Book XIII. The Natural History of Exotic Trees, and an Account of Unguents.

Chaps. 1-7.

Chap. 1. (1.)—Unguents—At What Period They Were First Introduced.

Thus far we have been speaking of the trees which are valuable for the odours they produce, and each of which is a subject for our wonder in itself. Luxury, however, has thought fit to mingle all of these, and to make a single odour of the whole; hence it is that unguents have been invented. [Fée remarks, that most of the unguents and perfumes of which Pliny here speaks would find but little favour at the present day.] Who was the first to make unguents is a fact not recorded. In the times of the Trojan war [This does not appear to be exactly the case, for in the twenty-third Book of the Iliad, l. 186, we find “rose-scented” oil mentioned, indeed, Pliny himself alludes to it a little further on.] they did not exist, nor did they use incense when sacrificing to the gods; indeed, people knew of no other smell, or rather stench, [“Nidorem.” This term was used in reference to the smell of burnt or roasted animal substances. It is not improbable that he alludes to the stench arising from the burnt sacrifices.] I may say, than that of the cedar and the citrus, [The “Thuya articulata.” See c. of the present Book.] shrubs of their own growth, as it arose in volumes of smoke from the sacrifices; still, however, even then, the extract of roses was known, for we find it mentioned as conferring additional value on olive-oil.

We ought, by good rights, to ascribe the first use of unguents to the Persians, for they quite soak themselves in it, and so, by an adventitious recommendation, counteract the bad odours which are produced by dirt. The first instance of the use of unguents that I have been able to meet with is that of the chest [“Scrinium.” See B. vii. c. 30.] of perfumes which fell into the hands of Alexander, with the rest of the property of King Darius, at the taking of his camp. [The use of perfumes more probably originated in India, than among the Persians.] Since those times this luxury has been adopted by our own countrymen as well, among the most prized and, indeed, the most elegant of all the enjoyments of life, and has begun even to be admitted in the list of honours paid to the dead; for which reason we shall have to enlarge further on that subject. Those perfumes which are not the produce of shrubs [But of seeds or plants.] will only be mentioned for the present by name: the nature of them will, however, be stated in their appropriate places.

Chap. 2.—The Various Kinds of Unguents—Twelve Principal Compositions.

The names of unguents are due, some of them, to the original place of their composition, others, again, to the extracts which form their bases, others to the trees from which they are derived, and others to the peculiar circumstance under which they were first made: and it is as well, first of all, to know that in this respect the fashion has often changed, and that the high repute of peculiar kinds has been but transitory. In ancient times, the perfumes the most esteemed of all were those of the island of Delos, [The perfumes of Delos themselves had nothing in particular to recommend them; but as it was the centre of the worship of Apollo, it is not improbable that exquisite perfumes formed a large proportion of the offerings brought thither from all parts of the world.] and at a later period those of Mendes. [In Egypt. See B. v. c. 11. The unguents of Mendes are again mentioned in the present Chapter.] This degree of esteem is founded, not only on the mode of mixing them and the relative proportions, but according to the degree of favour or disfavour in which the various places which produce the ingredients are held, and the comparative excellence or degeneracy of the ingredients themselves. The perfume of iris, [Or flower-de-luce. This perfume was called Irinum. The Iris Florentina of the botanists, Fée says, has the smell of the violet. For the composition of this perfume, see Dioscorides, B. i. c. 67.] from Corinth, was long held in the highest esteem, till that of Cyzicus came into fashion. It was the same, too, with the perfume of roses, [Rhodinum.] from Phaselis, [See B. v. c. 26.] the repute of which was afterwards eclipsed by those of Neapolis, Capua, and Præneste. Oil of saffron, [Crocinum; made from the Crocus sativus of naturalists.] from Soli in Cilicia, was for a long time held in repute beyond any other, and then that from Rhodes; after which perfume of œnanthe, [See B. xii. c.. It was made from the flowers of the vine, mixed with omphacium.] from Cyprus, came into fashion, and then that of Egypt was preferred. At a later period that of Adramytteum came into vogue, and then was supplanted by unguent of marjoram, [Amaracinum. The amaracus is supposed to have been the Origanum majoranoides of the moderns. Dioscorides, B. i. c. 59, says that the best was made at Cyzicus.] from Cos, which in its turn was superseded by quince blossom [Melinum. See B. xxiii. c. 54.] unguent from the same place. As to perfume of cyprus, [Cyprinum. See B. xii. c.. The cyprus was the modern Lawsonia inermis.] that from the island of Cyprus was at first preferred, and then that of Egypt; when all on a sudden the unguents of Mendes and metopium [Made from the oil of bitter almonds. See B. xv. c..] rose into esteem. In later times Phœnicia eclipsed Egypt in the manufacture of these last two, but left to that country the repute of producing the best unguent of cyprus.

