Chapter XXIX: Book XXIII (5)

[1025] Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 11, gives it this name. As none of the sea-squills can be eaten with impunity, Fée is inclined to doubt if this really was a squill.

[1026] They still abound in those places. The Spanish coasts on the Mediterranean, Fée says, as well as the vicinity of Gibraltar, are covered with them.

[1027] In c. 39.

[1028] Fée thinks that this may be the Muscaria botryoïdes of Miller, _Dict. No. I._ See also B. xx. c. 41.

[1029] A variety, probably, of the common onion, the Allium cepa of Linnæus.

[1030] Some variety of the genus Allium, Fée thinks.

[1031] Fée queries whether this may not be some cyperaceous plant with a bulbous root.

[1032] A white bulb, if we may judge from the name. The whole of this passage is from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 11.

[1033] This has not been identified. The old reading was “ægilops,” a name now given to a kind of grass.

[1034] The Iris sisyrinchium of Linnæus.

[1035] The Arum colocasia of Linnæus, held in great esteem by the ancient Egyptians as a vegetable. The root is not a bulb, but tubercular, and the leaf bears no resemblance to that of the Lapathum, dock or sorrel. It was sometimes known by the name of “lotus.”

[1036] In Gaul. See B. iv. c. 31.

[1037] This passage, and indeed nearly the whole of the Chapter, is borrowed from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. i. c. 9.

[1038] Fée thinks that by the expression μονόῤῥιζα, Theophrastus means a root that strikes vertically, instead of spreading.

[1039] Gramen. See B. xviii. c. 67, and B. xxiv. c. 118.

[1040] Atriplex. See B. xx. c. 83.

[1041] See B. xx. c. 93.

[1042] Poinsinet suggests that this may mean the “mole-plant,” ἀσπάλαξ being the Greek for “mole.”

[1043] “Perdicium.” See B. xxii. cc. 19, 20.

[1044] “Crocus.” See B. xxi. c. 17, _et seq._

[1045] This is not the fact. All these assertions are from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 3.

[1046] Fée thinks that the ocimum of Pliny is not the basil of the moderns, the Ocimum basilicum of the naturalists. The account, however, here given would very well apply to basil.

[1047] The Heliotropium Europæum of botany. See B. xxii. c. 19.

[1048] These assertions, Fée says, are not consistent with modern experience.

[1049] See c. 45 of this Book.

[1050] “Gethyum.” The Allium schœnoprasum, probably, of botany, the ciboul or scallion.

[1051] The Allium cepa of Linnæus.

[1052] The inhabitants of Pelusium, more particularly, were devoted to the worship of the onion. They held it, in common with garlic, in great aversion as an article of food. At Pelusium there was a temple also in which the sea-squill was worshipped.

[1053] With some little variation, from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 4.

[1054] Supposed to be identical with the Allium Ascalonicum of Linnæus, the chalotte. Pliny is the only writer who mentions the Alsidenian onion.

[1055] To the Ascalonian onion, the scallion, or ciboul, owes its English name.

[1056] Owing to the acetic acid which the bulb contains, and which acts on the membranes of the eye.

[1057] “Pinguitudinis.”

[1058] Fée queries whether the early white onion of Florence, the smallest now known among the cultivated kinds, may not possibly be identical with the setanian, or else the Tusculan, variety.

[1059] From σχίζω, to “divide” or “tear off.”

[1060] “Capitata.”

[1061] For this reason, Fée is inclined to regard it as a variety either of garlic, Allium sativum, or of the chalotte, Allium Ascalonicum of Linnæus.

[1062] The Allium porrum of Linnæus.

[1063] This prejudice in favour of the leek, as Fée remarks, still exists. It is doubtful, however, whether its mucilage has any beneficial effect upon the voice. See B. xx. c. 21.

[1064] Fée says, that it is a practice with many gardeners, more harmful than beneficial, to cut the leaves of the leek as it grows, their object being to increase the size of the stalk.

[1065] Martial, B. xiii. Epig. 19, mentions the leeks of Aricia.

[1066] Fée thinks that this may be the wild leek, which is commonly found as a weed in Spain.

[1067] M. Annæus Mela, the brother of L. Seneca the philosopher, and the father of the poet Lucan.

[1068] Though Pliny would seem inclined, as Fée says, to credit this story, the juice of the leek is in reality quite harmless.

[1069] The Allium sativum of Linnæus. It was much eaten by the Roman soldiers and sailors, and by the field labourers. It is in reference to this vegetable, “more noxious than hemlock,” that Horace exclaims—

“O dura messorum ilia!”

[1070] It was thought to have the property of neutralizing the venom of serpents; and though persons who had just eaten of it were not allowed to enter the Temple of the Mother of the Gods, it was prescribed to those who wished to be purified and absolved from crimes. It is still held in considerable esteem in the south of Europe, where, by the lower classes, great medicinal virtues are ascribed to it.

[1071] Theophrastus says, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 4, that this is the largest of all the varieties of garlic.

[1072] Second of May.

[1073] Seventeenth of December.

[1074] The Allium oleraceum of Linnæus.

[1075] Fée refuses credence to this story.

[1076] “Ursinum.” The Allium ursinum of Linnæus. Instead, however, of having the comparatively mild smell of millet, its odour is powerful; so much so, as to impart a strong flavour to the milk of the cows that eat of it. It is very common, Fée says, in nearly every part of France.

[1077] The whole nearly of this Chapter is borrowed from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vii. cc. 1 and 2. It must be borne in mind that what the Romans called the “third” day would with us be the “second,” and so on; as in reckoning, they included the day reckoned _from_, as well as the day reckoned _to_.

[1078] Fée remarks, that most of the observations made in this Chapter are well founded.

[1079] This statement, Fée remarks, is entirely a fiction, it being impossible for seed to acquire, the second year, a faculty of germinating which it has not had in the first.

[1080] This is true, but, as Fée observes, the instances might be greatly extended.

[1081] Fée says that basil, the Ocimum basilicum of Linnæus, is not meant here, nor yet the leguminous plant that was known to the Romans by that name.

[1082] A singular superstition truly! Theophrastus says the same in relation to cummin seed.

[1083] This is not done at the present day.

[1084] This can hardly be our basil, the Ocimum basilicum, for that plant is an annual.

[1085] Fée suggests that Pliny may have intended here to except the Monocotyledons, for otherwise his assertion would be false.

[1086] This, Fée says, cannot be basil, for when cut it will not shoot again.

[1087] The radish is not mentioned in the parallel passage by Theophrastus.

