Chaps. 23-33.

Chap. 23. (12.)—How the Resin Called Zopissa Is Prepared.

We must not omit, too, that the Greeks call by the name of zopissa [Apparently meaning “boiled pitch.”] the pitch mixed with wax which has been scraped from off the bottoms of sea-going ships; [See B. xxiv. c. 26.] for there is nothing, in fact, that has been left untried by mankind. This composition is found much more efficient for all those purposes in which pitch and resin are employed, in consequence of the superior hardness which has been imparted to it by the sea-salt.

The pitch-tree is opened [This account has been borrowed from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B ix. c. ii. The modern method of extracting the resin of the pine is very similar.] on the side that faces the sun, not by means of an incision, but of a wound made by the removal of the bark: this opening being generally two feet in width and one cubit from the ground, at the very least. The body of the tree, too, is not spared in this instance, as in others, for even the very chips from off it are considered as having their use; those, however, from the lower part of the tree are looked upon as the best, the wood of the higher parts giving the resin a bitter [There is no foundation whatever for this statement.] taste. In a short time all the resinous juices of the entire tree come to a point of confluence in the wound so inflicted: the same process is adopted also with the torch-tree. When the liquid ceases to flow, the tree is opened in a similar manner in some other part, and then, again, elsewhere: after which the whole tree is cut down, and the pith [The pith of the pine cannot be separated from the wood, and, indeed, is not easily distinguished from it. Fée says that in some of these trees masses of resin are found in the cavities which run longitudinally with the fibres, and queries whether this may not be the “marrow” or “pith” of the tree mentioned by Pliny.] of it is used for burning. [As a torch or candle, probably.]

So, too, in Syria they take the bark from off the terebinth; and, indeed, in those parts they do not spare even the root or branches, although in general the resin obtained from those parts is held in disesteem. In Macedonia they subject the whole of the male larch to the action of fire, but of the female [This division of the larch into sexes, as previously mentioned, is only fanciful, and has no foundation in fact. The result of this operation, Fée says, would be only a sort of tar.] only the roots. Theopompus has stated in his writings that in the territory of the Apolloniates there is found a kind of mineral pitch, [See B. xxxv. c. 51. He alludes to the bitumen known as asphalt, bitumen of Judæa, mineral pitch, mountain pitch, malthe, pissalphate.] not inferior to that of Macedonia. The best pitch [These particulars, borrowed from Theophrastus, are in general correct.] everywhere is that obtained from trees planted on sunny spots with a north-east aspect; while that which is produced from more shaded localities has a disagreeable look and a repulsive odour. Pitch, too, that is produced amid the cold of winter is of inferior quality, being in smaller quantity, too, and comparatively colourless. Some persons are of opinion that in mountainous localities this liquid is produced in the greatest abundance, and that it is of superior colour and of a sweeter taste and has a finer smell so long as it remains in a state of resin; but that when, on the other hand, it is subjected to boiling, it yields a smaller quantity of pitch, because so much of it goes [This is not the fact; the essential oil in which the resin so greatly abounds, becomes volatile with remarkable facility.] off in a serous shape. They say that the resinous trees, too, that grow on mountains are thinner than those that are found on plains, but that they are apt, both of them, to be unproductive in clear, dry weather.

Some trees, too, afford a flow of resinous juice the year after the incision is made, some, again, in the second year, and others in the third. The wound so made is filled with resin, but not with bark, or by the cicatrization of the outer coat; for the bark in this tree never unites. Among these varieties some authors have made the sappium [Most probably one of the varieties of the pine; but the mode in which Pliny expresses himself renders it impossible to identify it with any precision.] to constitute a peculiar kind, because it is produced from the seed of a kindred variety, as we have already stated when speaking of the nuts [B. xv. c..] of trees; and they have given the name of tæda [The name borne also by the torch-tree.] to the lower parts of the tree; although in reality this tree is nothing else but a pitch-tree, which by careful cultivation has lost some small portion of its wild character. The name “sappinus” is also given to the timber of these trees when cut, as we shall have occasion to mention [See c. of this Book.] hereafter.

Chap. 24. (13.)—Trees the Wood of Which Is Highly Valued. Four Varieties of the Ash.

