Chapter XXX: Book XXXI (3)

[88] They are rich in essential oil, and are of a tonic nature. All that is here stated as to their medicinal uses, and which cannot be based upon that property, is hypothetical, Fée says, and does not deserve to be refuted.

[89] See Introduction to Vol. III.

[90] The resemblance of its name to the “pitys” or pitch-tree.

[91] See B. xxvi. c. 39.

[92] An Euphorbia with a ligneous stem, the Euphorbia pityusa of Linnæus. The characteristics of it differ, however, from the description here given by Pliny. It is no longer used in medicine, though, like the other Euphorbiaceæ, it has very active properties.

[93] This, Fée says, is consistent with truth.

[94] In B. xiv. c. 25.

[95] B. xvi. cc. 16, 21, 22, 23.

[96] Or, as they are called at the present day, the resins, and the oleoresins, or terebinthines.

[97] Fée thinks that this name extends to the numerous species of resiniferous trees.

[98] The Abies excelsa of Linnæus.

[99] The Pistacia terebinthus; see B. xiii. c. 12. It yields a valuable turpentine, known in commerce as that of Cyprus or Chios.

[100] The so-called Venice turpentine is extracted from the larch.

[101] It yields mastich solely, a solid resin.

[102] It yields a terebinthine, and a very diminutive amount of solid resin.

[103] Fée says, that if the same methods are employed, the same products may be obtained, though in general the larch yields the better terebinthine.

[104] Fée thinks that he is speaking of a thick resin, or _galipot_, as the French call it, of the consistency of honey.

[105] Boiled terebinthine, or turpentine, is still used, Fée says, in medicine; that process disengaging the essential oil.

[106] In B. xvi. c. 22.

[107] Fée thinks that in reality these are terebinthines, and not resins.

[108] It has been generally remarked that aromatic plants grown on mountains have a stronger perfume than those of the plains; Fée queries whether this extends to the resins.

[109] Though of little importance in modern medicine, resins and terebinthines are still employed as the basis of certain plasters and other preparations.

[110] Such a potion as this, Fée says, would but ill agree with a person in robust health even.

[111] There would be no necessity whatever, Fée says, for such a process, a plentiful supply of food being quite sufficient for the purpose. Galen recommends frictions of terebinthine for the improvement of the health.

[112] Mastich. The medicinal properties here attributed to it, Fée says, do not exist.

[113] “Onera.”

[114] In B. xiv. c. 25, and B. xvi. cc. 21, 22.

[115] Tar. See B. xvi. c. 21.

[116] The pitch of Calabria, Fée says, is known at the present day as pitch-resin. All that Pliny states as to the medicinal properties of pitch, is destitute, Fée thinks, of the slightest probability.

[117] Or horned serpent.

[118] Taken internally, of course.

[119] In B. xvi. c. 22, and B. xv. c. 7.

[120] “Pitch boiled over again.”

[121] Fée says, that this statement is quite beyond all belief. Indeed there is little doubt that tar taken internally for quinzy, would only tend to aggravate the complaint. He states that a solution of tar in water is sometimes used internally with success for pulmonary phthisis. Bishop Berkeley wrote his Siris, on the virtues of Tar-water as a medicament, having been indebted to it for his recovery from an attack of colic.

[122] See B. xvi. c. 23. His description here is faulty, it being solely a natural pitch or mineral bitumen, without any admixture of vegetable pitch. Vitruvius calls this pissasphalt, pitch; but Ælian, more correctly, bitumen. The names now given to it are mineral pitch, and malthe or pitch of Malta.

[123] In B. xvi. c. 23. Fée thinks that the use of it is more likely to have been injurious than beneficial.

[124] Or tæda. See B. xvi. c. 19.

[125] Fée says, that within the last century, the wood of the lentisk or mastich, and the oil of its berries, figured in the Pharmacopœias. Their medicinal properties are far from energetic, but the essential oil may probably be of some utility as an excitant.

[126] This property is still attributed in the East to the leaves and resin of the lentisk. We learn from Martial, B. xiv. Epig. 22, that the wood of the lentisk, as well as quills, was used for tooth-picks.

[127] this, Fée says, is not the fact.

[128] See B. xii. c. 36, and B. xiv. c. 25.

[129] “Smegmata.”

[130] Littré thus reads the whole passage, “Sive cum aquâ, ut ita foveantur,”—“A decoction of it is made with water for the purpose of fomentation.”

[131] See B. xii. c. 3.

[132] “Adversantur vespertilionibus.” Fée sees difficulties in this passage, which really do not seem to exist.

[133] The produce of the plane is no longer employed in medicine.

[134] The _young_ leaves probably, or else the fruit.

[135] In B. xvi. c. 24. There are still some traces of this notion existing, Fée says, among the French peasantry. All the statements here made relative to its medicinal properties, are utterly unfounded.

[136] In reality they have no such effect.

[137] See B. xvi. c. 26. The root of the maple, Fée says, has no marked qualities whatever.

[138] In B xii. c. 61. The buds of the poplar, Fée says, are still used in medicine in the composition of an unguent known as “populeum.” The bark is astringent, and the wood destitute of taste.

[139] “Uvarum.” Fée thinks that by these berries, or grapes, the blossoms or buds are meant. See Note 608 to B. xii. c. 61.

[140] See also c. 38, as to the Vitex.

[141] This superstition probably applies to persons riding on horseback.

[142] “Guttam.” This is the substance known to us as “honey-dew.” It is either secreted by the plant itself, or deposited on the leaves by an aphis. It is found more particularly on the leaves of the rose, the plane, the lime, and the maple. Bees and ants are particularly fond of it.

[143] Bee-glue. See B. xi. c. 6, and B. xxii. c. 50.

[144] See B. xvi. c. 29. The bark of the elm, like that of most other trees, has certain astringent properties.

[145] Fée says that it is only some few years since the inner bark of the elm was sometimes prescribed medicinally, but that it has now completely fallen into disuse. All that Pliny says here of the virtues of the elm is entirely suppositious.

[146] A kind of honey-dew, no doubt.

[147] “Cauliculi foliorum primi.”

[148] “Extrahuntque per fistulas.”

[149] In B. xvi. c. 74.

[150] See B. xvi. c. 25. The blossoms of the linden-tree are the only part of it employed in modern medicine. Fée thinks, with Hardouin, that Pliny has here attributed to the linden, or Philyra of the Greeks, the properties which in reality were supposed to belong to the Phillyrea latifolia, a shrub resembling the wild olive. Dioscorides, in his description of its properties, has not fallen into the same error.

