Chapter XXVIII: Book XXIII (4)

[492] From ὕειν, to rain.

[493] “Sus,” a pig.

[494] Twenty-fourth of April.

[495] Twenty-fifth of April.

[496] Twenty-sixth of April.

[497] Twenty-seventh of April.

[498] Twenty-eighth of April.

[499] Second of May.

[500] Eighth of May.

[501] Tenth of May.

[502] “Cuculus.” Sec B. x. c. 11.

[503] “Petulantiæ vales.” Perhaps “indecent,” or “wanton jokes:” at least, Hardouin thinks so.

[504] By causing quarrels, probably.

[505] See B. xi. c. 34.

[506] A quotation from some unknown poet, Sillig thinks.

[507] See B. xvi. c. 41.

[508] See Virgil, Ecl. iii. l. 111.

[509] Eleventh of May.

[510] Thirteenth of May.

[511] Twenty-first of May.

[512] Twenty-second of May.

[513] Second of June.

[514] Seventh of June.

[515] Tenth of June.

[516] Fifteenth of June.

[517] Twenty-first of June.

[518] Twenty-fourth of June.

[519] First of June.

[520] Columella, B. ii. c. 18.

[521] The varieties now known as Trifolium pratense, Trifolium rubens and Trifolium repens.

[522] “Gramen.” Under this head, as Fée says, he probably includes the gramineous plants, known as Alopecurus, Phleum, Poa, Festuca, &c.

[523] Probably the Lysimachia nummularia of Linnæus, which has a tendency to corrode the lips of the sheep that pasture on it.

[524] Known to us as “horse-tail;” varieties of which are the Equisetum fluviatile and the Equisetum palustre of Linnæus.

[525] De Re Rust. c. 53.

[526] See Virgil’s Georg. i. 289.

[527] As to whetstones, for further information, see B. xxvi. c. 47.

[528] The word “falx,” “sickle” or “scythe,” is used here as denoting an implement for mowing, and not reaping.

[529] Similar in shape to our sickle, or reaping hook, no doubt.

[530] “Majoris compendii.” Similar to our reaping-hook, also. Fée thinks that the former was similar to the “faux faucille,” or false sickle, the latter to the common sickle of the French.

[531] Fée says that this is the case in some parts of France.

[532] In c. 59 of this Book.

[533] Twenty-fourth of June. See the last Chapter.

[534] On this subject see B. xvi. c. 36. See also Varro, De Re Rust. B. i. c. 46, and Aulus Gellius, B. ix. c. 7.

[535] “Tenes Sidus.”

[536] Twenty-sixth of June.

[537] Fourth of July.

[538] There is some confusion, apparently, here. Canicula, Syrius, or the Dog-star, belongs to the Constellation Canis Major; while Canis Minor a Constellation which contains the star Procyon, (“the forerunner of the Dog,”) precedes it.

[539] Fourth of July.

[540] Fourteenth of July.

[541] Seventeenth of July.

[542] B. ii. c. 40, and B. xix. c. 25.

[543] Twentieth of July.

[544] Twenty-third of July.

[545] Thirtieth of July.

[546] Sixth of August.

[547] Eleventh of August.

[548] Eighth of August.

[549] See B. xvii. c. 37.

[550] Carbunculus.

[551] Cicero. De Div., B. ii. 201, Aristotle, Polit. B. i. c. 7, and Diogenes Laertius tell this story of Thales the philosopher; Pliny being the only one that applies it to Democritus.

[552] In the last Chapter. This passage is corrupt.

[553] Mentioned by Seneca, Ep. 59.

[554] It was reserved for the latter part of the last century to discover that mildew operated on vegetation through the medium of minute, parasitical fungi. It is mostly attributed to defects in the light or the atmosphere, or else humidity in excess. See c. 44 of this Book.

[555] In B. ii. c. 6, for instance.

[556] An onomatic prejudice, as Fée says, solely founded on the peculiarity of the name.

[557] In the preceding Chapter.

[558] In the preceding Chapter.

[559] In B. xvi. c. 42.

[560] Twentieth of December.

[561] Or festival in honour of Robigo, the Goddess of mildew, on the twenty-fifth of April. See Ovid’s Fasti, B. iv. l. 907, _et seq._

[562] Robigo.

[563] “Nineteen” is the proper number.

[564] “Et cui præoccidere caniculam necesse est.” The real meaning of this passage would seem to be,—“Before which, as a matter of course, Canicula must set.” But if so, Pliny is in error, for Canicula, or Procyon, sets heliacally _after_ the Dog-star, though it rises before it. Hardouin observes, that it is abundantly proved from the ancient writers that it was the custom to sacrifice a puppy to Sirius, or the Dog-star, at the Robigalia. As Littré justly remarks, it would almost appear that Pliny intended, by his ambiguous language, to lead his readers into error.

[565] Twenty-eighth of April. The festival of Flora.

[566] Twenty-third of April. This was the first, or Urban Vinalia: the second, or Rustic Vinalia, were held on the nineteenth of August.

[567] The same as the Greek Πιθοίγια, or “opening of the Casks.”

[568] Tenth of May.

[569] In B. xvi. c. 42, and in c. 66 of this Book.

[570] Second of June.

[571] Twenty-fourth of June.

[572] Fourth of July.

[573] Seventeenth of July.

[574] Twentieth of July.

[575] Twenty-third of July.

[576] Nineteenth of August.

[577] Eighth of August.

[578] See B. x. c. 45, and c. 50. The popinjay, lapwing, and tit-mouse have been suggested.

[579] Virio. See B. x. c. 45.

[580] Columella, De Arborib. c. 13, gives similar advice.

[581] This absurd practice is mentioned in the Geoponica, B. v. c. 31.

[582] As to this fish, see B. ix. c. 17.

[583] “Uva picta.” This absurdity does not seem to be found in any of Varro’s works that have come down to us.

[584] Nothing whatever is known of him or his works; and, as Fée says, apparently the loss is little to be regretted.

[585] Rubeta rana.

[586] De Re Rust. 129. Cato, however, does not mention chalk, but Virgil (Georg. i. 178) does. Poinsinet thinks that this is a “lapsus memoriæ” in Pliny, but Fée suggests that there may have been an omission by the copyists.

[587] See the last Note. He recommends that it should be turned up with the hand, rammed down with “tenacious chalk,” and levelled with a large roller.

