiros which grows there is extremely hard, and has hardly any smell at all, while all the other[2284] varieties of it have an odour strongly resembling that of nard.

There is also an Indian plant, called the “cypira,”[2285] of a totally different character, and similar to ginger in appearance; when chewed, it has exactly the flavour of saffron.

The cyperos, employed medicinally, is possessed of certain depilatory properties. It is used in liniments for hang-nails and ulcerous sores of the genitals and of all parts of the body which are of a humid nature, ulcers of the mouth, for instance. The root of it is a very efficacious remedy for the stings of serpents and scorpions. Taken in drink, it removes obstructions of the uterus, but if employed in too large doses, it is liable to cause prolapsus of that organ. It acts also as a diuretic, and expels calculi of the bladder; properties which render it extremely useful in dropsy. It is employed topically, also, for serpiginous ulcers, those of the throat more particularly, being usually applied with wine or vinegar.

CHAP. 71.—THE HOLOSCHŒNUS.

The root of the rush, boiled down to one third in three heminæ of water, is a cure for cough; the seed of it, parched and taken in water, arrests looseness of the bowels and the menstrual discharge, though at the same time it causes headache. The name given to this rush is holoschœnus; the parts of it nearest the root are chewed, as a cure for the bites of spiders.

I find mention made, also, of one other kind of rush, the name of which is “euripice;”[2286] the seed, they say, is narcotic, but the greatest care is necessary, not to throw the patient into a lethargy.

CHAP. 72.—TEN REMEDIES DERIVED FROM THE SWEET-SCENTED RUSH, OR TEUCHITES.

We will also take this opportunity of mentioning the medicinal properties of the sweet-scented rush, which is found in Cœle-Syria, as already stated by us in the appropriate place.[2287] The most esteemed kind, however, is that which grows in the country of the Nabatæi, and is known as the “teuchites;”[2288] the next best being the produce of Babylonia, and the very worst that of Africa, which is entirely destitute of smell. This rush is round, and when applied to the tongue, has a pungent, vinous flavour. The genuine kind, when rubbed, gives out an odour like that of the rose, and when broken asunder it is red within. It dispels flatulency, and hence it is very good for the stomach, and for persons when vomiting the bile or blood. It arrests hiccup also, promotes eructations, acts as a diuretic, and is curative of affections of the bladder. A decoction of it is used for female complaints; and in cases of opisthotony, it is applied in plasters with dry resin, these being highly valued for their warming properties.

CHAP. 73.—REMEDIES DERIVED FROM THE FLOWERS BEFORE MENTIONED: THIRTY-TWO REMEDIES DERIVED FROM THE ROSE.

The rose is of an astringent and refreshing nature. For medicinal purposes the petals, the flowers, and the heads are used. Those portions of the petals which are quite white are known as the unglets.[2289] In the flower there is the seed, as distinguished from the filaments, and in the head there is the bud,[2290] as well as the calyx. The petals are dried, or else the juice is extracted from them, by one of the three following methods: Either the leaves are employed whole for the purpose, the unglets not being removed—for these are the parts, in fact, that contain the most juice—or else the unglets are first taken off and the residue is then macerated with oil or wine, in glass vessels placed in the sun. Some persons add salt as well, and others alkanet,[2291] or else aspalathus or sweet-scented rush; as it is, when thus prepared, a very valuable remedy for diseases of the uterus and for dysentery. According to the third process, the unglets are removed from the petals, and pounded, after which they are subjected to pressure in a coarse linen cloth, the juice being received in a copper vessel; it is then boiled on a slow fire, until it has acquired the consistence of honey; for this purpose, however, the most odoriferous of the petals should be selected.