[151] “Ground elder” or “marsh elder;” the Sambucus ebulus of Linnæus, or dwarf elder. The other kind mentioned by Pliny is the Sambucus nigra of Linnæus, or black elder.

[152] Fée says that though some of the assertions as to its medicinal properties made by Pliny are unfounded, it is still an opinion among the moderns that the leaves of the elder are purgative, the inner bark an emetic and hydragogue, the berries laxative, and the flowers emollient.

[153] According to Hardouin, this would appear to be the measles; but according to Festus, swellings on the legs were so called. The shingles is probably the malady meant.

[154] Fée speaks of a decoction of the inner bark as having been recently in vogue for the cure of dropsy.

[155] This so-called cedar, Fée says, is in reality itself a juniper. The medicinal properties of all the varieties of the juniper are not identical. The essential oil of the leaves acts with a formidable energy upon the human system.

[156] This is identified by Fée with the Juniperus communis of Lamarck, variety α, the Juniperus communis of Linnæus.

[157] Identified by Fée with the Juniperus nana of Willdenow, the Juniperus communis of Lamarck, variety β. The Spanish juniper, mentioned in B. xvi. c. 76, he identifies with the Juniperus thurifera of Linnæus.

[158] Virgil says this of the fumes of the cedar, Georg. III. 414; an additional proof, Fée says, that under the name of “cedrus,” the juniper was really meant. The smoke of the juniper is not known to have the effect upon serpents here described.

[159] The berries of the juniper contain sugar, mucilage, and a small proportion of essential oil; a rob is prepared from them, Fée says, under the line of “extract of juniper.”

[160] It is a well-known fact, that juniper berries are diuretic; they impart also to the urine the odour of the violet, a property which is equally possessed by turpentine. All the other properties here attributed to the juniper, are, in Fée’s opinion, either hypothetical or absurd.

[161] See B. xvi. c. 68.

[162] Neither this downy substance nor the seeds are now employed for any purpose. The bark of the willow has some strongly-pronounced properties, but all other parts of it are totally inert.

[163] A kind of manna, Fée says. The other juices here mentioned are secreted from the sap.

[164] The leaves have no effect whatever as an antaphrodisiac.

[165] See B. xvi. c. 69.

[166] The Vitex agnus castus of Linnæus, the tree of chastity.

[167] The “chaste” tree. It is no longer used in medicine; the fruit has somewhat the flavour of spice, Fée says, and taken internally it would have the converse of an antaphrodisiac effect. The other parts of it are quite inert.

[168] An Attic festival celebrated yearly in honour of Demeter, which lasted four or five days. It was also celebrated in other parts of Greece.

[169] The Vitex agnus castus of Lamarck, variety β, Elatior.

[170] The Vitex agnus castus of Linnæus, the type.

[171] It may possibly, Fée says, have this effect, but the other properties here attributed to it are wholly imaginary.

[172] Travelling on horseback, probably. A similar superstition is mentioned as to the poplar, in c. 32 of this Book.

[173] Probably the Erica arborea of Linnæus; see B. xiii. c. 35. It has not, however, a leaf similar to that of rosemary, with the sole exception, Fée says, of the Erica cinerea of Linnæus.

[174] See B. xiii. c. 37.

[175] It has no such effect, in reality.

[176] See B. xvi. c. 69. The kind here alluded to is the Spanish broom, Fée thinks.

[177] In B. xix. c. 2. Vol. IV. p. 135.

[178] Iliad, B. ii. l. 135. See B. xix. c. 6, where Pliny states it as his opinion that in this passage Homer is speaking of flax.

[179] See B. xix. c. 7. Fée thinks that the plant under consideration in this Chapter is the Spanish broom, Genista juncea of Lamarck, the Spartium junceum of Linnæus, a different plant from the Spartum of B. xix. c. 7, the Stipa tenacissima of Linnæus. He is of opinion also, that Homer in the passage referred to alludes, not to flax, but to the Genista juncea. See this question further discussed, in the additional Note at the end of B. xxvii.

[180] Fée says that the blossoms and seed of the junciform genista and other kinds are of a purgative nature; indeed, one variety has been called the Genista purgans by Lamarck. None of them, however, are so potent in their effects as Pliny in the present passage would lead us to suppose.

[181] See B. xiii. c. 37, and Note 968; where it is stated that, in Fée’s opinion, several plants were united by the ancients under this one collective name—brooms for instance, heaths, and tamarisks. He thinks, however, that under the name “Myrica,” Pliny may possibly have intended to comprehend the larger heaths and the Tamarix Gallica of Linnæus. M. Fraäs, as Littré states, gives the Tamarix Africana as the probable synonym of the Myrica of Pliny.

[182] Of this broom-plant of Ameria nothing is known.

[183] This _cannot_ apply to any of the heaths of Europe. The tamarisk grows to a much larger size, and barrels and drinking-vessels are made of the wood.

[184] “Gravis.” He does not, however, show his _gravity_ in the present instance.

[185] In B. xvi. c. 45.

[186] See B. xiii. c. 37.

[187] Identified by Fée with the Tamarix Gallica.

[188] The “brya,” spoken of in B. xiii. c. 37, as growing in Achaia also, the Tamarix orientalis of Delille. But _there_ he implies that it does not produce any fruit when it grows in Egypt.

[189] “Flower compositions.”

[190] It may possibly be of some use for this purpose, being of an astringent nature.

[191] This seems to be the meaning of “Idem cum libeat accendere resolvitur,” though in the French translations it is rendered, “It crumbles into ashes when an attempt is made to kindle it.” Holland seems to have rightly understood the passage, which probably bears reference to some current superstition.

[192] “Magi.” He probably alludes in this passage to the Magi of the East.

[193] See B. xvi. cc. 30, 43.

[194] The cornel, probably. It was looked upon as “infelix,” or ill-omened, because it was sacred to the Deities of the infernal regions.

[195] See B. xvi. c. 31. If this is the Salix vitellina. Fée says, all that Pliny here states as to its medicinal properties does not merit the slightest attention.

[196] See B. xii. c. 51. The botanical characteristics, Fée says, and the medicinal properties of the privet, differ essentially from those of the Cypros or Lawsonia inermis. The leaves of the privet are bitter and astringent.

[197] Fée says, that on reading this passage it is impossible to preserve one’s gravity.

[198] In B. xvi. c. 62. The ivy is but little used for any of the purposes of modern medicine. It is said by some authorities that a decoction of the leaves will kill vermin, and that the berries are purgative and emetic.

[199] “Nervis.”

[200] Fée states that in reality no such similarity exists; but that acetic acid is sometimes developed by the rapid fermentation of the juices of a great number of vegetable substances.