It is for the sake of their timber that Nature has created the other trees, and more particularly the ash, [He does not speak in this place of the “ornus” or “mountain ash;” nor, as Fée observes, does he mention the use of the bark of the ash as a febrifuge, or of its leaves as a purgative. This ash is the Fraxinus excelsior of Decandolles.] which yields it in greater abundance. This is a tall, tapering tree, with a feather-like leaf: it has been greatly ennobled by the encomiums of Homer, and the fact that it formed the spear of Achilles: [Il. xxiv. 277.] the wood of it is employed for numerous purposes. The ash which grows upon Mount Ida, in Troas, is so extremely like the cedar, [Pliny makes a mistake here, in copying from Theophrastus, who says that it is the yew that bears so strong a resemblance to the cedar.] that, when the bark is removed, it will deceive a purchaser.

The Greeks have distinguished two varieties of this tree, the one long and without knots, the other short, with a harder wood, of a darker colour, and a leaf like that of the laurel. In Macedonia they give the name of “bumelia” [Or “bull’s-ash.” This variety does not seem to have been identified.] to an ash of remarkably large size, with a wood of extreme flexibility. Some authors have divided this tree into several varieties, according to the localities which it inhabits, and say that the ash of the plains has a spotted wood, while that of the mountain ash is more compact. Some Greek writers have stated that the leaf of the ash is poisonous [This statement results from his misinterpretation of the language of Theophrastus, who is really speaking of the yew, which Pliny mistakes for the ash.] to beasts of burden, but harmless to all the animals that ruminate. [Miller asserts that, if given to cows, this leaf will impart a bad flavour to the milk; a statement which; Fée says, is quite incorrect.] The leaves of this tree in Italy, however, are not injurious to beasts of burden even; so far from it, in fact, that nothing has been found to act as so good a specific for the bites of serpents [A merely fanciful notion, without apparently the slightest foundation: the same, too, may be said of the alleged antipathy of the serpent to the beech-tree, which is neither venomous nor odoriferous.] as to drink the juice extracted from the leaves, and to apply them to the wounds. So great, too, are the virtues of this tree, that no serpent will ever lie in the shadow thrown by it, either in the morning or the evening, be it ever so long; indeed, they will always keep at the greatest possible distance from it. We state the fact from ocular demonstration, [This story of Pliny has been corroborated by M. de Verone, and as strongly contradicted by Camerarius and Charras: with M. Fée, then, we must leave it to the reader to judge which is the most likely to be speaking the truth. It is not improbable that Pliny may have been imposed upon, as his credulity would not at all times preclude him from being duped.] that if a serpent and a lighted fire are placed within a circle formed of the leaves of the ash, the reptile will rather throw itself into the fire than encounter the leaves of the tree. By a wonderful provision of Nature, the ash has been made to blossom before the serpents leave their holes, and the fall of its leaf does not take place till after they have retired for the winter.

Chap. 25. (14.)—Two Varieties of the Linden-tree.

In the linden-tree the male [There is no such distinction in the linden or lime, as the flowers are hermaphroditical. They are merely two varieties: the male of Pliny being the Tilia microphylla of Decandolles, and a variety of the Tilia Europæa of Linnæus; and the female being the Tilia platyphyllos, another variety of the Tilia Europæa of Linnæus.] and the female are totally different. In the male the wood is hard and knotty, of a redder hue, and with a stronger smell; the bark, too, is thicker, and, when taken off, has no flexibility. The male bears neither seed nor blossom as the female does, the trunk of which is thicker, and the wood white and of excellent quality. It is a singular [Not at all singular, Fée says, the fruit being dry and insipid.] thing, but no animal will touch the fruit of this tree, although the juice of the leaves and the bark is sweet. Between the bark and the wood there are a number of thin coats, formed by the union of numerous fine membranes; of these they make those bands [In France these cords are still made, and are used for well-ropes, wheat-sheafs, &c. In the north of France, too, brooms are made of the outer bark, and the same is the case in Westphalia.] which are known to us as “tiliæ.” The finer membranes are called “philyræ,” and are rendered famous by the honourable mention that the ancients have made of them as ribbons for wreaths [See B. xxi. c. 4. Ovid, Fasti, B. v. l. 337, speaks of the revellers at drunken banquets binding their hair with the philyra.] and garlands. The wood of this tree is proof against the attacks of worms: [“Teredo.” If he means under this name to include the tinea as well, the assertion is far too general, as this wood is eaten away by insects, though more slowly than the majority of the non-resinous woods. It is sometimes perforated quite through by the larvæ of the byrrhus, our death-watch.] it is of moderate height [This is incorrect. It attains a very considerable height, and sometimes an enormous size. The trunk is known to grow to as much as forty or fifty feet in circumference.] only, but of very considerable utility.