[1088] The lettuce, as Fée remarks, will not shoot again when cut down.

[1089] This puerility, Fée observes, runs counter to the more moral adage, that “stolen goods never prosper.”

[1090] See B. xi. c. 15.

[1091] This variety, Fée says, is the Apium graveolens of Linnæus.

[1092] Or marsh-parsley.

[1093] Pliny has mistranslated, or rather misread, the passage of Theophrastus, who says, B. vii. c. 6, that this kind of parsley is μανόφυλλον, “thinly covered with leaves,” and not μονόφυλλον, “having a single leaf.” Palladius (_In Aprili._) translates it, “molli folio,” “with a soft leaf;” but, though Fée commends this version, it is not correct.

[1094] Or “horse-parsley.” Hardouin takes this to be Macedonian parsley, the Bubon Macedonicum of Linnæus. Fée, following C. Bauhin and Sprengel, is inclined to identify it with Macerona, the Smyrnium olusatrum of Linnæus.

[1095] Or “mountain-parsley.” Probably the Athamanta oreoselinum of Linnæus. Some commentators, however, take it to be the Laserpitium formosum of Wilidenow. Sprengel identifies it with the Selinum oreoselinum of Linnæus.

[1096] The Apium petroselinum, probably, of Linnæus.

[1097] The Lactuca sativa of Linnæus. This account of the Greek varieties is from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 4.

[1098] This, no doubt, is fabulous, and on a par with the Greek tradition that Adonis concealed himself under the leaves of a lettuce, when he was attacked and killed by the wild boar. The Coss, or Roman, lettuce, as Fée remarks, is the largest of all, and that never exceeds fifteen to twenty inches in height, leaves, stalk and all.

[1099] This would seem not to be a distinct variety, as the rounded stalk is a characteristic of them all.

[1100] “Sessile.” A cabbage-lettuce, probably; though Hardouin dissents from that opinion.

[1101] Columella more particularly. There are still varieties known respectively as the black, brown, white, purple, red, and blood-red lettuce.

[1102] Martial, B. v. Epig. 79, gives to this lettuce the epithet of “vile.”

[1103] It has been suggested that this may have been wild endive, the Cichoreum intubus of botanists.

[1104] Or “poppy-lettuce.” See B. xx. c. 26. The Lactuca virosa, probably, of modern botany, the milky juice of which strongly resembles opium in its effects.

[1105] For its medicinal qualities, most probably.

[1106] “Lac.”

[1107] So called, Columella informs us, from Cæcilius Metellus, Consul A.U.C. 503.

[1108] Meaning “antaphrodisiac.” The other name has a kindred meaning.

[1109] A.U.C. 731.

[1110] Antonius Musa. For this service he received a large sum of money, and the permission to wear a gold ring, and a statue was erected by public subscription in honour of him, near that of Æsculapius. He is supposed to be the person described by Virgil in the Æneid, B, xii. l. 390, _et seq._, under the name of Iapis. See B. xxix. c. 5 of this work.

[1111] Vinegar and honey; a mixture very ill-adapted, as Fée observes, to preserve either the medicinal or alimentary properties of the lettuce.

[1112] “Caprina lactuca.” See B. xx. c. 24.

[1113] Endive, in fact, belongs to the same family as the lettuce.

[1114] This is not the case; unless, indeed, under the name “lactuca,” Pliny would include several plants, that in reality are not lettuces.

[1115] The stalk, in fact, is more intensely bitter than the leaves.

[1116] “Erraticum.” Wild endive.

[1117] From which comes the French “chicorée,” and our “chicory,” or “succory.”

[1118] In B. xx. c. 29, and B. xxi. c. 52.

[1119] The usual times for sowing the lettuce are before winter and after February.

[1120] An excess of manure is injurious to the lettuce.

[1121] As already stated in a previous Note (p. 179), lettuces when cut down will not grow again, with the exception of a few worthless lateral branches.

[1122] From Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 4.

[1123] Not the Beta sicla of modern botany, Fée thinks. The black beet of the ancients would be one of the dark purple kinds.

[1124] It was only the leaf of beet, and not the root, that was eaten by the ancients. From Martial, B. xiii. Epig. 10, we learn that the leaves were preserved in a mixture of wine and pepper.

[1125] Though not positively unwholesome, the leaves would form an insipid dish, that would not agree with all stomachs. Galen says that it cannot be eaten in great quantities with impunity, but Diphilus the physician, as quoted by Athenæus, B. ix. c. 3, says the reverse. Some MSS. read here “innocentiorem,” “more harmless.”

[1126] Columella says the same, De Re Rust. B. xi. c. 3.

[1127] Fée would seem to render this, “when wine has been spoiled by cabbage leaves being mixed with it.”

[1128] De Re Rust. cc. 156, 157.

[1129] In B. xx. c. 33.

[1130] Or “parsley” cabbage, so called from its crisped leaves: the curled colewort, or Brassica viridis crispa of C. Bauhin.

[1131] The same as our Brussels sprouts. Columella, however, B. xi. c. 3, and B. xii. c. 7, speaks of the Brassica cyma as a distinct variety of cabbage.

[1132] See B. viii. c. 77.

[1133] The Brassica oleracea capitata of Lamarck, and its varieties.

[1134] The ordinary cabbage, or Brassica oleracea of Linnæus.

[1135] A variety, Fée thinks, of the Lacuturrian cabbage.

[1136] The Brassica oleracea botrytis of Linnæus, the cauliflower.

[1137] Or Calabrian cabbage: it has not been identified.

[1138] The Brassica oleracea Sabellica of Linnæus, or fringed cabbage.

[1139] Or “Lake-towers.” The turnip-cabbage or rape-colewort, the Brassica oleracea gongyloides of Linnæus.

[1140] Generally thought to be the Crambe maritima of botanists, sea-cabbage, or sea-kale. Some, however, take it to be the Convolvulus soldanella of Linnæus. See B. xx. c. 38.

[1141] From ἅλς, the “sea.”

[1142] He alludes to the statement made by Columella, probably, De Re Rust. B. xi. c. 3.

[1143] Fée remarks, that probably we here find the first germs of the practice which resulted in the making of sour-krout (sauer-kraut). Dalechamps censures Pliny for the mention of trefoil here, the passage which he has translated speaking not of that plant, but of the trefoil or three-leaved cabbage.

[1144] The same as the “chara,” probably, mentioned by Cæsar, Bell. Civ. B. iii. Hardouin thinks that it is the common parsnip, while Clusius and Cuvier would identify it with the Crambe Tatarica of Hungary, the roots of which are eaten in time of scarcity at the present day. Fée suggests that it may belong to the Brassica napo-brassica of Linnæus, the rape-colewort. See B. xx. c. 37.