[201] “Golden fruit.” See B. xvi. c. 62.

[202] The same substance which he speaks of at the end of this Chapter as the gum of ivy, called “hederine,” Fée says, in modern chemistry. It is a gum resin, mixed with ligneous particles.

[203] The Cistus pilosus of Linnæus, the wild eglantine, or rock-rose.

[204] The Cistus salvifolius of Linnæus.

[205] In B. xxvii cc. 31, 49, 87, and 90.

[206] “Red-berried” or “red-leaved ivy.” See B. xvi. c. 62. This kind, Fée says, appears not to have been identified.

[207] “Ground-ivy.” See B. xvi. c. 62; Note 2601. M. Fraäs adopts Sprengel’s opinion that it is the Antirrhinum Azarina, the bastard asarum.

[208] See B. xvi. c. 63.

[209] “Flower-bearer.”

[210] In B. xvi. c. 63.

[211] Sprengel thinks that this is the Clematis viticella, but Fée identifies it with the Clematis vitalba of Linnæus, the climber, or traveller’s joy.

[212] The leaves of it, Fée says, are of a caustic nature, and have been employed before now by impostors for producing sores on the skin of a frightful appearance, but easily healed.

[213] In B. xvi. c. 34.

[214] Sympathies and antipathies existing in plants. See c. 1 of this Book.

[215] Not a reed, Fée thinks, but some other monocotyledon that has not been identified. See B. xii. c. 48.

[216] See B. xx. c. 3.

[217] See B. xvi. c. 66.

[218] Celsus also speaks of the root of the reed as being efficacious for this purpose, B. v. c. 26.

[219] Fée says that neither of these last assertions is true.

[220] See B. xiii. c. 21. It is no longer used in medicine.

[221] These statements as to the virtues of the ashes of papyrus, Fée says are absurd.

[222] See B. xii. c. 8. Desfontaines is inclined to identify the tree here spoken of with the Diospyros ebenaster of Kœnig.

[223] See c. 91 of this Book; the Artemisia dracunculus of Linnæus.

[224] “Erodentia.” Fée remarks upon the singularity, that with this property attributed to it, it should be recommended for diseases of the eyes.

[225] The “rose-tree.” Our rose-bay or oleander.

[226] “Rose-laurel.”

[227] See B. xvi. c. 33. It is, Fée says, an energetic poison, but as injurious to man as it is to animals.

[228] See B. xiii. c. 13. The sumach-tree; the Rhus coriaria of Linnæus.

[229] Identified by Fée with the Coriaria myrtifolia of Linnæus, or myrtle-leaved sumach. It is used in the preparation of leather, Fée says, and is intensely poisonous.

[230] The sumach-tree.

[231] Or “mouth-medicine.” See B. xxii. c. 11, and B. xxiii. cc. 58 and 71.

[232] See B. xxiii. c. 71.

[233] Or “ros.” See B. xiii. c. 13

[234] Fée says that this is still done in some parts of Turkey.

[235] “Asperitati linguæ.”

[236] “Red rose;” our madder. See B. xix. c. 17. Beckmann is of the opinion that the “sandix” of B. xxxv. c. 12, is our madder, and identical with the Rubia. It is not improbable, however, that in reality it was a mineral. See Beckmann’s _Hist. Inv._ Vol. II. p. 110, _Bohn’s Ed._

[237] Fée says that it does not possess this property.

[238] Madder has no colouring matter which can produce any effect upon the hair.

[239] Or “anti-frantic” plant. C. Bauhin identifies it with the Rubia silvestris lævis, or wild madder; Fée is at a loss for its identification, but is inclined to think that it was a species of cultivated madder.

[240] In B. xix. c. 18. The Gypsophila struthium, or soap-plant, possibly. Its identity is discussed at great length by Beckmann, _Hist. Inv._ Vol. II. p. 98-102, _Bohn’s Ed._

[241] “Aureum poculum.”

[242] Desfontaines says that it is the Periploca angustifolia; Fée gives the Apocynum folio subrotundo of C. Bauhin, round leafed dogsbane.

[243] This is the fact; and hence one of its names “cynanche,” or “dog-strangle.”

[244] This, Fée says, is the fact. The plant is rich in essential oil, and is consequently a powerful excitant. See B. xix. c. 62.

[245] In B. xvi. c. 11.

[246] A gall or fungoid production, or, in some instances, a catkin. Fée says that Pliny has committed an error here in attributing a cachrys to rosemary, the Libanotis stephanomaticos, which, in reality, belongs to the Libanotis canchryphorus or Libanotis prima.

[247] So called from the Greek βραδύ, “slow,” according to some authorities; by reason of the slowness of its growth.

[248] Identified by Fée with the Sabina vulgatior of Lobelius, or Juniperus Sabina, variety β, of Lamarck.

[249] The Sabina baceifera of J. Bauhin, the male savin, the type of the plant.

[250] See Ovid’s Fasti, B. i. l. 341, as to this custom, and Virgil’s “Culex,” l. 403.

[251] It is still a common notion, though Fée says an ill-founded one, that it produces abortion. Indeed we find Galen stating to the same effect.

[252] Fée ridicules this notion with considerable zest.

[253] The Lycopodium selago of Linnæus, upright club-moss, or fir-moss, according to Sprengel. Fée, however, dissents from that opinion, for the Lycopodium, he says, is but some three inches in height, while savin, with which the Selago is here compared, is more than eight or ten feet high. De Théis (_Gloss. Botan._) thinks that it must have been a succulent plant; but upon what grounds he bases that conjecture, Fée declares himself at a loss to conjecture.

[254] Evidently a superstition derived from the Druids.

[255] Sprengel thinks that it is the Samolus Valerandi of Linnæus, the round-leaved water-pimpernel, and Anguillara identifies it with the Anemone pulsatilla, or pasque-flower. Fée inclines to the opinion that it is the Veronica beccabunga of Linnæus, the brook-lime.

[256] In B. xiii. c. 20.

[257] Gum is still used, Fée says, for this purpose.

[258] It is of no use whatever for burns, or as a diuretic.

[259] Fée says that it is not different in any way from the gum of other trees.

[260] Fée remarks, that gum is injurious as a cosmetic.

[261] Gum is of no use whatever in such a case.

[262] In B. xiii. c. 19. In speaking there, however, of this gum, the Acacia Nilotica of Linnæus, he makes no mention whatever of Arabia; for which reason Sillig concludes that this passage is corrupt.

[263] The Onopordum acanthium of Linnæus, the cotton-thistle, or woolly thistle.