(19.) We have already stated,[2292] when speaking of the various kinds of wines, how rose wine is made. Rose juice is much used in injections for the ears, and as a gargle for ulcerations of the mouth, and for the gums and tonsils; it is employed also for the stomach, maladies of the uterus, diseases of the rectum, and for head-ache. In fevers, it is used, either by itself or in combination with vinegar, as a remedy for sleeplessness and nausea. The petals, charred, are used as a cosmetic for the eyebrows;[2293] and the thighs, when chafed, are rubbed with them dried; reduced to powder, too, they are soothing for defluxions of the eyes. The flower of the rose is soporific, and taken in oxycrate it arrests fluxes in females, the white flux in particular; also spitting of blood, and pains in the stomach, if taken in three cyathi of wine, in sufficient quantity to flavour it.

As to the seed of the rose, the best is that which is of a saffron colour, and not more than a year old; it should be dried, too, in the shade. The black seed is worthless. In cases of tooth-ache, the seed is employed in the form of a liniment; it acts also as a diuretic, and is used as a topical application for the stomach, as also in cases of erysipelas which are not inveterate: inhaled at the nostrils, it has the effect of clearing the brain. The heads of roses, taken in drink, arrest looseness of the bowels and hæmorrhage. The unglets of the rose are wholesome in cases of defluxion of the eyes; but the rose is very apt to taint all ulcerous sores of the eyes, if it is not applied at the very beginning of the defluxion, dried, and in combination with bread. The petals, too, taken internally, are extremely wholesome for gnawing pains of the stomach, and for maladies of the abdomen or intestines; as also for the thoracic organs, if applied externally even: they are preserved, too, for eating, in a similar manner to lapathum. Great care must be taken in drying rose-leaves, as they are apt to turn mouldy very quickly.

The petals, too, from which the juice has been extracted, may be put to some use when dried: powders,[2294] for instance, may be made from them, for the purpose of checking the perspiration. These powders are sprinkled on the body, upon leaving the bath, and are left to dry on it, after which they are washed off with cold water. The little excrescences[2295] of the wild rose, mixed with bears’-grease,[2296] are a good remedy for alopecy.

CHAP. 74.—TWENTY-ONE REMEDIES DERIVED FROM THE LILY.

The roots of the lily[2297] ennoble that flower in manifold ways by their utility in a medicinal point of view. Taken in wine, they are good for the stings of serpents, and in cases of poisoning by fungi. For corns on the feet, they are applied boiled in wine, not being taken off before the end of three days. A decoction of them with grease or oil, has the effect of making the hair grow again upon burns. Taken with honied wine, they carry off corrupt blood by stool; they are good, also, for the spleen and for hernia, and act as an emmenagogue. Boiled in wine and applied with honey, they are curative of wounds of the sinews. They are good, too, for lichens, leprous sores, and scurf upon the face, and they efface wrinkles of the body.

The petals of the lily are boiled in vinegar, and applied, in combination with polium,[2298] to wounds; if it should happen, however, to be a wound of the testes, it is the best plan to apply the other ingredients with henbane and wheat-meal. Lily-seed is applied in cases of erysipelas, and the flowers and leaves are used as a cataplasm for inveterate ulcers. The juice which is extracted from the flower is called “honey”[2299] by some persons, and “syrium” by others; it is employed as an emollient for the uterus, and is also used for the purpose of promoting perspirations, and for bringing suppurations to a head.

CHAP. 75.—SIXTEEN REMEDIES DERIVED FROM THE NARCISSUS.

Two varieties of the narcissus are employed in medicine, the one with a purple[2300] flower, and the herbaceous narcissus.[2301] This last is injurious to the stomach, and hence it is that it acts both as an emetic and as a purgative: it is prejudicial, also, to the sinews, and produces dull, heavy pains in the head: hence it is that it has received its name, from “narce,”[2302] and not from the youth Narcissus, mentioned in fable. The roots of both kinds of narcissus have a flavour resembling that of wine mixed with honey. This plant is very useful, applied to burns with a little honey, as also to other kinds of wounds, and sprains. Applied topically, too, with honey and oatmeal, it is good for tumours, and it is similarly employed for the extraction of foreign substances from the body.