Chap. 26. (15.)—Ten Varieties of the Maple.

The maple, which is pretty nearly of the same [The maple is much less in size than what the lime or linden really is.] size as the lime, is inferior to the citrus [See B. xiii. c..] only for the beauty of its wood when employed for cabinet work, and the exquisite finish it admits of. There are numerous varieties [Fée says there are but five varieties of the maple known in France. He doubts whether the common maple, the Acer campestre of Linnæus, was known to the ancients.] of this tree; the light maple, remarkable for the extreme whiteness of its wood, is known as the “Gallic” [Fée identifies it with the Acer pseudo-platanus of Linnæus, the Acer montanum candidum of C. Bauhin. This tree is not uncommon in Italy.] maple in Italy beyond the Padus, being a native of the countries beyond the Alps. Another kind is covered with wavy spots running in all directions. In consequence of its superior beauty it has received its name, [“Acer pavonaceum:” “peacock maple.” He gives a similar account of the spots on the wood of the citrus, B. xiii. c..] from its strong resemblance to the marks which are seen in the tail of the peacock; the finest kinds are those which grow in Istria and Rhætia. An inferior sort of maple is known as “crassivenium.” [Or “thick-veined” maple.]

The Greeks distinguish the varieties according to their respective localities. The maple of the plains, [Supposed by Fée to be the Acer Monspessulanus of Linnæus, also the Acer trilobum of Linnæus.] they say, is white, and not wavy; they give it the name of “glinon.” On the other hand, the mountain maple, [A variety of the Acer pseudo-platanus of Linnæus, according to Fée.] they say, is of a more variegated appearance, and harder, the wood of the male tree being more particularly so, and the best adapted for specimens of elegant workmanship. A third kind, again, according to the Greeks, is the zygia, [The Carpinus betulus of Linnæus; the horn-beam or yoke-elm.] with a red wood, which is easily split, and a pale, rough bark. Other authors, however, prefer to make of this last a peculiar species, and give it in Latin the name of “carpinus.”

Chap. 27. (16.)—Bruscum: Molluscum; the Staphylodendron.

But the most beautiful feature of all in the maple is what is known as bruscum, and, even more particularly so, the molluscum. These are both of them tuberosities of this tree, the bruscum presenting veins more violently contorted, while those of the molluscum are disposed in a more simple and uniform manner: indeed, if this last were of sufficiently large size to admit of tables being made of it, there is no doubt that it would be preferred to the wood of the citrus even. At the present day, however, we find it but little used except for the leaves of tablets, or as a veneer for couches. [“Silicios.” This word appears to be explained by the accompanying word “laminas;” but it is very doubtful what is the correct reading.] Tuberosities are also found on the alder, [The Alnus glutinosa of Decandolles. In c., Pliny says, very incorrectly, that the alder has a remarkably thick leaf; and in c., with equal incorrectness, that it bears neither seed nor fruit.] but as much inferior to those already mentioned, as the alder itself is to the maple. In the maple the male tree [Fée observes, that it is incorrect to say that the male tree blossoms before the female, if such is Pliny’s meaning here.] is the first to blossom. The trees that frequent dry spots are preferred to those that grow in watery localities, which is the case also with the ash.

There is found in the countries beyond the Alps a tree, the wood of which is very similar to that of the white maple, and which is known as the staphylodendron. [From the Greek, meaning “a tree with clusters.” It is the Staphylea pinnata of Linnæus, the wild or false pistachio of the French.] This tree bears a pod [“Siliqua.” This term, Fée says, is very inappropriate to the fruit of this tree, which is contained in a membranous capsule. The kernel is oily, and has the taste of the almond more than the nut.] in which there is found a kernel, which has the flavour of the hazel-nut.

Chap. 28.—Three Varieties of the Box-tree.