[588] Both cow-dung and marc of olives are still employed in some parts of France, in preparing the threshing floor.

[589] Palladius gives a long description of this contrivance, which seems to have been pushed forward by the ox; the teeth, which were sharp at the edge and fine at the point, catching the ears and tearing them off. But, as Fée says, the use of it must have been very disadvantageous, in consequence of the unequal height of the stalks. The straw, too, was sacrificed by the employment of it.

[590] In contrarium juncto.

[591] “Merges.” Supposed to be the same as the “batillum” of Varro. Its form is unknown, and, indeed, the manner in which it was used. It is not improbable that it was a fork, sharp at the edge, and similar to an open pair of scissars, with which the heads of corn were driven off, as it were; this, however, is only a mere conjecture. By the use of “atque,” it would almost appear that the “merges” was employed after the sickle had been used; but it is more probable that he refers to two different methods of gathering the ears of corn.

[592] The roots and the stubble are, in reality, as good as a manure to the land.

[593] Called “tribulum;” a threshing-machine moved by oxen. Varro, De Re Rust. i. 52, gives a description of it. Fée says that it is still used in some parts of Europe.

[594] On the contrary, Fée says, the risk is greater from the depredations of birds, and the chance of the grain falling out in cutting, and gathering in. Spelt and rye may be left much longer than wheat or oats.

[595] Columella, B. ii. c. i., gives the same advice.

[596] “Palea” seems here to mean “chaff;” though Fée understands it as meaning straw.

[597] The chaff of millet, and not the straw, must evidently be intended here, for he says above that the straw—“culmus”—of millet is generally burnt.

[598] Muria dura.

[599] Georg. i. 84, _et seq._ Fée says that Virgil has good reason for his commendations, as it is a most excellent plan.

[600] Palladius, i. 19, says _two_ feet.

[601] On account of the damp. Columella, however, recommends a mixture of sand, lime, and marc of olives for the floor; B. i. c. 6.

[602] In B. xv. c. 8.

[603] This is still done in the Valais, and has the great merit of preserving the corn from house and field-mice.

[604] “Ventilare.” On the contrary, the weevil penetrates deep, and does not keep near the surface.

[605] De Re Rust. ii. 21.

[606] See B. ii. c. 48.

[607] Those keep the best, Fée says, which have a farinaceous perisperm. Millet has but one coat.

[608] This, in reality, would tend to make them turn rancid all the sooner.

[609] And so repel the attacks of insects.

[610] This would not only spoil the flavour, but absolutely injure the corn as well.

[611] This also, if practised to any extent, would infallibly spoil the grain.

[612] De Re Rust. i. 57.

[613] See B. xix. c. 15: also Columella, De Re Rust. B. ii. c. 10.

[614] Twelfth of August.

[615] Twenty-second of August.

[616] Twenty-eighth of August.

[617] Fifth of September.

[618] Ninth of September.

[619] Twelfth of September.

[620] See the Rudens of Plautus, Prol. l. 69.

[621] Sixteenth of September.

[622] Eighteenth of September.

[623] Twenty-first of September.

[624] Commissura.

[625] Twenty-fourth of September.

[626] Mentioned by Virgil, Eccl. iii. l. 38, and by Propertius, Eleg. iv. 1.

[627] Twenty-eighth of September.

[628] Twenty-ninth of September.

[629] Second of October.

[630] Third of October.

[631] Fourth of October.

[632] Eighth of October.

[633] Tenth of October.

[634] Fifteenth of October.

[635] Sixteenth of October.

[636] Or Hyades, see c. 66.

[637] Second of November.

[638] Ninth of November.

[639] Eleventh of November.

[640] In c. 35 of this Book.

[641] “Frondarias fiscinas.” These must have been baskets of a very large size. The leaves were used for fodder.

[642] This, Fée says, is diametrically opposite to the modern practice.

[643] The “culeus,” it is supposed, was of the same measure of capacity as the “dolium,” and held twenty amphoræ. The “pressura,” or “pressing,” was probably the utmost quantity that the pressing vat would hold at one time.

[644] “Lacus.”

[645] “Mali rugis per cocleas bullantibus.” The whole of this passage is full of difficulties.

[646] “Tympana:” literally, “drums.”

[647] Grape juice boiled down to one half; see B. xiv. c. 9.

[648] Virgil mentions this in the Georgics, B. i. 295. Of course, it is nothing but an absurd superstition.

[649] First of January.

[650] Piscinis.

[651] _I. e._ before getting in the next year’s crop. Of course, he alludes only to wines of an inferior class, used for domestic consumption.

[652] In B. xiv.

[653] In B. xv. c. 3.

[654] Georg. i. 276.

[655] In contradistinction to the two periods of full moon, and change of the moon, the only epochs in reference to it noticed by Pliny.

[656] In Chapters 6, 7, 8 and 11.

[657] Or “between moons.” The “change of the moon,” as we call it.

[658] 51-1/4 minutes.

[659] Many of his statements are drawn from Aristotle’s Treatise, “De Mundo.”

[660] Our mid-day.

[661] From due north to due south.

[662] Cardo.

[663] “Arbusta.” The trees on which the vines were trained.

[664] _I. e._ the north-west of Africa; the Roman province so called.

[665] In the next Chapter.

[666] Ventus Auster.

[667] In B. ii. c. 46.

[668] Incendia.

[669] See B. xvii. c. 2.

[670] See B. viii. c. 75.

[671] He seems to be in error here, as he has nowhere made mention of this.

[672] Aristotle, on the other hand, and Columella, B. vii. c. 3, say “males.” See also B. viii. c. 72, where males are mentioned in connection with the north-wind. Also the next Chapter in this Book.

[673] In the last Chapter.

[674] Very similar to our compass, but describing only eight points of the wind, instead of thirty-two.

[675] “Tympanum,” a drum, similar in shape to our tambourines or else kettle-drums.

[676] See B. ii. c. 46.

[677] Or the “summer” wind.

[678] Africus, or south-west.

[679] Or, according to our mode of expression, the “second,” or “next but one.”

[680] Or, as we say, the “third.”

[681] Georg. i. 313, _et seq._

“Sæpe ego, quum flavis messorem induceret arvis
Agricola, et fragili jam stringeret hordea culmo,
omnia ventorum concurrere prœlia vidi.”