Athens has perseveringly maintained the repute of her panathenaicon. [Or “all Athenian.” We find in Athenæus, B. xv. c. 15, the composition of this unguent.] There was formerly a famous unguent, known as “pardalium,” [From what is said by Apollonius in the passage of Athenæus last quoted, it has been thought that this was the same as the unguent called nardinum. It is very doubtful, however.] and made at Tarsus; at the present day its very composition and the mode of mixing it are quite unknown there: they have left off, too, making unguent of narcissus [Narcissinum. See B. xxi. c. 75. Dioscorides gives the composition of this unguent, B. i. c. 54.] from the flowers of that plant.

There are two elements which enter into the composition of unguents, the juices and the solid parts. The former generally consist of various kinds of oils, the latter of odoriferous substances. These last are known as hedysmata, while the oils are called stymmata. [Among the stymmata, Dioscorides ranges the sweet-rush, the sweet-scented calamus and xylo-balsamum; and among the hedysmata amomum, nard, myrrh, balsam, costus, and marjoram. The latter constituted the base of unguents, the former were only added occasionally.] There is a third element, which occupies a place between the two, but has been much neglected, the colouring matter, namely. To produce a colour, however, cinnabar [Cinnabar is never used to colour cosmetics at the present day, from its tendency to excoriate the skin. See B. xxiii. c. 39.] and alkanet [This is still used for colouring cosmetics at the present day. See B. xxii. c. 23.] are often employed. If salt [Fée remarks, that salt can be of no use; but by falling to the bottom without dissolving, would rather tend to spoil the unguent.] is sprinkled in the oil, it will aid it in retaining its properties; but if alkanet has been employed, salt is never used. Resin and gum are added to fix the odour in the solid perfumes; indeed it is apt to die away and disappear with the greatest rapidity if these substances are not employed.

The unguent which is the most readily prepared of all, and indeed, in all probability, the very first that was ever made, is that composed of bryon [See B. xii. c.. The name “bryon” seems also to have been extended to the buds of various trees of the Conifera class and of the white poplar. It is probably to the buds of the last tree that Pliny here alludes.] and oil of balanus, [Oil of ben. See B. xii. c..] substances of which we have made mention already. In later times the Mendesian unguent was invented, a more complicated mixture, as resin and myrrh were added to oil of balanus, and at the present day they even add metopion [Or metopium. See Note above.] as well, an Egyptian oil extracted from bitter almonds; to which have been added omphacium, [Made from olives. See B. xii. c..] cardamum, [See B. xii. c..] sweet rush, [The modern Andropogon schœnanthus. See B. xii. c. 48.] honey, [See B. xii. c..] wine, myrrh, seed of balsamum, [Carpobalsamum. See. B. xii. c..] galbanum, [See B. xii. c..] and resin of terebinth, [Fluid resin of coniferous trees of Europe.] as so many ingredients. Among the most common unguents at the present day, and for that reason supposed to be the most ancient, is that composed of oil of myrtle, [See B. xv. c..] calamus, cypress, [Cupressus semper-virens. He does not say what part of the tree was employed.] cyprus, mastich, [See B. xii. c..] and pomegranate-rind. [See c. of the present Book.] I am of opinion, however, that the unguents which have been the most universally adopted, are those which are compounded of the rose, a flower that grows everywhere; and hence for a long time the composition of oil of roses was of the most simple nature, though more recently there have been added omphacium, rose blossoms, cinnabar, calamus, honey, sweet-rush, flour of salt or else alkanet, [The alkanet and cinnabar were only used for colouring.] and wine. The same is the case, too, with oil of saffron, to which have been lately added cinnabar, alkanet, and wine; and with oil of sampsuchum, [“Sampsuchinum.” It is generally supposed that the sampsuchum, and the amaracus were the same, the sweet marjoram, or Origanum marjorana of Linnæus. Fée, however, is of a contrary opinion. See B. xxi. c. 35. In Dioscorides, B. i. c. 59, there is a difference made between sampsuchinum and amaracinum, though but a very slight one.] with which omphacium and calamus have been compounded. The best comes from Cyprus and Mitylene, where sampsuchum abounds in large quantities.