[1145] Or cabbage-sprout.

[1146] In B. xvi. c. 67. The Asparagus officinalis of Linnæus.

[1147] De Re Rust. c. 161.

[1148] Or wild sperage. See B. xvi. c. 67; also B. xx. c. 43.

[1149] “Spongiis.” Fée is at a loss to know why the name “spongia” should have been given to the roots of asparagus. Probably, as Facciolati says, from their growing close and matted together. See the end of this Chapter.

[1150] De Re Rust. c. 161.

[1151] See B. xvii. c. 47.

[1152] On the contrary, Martial says that the asparagus of Ravenna was no better than so much wild asparagus.

[1153] In B. xvi. c. 67. See also c. 19 of this Book.

[1154] Dioscorides mentions this absurdity, but refuses to credit it.

[1155] Probably the artichoke, the Cinara scolymus of Linnæus. See further on this subject, B. xx. c. 99.

[1156] About £24 sterling. “Sestertia” has been suggested, which would make the sum a thousand times as much.

[1157] The ass, of course, excepted, which is fond of thistles.

[1158] Seventh of March.

[1159] Thirteenth of November.

[1160] “Si Dîs placet.”

[1161] Oxymel.

[1162] This is evidently said contemptuously.

[1163] See further as to the identity of this plant, B. xx. c. 48.

[1164] Twenty-second of April.

[1165] Brassica eruca of Linnæus. See B. xx. c. 49.

[1166] Cresses, or nosesmart, the Lepidium sativum of Linnæus. See B. xx. c. 50.

[1167] “Quod nasum torqueat.”

[1168] The Ruta graveolens of Linnæus. See B. xx. c. 51. This offensive herb, though looked upon by the Romans as a vegetable, is now only regarded as an active medicament of almost poisonous qualities.

[1169] A.U.C. 421.

[1170] It so happens that it thrives best on the same soil as the fig-tree.

[1171] This practice has no beneficial effect whatever.

[1172] This is not the fact; for its branches never come in contact with the ground.

[1173] Pliny has derived the greater part of this Chapter from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 5, and Columella, B. xi. c. 3.

[1174] For the purpose of separating the seeds, which are slightly joined together; and of disengaging a portion of the perisperm. At the present day this is not done, for fear of bursting the kernel of the seed.

[1175] See B. xx. c. 53.

[1176] Called by the Greeks καλαμίνθη, according to Apuleius.

[1177] Or “Mentha.”

[1178] “Sweet-smelling.”

[1179] “Sæpius.” See B. xviii. c. 60.

[1180] The Cuminum cyminum of botanists. See B. xx. c. 57.

[1181] See B. xx. c. 57.

[1182] In Hispania Tarraconensis. See B. iii. c. 4.

[1183] Or “black-herb:” the herb Alexander, the Smyrnium olusatrum of Linnæus. See B. xx. c. 46.

[1184] “Horse-parsley.”

[1185] See B. xvii. c. 14, and B. xxi. c. 14.

[1186] Hist. Plant. B. ix. c. 1. This story originated, no doubt, in the fancied resemblance of its smell to that of myrrh.

[1187] The Capparis spinosa of Linnæus. See B. xiii. c. 44, also B. xx. c. 59.

[1188] In B. xiii. c. 44.

[1189] The Carum carvi of Linnæus.

[1190] Caria, in Asia Minor.

[1191] The Ligusticum levisticum of Linnæus.

[1192] “Ox cunila.” One of the Labiatæ, probably; but whether one of the Satureia or of the Thymbra is not known. See B. xx. cc. 60, 61.

[1193] See B. xxi. c. 32.

[1194] Scribonius Largus gives this name to savory, the Satureia hortensis of Linnæus. The whole of this passage is very confused, and its meaning is by no means clear.

[1195] The Lepidium sativum of Linnæus. See B. xx. c. 70.

[1196] It is an annual, in fact.

[1197] Its leaf has no resemblance whatever to that of the laurel.

[1198] The Nigella sativa of Linnæus. See B. xx. c. 71.

[1199] Or sagapenum. See B. xx. c. 75. It is mentioned also in B. xii. c. 56, as being used for adulterating galbanum. As to laser, see c. 15 of the present Book.

[1200] This practice, as Fée remarks, is not followed; and indeed, unless it is intended to transplant them, it would be attended with injurious results to the young plants.

[1201] As to the poppy, for further particulars see B. xx. c. 76 and the Note.

[1202] The variety Album of the Papaver somniferum of modern botanists.

[1203] The variety Nigrum of the Papaver somniferum. The white poppy has also a milky juice.

[1204] The Papaver rhœas of modern botanists, the corn-poppy, or wild poppy. The seed of the poppy does not partake of the qualities of its capsular envelope, and at the present day it is extensively employed in the South of Europe for sprinkling over pastry.

[1205] “Rhœas,” the “crimson,” or “pomegranate” poppy.

[1206] See B. xx. cc. 76-79.

[1207] See c. 17 of this Book, also Ovid’s Fasti, B. ii. l. 703, _et seq._

[1208] “Lad’s love.”

[1209] Black mustard, Fée thinks.

[1210] He can hardly mean a pottage made of boiled mustard-seed alone, as Fée seems to think. If so, however, Fée no doubt is right in thinking that it would be intolerable to a modern palate.

[1211] See B. xx. c. 87.

[1212] Perhaps a corruption of its Greek name, σίνηπι.

[1213] Hardouin suggests “thlaspi.”

[1214] Its bite being as sharp as the venom of the “saurus,” or lizard.

[1215] Hardouin, from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vi. c. 7, suggests a reading, “whence the streams bring down branches of them torn off, and so plant them.”

[1216] The plants. Fée says, that we find in these localities, are nearly always ferns, or else Marchantia, or mosses of the genus Hypnum. Fée queries whether one of these may not have been the sisymbrium of Pliny. Water-cresses, again, have been suggested.

[1217] In B. viii. c. 41. The Anæthum fœniculum of Linnæus.

[1218] In B. xiii. c. 42.

[1219] The Cannabis sativa of Linnæus. See B. xx. c. 97.

[1220] Hemp-seed is never smoke-dried now.

[1221] See B. v. c. 29. The same hemp is mentioned as being used for making hunting-nets, by Gratius, in the Cynegeticon.

[1222] See B. v. c. 29.