[682] See the Treatise of Theophrastus on the Prognostics of the Weather.

[683] This, Fée observes, is confirmed by experience. Aratus, as translated by Avienus, states to a similar effect.

[684] So Virgil, Georg. i. 427.

[685] Coronam.

[686] See B. ii. c. 6 and c. 36.

[687] In c. 59 of this Book.

[688] “Densum.” Fée says that this is in general confirmed by experience.

[689] This results, Fée says, from the presence of thin, aqueous vapours, which portend a change in the atmosphere.

[690] Fée attributes this phænomenon to hydrosulphuric gas, ignited in the air by an electric spark. The notion that these meteors are stars, was prevalent to a very recent period.

[691] To which they proceed.

[692] This, Fée says, is confirmed by experience.

[693] Or “Little Asses.”

[694] Præsepia.

[695] This, as Fée remarks, is consistent with experience.

[696] This, Fée remarks, appears to be consistent with general experience.

[697] Theophrastus states to a similar effect, and it is confirmed by the experience of those who live in mountainous countries.

[698] We still hear of the “white squalls” of the Mediterranean.

[699] “‘Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand.’——And it came to pass in the meanwhile, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain.”—1 Kings, xviii. 44, 45.

[700] The truth of this, Fée says, he has personally experienced in the vallies of the Alps.

[701] Terreni ignes.

[702] This, and the other phænomena here mentioned, result, as Fée says, from the hygrometric state of the air. Virgil mentions this appearance on the wick of the lamp, Georg. i. 392.

[703] Fée thinks that this indicates fine weather rather than rain, as showing a pure state of the atmosphere.

[704] Sea “lungs.” See B. ix. c. 71.

[705] Ludentia.

[706] Virgil mentions these indications, Georg. i. 368-9.

[707] “Suus fragor.” The winds, Fée remarks, however violent they may be, make no noise unless they meet with an obstacle which arrests their onward progress.

[708] Theophrastus, Cicero, and Plutarch state to a similar effect; and it is corroborated by the experience of most mariners.

[709] The ink-fish; Sepia loligo of Linnæus. See B. ix. c. 21.

[710] Virgil says the same, Georg. i. 378.

[711] “Fulicæ.” See B. x. c. 61, and B. xi. c. 44.

[712] Virgil says the same of the diver, or didapper, Georg. i. 361; and Lucan Pharsalia, v. 553.

[713] Both Theophrastus and Ælian mention this.

[714] It is not known what bird is here alluded to, but Fée is probably right in suggesting a sort of sea-mew, or gull.

[715] This is still considered a prognostic of rain. Fée says that the swallow descends thus near to the surface to catch the insects on the wing which are now disabled from rising by the hygrometric state of the atmosphere.

[716] This is confirmed by experience.

[717] On the contrary, Lucan says (Pharsalia, B. v. l. 549), that on the approach of rain, the heron soars in the upper regions of the air; and Virgil says the same, Georg. i. 364.

[718] Indecorâ lasciviâ.

[719] Fée suggests that they probably do this to diminish the electric fluid with which the air is charged.

[720] Alienos sibi manipulos.

[721] This is confirmed by common experience.

[722] “Repositoriis.” See B. xix. c. 13, and B. xxx. c. 49.

[723] See end of B. vii.

[724] See end of B. xii.

[725] See end of B. iii.

[726] See end of B. ii.

[727] See end of B. vii.

[728] See end of B. iii.

[729] See end of B. xiv.

[730] See end of B. ii.

[731] See end of B. iii.

[732] See end of B. xi.

[733] See end of B. x.

[734] See end of B. xi.

[735] See end of B. iii.

[736] See end of B. vii.

[737] See end of B. vii.

[738] A native of Sulmo, in the country of the Peligni, and one of the greatest poets of the Augustan age. It is most probable that his “Fasti” was extensively consulted by Pliny in the compilation of the present Book. Six Books of the Fasti have come down to us, but the remaining six have perished, if, indeed, they were ever written, which has been doubted by many of the learned.

[739] See end of B. xiv.

[740] See end of B. viii.

[741] See end of B. ii. It is supposed that there were several writers of this name, but it is impossible to say with certainty which of them is the one here referred to. It is probable, however, that it is either L. Ælius Tubero, the friend of Cicero, or else Q. Ælius Tubero, his son, that is alluded to.

[742] L. Tarutius Firmianus, a mathematician and astronomer, and a friend and contemporary of Cicero and M. Varro. At the request of the latter, he took the horoscope of Romulus. It is generally supposed that he was of Etruscan descent.

[743] The founder of the imperial dignity at Rome. His Commentaries are the only work written by him that has come down to us. His treatise on the Stars, which Pliny frequently quotes throughout this Book, was probably written under the inspection of the astronomer, Sosigenes.

[744] See end of B. ii.

[745] Nothing is known of this writer. It has been suggested, however, that he may have been the same person as Papirius Fabianus, mentioned at the end of B. ii.

[746] See end of B. vii.

[747] See end of B. xvi.

[748] See end of B. iii.

[749] See end of B x.

[750] L. Accius, or Attius, an early Roman tragic poet, and the son of a freedman, born about B.C. 170. His tragedies were chiefly imitations from the Greek. He is highly praised by Cicero. The “Praxidica” here mentioned, is probably the same as the “Pragmatica” spoken of by Aulus Gellius, B. xx. c. 3. Only some fragments of his Tragedies are left.

[751] See end of B. vii.

[752] See end of B. iii.

[753] See end of B. ii.

[754] See end of B. ii.

[755] See end of B. viii.

[756] See end of B. viii.

[757] See end of B. viii.

[758] See end of B. viii.

[759] See end of B. iv.

[760] Sec end of B. viii.

[761] See end of B. ix.

[762] See end of B. viii.

[763] See end of B. viii.

[764] See end of B. viii.

[765] See end of B. viii.

[766] See end of B. viii.

[767] See end of B. viii.

[768] See end of B. viii.

[769] See end of B. vi.

[770] See end of B. viii.

[771] See end of B. xiv.

[772] See end of B. xv.

[773] See end of B. viii.

[774] See end of B. ii.

[775] See end of B. x.

[776] See end of B. viii.

[777] See end of B. viii.

[778] See end of B. viii.