One of the most highly esteemed of all the woods is the box, [The Buxus sempervirens of Linnæus.] but it is seldom veined, and then only the wood of the root. In other respects, it is a wood, so to say, of quiet and unpretending appearance, but highly esteemed for a certain degree of hardness and its pallid hue: the tree, too, is very extensively employed in ornamental gardening. [It is still extensively used for a similar purpose.] There are three [There are only two species now known: that previously mentioned, and the Buxus Balearica of Lamarck. The first is divided into the four varieties, arborescens, angustifolia, suffruticosa, and myrtifolia.] varieties of it: the Gallic [The Buxus sempervirens of Linnæus; very common in the south of France, and on the banks of the Loire.] box, which is trained to shoot upwards in a pyramidal form, and attains a very considerable height; the oleaster, [It is doubtful if this is a box at all. The wild olive, mentioned in B. xv. c., has the same name; all the varieties of the box emit a disagreeable smell.] which is condemned as being utterly worthless, and emits a disagreeable odour; and a third, known as the “Italian” box, [A variety of the Buxus sempervirens, the same as the Buxus suffruticosa of Lamarck.] a wild variety, in my opinion, which has been improved by cultivation. This last spreads more than the others, and forms a thick hedge: it is an evergreen, and is easily clipped.

The box-tree abounds on the Pyrenean [The Pyrenean box is mostly of the arborescent kind.] range, the mountains of Cytorus, and the country about Berecynthus. [In Phrygia. See B. v. c. 29.] The trunk grows to the largest size in the island of Corsica, [The arborescent variety.] and its blossom is by no means despicable; it is this that causes the honey there to be bitter. [This is doubted by Fée, but it is by no means impossible. In Pennsylvania the bees collect a poisonous honey from the Kalmia latifolia.] The seed of the box is held in aversion by all animals. That which grows upon Mount Olympus in Macedonia is not more slender than the other kinds, but the tree is of a more stunted growth. It loves spots exposed to the cold winds and the sun: in fire, too, it manifests all the hardness of iron; it gives out no flame, and is of no use whatever for the manufacture of charcoal. [A very good charcoal might be made from it, but the wood is too valuable for such a purpose. It burns with a bright, clear flame, and throws out a considerable heat.]

Chap. 29. (17.)—Four Varieties of the Elm.

Midway between the preceding ones and the fruit-trees stands the elm, partaking of the nature of the former in its wood, and being akin to the latter in the friendship which it manifests for the vine. [Although (in common, too, with other trees) it is used as a support for the vine, that does not any the more make it of the same nature as the fruit-trees.] The Greeks distinguish two varieties of this tree: the mountain [The Ulmus effusa of Willdenow; the Ulmus montana of Smith: Flor. Brit.] elm, which is the larger of the two, and that of the plains, which is more shrubby. Italy gives the name of “Atinia” [The Ulmus campestris of Linnæus; the Ulmus marita of other botanists.] to the more lofty kinds, and gives the preference to those which are of a dry nature and will not grow in damp localities. Another variety is the Gallic elm, [The ordinary elm, Fée thinks.] and a third, the Italian, [A variety of the Ulmus campestris, probably.] with leaves lying closer together, and springing in greater numbers from a single stalk. A fourth kind is the wild elm. The Atinia does not produce any samara, [This name is still preserved by botanists. Pliny is incorrect in saying that the large elm produces no seed, the only difference being that the seed is smaller than in the other kinds. Columella, B. v. c. 6, contradicts the statement here made by Pliny, but says that it appears to be sterile, in comparison with the others.] that being the name given to the seed of the elm. All the elms will grow from slips or cuttings, and all of them, with the exception of the Atinia, may be propagated from seed.

Chap. 30. (18.)—The Natures of the Various Trees According to Their Localities: The Mountain Trees, and the Trees of the Plain.