[1223] See B. iii. c. 17, and B. xvii. c. 3.

[1224] This, as Fée says, is no doubt erroneous. It is seldom known to attain a couple of inches in circumference.

[1225] In B. xiii. c. 42.

[1226] These absurd notions are borrowed from Theophrastus, De Causis, c. 8.

[1227] See B. xx. c. 91.

[1228] Or, according to some readings, “limodorum,” a parasitical plant, probably the Lathræa phelypea of Sprengel. Fée suggests that this plant may be the Polygonum convolvulus of Linnæus, or else one of the Cuscutæ, or a variety of Orobanche.

[1229] “Scabies.” A fungous excrescence, Fée thinks, now known as “puccinia,” or “uredo.”

[1230] See B. xvii. c. 47. Fée says that he has met with persons, in their sound senses, who obstinately defend the notion here mentioned by Pliny.

[1231] See Theophrastus. Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 5. Many of these insects, however, do not breed upon the plants, but are only attracted to them.

[1232] “Book on Gardening.”

[1233] The Heliotropium Europæum of botanists. See B. xxii. c. 29.

[1234] This may possibly, Fée says, be efficacious against some insects.

[1235] See B. xviii. c. 45.

[1236] A mere puerility, of course, though it is very possible that the insects may collect in it, and so be more easily taken. Garden-pots, on sticks, are still employed for this purpose.

[1237] See B. xvi. c. 30.

[1238] “Culices,” including both flies and gnats, probably.

[1239] See B. xii. c. 56.

[1240] An almost literal translation of Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 6.

[1241] This is certainly not true with reference to the leguminous and gramineous plants. It is pretty generally known as a fact, that wheat has germinated after being buried in the earth two thousand years: mummy-wheat, at the present day, is almost universally known.

[1242] Rain-water, if collected in cisterns, and exposed to the heat of the sun, is the most beneficial of all; rain has the effect also of killing numerous insects which have bred in the previous drought.

[1243] From Theophrastus, B. vii. c. 5. Evening is generally preferred to morning for this purpose; the evaporation not being so quick, and the plant profiting more from the water.

[1244] It should, however, be of a middling temperature, and warmed to some extent by the rays of the sun.

[1245] These statements are consistent with modern experience.

[1246] See B. xx. c. 85.

[1247] He says this probably in reference partly to the large leaves which characterize the varieties of dock.

[1248] Dishes made of rice or barley. See B. xviii. c. 13.

[1249] See B. xx. c. 85.

[1250] He does not give the name of the poet, but, as Fée says, we do not experience any great loss thereby.

[1251] From Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 6.

[1252] See B. xv. c. 32.

[1253] “Absinthium.” See B. xxvii. c. 28.

[1254] See B. xxv. c. 30.

[1255] Fée remarks, that though rarely to be met with, the salt flavour is still to be found in the vegetable kingdom.

[1256] The “cicercula,” or Lathyrus sativus of Linnæus. See B. xviii. c. 32.

[1257] See B. xii. c. 57.

[1258] Or pepper-wort. See B. xx. c. 66.

[1259] See B. xx. c. 54.

[1260] The same, probably, as olusatrum. See cc. 37 and 48 of this Book, and B. xx. c. 46: also B. xxvii. c. 109.

[1261] In B. xii. c. 57.

[1262] See c. 48 of this Book.

[1263] Rosemary, or “sea-dew.”

[1264] See B. xx. c. 74.

[1265] Fée suggests, though apparently without any good reason, that this paragraph, to the end of the Book, is an interpolation of the copyists.

[1266] See end of B. xiv.

[1267] See end of B. ii.

[1268] See end of B. xiv.

[1269] See end of B. iii.

[1270] See end of B. iii.

[1271] See end of B. vii.

[1272] See end of B. ii.

[1273] See end of B. vii.

[1274] See end of B. viii.

[1275] See end of B. xvi.

[1276] See end of B. x.

[1277] Beyond the mention made of this writer in c. 57, nothing whatever is known of him.

[1278] C. Licinius Macer, a Roman annalist and orator, born about B.C. 110. Upon being impeached by Cicero, he committed suicide. He wrote a History or Annals of Rome, which are frequently referred to by Livy and Dionysius of Halicarnassus.

[1279] Nothing whatever appears to be known of this writer.

[1280] See end of B. xiv.

[1281] Nothing whatever is known relative to this writer on Horticulture.

[1282] Nothing certain is known of him; but it has been suggested that he may have been the father of the rhetorician Castritius, so often mentioned by Aulus Gellius, and who lived in the time of the Emperor Adrian.

[1283] Nothing whatever is known relative to this writer.

[1284] The author of a Greek poem on venomous serpents, mentioned in B. xx. c. 96, and B. xxii. c. 40, and by the Scholiast on the Theriaca of Nicander.

[1285] See end of B. ii.

[1286] See end of B. iii.

[1287] See end of B. ii.

[1288] See end of B. xi.

[1289] Nothing whatever is known of him. His Book seems to have been a compendium of “Things useful to life.”

[1290] A physician and Pythagorean philosopher, born at one of the cities called Larissa, but which, is now unknown. He was banished by the Emperor Augustus, B.C. 28, on the charge of practising magic, a charge probably based on his superior skill in natural philosophy. He is frequently mentioned by Pliny in the course of this work.

[1291] Fée remarks, that the commencement of this exordium is contrary to truth, and that Pliny appears to forget that in the Eighteenth Book he has treated, at very considerable length, of the various cereals, the art of preparing bread, pottages, ptisans, &c. He suggests, that the author may have originally intended to place the Eighteenth Book _after_ the present one, and that on changing his plan he may have neglected to alter the present passage. From his mention, however, of man’s “ignorance by what means lie exists,” it is not improbable that he may have considered that the nutritive qualities of plants are really based upon their medicinal virtues, a point of view little regarded by the majority of mankind in his time, but considered by Pliny to be the true key to a just appreciation of their utility.

[1292] “Quibus cuncta constant.” See B. xxiv. c. 1.

[1293] See B. xxxiv. c. 42.

[1294] The “theamedes.” See B. xxxvi. c. 25.

[1295] Pliny is the only author who makes mention of this singularly absurd notion.

[1296] In B. xix. c. 24: so, too, Dioscorides, B. iv. c. 154. The wild cucumber of Pliny, as Fée observes, is in reality not a cucumber, but a totally different plant, the Cucumis silvestris asininus of C. Bauhin, the Momordica elaterium of Linnæus, or squirting cucumber.