[779] See end of B. viii.

[780] See end of B. xii.

[781] See end of B. viii.

[782] Of Miletus, the most ancient of the Greek philosophers, and the founder of the Ionian school of Philosophy. He is said to have written upon the Solstice and the Equinox, and a work on Astronomy, in verse, was also attributed to him. It is, however, more generally believed, that he left no written works behind him, and that those attributed to him were forgeries.

[783] See end of B. ii.

[784] An astronomer of Medama, or Medma, in Magna Græcia, and a disciple of Plato. He is said to have written a treatise on the winds, and Plutarch states that he demonstrated the figure of the moon.

[785] An astronomer of Cyzicus, and a friend of Aristotle, whom he assisted in completing the discoveries of Eudoxus. He invented the cycle of seventy-six years, called after him the Calippic.

[786] Of Colonus, a geometrician, to whom Archimedes dedicated his works on the sphere and cylinder, and on spirals.

[787] A grammarian, who is supposed to have written a commentary on Aratus. Varro, De Ling. Lat. x. 10, speaks of him as making the distinctive characteristics of words to be eight in number.

[788] A famous astronomer of Athens, to whom the discovery of the cycle of nineteen years has been attributed.

[789] There were several learned men of this name, but it appears impossible to say which of them is the one here alluded to; probably it is either the Pythagorean philosopher of Ægæ, who wrote on Predestination, or else the historian, a native of Pieria in Macedonia. There was also an astronomer of this name, a native of Naxos, and a friend of Eudoxus of Cnidos.

[790] A famous astronomer, a native of Chios. He is said to have claimed the discovery of the obliquity of the Ecliptic.

[791] Probably Zenon of Elea, one of the most famous philosophers of antiquity. All of his works had perished at a very early period.

[792] An Athenian astronomer, the friend and assistant of Meton, about 430 B.C.

[793] An astronomer mentioned by Censorinus, as having corrected the intercalation of Cleostratus. Nothing further appears to be known of him.

[794] For Hecatæus of Miletus, see B. iv. For Hecatæus of Abdera, see B. vi.

[795] See end of B. iv.

[796] See end of B. ii.

[797] See end of B. ii.

[798] A native of Soli, or else Tarsus, in Cilicia. He was the author of two Greek astronomical poems which have come down to us. He flourished about B.C. 270.

[799] Nothing can be said of him with any degree of historical certainty. By the Persians he was called Zerdusht, and was said to have been the founder of the Magian religion. There were several works in Greek bearing his name, but which, no doubt, were forgeries of a later age than that usually assigned to him.

[800] He is mentioned in c. 70 of this Book, as writing a letter to Antiochus, king of Syria; but nothing further seems to be known of him.

[801] More particularly in B. xvii. cc. 2 and 3, and B. xviii. cc. 57-75.

[802] The Linum usitatissimum of Linnæus.

[803] What would he have said to the application of the powers of steam, and the electric telegraph?

[804] Possibly Galerius Trachalus, Consul A.D. 68, a relation of Galeria Fundana, the wife of the Emperor Vitellius.

[805] Governor of Egypt in the reign of Nero, A.D. 55. He is mentioned by Seneca, Quæst. Nat. B. iv. c. 2, and is supposed to have written a work on Egypt and his journeys in that country.

[806] Or, as Sillig suggests, “after ill treatment such as this, that it arrives at the sea.” The passage is evidently defective.

[807] In B. vii. c. 57. He alludes to Dædalus.

[808] He probably has in view here the imprecation uttered by Horace:—

“Illi robur, et æs triplex
Circa pectus erat, qui fragilem truci
Commisit pelago ratem.”—_Odes_, i. 3.

At the present day hemp forms a material part in the manufacture of sails. In addition to flax, the ancients employed broom, rushes, leather, and various skins of animals for the purpose.

[809] In c. 76.

[810] On the contrary, as Fée observes, the cultivation of flax is attended with the greatest difficulties.

[811] See B. xvii. c. 7. Virgil says, Georg. i. 77, “Urit enim lini campum seges”—but in the sense, as Fée remarks, of _exhausting_, not _scorching_ the soil.

[812] A light soil, and well manured, is usually employed for the purpose. Columella, B. ii. c. 10, recommends a rich, moist soil. It is sown in March or April, and is gathered, according to the season, from June to September.

[813] Though rapid in its growth, there are many vegetable productions that grow more rapidly.

[814] This was the time for sowing it with the Romans, though in some countries, at the present day, it is sown so late as the autumn.

[815] In B. xviii. c. 72, he has spoken of this method of gathering vegetable productions as injurious to the soil, by withdrawing its natural juices.

[816] “Censentur hoc reditu?” There is little doubt that the Gauls, like their German neighbours, cultivated flax for the purposes of female dress, and not mainly for the manufacture of sails.

[817] “Quod vocant inane.” He implies that the boundless space of ocean on the Western coasts of Gaul was useless for any purposes of navigation.

[818] See B. iv. c. 33.

[819] See B. iv. c. 33.

[820] See B. xxxiv. c. 48.

[821] See B. iv. c. 31.

[822] A family of the Atilia gens.

[823] It was, and is still to some extent, a prevalent opinion, that the humidity of caves under-ground is favourable to the manufacture of tissues of hemp and flax.

[824] In Spain. Sec B. i. c. 1, and B. iii. c. 4.

[825] Cluvier takes this place to be the same with Litubium in Liguria, mentioned by Livy, B. xxxii.

[826] “Lanugo.” This is not generally looked upon as a merit in linen, at the present day.

[827] Now Tarragona. See B. iii. c. 4.

[828] “Carbasus.” This was probably the Spanish name originally for fine flax, and hence came to signify the cambrics, or fine linen tissues made of it. It seems, however, to have afterwards been extended to all kinds of linen tissues, as we find the name given indifferently to linen garments, sail-cloth, and awnings for the theatres.

[829] See B. iii. c. 4.

[830] “Sætas ceu per ferri aciem vincunt.” This passage is probably in a mutilated state.

[831] There must either be some corruption in the text, or else Pliny must have been mistaken. Nets such as these could have been of no possible use in taking a wild boar.

[832] See B. iv. c. 33. Now Querci, the chief town of which is Cahors.

[833] “Culcitæ.”

[834] “Tomenta.”