The commoner kinds of oil, too, are mixed with those of myrrh and laurel, to which are added sampsuchum, lilies, fenugreek, myrrh, cassia, [The bark of the Cassia lignea of the pharmacopœa, the Laurus cassia of botany. See B. xii. c..] nard, [See B. xii. c.. The Andropogon nardus of Linnæus.] sweet-rush, and cinnamon. [See B. xii. c..] There is an oil, too, made of the common quince and the sparrow quince, called melinum, as we shall have occasion to mention hereafter; [See B. xxiii. c. 54, also B. xv. c.. The Malum struthium, or “sparrow quince,” was an oblong variety of the fruit.] it is used as an ingredient in unguents, mixed with omphacium, oil of cyprus, oil of sesamum, [Sesamum orientale of Linnæus. See B. xviii. c. 22, and B. xxii. c. 54.] balsamum, [Balm of Gilead. See B. xii. c..] sweet-rush, cassia, and abrotonum. [Southernwood. The Artemisia abrotonum of Linnæus.] Susinum [Or lily unguent, made of the lily of Susa, which had probably a more powerful smell than that of Europe. Dioscorides gives its composition, B. i. c. 63.] is the most fluid of them all: it is made of lilies, oil of balanus, calamus, honey, cinnamon, saffron, [The Crocus sativus of Linnæus.] and myrrh; while the unguent of cyprus [Cyprinum. It has been previously mentioned in this Chapter.] is compounded of cyprus, omphacium and cardamum, calamus, aspalathus, [See B. xii. c..] and abrotonum. There are some persons who, when making unguent of cyprus, employ myrrh also, and panax: [The gum resin of the Pastinaca opopanax of Linnæus. See B. xii. c..] the best is that made at Sidon, and the next best that of Egypt: care must be taken not to add oil of sesamum: it will keep as long as four years, and its odour is strengthened by the addition of cinnamon. Telinum [Or unguent of fenugreek, from the Greek τῆλις, meaning that plant, the Trigonella fœnum Græcum of Linnæus. See B. xxiv. c. 120.] is made of fresh olive-oil, cypirus, [See B. ii. c. 26, and B. xxi. c. 68-70.] calamus, melilote, [The Trifolium melilotus of Linnæus. See B. xxi. c. 30.] fenugreek, honey, marum, [See B. xii. c..] and sweet marjoram. This last was the perfume most in vogue in the time of the Comic poet Menander: a considerable time after that known as “megalium” took its place, being so called as holding the very highest rank; [He would imply that it was so called from the Greek μεγὰς, “great;” but it was more generally said that it received its name from its inventor, Megalus.] it was composed of oil of balanus, balsamum, calamus, sweet-rush, xylobalsamum, [See B. xii. c..] cassia, and resin. One peculiar property of this unguent is, that it requires to be constantly stirred while boiling, until it has lost all smell: when it becomes cold, it recovers its odour. [Fée does not appear to credit this statement. By the use of the word “ventiletur,” “fanned” may be possibly implied.]