[1297] Elaterium, Fée says, is not extracted from the seed, but is the juice of the fruit itself, as Pliny, contradicting himself, elsewhere informs us. Theophrastus commits the same error, which Dioscorides does not; and it is not improbable that Pliny has copied from two sources the method of making it.

[1298] Meaning the juice and seed combined, probably. Fée thinks that it is to this the medicament owes its name, from ἐλαύνω, to “drive” or “impel.” It is much more probable, however, that the medicine was so called from its strong purgative powers; for, as Galen tells us, ἐλατήριον was a name given to purgative medicines in general.

[1299] Dioscorides, B. iv. c. 154, states to this effect. Fée remarks that, singularly enough, most of the antiophthalmics used by the ancients, were composed of acrid and almost corrosive medicaments, quite in opposition to the sounder notions entertained on the subject by the moderns.

[1300] Dioscorides says the same; and much the same statements are made by Celsus, Apuleius, Marcellus Empiricus, and Plinius Valerianus. The different parts of the plant, dried, have but very feeble properties, Fée says.

[1301] A sort of tetter or ring-worm. Celsus enumerates four varieties.

[1302] Itch-scab, probably.

[1303] A disease of the skin, in which the scab assumes the form almost of a lichen or moss.

[1304] “Panos.” “Panus” was the name given to a wide-spreading, but not deeply-seated, tumour, the surface of which presented a blistered appearance.

[1305] Fée says that this is not the fact, as it speedily deteriorates by keeping.

[1306] From Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. ix. c. 10.

[1307] Fée acknowledges the truth of this observation, that of a green colour containing feculent matter, and showing that the juice is not pure.

[1308] In reality there is no such resemblance whatever. See B. xxii. c. 29.

[1309] Fée says that this is an exaggerated account of the properties of the wild cucumber, as it would require a very considerable dose to cause death.

[1310] The Morbus pedicularis, or “lousy disease.”

[1311] This has been identified by some writers, Fée says, with the Cucumis flexuosus of Linnæus; but, as he observes, that plant comes originally from India, and it is more than probable that it was not known by the ancients; in addition to which, it is possessed of no medicinal properties whatever. He looks upon it as an indigenous plant not identified.

[1312] So Dioscorides, B. iv. c. 154.

[1313] “Morbus regius;” literally, the “royal disease.”

[1314] “Lentigo.”

[1315] See B. xix. c. 23. It is but little appreciated for its medicinal properties by the moderns. Emulsions are sometimes made of the seeds, which are of an oily nature. Fée says that the French ladies esteem pommade of cucumber as an excellent cosmetic; which is, however, an erroneous notion.

[1316] The combination of cummin with cucumber seed is in opposition, Fée remarks, with their medicinal properties, the one being soothing, and the other moderately exciting.

[1317] As to the several varieties of the pumpkin or gourd, known under this name, see B. xix. c. 24.

[1318] Dioscorides states to the same effect, and, as Fée thinks, with a probability of being correct.

[1319] “Smegmata.”

[1320] This assertion, Fée says, is utterly untrue.

[1321] From ἐπί, “upon,” and νὺξ, “night.” These are red or whitish pustules, accompanied with sharp pains, which appear on the skin at night, and disappear in the day-time. See c. 21.

[1322] Or “many-legs.” See B. xxix. c. 39. Probably one of our millepedes or centipedes: though Fée suggests that it may have been a large caterpillar.

[1323] From σηπεῖν, “to rot.”

[1324] This, Fée says, is untrue: but it is hard to say on what grounds he himself asserts that the smell of the cucumber is faint, and almost nauseous.

[1325] This, probably, is not conformable to modern notions on the subject.

[1326] From the Greek σομφὸς, porous, spongy, or hollow.

[1327] It is supposed by some naturalists that this gourd is the variety Pyxidaris of the Cucurbita pepo of Linnæus, the Colocynthis amara of C. Bauhin. Fée remarks, however, that this designation is arbitrary; as this plant never grows wild in Europe, and its pulp is so bitter, that instead of proving beneficial to the stomach, it would cause vomiting. From the fact of its comparison to the human finger, he doubts if it really was one of the Cucurbitæ at all.

[1328] The Cucumis colocynthus of Linnæus, or Coloquintida, so remarkable for its bitterness.

[1329] It is an extremely drastic, and indeed violent purgative.

[1330] Recurring at stated times. The absurdity of this statement does not require discussion.

[1331] The cultivated cucumber, Fée says.

[1332] Or “aposthumes,” a kind of abscess, probably.

[1333] “Ignis sacer,” literally “sacred fire.” It is sometimes called “St. Anthony’s fire.” Celsus, in describing it, distinguishes it, however, from erysipelas, and divides it into two kinds.

[1334] On the contrary, Fée says, the pulp of the gourd is tough and leathery, extremely insipid, and destitute of any salutary qualities.

[1335] A decoction of rape or turnips is still recommended for chilblains at the present day. Fée remarks that ground mustard is much preferable.

[1336] This, as Fée remarks, he says of nearly all the vegetable productions known.

[1337] It is only suited as an aliment to a strong stomach, and it is owing to the property here mentioned that the School of Salerno says,—

Ventum sæpe capis, si tu vis vivere rapis.

and

Rapa juvat stomachum, novit producere ventum.

[1338] Dioscorides and Galen say the same, but this property is not recognized in modern times.

[1339] “Eruca:” a plant itself of a very stimulating nature.

[1340] The Brassica napus, var. α of Linnæus, the Brassica asperifolia, var. α of Decandolles, the “navette” of the French. An oil is extracted from the seed, very similar to the Colza oil, extracted from the Brassica oleracea.

[1341] It is in reality of a blackish hue without, and white within.

[1342] See B. xxii. c. 73. Dioscorides speaks of the use of the wild rape for this purpose, B. ii. c. 135.

[1343] See B. xviii. c. 35, and B. xix. c. 25.

[1344] Dalechamps remarks that Pliny here confounds the bunion with the bunias; the first of which, as Fée says, is an umbellifera, either the Bunium bulbocastanum of Linnæus, or the Peucedanum silaus of Linnæus, and the second is the Brassica napo-brassica of Linnæus. Dioscorides says that the stalks of the bunion are quadrangular. M. Fraas thinks that the bunion is the Bunium pumilum of modern Botany, and says that the Bunium bulbocastanum, usually supposed to be the bunion of Dioscorides, is a stranger to Greece.

[1345] These properties, Fée says, are not to be found in the Bunium bulbocastanum of modern botanists.