[835] Exactly corresponding to our “paillasse,” a “bed of straw.”

[836] This is doubtful, though at the same time it is a well-known fact that the Egyptian flax grows to the greatest size. Hasselquist speaks of it attaining a height of fifteen feet.

[837] Our cotton, the Gossypium arboreum of Linnæus. See B. xii. c. 21. The terms _xylon_, _byssus_, and _gossypium_, must be regarded as synonymous, being applied sometimes to the plant, sometimes to the raw cotton, and sometimes to the tissues made from it. _Gossypium_ was probably the barbarous name of the cotton tree, and _byssus_ perhaps a corruption of its Hebrew name.

[838] Probably the Arundo donax of modern botanists. See B. xvi. c. 66.

[839] Fée says, that the people of Pisa, at the present day, soak the stalks of broom, and extract therefrom a thread, of which cords and coarse stuffs are made.

[840] In B. xii. c. 21. He seems there to speak of the cotton-tree, though Fée suggests that he may possibly allude to the “Bombax pentandrum” of Linnæus.

[841] It is the mucilage of the perisperm that is so useful in medicine. As an article of food, the farina of linseed is held in no esteem whatever. In times of scarcity, attempts have been made to mix it with flour or meal, but the result has been found to be heavy and indigestible, and has caused, it is said, the death even of those who have eaten of it in considerable quantities.

[842] There are various other methods employed of dressing flax at the present day; but they are all of them long and tedious.

[843] And not feminine or servile.

[844] “Vivum.”

[845] He evidently considers asbestus, or amianthus, to be a vegetable, and not a mineral production. It is, in reality, a mineral, with long flexible filaments, of a silky appearance, and is composed of silica, magnesia, and lime. The wicks of the inextinguishable lamps of the middle ages, the existence of which was an article of general belief, were said to be made of asbestus. Paper and lace, even, have been made of it in modern times.

[846] “Nascitur.” In the year 1702 there was found near the Nævian Gate, at Rome, a funereal urn, in which there was a skull, calcined bones, and other ashes, enclosed in a cloth of asbestus, of a marvellous length. It is still preserved in the Vatican.

[847] On the contrary, it is found in the Higher Alps in the vicinity of the Glaciers, in Scotland, and in Siberia, even.

[848] Signifying “inextinguishable,” from ἀ, “not,” and σβέννυμι, “to extinguish.” See B. xxxvii. c. 54.

[849] See end of this Book.

[850] He evidently alludes to cotton fabrics under this name. See Note [837] to c. 2 of this Book.

[851] Pausanias, in his Eliaca, goes so far as to say, that byssus was found only in Elis, and nowhere else. Judging from the variable temperature of the climate, it is very doubtful, Fée says, if cotton was grown there _at all_. Arrian, Apollonius, and Philostratus say that the tree which produced the _byssus_ had the leaves of the willow, and the shape of the poplar, characteristics which certainly do not apply to the cotton-tree.

[852] Impure oxide of metals, collected from the chimneys of smelting-houses. Fée says that Pliny on this occasion is right.

[853] In B. xx. c. 79, he speaks of the “heraclion” poppy, supposed by some of the commentators to be identical with the one mentioned here.

[854] “Vestium insaniam.”

[855] “Postea.” Sillig would reject this word, as being a corruption, and not consistent with fact, Catulus having lived before the time of Cleopatra. He suggests that the reading should be “Populo Romano ea in theatris spectanti umbram fecere.” “Linen, too, has provided a shade for the Roman people, when viewing the spectacles of the theatre.” Lucretius, B. iv. l. 73, _et seq._, speaks of these awnings as being red, yellow, and iron grey.

[856] “Carbasina.” Cambric.

[857] The cavædium is generally supposed to have been the same as the “atrium,” the large inner apartment, roofed over, with the exception of an opening in the middle, which was called the “compluvium,” or “impluvium,” over which the awning here mentioned was stretched. Here the master of the house received his visitors and clients.

[858] White would be much preferable to red for this purpose.

[859] Il. ii. ll. 529 and 830.

[860] Il. viii. l. 63.

[861] Il. ii. l. 135. See B. xxiv. c. 40.

[862] The Stipa tenacissima of Linnæus; a kind of broom, called “Esparto” by the Spaniards.

[863] Although, as Fée says, this is still the fact, it is a plant which would readily admit of cultivation. Varro, however, De Re Rust. B. i. c. 23, speaks of it in conjunction with hemp, flax, and rushes, as being sown.

[864] This kind, Fée thinks, may possibly have been identical with the Spartum Lygeum of Linnæus, false esparto, or alvarde.

[865] At the present day it is only in the provinces on the Mediterranean that spartum is found; the other provinces producing nothing but alvarde.

[866] It is still used in the southern parts of Spain for the same purposes.

[867] The shoes now made of it are known as “espartenas” and “alpargatas.”

[868] It is not dangerous in itself, but is too tough to be a favourite article of food with cattle.

[869] Fifteenth of May and thirteenth of June.

[870] The same word, σχοῖνος, signifying both a “rush” and a “rope.”

[871] Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 13. Athenæus, B. ii., mentions it also.

[872] Fée is at a loss to identify this plant, but considers it quite clear that it is not the same with the Eriophorum augustifolium of Linnæus, a cyperaceous plant, of which the characteristics are totally different. Dodonæus, however, was inclined to consider them identical.

[873] On the contrary, Theophrastus _does_ mention it, in the Hist. Plant. B. i. c. 8, and speaks of it as having a bark composed of several tunics or membranes.

[874] In B. xiii. c. 13, and B. xv. c. 1.

[875] “Tuber.” The Tuber cibarium of Linnæus, the black truffle; and probably the grey truffle, the Tuber griseum.

[876] This callous secretion of the earth, or corticle, is, as Fée says, a sort of hymenium, formed of vesicles, which, as they develope themselves, are found to contain diminutive truffles. Pliny is wrong in saying that the truffle forms neither cleft nor protuberance, as the exact contrary is the fact.

[877] Haller speaks of truffles weighing as much as fourteen pounds. Valmont de Bomare speaks of a truffle commonly found in Savoy, which attains the weight of a pound.

[878] Those of Africa are in general similar to those found in Europe, but there is one peculiar to that country, possibly the same that is mentioned in the following Chapter under the name of “misy.”