[264] The Mimosa Nilotica of Linnæus; see B. xiii. c. 19. Fée seems inclined to identify the white thorn with the Cratægus oxyacantha of Linnæus, the white hawthorn, or May. In the present passage, however, it is doubtful whether the colours apply to the varieties of gum, or to the trees which produce them. Sillig considers the passage to be corrupt.

[265] The Prunus spinosa of Linnæus, Fée thinks, the sloe, or black thorn.

[266] Fée says that the difference in appearance is very considerable between them.

[267] The leaves containing little or no tannin.

[268] In India, the bark of the Acacia Arabica is still used for tanning leather.

[269] This juice, Fée says, obtained from the Prunus spinosa, is known at the present day in commerce by the name of Acacia nostras.

[270] Fée queries, without sufficient foundation, it would appear, whether he is here speaking of syphilitic affections.

[271] Fée suggests that this may be the Dipsacus fullonum of Linnæus, the fuller’s thistle.

[272] See B. xix. c. 18, and c. 58 of this Book.

[273] In B. xii. c. 52. But in that passage he makes the Aspalathos to be _identical_ with the Erysisceptrum, which he here distinguishes from it. Fée thinks that there can be no identity between the common thorn here mentioned, and the Aspalathos. This latter, as mentioned in B. xii., according to Fée, is the Convolvulus scoparius of Linnæus, the broom bindweed, but Littré says that M. Fraäs has identified it with the Genista acanthoclada.

[274] See the preceding Note. Fée identifies this Aspalathos with the Spartium villosum of Linnæus, making that of B. xii. c. 52, to be the Lignum Rhodianum of commerce, probably the Convolvulus scoparius of Linnæus.

[275] The corresponding passage in Dioscorides has βαρύς, “heavy,” _i.e._ the most solid in the stem.

[276] In B. xii. c. 52.

[277] “Ozænas.”

[278] The Berberis vulgaris of Linnæus, or barberry, Fée thinks.

[279] Identified by Fée with the Mespilus pyracantha of Linnæus, the evergreen thorn. It receives its name probably from the redness of its berries, which are the colour of fire.

[280] Fée considers this to be the Paliurus aculeatus of Decandolle, and not identical with the Paliurus mentioned in B. xiii. c. 33.

[281] Fée thinks that the copyists have made a mistake in this passage, and that the reading should be “aquifolia,” the same plant that is mentioned afterwards under that name. He identifies them with the Ilex aquifolium, or holly. See B. xvi. cc. 8, 12, where Pliny evidently confounds the holm oak with the holly.

[282] Dioscorides says, B. i. c. 119, “the branches of the _rhamnus_, it is said, placed at the doors and windows, will avert the spells of sorcerers.” It is not improbable that Pliny, in copying from some other author, has mistaken the one for the other.

[283] An exaggeration, no doubt. The Cissampelos Pareira of Lamarck, an Indian plant, abounds in mucilage to such an extent, that an infusion of it in water becomes speedily coagulated.

[284] One would be induced to think that this story is derived from some vague account of the properties of the Boomerang. Although supposed by many to have been the invention of the natives of Australasia, representations of it are found on the sculptures of Nineveh. It is not improbable that Pythagoras may have heard of it from the Magi during his travels in the East. See _Bonomi’s Nineveh_, p. 136.

[285] “Recubitu” seems preferable to “cubitu.”

[286] This is very doubtful, Fée says.

[287] See B. xvi, c. 71.

[288] See B. xvi. c. 71.

[289] Blackberries are still used in the country, Fée says, as an astringent medicine, and all here stated that is based upon that property is rational enough. The same cannot, however, be said of the greater part of the other statements in this Chapter.

[290] See B. xx. cc. 23, 81, and B. xxiii. cc. 12, 18.

[291] See B. xx. c. 81, B. xxii. c. 13, and B. xxiii. c. 23.

[292] Cabbage-sprouts. See B. xix. c. 41.

[293] Or “mouth-medicine.” See B. xxiii. c. 71.

[294] See B. xxvi. cc. 31, 49, 87, and 90.

[295] The spider called “phalangium” is meant, Fée says. See B. xi. c. 28.

[296] Astringents.

[297] “Lapidescunt.”

[298] The eglantine. See B. xvi. c. 71.

[299] He alludes to “bedeguar,” a fungous excrescence found on the wild rose-tree, and produced by the insect known as the Cynips rosæ. It is somewhat rough on the exterior, like the outer coat of the chesnut.

[300] The fruit, Fée says, of the wild eglantine. See B. xxv. c. 6.

[301] Or “dog-bramble.”

[302] “Dog-strangle,” apparently.

[303] “Drawn with a string.” Fée thinks that Pliny has confused the account given of this plant with that of the Aglaophotis, mentioned in c. 102 of this Book, and that the Cynosbatos is only a variety of the Rubus or bramble. Other authorities identify it with the Rubus caninus, or with the Rosa sempervirens. Desfontaines thinks that it is the Ribes nigrum, or black currant; and Littré is of opinion that some gooseberry or currant tree is meant.

[304] See B. xiii. c. 44.

[305] “Thyrsus.” Fée thinks that the allusion is to the produce of the caper, while Hardouin says that it is the first cynosbatos that he is speaking of. Hardouin is probably right.

[306] The blossom, perhaps, of the Rubus fruticosus, or blackberry.

[307] See B. xii. c. 60.

[308] Fée says that they have no such property, and that the blossoms of the bramble are entirely destitute of any known medicinal qualities. The roots and leaves are somewhat astringent.

[309] The raspberry; see B. xvi. c. 71.

[310] There is one variety which is very diminutive, and entirely destitute of thorns, the Rubus Idæus lævis of C. Bauhin, the Rubus Idæus non spinosus of J. Bauhin.

[311] See B. xvi. c. 71.

[312] Of the bramble genus.

[313] In reality, as Fée says, there is no botanical affinity between the Rubus, or bramble, and the Rhamnus.

[314] Sprengel identifies this plant with the Zizyphus vulgaris of Linnæus, the jujube, and Desfontaines is of the same opinion. Fée, however, takes it to be the Rhamnus saxatilis of Linnæus, the rock buckthorn.

[315] Identified by some authorities with the Paliurus aculeatus of Decandolles, mentioned in c. 71. Sprengel is in doubt whether it may not be the Rhamnus lycioides of Linnæus.

[316] Not a characteristic, Fée says, of the genus Rhamnus of modern Botany.

[317] Or “Lycian” extract. See B. xii. c. 15.

[318] See B. xii. c. 15. Fée identifies this with the modern Catechu, a decoction from the Acacia catechu, a leguminous plant of the East Indies.