There are some single essences also which, individually, afford unguents of very high character: the first rank is due to malobathrum, [See B. xii. c..] and the next to the iris of Illyricum and the sweet marjoram of Cyzicus, both of them herbs. There are perfumers who sometimes add some few other ingredients to these: those who use the most, employ for the purpose honey, flour of salt, omphacium, leaves of agnus, [The Agnus castus of Linnæus. See B. xxiv. c. 38. The leaves are quite inodorous, though the fruit of this plant is slightly aromatic.] and panax, all of them foreign ingredients. [“Externa.” The reading is doubtful, and it is difficult to say what is the exact meaning of the word.] The price of unguent [Cinnamomino.] of cinnamon is quite enormous; to cinnamon there is added oil of balanus, xylobalsamum, calamus, sweet-rush, seeds of balsamum, myrrh, and perfumed honey: it is the thickest in consistency of all the unguents; the price at which it sells ranges from thirty-five to three hundred denarii per pound. Unguent [Nardinum.] of nard, [Or leaf unguent, so called from being made of leaves of nard. See B. xii. c..] or foliatum, is composed of omphacium or else oil of balanus, sweet-rush, costus, [See B. xii. c..] nard, amomum, [See B. xii. c..] myrrh, and balsamum.

While speaking on this subject, it will be as well to bear in mind that there are nine different kinds of plants of a similar kind, of which we have already made mention [See B. xii. c.,, where the list is given.] as being employed for the purpose of imitating Indian nard; so abundant are the materials that are afforded for adulteration. All these perfumes are rendered still more pungent by the addition of costus and amomum, which have a particularly powerful effect on the olfactory organs; while myrrh gives them greater consistency and additional sweetness, and saffron makes them better adapted for medicinal purposes. They are most pungent, however, when mixed with amomum alone, which will often produce head-ache even. There are some persons who content themselves with sprinkling the more precious ingredients upon the others after boiling them down, for the purpose of economy; but the strength of the unguent is not so great as when the ingredients have been boiled together. Myrrh used by itself, and without the mixture of oil, forms an unguent, but it is stacte [See B. xii. c..] only that must be used, for otherwise it will be productive of too great bitterness. Unguent of cyprus turns other unguents green, while lily unguent [Susinum. See p..] makes them more unctuous: the unguent of Mendes turns them black, rose unguent makes them white, and that of myrrh of a pallid hue.

Such are the particulars of the ancient inventions, and the various falsifications of the shops in later times; we will now pass on to make mention of what is the very height of refinement in these articles of luxury, indeed, I may say, the beau ideal [Summa auctoritas rei.] of them all.

(2.) This is what is called the “regal” unguent, from the fact that it is composed in these proportions for the kings of the Parthians. It consists of myrobalanus, [See B. xii. c..] costus, amomum, cinnamon, comacum, [See B. xii. c..] cardamum, spikenard, marum, myrrh, cassia, storax, [See B. xii. c..] ladanum, [See B. xii. c..] opobalsamum, Syrian calamus [See B. xii. c..] and Syrian sweet-rush, [See B. xii. c..] œnanthe, malobathrum, serichatum, [See B. xii. c..] cyprus, aspralathus, panax, saffron, cypirus, sweet marjoram, lotus, [Fée suggests that this may be the Nymphæa cœrulea of Savigny, a plant that is common in the Nile, and the flowers of which exhale a sweet odour.] honey, and wine. Not one of the ingredients in this compound is produced either in Italy, that conqueror of the world, or, indeed, in all Europe, with the exception of the iris, which grows in Illyricum, and the nard, which is to be found in Gaul: as to the wine, the rose, the leaves of myrtle, and the olive-oil, they are possessed by pretty nearly all countries in common.

Chap. 3.—Diapasma, Magma; the Mode of Testing Unguents.