[1346] Sillig is of opinion that there is an hiatus here in the text, and that the meaning is that a drachma of the juice is taken with something else: honey possibly, he suggests.

[1347] The Brassica napo-brassica of Linnæus.

[1348] See B. xix. c. 26.

[1349] The Cochlearia Armoracia of Linnæus.

[1350] In B. xix. c. 26.

[1351] Fée says that the medicinal properties recognized by the moderns in the several varieties of the Raphanus sativus are, that their action is slightly stimulating when eaten raw, and that boiled and eaten with sugar they are soothing, and act as a pectoral.

[1352] “Lagonoponon.” Nearly all these asserted virtues of the radish, Fée says, are illusory.

[1353] “Phlegmoni.” Stagnation of the blood, with heat, redness, swelling, and pain.

[1354] “Veternosi.” Fée says that, rigorously speaking, “veternus” was that state of somnolency which is the prelude to apoplexy.

[1355] The Coluber cerastes of Linnæus. See B. viii. c. 35.

[1356] Poinsinet warns us not to place too implicit faith in this assertion.

[1357] Dioscorides says the same, but the assertion is quite destitute of truth.

[1358] Nicander, in his “Alexipharmaca,” ll. 430 and 527, says that the cabbage, _not_ the radish, is good for poisoning by fungi and henbane; and in l. 300 he states that the cabbage is similarly beneficial against the effects of bullock’s blood. Pliny has probably fallen into the error by confounding ῥάφανος, the “cabbage,” with ῥαφανίς, the “radish.”

[1359] Themistocles is said to have killed himself by taking hot bullock’s blood. It is, however, very doubtful.

[1360] “Morbus comitialis”—literally the “comitial disease.” Epilepsy it is said, was so called because, if any person was seized with it at the “Comitia” or public assemblies of the Roman people, it was the custom to adjourn the meeting to another day.

[1361] From μέλας, “black,” and χολή, “bile.” Melancholy, or bad spirits, was so called from a notion that it was owing to a predominance of an imaginary secretion called by the ancients “black bile.”

[1362] The cœliac flux, Fée says, is symptomatic of chronic enteritis; and is a species of diarrhœa, in which the chyme is voided without undergoing any change in passing through the intestines.

[1363] “Præcordiorum.”

[1364] “Enterocele.”

[1365] De Morb. Mulier. B. ii. c. 67.

[1366] Eating or corroding ulcers.

[1367] Hippocrates, De Diætâ, B. ii. cc. 25, 26, says that radishes are of a cold, and hyssop of a warm, nature.

[1368] “Moloche agria.”

[1369] See B. xix. c. 27.

[1370] See B. viii. c. 73.

[1371] De Remed. B. iv. c. 24. The parsnip is a stimulating plant, and it is not without reason, Fée says, that Celsus recommends it for this purpose.

[1372] Or “wild.” See B. xix. c. 27.

[1373] This seed, Fée says, is an energetic excitant, and certainly would not be found suitable for any of the purposes here mentioned by Pliny; though equally recommended for them by Galen, Dioscorides, and in Athenæus.

[1374] Tetanus, or contraction of the muscles, in which the head is twisted round or stretched backwards.

[1375] “Axungia;” properly swine’s grease, with which the axle-trees of chariots were rubbed. See B. xxviii. c. 9.

[1376] Diphilus of Siphnos, as quoted in Athenæus, B. ix. c. 3, states that the ancients employed this plant as a philtre, for which reason it was called by some persons φίλτρον.

[1377] “Posca.” This was the ordinary drink of the lower classes at Rome, as also the soldiers when on service, and the slaves. “Oxycrate” is the scientific name sometimes given to vinegar and water.

[1378] Πολλὰ Σύρων λάχανα. Similar to our proverb, probably, “There is more corn in Egypt.”

[1379] The Daucus visnaga of Linnæus, the Daucus gingidium of Sprengel, the Visnagha, or Bisnagha of other botanists. It is also known as the “wild carrot,” or “French carrot.”

[1380] Or “erratic.”

[1381] See B. xix. c. 28.

[1382] The root and seed, Fée observes, really are stimulants: there is no perceptible difference between the wild and cultivated plants. For silphium, see B. xix. c. 15.

[1383] Fée thinks that it may be so in a slight degree.

[1384] Pliny often speaks of persons having swallowed quicksilver, but never lets us know under what circumstances. As Fée remarks, it could not be accidentally; nor yet, on the other hand, could it have been done purposely, with the object of committing suicide, it not being an active poison. He concludes that it must have been taken medicinally, and that part of it becoming absorbed in the system, other remedies were resorted to, to counteract its noxious effects.

[1385] “Inutile,” and not “utile,” is evidently the correct reading here.

[1386] Σισάρον the “skirret,” and Σέσελι, Σέλι, or Σίλι, “hart-wort.”

[1387] The Seseli tortuosum of Linnæus.

[1388] Or Marseilles: the Seseli tortuosum. Fée says that there is great confusion relative to the supposed varieties of this plant. The Bupleurum fruticosum, or Seseli of Æthiopia, has leaves smaller than those of ivy, and resembling the leaves of honeysuckle. That of Peloponnesus, the Ligusticum austriacum, has a leaf similar to that of hemlock, but larger and thicker; and the Seseli of Crete, some species of the genus Tordylium, is a small plant which throws out shoots in large quantities. All these, he says, are so far different plants, that it is quite impossible to unite them with any degree of certainty under one concordance. Indeed, he thinks it very possible that they do not all belong to the genus Seseli of modern botanists.

[1389] It is clear that Pliny hesitates to believe this story, and it is hardly necessary to remark how utterly foreign this is to the habits of carnivorous birds.

[1390] See B. viii. c. 50. An absurd story.

[1391] The Inula Helenium of botanists. See B. xix. c. 29.

[1392] Modern notions, Fée says, do not agree with those of the ancients on the subject of elecampane. The root owes the energy of its action to the camphor which it contains.

[1393] This notion of the virtues of the onion is quite erroneous, though it still prevails to a considerable degree. Hippocrates, however, Dioscorides, and Galen, like Pliny, attribute this property to the onion.

[1394] This, Fée says, is not the fact.

[1395] A disease of the eye, by which the cornea contracts a whiteness.

[1396] A white speck within the black of the eye.

[1397] It is of no use whatever for such a purpose.

[1398] Fox evil, or scurf, or scaldhead: a disease which causes the hair to fall off the body. It derives its name from the Greek ἀλώπηξ, a “fox,” from the circumstance that they were supposed to be peculiarly affected with a similar disease.