[319] The Rhamnus lycioides of Linnæus, our buckthorn. The Indian plant from which catechu is extracted is of a similar nature. See B. xii. c. 15.

[320] This Fée looks upon as an exaggeration.

[321] See B. xii. c. 15.

[322] _I.e._ the choice part of it; see B. xii. c. 15. Catechu is adulterated at the present day with starch and argillaceous earths. As a medicament it is not possessed of a very powerful action.

[323] “Clavos.”

[324] This statement is quite correct.

[325] See B. xiii. c. 20.

[326] The Penæa sarcocolla is not a thorny tree.

[327] Fée says that this is not the case. It is no longer used in medicine.

[328] Or conserve of fruits. An electuary.

[329] Seed of the sumach. See B. xiii. c. 13.

[330] “Ground oak.” See B. xiv. c. 19; where it is identified with the Teucrium chamædrys of Linnæus. Littré, however, informs us, that M. Fraäs considers it to be the Teucrium lucidum of Linnæus; because, as we learn from Dioscorides, it grows on rocky places, is a remarkably diminutive shrub, and has a fine odour, all of which are characteristics of the latter plant, and not of the Teucrium chamædrys, commonly known as the dwarf oak or germander.

[331] An invention attributed to Dædalus, in B. vii. c. 57.

[332] The Teucrium chamædrys is a bitter plant, which has been successfully used for fever, and it acts as a tonic and vermifuge. Beyond these, it has no medicinal properties whatever.

[333] See B. xiv. c. 19.

[334] Or “ground-laurel.” Fée considers this to be identical with the Alexandrian laurel, mentioned in B. xv. c. 39. It is no longer used in medicine, but the roots of a plant of kindred nature, the Ruseus aculeatus, or butcher’s broom, are diuretic.

[335] Or “ground olive.” See B. xiii. c. 35.

[336] This, Fée says, is consistent with modern experience; indeed it is drastic to a dangerous extent.

[337] “Albugines.”

[338] Or “ground fig.” The Euphorbia chamæsyce, or annual spurge.

[339] The juices are irritating and acrid, and would in reality be highly dangerous to the eyes.

[340] Owing to its caustic powers, it really is good for the removal of warts.

[341] Or “ground-ivy.” See B. xvi. c. 62, and c. 49 of this Book.

[342] Fée says that this comparison is not strictly correct.

[343] The “ground-poplar.” See B. xxvi. c. 19. Identified with the Tussilago farfara of Linnæus; our colt’s-foot.

[344] Or “tube”—“infundibulum.” Colt’s-foot is still smoked, either by itself or in conjunction with tobacco. Fée says, however, that to inhale the smoke in the manner here described, would be enough to create a cough if it did not exist before.

[345] “Ground-pine” or “ground pitch-tree.” Identified by Sprengel with the Stohelina chamæpeuce of Willdenow, a corymbiferous plant of the Isle of Candia.

[346] “Ground-cypress.” Identified with the Euphorbia cyparissias of Linnæus, the cypress spurge. Taken internally, it is a corrosive poison.

[347] Or “vine-leek.” The Allium ampeloprason of Linnæus, the great round-headed garlic. It is no longer used in medicine, and all that Pliny states as to its medicinal properties is quite unfounded, Fée says.

[348] Fée thinks that Pliny has committed an error here, and that the word “marrubii” should be substituted, our “horehound.” He identifies it with the Stachys Germanica of Linnæus, or base horehound; which is more commonly found in the South of Europe than in Germany.

[349] Or “bed-foot.” The Clinopodium vulgare of Linnæus, our wild basil. It has some useful properties attributed to it; but what Pliny here states respecting it is erroneous.

[350] This seems to be the meaning of “orbiculato foliorum ambitu.”

[351] Turner and C. Bauhin identify it with the Gnaphalium Germanicum of Lamarck, and Sprengel with the Polygonum convolvulus of Linnæus. If so, Fée says, the synonym here given by Pliny is erroneous; for the Greek clematis, there can be little doubt, is the Clematis cirrhosa of Linnæus. See the account given of the Gnaphalion in B. xxvii. c. 61.

[352] All that Pliny states as to its medicinal properties, Fée says, is erroneous.

[353] Probably the Asclepias nigra of Linnæus, black swallow-wort.

[354] The Asclepias nigra has no such medicinal effects as those mentioned by Pliny.

[355] The Vinca major and Vinca minor of Linnæus, the greater and smaller periwinkle. Fée is at a loss to know why it should be called “Egyptian,” as it is a plant of Europe.

[356] “Laurel-shaped” and “many-cornered.”

[357] In B. xix. c. 30.

[358] Fée says that the Dracontion of the Greeks and the Dracunculus of the Latins are identical, being represented in modern Botany by the Arum dracunculus of Linnæus, the common dragon.

[359] From “draco,” a “dragon” or “serpent.” Fée says, that it is not to its roots, but to its spotted stem, resembling the skin of an adder, that it owes its name.

[360] “Virus.” Fée says that the Arum dracunculus has a strong, fetid odour, and all parts of it are acrid and caustic, while the Arum colocasia has an agreeable flavour when boiled.

[361] This, Fée says, is fabulous.

[362] Though no longer used in medicine, the account here given of the properties of the Arum colocasia is in general correct, a few marvellous details excepted.

[363] Sillig thinks that there is a lacuna here, and that the name “Cleophantus” should be supplied.

[364] Fée thinks that, thus employed, it would be more injurious than beneficial. Though Pliny is treating here of the Arum colocasia or Egyptian Arum, he has mingled some few details with it, relative to the Arum dracunculus, a plant endowed with much more energetic properties. See Note 360 above.

[365] See B. viii. c. 54, as to the use alleged to be made by animals of this plant.

[366] Fée says that this is very doubtful.

[367] In c. 91 of this Book. This story is owing merely to its appearance, which somewhat resembles the skin of a serpent.

[368] “Demonstratum mihi est.”

[369] Identified by Fée with the Arum Italicum of Lamarck.

[370] Fée queries whether this may not be the Arum maculatum of Linnæus, wake-robin, cuckoo pint, or lords and ladies.

[371] Identified by C. Bauhin with the Calla palustris of Linnæus.

[372] The Arum arisarum of Linnæus, hooded arum or friar’s cowl, a native of the coasts of Barbary and the South of Europe.

[373] Or “ten thousand leaves.” The Myriophyllum spicatum of Linnæus, according to most authorities, though Fée considers it very doubtful.

[374] Possibly the Achillea millefolium of Linnæus, our milfoil or yarrow. It is still said to have the property of healing wounds made by edge-tools, for which reason it is known in France as the “carpenter’s plant.”

[375] This assertion, as Fée remarks, is more than doubtful.