Those unguents which are known by the name of “diapasma,” [The diapasmata were dry, odoriferous powders, similar to those used at the present day in sachets and scent-bags.] are composed of dried perfumes. The lees [“Fæcem unguenti.”] of unguents are known by the name of “magma. [This word is still used in pharmacy to denote the husks or residuary matter left after the extraction of the juice.] ” In all these preparations the most powerful perfume is the one that is added the last of all. Unguents keep best in boxes of alabaster, [See B. xxxvi. c. 12. See also Mark xiv. 7, and John xii. 3. Leaden boxes were also used for a similar purpose.] and perfumes [Odores.] when mixed with oil, which conduces all the more to their durability the thicker it is, such as the oil of almonds, for instance. Unguents, too, improve with age; but the sun is apt to spoil them, for which reason they are usually stowed away in a shady place in vessels of lead. When their goodness is being tested, they are placed on the back of the hand, lest the heat of the palm, which is more fleshy, should have a bad effect upon them.

Chap. 4. (3.)—The Excesses to Which Luxury Has Run in Unguents.

These perfumes form the objects of a luxury which may be looked upon as being the most superfluous of any, for pearls and jewels, after all, do pass to a man’s representative, [“Heres.” The person was so called who succeeded to the property, whether real or personal, of an intestate.] and garments have some durability; but unguents lose their odour in an instant, and die away the very hour they are used. The very highest recommendation of them is, that when a female passes by, the odour which proceeds from her may possibly attract the attention of those even who till then are intent upon something else. In price they exceed so large a sum even as four hundred denarii per pound: so vast is the amount that is paid for a luxury made not for our own enjoyment, but for that of others; for the person who carries the perfume about him is not the one, after all, that smells it.

And yet, even here, there are some points of difference that deserve to be remarked. We read in the works of Cicero, [See B. xvii. c., where he quotes this passage from Cicero at length. It appears to be from De Orat. B. iii. c. 69. Both Cicero and Pliny profess to find a smell that arises from the earth itself, through the agency of the sun. But, as Fée remarks, pure earth is perfectly inodorous. He suggests, however, that this odour attributed by the ancients to the earth, may in reality have proceeded from the fibrous roots of thyme and other plants. If such is not the real solution, it seems impossible to suggest any other.] that those unguents which smell of the earth are preferable to those which smell of saffron; being a proof, that even in a matter which most strikingly bespeaks our state of extreme corruptness, it is thought as well to temper the vice by a little show of austerity. [By giving preference to the more simple odours.] There are some persons too who look more particularly for consistency [“Crassitudo.”] in their unguents, to which they accordingly give the name of “spissum”; [Or “thick” unguent.] thus showing that they love not only to be sprinkled, but even to be plastered over, with unguents. We have known the very soles [We learn from Athenæus, and a passage in the Aulularia of Plautus, that this was done long before Nero’s time, among the Greeks.] even of the feet to be sprinkled with perfumes; a refinement which was taught, it is said, by M. Otho [Who succeeded Galba. He was one of Nero’s favourite companions in his debaucheries.] to the Emperor Nero. How, I should like to know, could a perfume be at all perceptible, or, indeed, productive of any kind of pleasure, when placed on that part of the body? We have heard also of a private person giving orders for the walls of the bath-room to be sprinkled with unguents, while the Emperor Caius [Caligula.] had the same thing done to his sitting-bath: [Solium.] that this, too, might not be looked upon as the peculiar privilege of a prince, it was afterwards done by one of the slaves that belonged to Nero.

But the most wonderful thing of all is, that this kind of luxurious gratification should have made its way into the camp even: at all events, the eagles and the standards, dusty as they are, and bristling with their sharpened points, are anointed on festive [After victories, for instance, or when marching orders were given.] days. I only wish it could, by any possibility, be stated who it was that first taught us this practice. It was, no doubt, under the corrupting influence of such temptations as these, that our eagles achieved the conquest [This is said in bitter irony.] of the world: thus do we seek to obtain their patronage and sanction for our vices, and make them our precedent for using unguents even beneath the casque. [Sub casside.]

Chap. 5.—When Unguents Were First Used by the Romans.