Having now made mention of the more remarkable trees, it remains for me to state some general facts connected with them all. The cedar, the larch, the torch-tree, and the other resinous trees prefer mountainous localities: [The Pinus maritima of Linnæus, which produces the greater part of the resins used in France, is found, however, in great abundance in the flat country of the Landes.] the same is the case also with the aquifolia, the box, the holm-oak, the juniper, the terebinth, the poplar, the wild mountain-ash, and the yoke-elm. [On the contrary, the yoke-elm, or horn-beam, grows almost exclusively on the plains; and the same with the cornel and the poplar.] On the Apennines there is also found a shrub known as the “cotinus,” [The Rhus cotinus of Linnæus, the fustic. See B. xiii. c.. This, however, imparts a yellow colour, while Pliny speaks of a purple. It has been asserted, however, that the roots of it produce a fine red. There is no tree in Europe that produces a purple for dyeing.] famous for imparting to cloth a purple colour like that of the murex. The fir, the robur, the chesnut, the lime, the holm-oak, and the cornel will grow equally well on mountain or in valley; while the maple, [The maple, the ash, and the service-tree, are as often found in the plains as on the hills.] the ash, the service, the linden, and the cherry, more particularly prefer a watery spot on the slope of a hilly declivity. It is not often that we see the plum, the pomegranate, the olive, the walnut, the mulberry, or the elder, growing on an elevated site: the cornel, too, the hazel, the quercus, the wild ash, the maple, the ash, the beech, and the yoke-elm, descend to the plains; while the elm, the apple, the pear, the laurel, the myrtle, the blood-red [See c., and B. xxiv. c. 43. The Cornus sanguinea of Linnæus, the blood-red cornel; the branches of which are red in the winter, and the fruit filled with a blood-red juice. This is probably the same shrub as the male cornel, mentioned further on by Pliny.] shrub, the holm-oak, and the brooms [The Genista tinctoria of Linnæus, or “dyers’” broom.] that are employed in dyeing cloths, all of them aspire to a more elevated locality.

The sorb, [Or “service-tree,” the Sorbus domestica of Linnæus. It thrives just as well in a warm locality as a cold one.] and even still more the birch, [The Betula alba of Linnæus. It was an object of terror not only in the hands of the Roman lictor, but in those of the pedagogue also, and is still to some extent. Hence it was formerly nicknamed “Arbor sapientiæ,” the “tree of wisdom.”] are fond of a cold site; this last is a native of Gaul, of singular whiteness and slender shape, and rendered terrible as forming the fasces of the magistracy. From its flexibility it is employed also in making circlets and the ribs of panniers. In Gaul, [This is no longer done in France, but it is in Russia, where they extract from it an empyreumatic oil, which is used in preparing Russia leather, and which imparts to it its agreeable smell.] too, they extract a bitumen from it by boiling. To a cold site, also, belongs the thorn, which affords the most auspicious torches [Boys, both of whose parents were surviving, used to carry before the bride a torch of white thorn. This thorn was, not improbably, the “Cratægus oxyacantha” of Linnæus, which bears a white flower. See B. xxiv. c. 66.] of all for the nuptial ceremony; from the circumstance, as Massurius assures us, that the shepherds, on the occasion of the rape of the Sabine women, made their torches of the wood of this tree: at the present day, however, the woods of the yoke-elm and the hazel are more generally employed for this purpose.

Chap. 31.—Trees Which Grow on a Dry Soil: Those Which Are Found in Wet Localities: Those Which Are Found in Both Indifferently.

The cypress, the walnut, the chesnut, and the laburnum, [The Cytisus laburnum of Linnæus, also known as “false ebony,” still a native of the Alps.] are averse to water. This last tree is also a native of the Alps, and far from generally known: the wood is hard and white, [But blackish in the centre; whence its name of false ebony.] and the flowers, which are a cubit [Meaning the clusters of the flowers.] in length, no bee will ever touch. The shrub, too, known as Jupiter’s beard, [The Anthyllis barba Jovis of modern botanists. The leaves have upon them a silvery down, whence the name “argyrophylla,” given to it by Mænch.] manifests an equal dislike to water: it is often clipped, and is employed in ornamental gardening, being of a round, bushy form, with a silvery leaf. The willow, the alder, the poplar, [But in c., he says that the poplar grows on hilly or mountainous declivities.] the siler, [This tree has not been satisfactorily identified; but Fée is of opinion that it is probably a variety of the willow, the Salix vitellina of Linnæus. Sprengel thinks that it is the Salix capræa.] and the privet, [The Ligustrum vulgare of Linnæus. It has black fruit and a white flower, and is rendered famous by the lines of Virgil—Ecl. ii. 17: “O formose puer, nimium ne crede colori; Alba ligustra cadunt, vaccinia nigra leguntur.” It is evidently this juxtaposition that has prompted Pliny to mention the vaccinium in the succeeding passage. In B. xii. c., and B. xxiv. c. 45, Pliny seems inclined to confound this shrub with the Cyprus, the Lawsonia inermis of Linnæus, the Henna of the east, a totally different plant.] so extensively employed for making tallies, [Wooden tallies used by public officers in keeping their accounts. They were employed till the middle ages.] will only grow in damp, watery places; which is the case also with the vaccinium, [The Primus mahaleb, Desfontaines says; but Fée identifies it with the black heath-berry, or whortle-berry, still called “vaciet” in France. It does not, however, grow, as Pliny says, in watery places, but in woods and on shrubby hills.] grown in Italy for drugging our slaves, [See B. xxi. c. 97.] and in Gaul for the purpose of dyeing the garments of slaves a purple colour. All those trees [These observations, Fée says, are borrowed from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. iii. c. 4, and are founded on truth.] which are common to the mountains and the plains, grow to a larger size, and are of more comely appearance when grown on the plains, while those found on the mountains have a better wood and more finely veined, with the exception of the apple and the pear.