Beaten up in polenta and oil it effects the cure of contusions and blows inflicted by stones; and, mixed with meal, it effectually cleanses wounds, and speedily removes black morphews from the skin. Of this flower oil of narcissus is made, good for softening indurations of the skin, and for warming parts of the body that have been frost-bitten. It is very beneficial, also, for the ears, but is very apt to produce head-ache.

CHAP. 76.—SEVENTEEN REMEDIES DERIVED FROM THE VIOLET.

There are both wild and cultivated violets.[2303] The purple violet is of a cooling nature: for inflammations they are applied to the stomach in the burning heats, and for pains in the head they are applied to the forehead. Violets, in particular, are used for defluxions of the eyes, prolapsus of the fundament and uterus, and suppurations. Worn in chaplets upon the head, or even smelt at, they dispel the fumes of wine and head-ache; and, taken in water, they are a cure for quinsy. The purple violet, taken in water, is a remedy for epilepsy, in children more particularly: violet seed is good for the stings of scorpions.

On the other hand, the flower of the white violet opens suppurations, and the plant itself disperses them. Both the white and the yellow violet check the menstrual discharge, and act as diuretics. When fresh gathered, they have less virtue, and hence it is that they are mostly used dry, after being kept a year. The yellow violet, taken in doses of half a cyathus to three cyathi of water, promotes the catamenia; and the roots of it, applied with vinegar, assuage affections of the spleen, as also the gout. Mixed with myrrh and saffron, they are good for inflammation of the eyes. The leaves, applied with honey, cleanse ulcerous sores of the head, and, combined with cerate,[2304] they are good for chaps of the fundament and other moist parts of the body. Employed with vinegar, they effect the cure of abscesses.

CHAP. 77.—SEVENTEEN REMEDIES DERIVED FROM THE BACCHAR. ONE REMEDY DERIVED FROM THE COMBRETUM.

The bacchar that is used in medicine is by some of our writers called the “perpressa.” It is very useful for the stings of serpents, head-ache and burning heats in the head, and for defluxions of the eyes. It is applied topically for swellings of the mamillæ after delivery, as also incipient fistulas[2305] of the eyes, and erysipelas; the smell of it induces sleep. It is found very beneficial to administer a decoction of the root for spasms, falls with violence, convulsions, and asthma. For an inveterate cough, three or four roots of this plant are boiled down to one-third; this decoction acting also as a purgative for women after miscarriage, and removing stitch in the side, and calculi of the bladder. Drying powders[2306] for perspiration are prepared also from this plant; and it is laid among garments for the smell.[2307] The combretum which we have spoken[2308] of as resembling the bacchar, beaten up with axle-grease, is a marvellous cure for wounds.

CHAP. 78.—EIGHT REMEDIES DERIVED FROM ASARUM.

It is generally stated that asarum[2309] is good for affections of the liver, taken in doses of one ounce to a semisextarius of honied wine mixed with water. It purges the bowels like hellebore, and is good for dropsy and affections of the thoracic organs and uterus, as also for jaundice. When mixed with must, it makes a wine with strongly diuretic qualities. It is taken up as soon as it begins to put forth its leaves, and is dried in the shade. It is apt however to turn mouldy very speedily.

CHAP. 79. (20.)—EIGHT REMEDIES DERIVED FROM GALLIC NARD.

Some authors, as we have already[2310] stated, having given the name of “field nard” to the root of the bacchar, we will here mention the medicinal properties of Gallic nard, of which we have[2311] already spoken, when treating of the foreign trees, deferring further notice of it till the present occasion. In doses of two drachmæ, taken in wine, it is good for the stings of serpents; and taken in water or in wine it is employed for inflations of the colon, maladies of the liver or kidneys, and suffusions of the gall. Employed by itself or in combination with wormwood it is good for dropsy. It has the property, also, of arresting excessive discharges of the catamenia.

CHAP. 80.—FOUR REMEDIES DERIVED FROM THE PLANT CALLED “PHU.”