I cannot exactly say at what period the use of unguents first found its way to Rome. It is a well-known fact, that when King Antiochus and Asia [Asia Minor more particularly.] were subdued, an edict was published in the year of the City 565, in the censorship of P. Licinius Crassus and L. Julius Cæsar, forbidding any one to sell exotics; [Exotica.] for by that name unguents were then called. But, in the name of Hercules! at the present day, there are some persons who even go so far as to put them in their drink, and the bitterness produced thereby is prized to a high degree, in order that by their lavishness on these odours they may thus gratify the senses of two parts [The organs of taste and of smell.] of the body at the same moment. [We have this fact alluded to in the works of Plautus, Juvenal, Martial, and Ælian. The Greeks were particularly fond of mixing myrrh with their wine. Nard wine is also mentioned by Plautus. Miles Gl. iii. 2, 11.] It is a well-known historical fact, that L. Plotius, [Or Lucius Plautius Plancus. He was proscribed by the triumvirs, with the sanction of his brother. In consequence of his use of perfumes, the place of his concealment “got wind;” and in order to save his slaves, who were being tortured to death because they would not betray him, he voluntarily surrendered himself.] the brother of L. Plancus, who was twice consul and censor, after being proscribed by the Triumvirs, was betrayed in his place of concealment at Salernum by the smell of his unguents, a disgrace which more than outweighed all the guilt [Attaching to the triumvirate.] attending his proscription. For who is there that can be of opinion that such men as this do not richly deserve to come to a violent end?

Chap. 6.—The Palm-tree.

In other respects, Egypt is the country that is the best suited of all for the production of unguents; and next to it, Campania, [Capua, its capital, was the great seat of the unguent and perfume manufacture in Italy.] from its abundance of roses.

(4.) Judæa, too, is greatly renowned for its perfumes, and even still more so for its palm-trees, [The Phœnix dactylifera of Linnæus. See also B. xii. c., where he seems also to allude to this tree.] the nature of which I shall take this opportunity of enlarging upon. There are some found in Europe also. They are not uncommon in Italy, but are quite barren there. [At the present day this is not the fact. The village of La Bordighiera, situate on an eminence of the Apennines, grows great quantities of dates, of good quality. At Hieres, Nice, San Remo, and Genoa, they are also grown.] The palms on the coast of Spain bear fruit, but it is sour. [This, too, is not the fact. The dates of Valencia, Seville, and other provinces of Spain, are sweet, and of excellent quality.] The fruit of those of Africa is sweet, but quickly becomes vapid and loses its flavour; which, however is not the case with the fruit of those that grow in the East. [Pliny is wrong again in this statement. The date of Barbary, Tunis, Algiers, and Bildulgerid, the “land of dates,” is superior in every respect to that of the East.] From these trees a wine is made, and bread by some nations, [The Æthiopians, as we learn from Theophrastus, B. ii. c. 8.] and they afford an aliment for numerous quadrupeds. It will be with very fair reason then, that we shall confine our description to the palm-tree of foreign countries. There are none in Italy that grow spontaneously, [Or in a wild state.] nor, in fact, in any other part of the world, with the exception of the warm countries: indeed, it is only in the very hottest climates that this tree will bear fruit.

Chap. 7.—The Nature of the Palm-tree.

The palm-tree grows in a light and sandy soil, and for the most part of a nitrous quality. It loves the vicinity of flowing water; and as it is its nature to imbibe the whole of the year, there are some who are of opinion that in a year of drought it will receive injury from being manured even, if the manure is not first mixed with running water: this, at least, is the idea entertained by some of the Assyrians.