[879] “Jura reddenti.”

[880] It is really propagated by spores, included in sinuous chambers in the interior; but, notwithstanding the attempts that have been made, it has never yet been cultivated with any degree of success. In c. 13, Pliny seems to recognize the possibility of its multiplication by germs, where he says that its formation is attributed by some to water.

[881] Fée takes this to be the Tuber niveum of Desfontaines, the snow-white truffle. It is globular and somewhat piriform, grows to the size of a walnut, and sometimes of an orange, and is said to be most delicate eating.

[882] These truffles or morels do not appear to have been identified.

[883] Juvenal alludes to this absurd notion, Sat. v. l. 116. “The long wished-for thunder will provide a more ample repast.”

[884] Theophrastus, as quoted by Athenæus, B. ii. speaks of this.

[885] “Peziza” was a name given by the ancients to a kind of cupuliform mushroom; in which, however, we cannot recognize the “pezica” of Pliny. Some writers think that this was the same as the lycoperdon and geastrum of botanists, our puff-ball: while others take it to be the morel, the Morchella esculenta, Sprengel in the number. Fée is inclined to be of opinion that an edible mushroom is meant, but is quite at a loss to identify it.

[886] Possibly the Ferula asafœtida of Linnæus; or, according to some, the Thapsia silphium of Viviani, _Flor. Lib._ It was a plant common, according to ancient writers, to Syria, Armenia, Media, and Libya; but it was the produce of this last country, probably, that afforded the juice or gum resin here mentioned as “laser,” and so highly esteemed by the ancients, as forming a component part of their perfumes. Fée is inclined to think that the Laserpitium here spoken of was the Thapsia silphium, and to reject the more general opinion that it is identical with the Ferula asafœtida. Pliny has probably caused some confusion by blending the description of other writers with that given by Theophrastus, each having in view a different plant. Indeed, whatever the Laserpitium or Silphium of other countries may have been, it is not improbable that the odoriferous plant of Cyrenaica was not identical with the Ferula asafœtida of Linnæus. The foliage of the Thapsia silphium is exactly similar to that of the Laserpitium as depicted on medals of Cyrenaica, still extant. We learn from Littré, that Dr. Guyon showed, in 1842, to the Académie des Sciences, a plant which the Arabs of Algeria employ as a purgative, and which they call _bonnefa_. It is the Thapsia Garganica of Desfontaines, and is considered by Guyon to be identical with the Silphium of the ancients.

[887] See B. xxii. c. 48. In the “Rudens” of Plautus, the scene of which is near Cyrene, frequent allusion is made to the growth of laserpitium there, and the preparation and export of the resin, as forming the staple article of commerce.

[888] Scribonius Largus, who lived in the time of Tiberius, speaks of using in a prescription laser of Cyrenaica, “if it can be met with;” “si poterit inveniri.”

[889] “In spem nascentis.”

[890] Fée remarks that Pliny has not found this absurd story in any of the works from which he has compiled his account, but that it is entirely his own.

[891] This was probably the Ferula asafœtida of Linnæus.

[892] See B. xx. c. 75.

[893] A.U.C. 661.

[894] Fée remarks, that if Pliny here alludes to Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vi. c. 3, he has mistaken his meaning.

[895] This, as Fée says, could hardly apply to the Ferula asafœtida of Linnæus, the stalk of it being extremely acrid, and the juice fetid in the highest degree.

[896] “Vitia his omnibus.” The reading here is probably corrupt.

[897] “Root-juice,” and “stalk-juice.”

[898] Poinsinet fancies that this name means “staff of the Magi.”

[899] Or “laser,” these names being indifferently applied to the gum-resin.

[900] The whole of this paragraph has been borrowed from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vi. c. iii.

[901] Sprengel takes this to be the Laserpitium ferulaceum of Linnæus, but Fée thinks it is more than doubtful if the identity can be established.

[902] From Theophrastus. Dioscorides says, on the other hand, that it grows in Libya.

[903] From Littré we learn that M. Fraas has suggested that the Magydaris and Laserpitium are possibly the Ferula Tingitana, and the Ptychotis verticillata of Decandolle, which last he has found upon high mountains in the lower region of pines, on Mount Parnassus, among others.

[904] See B. xxii. cc. 48, 49.

[905] The Rubia tinctorum of Linnæus.

[906] Dioscorides speaks of the madder of Ravenna as being the most esteemed. It is much cultivated at the present day in the South of France, Holland, and the Levant. That of Lille enjoys a high reputation.

[907] It is covered with bristly hairs, or rather, fine, hooked teeth. There is, however, no resemblance whatever between it and ervilia or orobus, the fitch.

[908] B. xxiv. c. 56.

[909] Or “little root;” though, in reality, as Pliny says, it had a large root. Some writers have supposed, that by this name is meant the Reseda luteola of Linnæus, the “dyer’s weed” of the moderns; but neither Pliny nor any of the Greek writers mention the Radicula as being used for dyeing. Some, again, identify it with the Gypsophila struthium of Linnæus, without sufficient warranty, however, as Fée thinks.

[910] The Gypsophila struthium grows in Spain, and possibly, Fée says, in other countries. Linnæus has “pretended,” he says, that the Spaniards still employ the root and stalk of the Gypsophila for the same purposes as the ancients did the same parts of the Radicula. He himself, however, though long resident in Spain, had never observed such to be the fact.

[911] This description, Fée says, does not correspond with that of the Gypsophila struthium, the stalk of which does not at all resemble that of the ferulaceous plants, and the leaf is quite different in appearance from that of the olive.

[912] As Fée observes, by the word “hortus” the Romans understood solely the “vegetable” or “kitchen-garden;” the pleasure garden being generally denominated “horti.”

[913] See B. v. c. 1.

[914] A fabulous king of Phœnicia, probably, whose story was afterwards transferred, with considerable embellishments, to the Grecian mythology. Adonis is supposed to have been identical with the Thammuz of Scripture, mentioned by Ezekiel, viii. 14, where he speaks of the “women weeping for Thammuz.” Hardouin considers him to have been a Syrian deity, identical with the Moon.

[915] Celebrated by Homer, Od. B. vi. and xiii.

[916] “Alio volumine.” As no further mention is made by Pliny of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, it is most probable that he contemplated giving a description of them in another work, an intention which he did not live to realize.