Chap. 32. (19.)—Division of Trees into Various Species.

In addition to these particulars, some of the trees lose their leaves, while others, again, are evergreens. Before, however, we treat of this distinction, it will be necessary first to touch upon another. There are some trees that are altogether of a wild nature, while there are others, again, that are more civilized, such being the names [“Silvestres,” and “urbaniores.”] by which man has thought fit to distinguish the trees. Indeed, these last, which by their fruits or some other beneficial property, or else by the shade which they afford, show themselves the benefactors of man, are not inappropriately called “civilized” [Urbanæ.] trees.

Chap. 33. (20.)—Trees Which Do Not Lose Their Foliage. The Rhododendron. Trees Which Do Not Lose the Whole of Their Foliage. Places in Which There Are No Trees.

Belonging to this last class, there are the following trees which do not lose their leaves: the olive, the laurel, the palm, the myrtle, the cypress, the pine, the ivy, the rhododendron, [The Nerion oleander of Linnæus; the laurel-rose, or rose of St. Anthony of the French; it has some distant resemblance to the olive-tree, but its leaf is that of the laurel, and its flower very similar to that of the rose.] and, although it may be rather called a herb than a tree, the savin. [See B. xxiv. c. 61.] The rhododendron, as its name indicates, comes from Greece. By some it is known as the nerium, [“Nerion” is the Greek name.] and by others as the rhododaphne. It is an evergreen, bearing a strong resemblance to the rose-tree, and throwing out numerous branches from the stem; to beasts of burden, goats, and sheep it is poisonous, but for man it is an antidote [It has certain dangerous properties, which cause the herbivorous animals to avoid touching it. It acts strongly on the muscular system, and, as Fée remarks, used as an antidote to the stings of serpents, it is not improbable that its effect would be the worst of the two.] against the venom of serpents.

(21.) The following among the forest-trees do not lose their leaves: the fir, the larch, the pinaster, the juniper, the cedar, the terebinth, the box, the holm-oak, the aquifolia, the cork, the yew, and the tamarisk. [See B. xiii. c.. The tamarisk of the moderns is not an evergreen, which has caused writers to doubt if it is identical with the tamariscus of the ancients, and to be disposed to look for it among the larger ericæ or heaths. The leaves of the larch fall every year; those of the other evergreens mostly every two or three years.] A middle place between the evergreens and those which are not so, is occupied by the andrachle [See B. xiii. c..] in Greece, and by the arbutus [See B. xiii. c.. This assertion of Pliny is erroneous, as these trees are in reality evergreens, though all trees of that class are liable to lose their leaves through certain maladies.] in all parts of the world; as they lose all their leaves with the exception of those on the top of the tree. Among certain of the shrubs, too, the bramble and the calamus, the leaves do not fall. In the territory of Thurii, where Sybaris formerly stood, from the city there was a single oak [“Quercus.” The ilex or holm-oak is an evergreen.] to be seen that never lost its leaves, and never used to bud before midsummer: it is a singular thing that this fact, which has been so often alluded to by the Greek writers, should have been passed over in silence by our own. [Pliny is in error here. Varro, De Re Rust. B. i. c. 7, has made mention of this tree.] Indeed, so remarkable are the virtues that we find belonging to some localities, that about Memphis in Egypt, and at Elephantina in Thebais, the leaves [The hot climates possess a greater number of evergreens than the temperate regions, but not of the same species or genus. The vine invariably loses its leaves each year.] fall from none of the trees, not the vine even.