[1399] Or millepedes. See c. 6 of this Book.

[1400] So the school of Salerno says—

Non modicum sanas Asclepius asserit illas, Præsertim stomacho, pulchrumque creare colorem.

[1401] This is not the case.

[1402] “Vermiculis.” Small worms or maggots.

[1403] “Porrum sectivum.” See B. xix. c. 33.

[1404] Fée thinks that boiled leeks may possibly, with some justice, be ranked among the pectorals.

[1405] This, as Pliny himself here remarks, is a different disease from that previously mentioned in c. 6 of this Book.

[1406] From the Greek συκὴ, “a fig.”

[1407] “Merum.”

[1408] They would be of no utility whatever.

[1409] This is an unfounded statement, Fée says.

[1410] See B. xix. c. 33. Aristotle, Sotion, and Dioscorides state to the same effect.

[1411] “Porrum capitatum.”

[1412] There is no difference now recognized between these two kinds of leeks, so far as their medicinal effects are concerned.

[1413] See B. xvi. c. 9.

[1414] _I. e._ gum arabic. For an account of the Acacia Nilotica, see B. xiii. c. 19.

[1415] De Morb. Mul. B. ii. c. 89, and De Steril. c. 13.

[1416] This is not the fact.

[1417] See B. xix. c. 34.

[1418] Fée says that the action of garlic is so powerful, that it is one of the most energetic vermifuges known; but at the same time it is so strong an excitant, that it is very liable to cause worse evils than the presence even of worms.

[1419] This serpent is described by Lucan, in the “Pharsalia,” B. ix. l. 708, _et seq._, where a fearful account is given of the effects of its sting. Nicander, in his “Theriaca,” informs us that those bitten by the hæmorrhoïs die with the blood flowing from the nose and ears, whence its name.

[1420] Pard or panther-strangle. See B. xxvii. c. 2. The juice of garlic has no such effect as here stated.

[1421] De Morb. Mul. B. i. c. 74.

[1422] See B. xxix. c. 39.

[1423] The Morbus pedicularis. From the frequent mention of it, Fée says, it would seem to have been very prevalent in ancient times; whereas now, it is but rarely known.

[1424] A disease of the skin; supposed by some to be the same as ringworm. The word is employed in modern medicine to signify skin diseases in general, such as itch, lichen, scaldhead, ringworm, &c.

[1425] Pintianus suggests “hirudines,” “leeches,” and not “arundines,” arrows. The latter reading is supported, however, by Plinius Valerianus and M. Empiricus.

[1426] An expensive kind of fish-sauce: for some further account of it see B. ix. c. 30.

[1427] See B. xix. c. 15.

[1428] See B. x. c. 78.

[1429] “Caprina.” See B. xxvi. c. 39.

[1430] Fée is of opinion that this in reality is not a lettuce, but that Pliny has been led, by the milky juice which it contains, to that conclusion. In B. xxvi. c. 39, he calls it “tithymalum.” Hardouin conjectures it to have been the spurge, or Euphorbia lathyris of Linnæus, the juice of which is a violent drastic; and Fée is of opinion that it must have been one of the Euphorbiaceæ. At the same time, he says, powerful as their properties are, we cannot believe that they exercise the destructive effects on fish here stated.

[1431] Fée thinks that this plant may be looked for among the varieties of the Sonchus or the Hieracium, which belong to the same family as the lettuce.

[1432] See B. xviii. c. 14.

[1433] Fée thinks that this is the Isatis tinctoria of Linnæus in a wild state, and Littré suggests that the one next mentioned is the same plant, cultivated. Fée says, however, that this plant, employed in dyeing wool, does not contain any milky juice, a fact which should have cautioned Pliny against classing it among the Lactucæ.

[1434] Of the lettuce, evidently. Fée says, who would recognise a lettuce, with its green leaves, and smooth stalk and leaves, under this description? Still, it is by no means an inaccurate description of the wild lettuce.

[1435] “Hawk-weed,” from the Greek ἱέραξ, “a hawk.” Under this name are included, Fée thinks, the varieties of the genus Crepis.

[1436] Apuleius, Metam. c. 30, says this of the eagle, when preparing to soar aloft.

[1437] This is in some degree true of the juices of the wild lettuces, in a medicinal point of view; but it must be remembered that he has enumerated the Isatis among them, which in reality has no milky juice at all.

[1438] “Lactucarium,” or the inspissated milky juice of the garden lettuce, is still used occasionally as a substitute for opium, having slightly anodyne properties, but, as Fée remarks, all that Pliny says here of its effects is erroneous.

[1439] “Adustiones;” “burns,” perhaps.

[1440] A kind of spider. See B. xi. cc. 24, 28, 29.

[1441] This is consistent with modern experience, as to the medicinal effects of the cultivated plants in general.

[1442] In B. xix. c. 38.

[1443] The lettuce is not a purgative, nor has it the property here ascribed to it, of making blood.

[1444] Sillig is probably correct in his belief that there is a lacuna here.

[1445] “Oxypori.”

[1446] “Ad intinctum aceti.”

[1447] In B. xix. c. 38; the “opium” or “poppy lettuce,” the Lactuca silvestris of modern botany, the soporific properties of which are superior to those of the cultivated kinds.

[1448] Or southern-wood. See B. xxi. c. 34.

[1449] See B. xxxi. cc. 11 and 12.

[1450] There are few plants, Fée says, which are so utterly destitute of all remedial properties as the beet. See B. xix. c. 40.

[1451] Fée says that the leaves of beet are not at all efficacious except as applications for inflammations of the body.

[1452] Dioscorides merely says that the leaves of the limonion are similar to those of beet, but he does not state that it _is_ a kind of wild beet.

[1453] Dioscorides says “ten or more.”

[1454] Fée is inclined to identify the “limonium,” or “meadow-plant,” with the Statice limonium of Linnæus; but looks upon its identification as very doubtful. Fuchs, Tragus, and Lonicerus, have identified it with the Pyrola rotundifolia; but that is not a meadow plant, it growing only in the woods. Others, again, have suggested the Senecio doria, or “water trefoil.”

[1455] Divided by naturalists into wild chicory or endive, the Cichorium intybus of Linnæus, and cultivated endive, the Cichorium endivia of Linnæus. The name “endive” comes from the Arabian “hindeb;” but whether that was derived from the Latin “intubum,” or vice versâ, is uncertain. The two kinds above mentioned, are subdivided, Fée says, into two varieties, the cultivated and the wild. See B. xix. c. 39.

[1456] The foundation of the Greek name, κιχώριον, and the Arabic “Schikhrieh.”