[376] “Bastard turnip.” Desfontaines identifies it with the Bunium aromaticum; Fée queries whether it may not be the Pimpinella tenuis of Sieber, found in Crete. The Berberis vulgaris has been also suggested.

[377] Desfontaines identifies it with the Scandix odorata of Linnæus. Hardouin says that it is musk chervil, the Chærophyllum aromaticum of Linnæus, in which he has followed Dodonæus. Fuchsius suggests the Chærophyllum silvestre of Linnæus: Fée expresses himself at a loss to decide.

[378] Probably the Hedysarum onobrychis of Linnæus, our sainfoin.

[379] They are _very much_ larger than those of the lentil, in fact. This diversity has caused Fée to express some doubts whether it really is identical with sainfoin. The Polygala officinalis has also been suggested.

[380] Dalechamps considers these appellations to mean the “virgins’ plant,” and the “plant of beauty.”

[381] The Cissampelos Pareira, as already stated, abounds in mucilage to such a degree, as to impart a consistency to water, without impairing its transparency. See c. 72 of this Book.

[382] The reading of this word is doubtful. Hardouin thinks that it is the same as the Minyanthes mentioned in B. xxi. c. 88.

[383] Fée says that the only cases known of a phænomenon resembling this, are those of the Dictamnus albus, white dittany, which attracts flame momentarily when in flower, and of the Tropæolum majus, or great Indian cress. He thinks, however, that there are some trees so rich in essential oil, that they might possibly ignite as readily as naphtha.

[384] In B. ii. c. 109.

[385] Another reading here is “aproxis,” which seems more probable.

[386] “The work of his own hands,” according to Hesychius.

[387] “Admiration of man.” It is impossible to say what plant is meant under this name, but the pæony, Pæonia officinalis, has been suggested; also the Tropæolum majus. Desfontaines queries whether it may not be the Cæsalpinia pulcherrima, a native of the East. Some authors, Fée says, have identified it with the “Moly” of Homer.

[388] So called from Achæmenes, the ancestor of the Persian kings. Fée thinks that it was a variety of the Euphorbia antiquorum, or else a nightshade.

[389] “Food for the gods.”

[390] See B. xii. c. 30; also the Introduction to Vol. III.

[391] “Venerable” or “majestic.”

[392] “Hard as a diamond.”

[393] The Spina Ariana is mentioned in B. xii. c. 18.

[394] See B. xx. c. 65, where a plant is mentioned by this name.

[395] Dalechamps thinks that an Euphorbia is meant under this name.

[396] “Serpent-plant.” Fée thinks that a hemlock may possibly be meant, or perhaps the Arum serpentaria; see c. 93 of this Book.

[397] “Brightness of the sea.” A narcotic plant, Fée thinks, probably a night-shade.

[398] Hardouin suggests “potamitis,” river-plant.

[399] It is not impossible that this may in reality be an allusion to the effects of opium, or of hasheesh.

[400] “Messenger of the gods,” apparently.

[401] “Laughing leaves.” Possibly, Fée thinks, the Ranunculus philonotis, the Herba Sardoa or Sardonic plant of Virgil, known by some authorities as the Apium risus, or “laughing parsley.” Desfontaines suggests that hemp (prepared in the form of _hasheesh_) is meant.

[402] “Convivial” plant. Desfontaines identifies it with the Areca catechu, which is chewed in India for the benefit of the teeth and stomach, and as a sweetener of the breath.

[403] “Brother” plant.

[404] “Bride of Dionysus or Bacchus.”

[405] “Sun-flower.” Not the plant, however, known to us by that name.

[406] “Beauty of the sun,” apparently.

[407] “Mixture of Hermes,” apparently.

[408] Previously mentioned in this Chapter.

[409] As Fée remarks, it has been a notion in comparatively recent times, that it is possible to procreate children of either sex at pleasure.

[410] The “bashful” plant. An Acacia, Fée thinks; see B. xiii. c. 19. The Mimosa casta, pudica, and sensitiva, have similar properties: the Sensitive Plant is well known in this country.

[411] Fée queries whether this may not be the Silene muscipula of Linnæus, the fly-trap.

[412] The “wine-tamer.”

[413] Hardouin thinks that he alludes to the Grammarian Apion. Dalechamps thinks that it is either Apion or Apollodorus.

[414] The “returning” plant. Fée says that the Sedum Telephium of Linnæus, or orpine, is called in the dictionaries by this name. He queries whether it may not be the Sedum anacampseros, or evergreen orpine, as Hesychius says that it continues to live after being taken up from the earth; a peculiarity, to some extent, of the house-leek.

[415] He probably alludes to his remarks upon Magic, in Books xxix. and xxx.

[416] From ἔριφος, a “kid.” Ruellius has attempted to identify this plant with one of the Ranunculaceæ; but there is little doubt, as Fée says, that both plant and insect are imaginary.

[417] “Herba lanaria.” See B. xix. c. 18.

[418] Hardouin identifies it with the Ulva lactuca of Linnæus; but that plant, Fée says, contains no milky juice, and does not act as an emetic. One of the Euphorbiaceæ is probably meant.

[419] “Military” plant. Hardouin identifies it with the Achillea millefolium of Linnæus, mentioned in c. 95 of this Book. Fée, however, does not recognize the identity.

[420] “Soldier” plant. Cæsalpinus identifies it with the Salvinia natans; but Fée thinks, with Sprengel, that it is the Pistia stratiotes of Linnæus, great duckweed or pondweed.

[421] “Always living.” See B. xix. c. 58.

[422] It is pretty clear that in relating this absurdity he is not speaking of one plant solely, but of any plant which may chance to grow on the head of a statue. Numerous mosses grow upon marble; and statues are gradually covered, Fée says, with the Byssus antiquitatis.

[423] “Tongue” plant. Fée identifies it with the Scolopendrium officinarum of Willdenow, the Lingua cervina of other botanists. See B. xxv. c. 84.

[424] In B. xiv. c. 3.

[425] Or “vine-supporting.”

[426] Fée suggests that this may possibly be the Spiræa ulmaria of Linnæus.

[427] The “impious” or “unnatural” plant. Fée identifies it with the Filago Gallica of Linnæus, the corn cudweed. It is destitute of medicinal properties, and what Pliny states is without foundation.

[428] Generally identified with the Scandix pecten Veneris, corn cicely, or shepherd’s needle. See B. xxii. c. 38.

[429] Fée queries whether this may not possibly be the Rhus coriaria of Linnæus, elm-leaved sumach, mentioned in B. xiii. c. 13. He would appear, however, to have confounded it with the Notia, next mentioned.