[917] See further on this subject, c. 53 of the present Book.

[918] The reading, “quam rem,” seems preferable to “quam ob rem,” adopted by Sillig.

[919] “Effascinationes.” The effects of the evil eye.

[920] “Hortorum.” “Pleasure-gardens.”

[921] “Otii magister.”

[922] For the purpose of teaching philosophy there.

[923] “Hortus.” The “kitchen-garden.”

[924] Ironically said.

[925] He alludes to the pheasant. See B. x. c. 67.

[926] He alludes to Colchis, the country of Medea, the scene of the exploits of Jason and the Argonauts, and the land of prodigies and fable.

[927] See B. x. cc. 38 and 67. He alludes to “meleagrides,” or Guinea-fowls.

[928] See B. x. c. 37. He alludes to the birds called “Memnonides.”

[929] See B. xvii. c. 1.

[930] See B. xiv. c. 28.

[931] He alludes to the finest and most delicate kinds of wheaten flour. See B. xviii. c. 29.

[932] “Uno asse.”

[933] As “corruda,” or “wild asparagus.” The Brassica capitata alba of C. Bauhin, or white cabbage, sometimes attains a weight of ten or twelve pounds.

[934] This is an exaggeration, probably.

[935] He alludes to the artichoke, or Cinara cardunculus of the botanists, which bears some resemblance to the common thistle.

[936] Martial and Aulus Gellius speak of ice and snow drinks. The latter must have been very injurious to the stomach.

[937] See B. xxxi. c. 23.

[938] In this corrupt and otherwise unintelligible passage, we have adopted the proposed emendations of Sillig, who is of opinion that it bears reference to the abolition of the market-dues, or “portorium,” by Augustus Cæsar, and the substitution of a property tax of one twentieth of the land, a method of taxation which inflicted greater hardships than the former one, as it was assessed according to the _superficies_, not the _produce_ of the land. His proposed emendations of the text are as follows: “mox enim certe æquabit _eos pecunia_ quos pecunia separaverit. Itaque——ac minore fortunæ jure, _quam_ cum _hereditate datur_ pensio ea pauperum; _his_ in solo sponsor est,” &c.

[939] De Re Rust. cc. 156, 157. He speaks of it as being eaten either boiled or raw, but in the latter case with vinegar. Fée thinks that even then it would make a very acrid and indigestible diet.

[940] “Acetaria.” Salads.

[941] He alludes, no doubt, to the words of Virgil, in Georg. iv. l. 6.

“In tenui labor, at tenuis non Gloria——”

though in that instance the poet is speaking of bees.

[942] “Tollenonum haustu.” These would be used in the case of well-water; they are still to be seen occasionally in this country, and are very common on the continent. The wheel is also used for drawing well-water, and is frequently employed in Barbary and Spain.

[943] By the word “fructus” he no doubt means the edible parts solely, the leaf, stalk, or root, as the case may be.

[944] Fée is surprised to find elecampane figuring among the garden vegetables. It has a powerful odour, is bitter, and promotes expectoration. Though not used as a vegetable it is still used as a preserve, or sweetmeat, mixed with sugar. See further on it in c. 29 of this Book.

[945] See c. 28 of this Book.

[946] See c. 27 of this Book.

[947] Fée remarks that this juxtaposition of anise and mallows betokens the most complete ignorance of botany on the part of our author; there being few plants which differ more essentially. The field-mallow, or Malva silvestris of Linnæus, or perhaps several varieties of it, are here referred to. The anise will be further mentioned in c. 74 of this Book.

[948] Fée suggests that the plant here mentioned may have been an annual, probably the Lavatorea arborea of botanists, or some kindred species. In a few months it is known to attain a height of ten feet or more.

[949] In Fée’s opinion this tree cannot have belonged to the family of Malvaceæ; the Adansonia and some other exotics of the family, with which Pliny undoubtedly was not acquainted, being the only ones that attain these gigantic proportions.

[950] There is no resemblance between mallows and hemp, any more than there is between mallows and anise.

[951] “Carnosa.”

[952] Hardouin thinks that he alludes to the Conferva, or river sponge, again mentioned in B. xxvii. c. 45. Fée, however, dissents from that opinion.

[953] In B. xvi. cc. 11 and 13, and in cc. 12 and 14 of the present Book.

[954] In c. 11 of the present Book.

[955] The Cucumis sativus of Linnæus.

[956] “Lapis specularis.” See B. xxxvi. c. 45. Columella, De Re Rust. B. xi. c. 3, speaks of this mode of ripening cucumber, and the fondness of the Emperor Tiberius for them.

[957] Theophrastus and Columella say the same of the cucumber, and Palladius of the melon, but there is no ground, probably, for the belief. In very recent times, however, Fée says, it was the usage to steep the seeds of the melon in milk. This liquid, in common with any other, would have the effect of softening the exterior integuments, and thereby facilitating the germination, but no more.

[958] Still known as the “green” or “gherkin” cucumber, and much used, when young, for pickling.

[959] Probably in the sense of a very dark green, for _black_ cucumbers are a thing unheard of.

[960] He is evidently speaking of the pompion, or pumpkin, the Cucurbita pepo of Linnæus: quite distinct from the cucumber.

[961] Cucumbers are not difficult of digestion to the extent that Pliny would have us to believe.

[962] As Fée says, it is a loss of time to combat such absurd prejudices as these.

[963] This is conformable with modern experience.

[964] Fée says that this is the melon, the Cucumis melo of Linnæus.

[965] B. xi. c. 3. Columella professes to borrow it from the people of Mendes in Egypt.

[966] Theophrastus enumerates these varieties, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 4.

[967] Theophrastus only says that the Laconian cucumber thrives better with watering than the others.

[968] It is impossible to identify this plant, as no ancient writer has given any description of it: it has been suggested, however, that it may have been the Plantago Psyllium, or else the Inula pulicaria of Linnæus. Of course there is no truth in the story here told of the effects of its juice upon the cucumber.

[969] This depth would probably have the effect of retarding, or else utterly impeding, the growth of the plant.

[970] See c. 44 of this Book. The Parilia was a festival celebrated on the nineteenth of April, the anniversary of the foundation of Rome.

[971] First of March.

[972] Seventh of March.

[973] See B. xviii. c. 56.