[1457] The medicinal properties of endive vary, according as it is employed wild or cultivated, and according to the part employed. The leaves are more bitter than the stalk, but not so much so as the root. The juice of all the varieties is very similar, probably, to that of the lettuce; but, as Fée says, little use has been made of it in modern times.

[1458] Or else, “Magi.”

[1459] The “useful.”

[1460] “The all-powerful.”

[1461] The Cichorium luteum of C. Bauhin, the Leontodon palustre of Linnæus: known to us as the “dandelion,” or by a coarser name.

[1462] The kind known as garden endive, the Cichorium endivia of Linnæus.

[1463] “Anthologumena.”

[1464] See B. xix. c. 41.

[1465] “Crispam.”

[1466] “Parsley-like.”

[1467] The only use now made of the cabbage, in a medicinal point of view, is the extraction from the red cabbage, which is rich in saccharine matter, of a pectoral, and the employment of the round cabbage, in the form of sour-krout, as an antiscorbutic. The great majority of the statements as to the virtues of the cabbage, though supported by Cato, and in a great measure by Hippocrates, are utterly fallacious.

[1468] De Re Rust. 157.

[1469] “Scintillationibus.”

[1470] See B. xix. c. 15.

[1471] Or cancer.

[1472] Cato, De Re Rust., 156, 157.

[1473] See Note [1301] to c. 2 of this Book.

[1474] This absurd notion of antipathy is carried so far by the author of the Geoponica, B. v. c. 11, that he states that if wine is thrown on cabbage while on the fire, it will never be thoroughly boiled.

[1475] Fée remarks, that this fact would surely have engaged the attention of the moderns, if there had been any truth in the statement.

[1476] “Crapulam discuti.” “Crapula” was that state, after drinking, colloquially known at the present day as “seediness.”

[1477] The contrary is in reality the case, it being a diet only suitable to strong stomachs.

[1478] De Morb. Mulier. B. i. cc. 73 and 74. De Nat. Mulier. 29 and 31.

[1479] The jaundice.

[1480] Fée is inclined to account for the numerous antidotes and remedies mentioned for the stings of serpents, by supposing that the stings themselves of many of them were not really venomous, but only _supposed_ to be so.

[1481] “Repuntinas caligines.”

[1482] “Sprout,” or “Brussels sprout.” See B. xix. c. 41.

[1483] He is probably speaking of cabbage-water in general.

[1484] See B. xix. c. 15.

[1485] This bitter or pungent cabbage, Fée suggests, did not, probably, belong to the genus Brassica.

[1486] De Re Rust. c. 157.

[1487] Fée is of opinion that Pliny has here confused the description of two different plants; and that, intending to describe the Brassica arvensis of modern botany, he has superadded a description of the “Crambe agria,” mentioned by Dioscorides, which appears to be identical with the Crambe maritima, or Brassica marina, the “sea-cabbage” of the ancients (see c. 38.), the Convolvulus soldanella of modern botany.

[1488] Or “rock-cabbage,” a name given more properly to the Convolvulus soldanella.

[1489] See c. 34, and B. xxiv. c. 1.

[1490] A description, really, of the Convolvulus soldanella.

[1491] See B. xix. c. 41.

[1492] The Convolvulus soldanella of Linnæus, Fée thinks: not one of the Cruciferæ, but belonging to the Convolvulaceæ.

[1493] See B. xix. c. 30.

[1494] The squill is still regarded in medicine as one of the most energetic of all the vegetable productions, as a diuretic, an expectorant, and, in large doses, an emetic. Squill vinegar is still the form in which it is usually administered. Columella gives a somewhat different account of the mode of preparing it.

[1495] Theocritus says that the squill effectually protects statues and tombs from outrages being committed upon them; and it was so customary to plant them about the graves, that it became a proverbial saying, “He is frantic enough to pluck squills from a grave.” Theophrastus states that squills were employed in certain expiatory ceremonials.

[1496] As to the identification of the “bulbs,” see B. xix. c. 30. The wild bulbs, Fée is of opinion, are probably the Nigrum allium or Moly of modern Botany; and the Allium schœnoprasum belongs, in his opinion, to the cultivated bulbs.

[1497] Supposing, Fée says, that the Bulbi of the ancients belonged to the genus Allium or garlic of modern Botany, we may conclude that in a medicinal point of view, they were of an exciting nature, powerful vermifuges, and slightly blistering when applied topically. The other statements here made, as to their medicinal qualities, are not consistent with modern experience.

[1498] Testium pituitas.

[1499] See B. xix. c. 30. Athenæus, B. ii. c. 26, attributes a similar property to the bulbs of Megara.

[1500] See B. xi. cc. 24, 28.

[1501] The Hyacinthus botryoides of Linnæus, most probably.

[1502] “Bulbus vomitorius.” The Narcissus jonquilla of Linnæus, the “emetic jonquil.” The bulb of the Spanish jonquil acts as a strong emetic.

[1503] Dioscorides says, more correctly, a black outer coat or peeling.

[1504] Asparagus is recognized in modern times, as exercising a strong action on the kidneys. Fée says, that according to Dr. Broussais, it is a sedative to palpitations of the heart, an assertion, the truth of which, he says, his own experience has confirmed. The root is also looked upon as diuretic.

[1505] Asparagus seed is not used in modern pharmacy, and it is very doubtful if it possesses any virtues at all.

[1506] Fée says that there is no truth in this assertion.

[1507] See B. xix. c. 42: the Asparagus tenuifolius of Linnæus, the wild asparagus, or Corruda of the South of France.

[1508] Fée says that in the South of Europe there is a kind, known to botanists as white asparagus, with a prickly stem: he suggests that it may possibly be the same as that here spoken of.

[1509] Or fennel. Fée says that, till very recently, the roots of asparagus and of fennel were combined in medicine, forming part of the five “major aperitive” roots. The sirop of the five aperitive roots is still used, he says, in medicine.

[1510] Chrysippus and Dioscorides were of opinion, that a decoction of asparagus root causes sterility in women; a false notion, which, as Fée remarks, prevailed very generally in Greece.

[1511] This is not consistent with fact.

[1512] See B. xix. c. 37. Parsley, though possessed of marked properties, is but little employed in medicine. What Pliny here states respecting it, Fée says, is a tissue of fables: but it is still used for the cure of sores, and even as an ophthalmic.

[1513] This distinction, Fée says, cannot be admitted.

[1514] Or maggots.

[1515] This belief in its efficacy, Fée says, still exists.