The varieties of the palm are numerous. First of all, there are those which do not exceed the size of a shrub; they are mostly barren, though sometimes they are known to produce fruit; the branches are short, and the tree is well covered with leaves all round. In many places this tree is used as a kind of rough-cast, [“Tectorii vicem.” They were probably planted in rows, close to the wall.] as it were, to protect the walls of houses against damp. The palms of greater height form whole forests, the trunk of the tree being protected all round by pointed leaves, which are arranged in the form of a comb; these, it must be understood, are wild palms, though sometimes, by some wayward fancy or other, they are known to make their appearance among the cultivated varieties. The other kinds are tall, round, and tapering; and being furnished with dense and projecting knobs or circles in the bark, arranged in regular gradation, they are found easy of ascent by the people in the East; in order to do which, the climber fastens a loop of osier round his body and the trunk, and by this contrivance ascends the tree with astonishing [This mode of ascending the date-palm is still practised in the East.] rapidity. All the foliage is at the summit, and the fruit as well; this last being situate, not among the leaves, as is the case with other trees, but hanging in clusters from shoots of its own among the branches, and partaking of the nature both of the grape and the apple. The leaves terminate in a sharp edge, like that of a knife, while the sides are deeply indented—a peculiarity which first gave the idea of a troop of soldiers presenting face on two sides at once; at the present day they are split asunder [See B. xvi. c..] to form ropes and wythes for fastening, as well as light umbrellas [“Umbracula.” The fibres of the leaves were probably platted or woven, and the “umbracula” made in much the same manner as the straw and fibre hats of the present day.] for covering the head.

The more diligent [Most of this is borrowed from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. ii. 9.] enquirers into the operations of Nature state that all trees, or rather all plants, and other productions of the earth, belong to either one sex or the other; a fact which it may be sufficient to notice on the present occasion, and one which manifests itself in no tree more than in the palm. The male tree blossoms at the shoots; the female buds without blossoming, the bud being very similar to an ear of corn. In both trees the flesh of the fruit shows first, and after that the woody part inside of it, or, in other words, the seed: and that this is really the case, is proved by the fact, that we often find small fruit on the same shoot without any seed in it at all. This seed is of an oblong shape, and not rounded like the olive-stone. It is also divided down the back by a deep indentation, and in most specimens of this fruit there is exactly in the middle a sort of navel, as it were, from which the root of the tree first takes its growth. [Fée remarks, that this account is quite erroneous.] In planting this seed it is laid on its anterior surface, two being placed side by side, while as many more are placed above; for when planted singly, the tree that springs up is but weak and sickly, whereas the four seeds all unite and form one strong tree. The seed is divided from the flesh of the fruit by several coats of a whitish colour, some of which are attached to the body of it; it lies but loosely in the inside of the fruit, adhering only to the summit by a single thread. [This he copies also from Theophrastus, B. ii. c. 8.]

The flesh of this fruit takes a year to ripen, though in some places, Cyprus [Theophrastus, B. ii. c. 8, mentions this as a kind of date peculiar to Cyprus.] for instance, even if it should not reach maturity, it is very agreeable, for the sweetness of its flavour: the leaf of the tree too, in that island, is broader than elsewhere, and the fruit rounder than usual: the body of the fruit however, is never eaten, but is always spit [This is said solely in relation to the date of Cyprus.] out again, after the juice has been extracted. In Arabia, the palm fruit is said to have a sickly sweet taste, although Juba says that he prefers the date found among the Arabian Scenitæ, [Or “dwellers in tents;” similar to the modern Bedouins.] and to which they give the name of “dablan,” before those of any other country for flavour. In addition to the above particulars, it is asserted that in a forest of natural growth the female [Fée remarks, that in these words we find the first germs of the sexual system that has been established by the modern botanists. He thinks that it is clearly shown by this account, that Pliny was acquainted with the fecundation of plants by the agency of the pollen.] trees will become barren if they are deprived of the males, and that many female trees may be seen surrounding a single male with downcast heads and a foliage that seems to be bowing caressingly towards it; while the male tree, on the other hand, with leaves all bristling and erect, by its exhalations, and even the very sight of it and the dust [In allusion to the pollen, possibly. See the last.] from off it, fecundates the others: if the male tree, too, should happen to be cut down, the female trees, thus reduced to a state of widowhood, will at once become barren and unproductive. So well, indeed, is this sexual union between them understood, that it has been imagined even that fecundation may be ensured through the agency of man, by means of the blossoms and the down [“Lanugine.” It is possible that in the use of this word, also, he may allude to the pollen. Under the term “pulvis,” “dust,” he probably alludes in exaggerated terms to the same theory.] gathered from off the male trees, and, indeed, sometimes by only sprinkling the dust from off them on the female trees.