[430] “Man-loving,” or rather “attached to man.” Identified with the Galium aparine of Linnæus, goose-grass, or common ladies bedstraw; the seeds of which attach themselves to the dress.

[431] See B. xxi. c. 64.

[432] The dog-bur. The Lappa tomentosa of Lamarck. See B. xxvi. c. 65.

[433] See c. 95 of this Book.

[434] Or hartwort; see B. xx. cc. 18, 87.

[435] The Tordylium officinale of Linnæus, officinal hart-wort.

[436] “Grass.” The Triticum repens, or Paspalum dactylon of Linnæus, our couch-grass.

[437] This is probably quite a different production, being the Parnassia palustris, according to Dodonæus; but Fée is inclined to think that it is the Campanula rapunculus of Linnæus, bell-flower or rampions.

[438] Fée thinks that this applies to the plant of Parnassus, and not to the common Gramen.

[439] This property, Fée says, is still attributed to couch-grass.

[440] “Draconum.” A peculiar kind of serpent. See Lucan’s Pharsalia, B. ix. ll. 727-8.

[441] No such variety is known.

[442] Fée is somewhat at a loss as to its identity, but thinks that it may be the Panicum sanguinale of Linnæus, or possibly the Cynodon dactylon.

[443] See B. xix. c. 58, and B. xxv. c. 102. Possibly a Sedum or houseleek, Fée thinks; certainly not a grass.

[444] Fée queries whether this may not be the Poa rigida of Linnæus, hard meadow-grass.

[445] An Euphorbia, Fée thinks.

[446] “Bull’s horn” or “goat’s horn.”

[447] In B. xviii. c. 39.

[448] The seed contains a mucilage, and is considered emollient and resolvent. Till recently, Fenugreek was the base, Fée says, of a plaster held in high esteem.

[449] “Sapa.” Grape-juice boiled down to one-third.

[450] “Sapa.”

[451] Fée remarks, that in reality there is no bitterness in fenugreek. He suggests therefore, that the meaning may be “offensive smell,” that emitted by fenugreek being far from agreeable.

[452] See end of B. xx.

[453] See end of B. xiv.

[454] See end of B. xii.

[455] See end of B. xx.

[456] See end of B. xx.

[457] See end of B. vii.

[458] See end of B. iii.

[459] See end of B. xi.

[460] See end of B. ii.

[461] See end of B. xx.

[462] See end of B. ii.

[463] See end of B. viii.

[464] See end of B. xix.

[465] See end of B. viii.

[466] See end of B. vii.

[467] See end of B. xxi.

[468] See end of B. xxi.

[469] See end of B. xxi.

[470] See end of B. xxi.

[471] See end of B. iv.

[472] See end of B. xxi.

[473] See end of B. xxi.

[474] See end of B. xxi.

[475] See end of B. vii.

[476] See end of B. xx.

[477] See end of B. xx.

[478] See end of B. xx.

[479] See end of B. xii.

[480] See end of B. xxv.

[481] See end of B. xxii.

[482] See end of B. xx.

[483] See end of B. xx.

[484] See end of B. xx.

[485] See end of B. xx.

[486] See end of B. xx.

[487] See end of B. xx.

[488] See end of B. xx.

[489] See end of B. xx.

[490] See end of B. vii.

[491] See end of B. xx.

[492] See end of B. xx.

[493] See end of B. xii.

[494] See end of B. xi.

[495] See end of B. xii.

[496] See end of B. xx.

[497] See end of B. xii.

[498] See end of B. xx.

[499] See end of B. xx.

[500] See end of B. xx.

[501] See end of B. xx.

[502] See end of B. xx.

[503] See end of B. xx.

[504] See end of B. xii.

[505] See end of B. xx.

[506] See end of B. xx.

[507] See end of B. xix.

[508] See end of B. xx.

[509] See end of B. xx.

[510] As Fée remarks, it is more as a writer upon Agriculture than upon Materia Medica, that Cato is entitled to the thanks of posterity.

[511] See end of B. xx.

[512] His piety, apparently, was tainted with adulation.

[513] With the exception of Cato, of course.

[514] See end of B. xiv.

[515] See c. 79 of this Book: also B. xxiii. c. 77, and B. xxix. c. 8.

[516] A mere prejudice, arising from the fact that numerous poisonous plants grew in the countries on the shores of the Euxine. The blood of no animal whatever is an antidote to any poison.

[517] See B. vii. c. 37. An interesting account of his system will be found in B. xxvi. c. 7. See also B. xxix. c. 5.

[518] See B. xxiii. c. 77.

[519] The four great changes in plants, though not always at the four seasons of the year, are the budding and foliation, the blossoming, the fructification, and the fall of the leaf.

[520] See end of B. xx.

[521] There is little doubt that he alludes to the passage of Æschylus, quoted by Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. ix. c. 15. Τυῤῥήνων γενεὰν φαρμακοποιὸν ἔθνος—“The race of the Tyrrheni, a drug-preparing nation.”

[522] See B. ii. c. 87, B. iii. c. 9, B. xv. c. 36, and B. xxxii. c. 21.

[523] See B. vii. c. 2.

[524] See B. ii. c. 87.

[525] Od. iv. 228, _et seq._

[526] See B. xxi. c. 91.

[527] See B. xxi. cc. 21, 84.

[528] Or serpent.

[529] In B. x. c. 20.

[530] Most probably by the agency of “feverish expectation” on the part of the patient.

[531] In B. xviii. c. 45.

[532] As Fée remarks, this dreadful malady is still incurable, notwithstanding the eulogiums which have been lavished upon the virtues of the Scutellaria laterifolia of Linnæus, the Alisma plantago, Genista tinctoria, and other plants, as specifics for its cure.

[533] Dog-rose, or eglantine. See B. viii. c. 63.

[534] An unwarranted assertion, no doubt.

[535] He alludes to a substance known to us as “bedegnar,” a kind of gall-nut, produced by the insect called Cynips rosæ.

[536] Or “little dragon.” The Arum dracunculus of Linnæus. See B. xxiv. cc. 91, 93.

[537] In c. 93.

[538] As Fée remarks, the influence of water impregnated with selenite upon the health is well known.

[539] Fée says that this disease was an “intense gastritis, productive of a fetid breath.” It would seem, however, to be neither more nor less than the malady now known as “scurvy of the gums.” Galen describes the “sceloturbe,” as a kind of paralysis. “Stomacace” means “disease of the mouth;” “sceloturbe” “disease of the legs.”

[540] Sprengel and Desfontaines identify it with the Rumex aquaticus, but Fée considers it to be the Inula Britannica of Linnæus. The Statice armeria, Statice plantaginea, and Polygonum persicaria have also been suggested.