[974] The “camerarium,” and the “plebeium.” The former, Fée thinks, is the Cucurbita longior of Dodonæus and J. Bauhin, the long gourd, and other varieties probably of the calabash gourd, the Cucurbita leucantha of Duchesne. The latter is probably the Cucurbita pepo and its varieties. Fée thinks that the name “cucurbita,” as employed by Pliny, extends not only to the gourd, but the citrul or small pumpkin as well.

[975] As Fée says, he must be speaking of the fruit here, and not the plant, which attains a far greater length than nine feet.

[976] The young shoots of the gourd, Fée says, would afford an insipid food, with but little nutriment.

[977] The varieties thus employed, Fée says, must have been the Cucurbita lagenaria of Linnæus, and the Cucurbita latior of Dodonæus.

[978] This is not the fact. The seed produces fruit similar to that from which it was taken, and no more.

[979] The trumpet gourd, the Cucurbita longior of Dodonæeus, is still employed, Fée says, by gardeners for this purpose.

[980] See B. xx. c. 2.

[981] In B. xviii. c. 34.

[982] Though borrowed from Theophrastus and the Greek school, this distinction is absurd and unfounded.

[983] It is not the fact that the seed of the round kind, after repeated sowings, will produce long roots. Pliny, however, has probably miscopied Theophrastus, who says, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 4, that this transformation takes place when the seed is sown very thick. This assertion, however, is no more founded on truth than that of Pliny.

[984] Also from Theophrastus, B. vii. c. 4, though that author is speaking of radishes, ῥαφανίδες, and not turnips.

[985] Properly _radish_.

[986] Properly _radish_.

[987] Radish.

[988] Properly _radish_.

[989] See B. xx. c. 49. Fée queries whether this radish may not be the Raphanus raphanistrum of botanists. See B. xviii. c. 34.

[990] See B. xviii. c. 35.

[991] “Nostratibus.” Poinsinet would render this, “Those of my native country,” _i. e._ the parts beyond the Padus. As Pliny resided at Rome during the latter part of his life, there can be little doubt but that he alludes to the vicinity of Rome.

[992] See B. xviii. c. 34.

[993] This property extends to most of the Cruciferæ.

[994] “Cibus illiberalis.”

[995] The variety Oleifera of the Raphanus sativus is still cultivated extensively in Egypt and Nubia for the extraction of the oil. The variety Oleifera of the Brassica napus is also greatly cultivated in Egypt. Fée suggests that Pliny may possibly confound these two plants under the one name of “raphanus.” It is worthy of remark, too, that the Colza oil, so much used in France and Belgium for burning in lamps, is expressed from the seed of the Brassica oleracea, a species of cabbage.

[996] The Raphanus sativus of Linnæus. This passage, however, down to “crisped leaf,” properly applies to the cabbage, and not the radish, Pliny having copied the Greek, and taken the word ῥάφανος, properly “cabbage,” to mean “radish;” which in the later Greek writers it sometimes does, though not in this instance.

[997] Mount Algidus was near Tusculum, fifteen miles from Rome. Its coldness contributed greatly to the goodness of its radishes.

[998] Or “wild.” Fée suggests that this is the Raphanus rusticanus of Lobellius, the Cochlearia Armoracia of Linnæus, the wild radish, or horse-radish.

[999] Or “white.” From the extreme whiteness of the roots.

[1000] Probably meaning, “radish of Armorica.”

[1001] Fée suggests that he is here speaking of the beet-root, in reality a native of the north of Europe.

[1002] Thirteenth of February.

[1003] The festival of Vulcan, beginning on the twenty-third of August, and lasting eight days.

[1004] A natural production, the carbonate of sodium of the chemists, known from time immemorial by the name of “natron.” See B. xxx. c. 46; from which passage it would appear that it was generally employed for watering the leguminous plants.

[1005] Dioscorides recommends these puerilities with the cabbage, and not the radish; though Celsus gives similar instructions with reference to the radish.

[1006] It was a general belief with the ancients that the phthiriasis, or morbus pediculosus, has its seat in the heart. It was supposed also that the juice of the radish was able, by reason of its supposed subtlety, to penetrate the coats of that organ.

[1007] This is said by other ancient authors, in reference to the _cabbage_ and the vine. See B. xxiv. c. i.

[1008] There is some doubt as to the identity of this plant, but Fée, after examining the question, comes to the conclusion that it is the Daucus Carota, or else Mauritanicus of Linnæus, the common carrot, or that of Mauritania. Sprengel takes it to be either this last or the Daucus guttatus, a plant commonly found in Greece.

[1009] The Pastinaca sativa of Linnæus, or common parsnip.

[1010] The marsh-mallow, probably, the Althæa officinalis of Linnæus.

[1011] The carrot. The Daucus Carota of Linnæus.

[1012] In B. xxv. c. 64.

[1013] “Siser.” The Sium sisarum of Linnæus. See also B. xx. c. 17. It is said to have been originally a native of China.

[1014] It is supposed that this is the same with Gelb, near Neuss, in Germany, mentioned by Tacitus, Hist. B. iv. cc. 26, 32.

[1015] The Inula Helenium of Linnæus. Its English name is derived from Inula campana, that under which it is so highly recommended in the precepts of the School of Health at Salerno. See also B. xx. c. 19. At the present day it is universally rejected as an article of food in any shape.

[1016] The School of Salerno says that it may be preserved by being pickled in brine, or else in the juice of rue, which, as Fée remarks, would produce neither more nor less than a veritable poison. The modern Pharmacopœias give the receipt of a conserve of elecampane, which, however, is no longer used.

[1017] “Defrutum.” Must, boiled down to one half.

[1018] The daughter of Augustus Cæsar.

[1019] The same account nearly is given in Columella, De Re Rust. B. xi. c. 3.

[1020] Under this general name were included, probably, garlic, scallions, chives, and some kinds of onions; but it is quite impossible to identify the ancient “bulbus” more closely than this.

[1021] It has been suggested that this was probably the onion, the Allium cepa of Linnæus.

[1022] The Scilla maritima of Linnæus, the sea-squill.

[1023] See B. xx. c. 39. He might have added that it renders vinegar both an emetic, and a violent purgative.

[1024] The leaves are in all cases green, and no other colour; but in one kind the squamæ, or bracted leaves, are white, and in another, red.