[541] The pseudo-Apuleius, in B. xxix. t. 7, says, that if gathered before thunder has been heard, it will be a preservative against quinzy for a whole year.

[542] The flower of the Inula Britannica, Fée says, is much more likely, from its peculiarities, to have merited a peculiar name, than that of the Rumex.

[543] Lipsius, in his Commentaries upon Tacitus, Ann. i. 63, has very satisfactorily shown that it did not derive its name from the islands of Britain, but from a local appellation, the name given by the natives to the marshy tracts upon the banks of the Ems, between Lingen and Covoerden, which are still known as the “Bretaasche Heyde.” Munting and Poinsinet de Sivry suggest that it may have received its name from being used as a strengthener of the teeth in their sockets, being compounded of the words _tann_, “tooth,” and _brita_, “to break.”

[544] And therefore comparatively unknown.

[545] In c. 33, _et seq._, of this Book.

[546] In the next Book.

[547] See the case of M. Agrippa, mentioned in B. xxiii. c. 27.

[548] Said, by Plutarch, to have been administered to him by his freedman Callisthenes, with the view of securing his affection

[549] Od. x. l. 302, _et seq._

[550] Fée devotes a couple of pages to the _vexata quæstio_ of the identification of this plant, and comes to the conclusion that the Moly of Homer, mentioned on the present occasion, and of Theophrastus, Ovid, and the poets in general is only an imaginary plant; that the white-flowered Moly of Dioscorides and Galen is identical with the Allium Dioscoridis of Sibthorp; and that the yellow-flowered Moly of the author of the Priapeia is not improbably the Allium Moly or magicum of Linnæus. Sprengel derives the name “Moly” from the Arabic, and identifies it with the Allium nigrum of Linnæus.

[551] Homer says that there _is_ difficulty to men, but not to the gods.

[552] In their pictures, mentioned in c. 4.

[553] Ovid, Galen, and Theophrastus, say the same.

[554] There must either be some error in the reading here, or the physician must have attempted to impose upon our author’s credulity.

[555] Or “the twelve gods.”

[556] Generally identified with the Primula vulgaris or officinalis of Linnæus. Its leaves, however, are of varying number, and not like those of the lettuce. The Dodecatheos Meadia, or Virginian cowslip, it must be remembered, is an American plant.

[557] The Pæonia officinalis of Linnæus, our Peony.

[558] Pæon, the physician, mentioned in the Iliad, B. v. l. 401. as healing Pluto, when wounded by Hercules.

[559] From its _five_ seeds, which resemble _fitches_.

[560] “Sweet to the view,” apparently.

[561] See B. xxiii. c. 76.

[562] He means nightmare.

[563] See B. x. cc. 18, 20, and B. xxvii. c. 60.

[564] The Greek for “all-healing.”

[565] Probably the Laserpitium hirsutum of Lamarck. The Echinophora tenuifolia of Linnæus, the thin-leaved prickly parsnip, has also been named.

[566] Or “All-heal.”

[567] In B. xii. c. 57

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

[569] Identified with the Laserpitium Chironium of Linnæus, otherwise called Pastinaca opopanax. Fée observes, that when the word ‘Panaces’ is used alone, this plant is always the one meant.

[570] In B. xx. cc. 62, 69.

[571] The Centaur Chiron; see B. vii. c. 57. Sprengel identifies this plant with the Hypericum origanifolium of Willdenow, but Fée is inclined to think that its synonym is still unknown. M. Fraäs, in his Synopsis, p. 139, identifies it with the Hypericum Olympicum, an odoriferous plant, which the H. organifolium is not.

[572] The Centaurea centaurium of Linnæus, the greater centaury.

[573] “Seritur.”

[574] Hardouin identifies it with the Geranium Robertianum of Linnæus; Sprengel and Desfontaines with the Phellandrium mutellina of Linnæus; Columna with the Sanicula; Sibthorp with the Scrofularia lucida; and M. Fraäs with the Scrofula chrysanthemifolia of Linnæus. Fée expresses himself unable to speak with any certainty on the subject.

[575] Whence its name “sidereon.”

[576] Or “Chironian vine.”

[577] In B. xxiii. c. 17.

[578] In B. xxii. c. 20.

[579] “Swine’s bean”—our henbane.

[580] The Hyoscyamus reticulatus of Linnæus, reticulated henbane.

[581] The Hyoscyamus niger of Linnæus, black henbane.

[582] See B. xviii. c. 22, and B. xxii. c. 75. The Hyoscyamus aureus of Linnaæus, golden henbane.

[583] The Hyoscyamus albus of Linnæus, white henbane.

[584] The third kind mentioned above.

[585] In B. xv. c. 7, and B. xxiii. c. 49. This cannot have been a fixed oil.

[586] The Mercuralis annua of Linnæus, male and female; the herb mercury.

[587] “Herb of Hermes.”

[588] The male, as Fée suggests, bears no seed at all.

[589] A mere absurdity, of course.

[590] De Nat. Mul. and De Morb. Mul. B. i. and B. ii.

[591] The medicinal properties of the Mercurialis are not by any means energetic, but it is still used, Fée says, as a gentle aperient.

[592] B. xxvi. cc, 74, 76, 89.

[593] Both stories are equally improbable.

[594] See B. xxxiv. c. 45.

[595] The weapons in early time, it must be remembered, were made of copper or bronze.

[596] The third Sideritis of Dioscorides is thought to be the same with the Heracleon siderion of c. 15 of this Book. Pliny evidently confounds the Achillea and the Sideritis, totally different plants. The Achillea is identified by Fée with the Achillea tomentosa or abrotonifolia of Linnæus. As to the Sideritis, see B. xxvi. c. 12. The _real_ Panaces heracleon has been mentioned in c. 12 of this Book.

[597] Or “Thousand leaves,” probably identical with the Achillea millefolium of Linnæus, milfoil or yarrow. See B. xxiv. c. 95.

[598] “Marrubii.”

[599] “Ironwort.” The third Sideritis of Dioscorides, above mentioned. See c. 15 of this Book. See also B. xxvi. cc. 12 and 88.

[600] Identified by Desfontaines with the Sanguisorba officinalis of Linnæus.

[601] “Royal broom,” identified by many commentators with the Chenopodium scoparia of Linnæus.

[602] Or “mule-plant.” It is identified by Fée with the Asplenion ceterach, or Ceterach officinarum of Linnæus, the Ceterach, a fern, and a different plant from the Teucrium of B. xxiv. c. 80, or Germander.

[603] Hence its name, “Asplenium.”