Chaps. 80-95.

Chap. 80. (41.)—Varieties of the Teredo.

There are four kinds of insects that attack wood. The teredo has a head remarkably large in proportion to the other part of the body, and gnaws away the wood with its teeth: its attacks, however, are confined solely to the sea, and it is generally thought that this is the only insect that is properly so called. The wood-worm that prevails on the land is known as the “tinea,” while those which resemble a gnat in appearance are called “thripes.” The fourth kind of wood-worm belongs to the maggot class; some of them being engendered by the corruption of the juices of the wood itself, and others being produced, just as in the trees, by the worm known as the cerastes. [See B. xvii. c..] When this worm has eaten away enough of the wood to enable it to turn round, it gives birth to another. The generation of these insects is prevented, however, by the bitterness that exists in some woods, the cypress, and the hardness of others, the box, for instance.

It is said, too, that the fir, if barked about the time of budding, and at the period of the moon already mentioned, [In c..] will never spoil in water. The followers of Alexander the Great have left a statement that, at Tylos, an island in the Red Sea, there are trees, of which ships are built, the wood of which has been found uninjured at the end of two hundred years, [There is nothing very surprising in this, as most woods are preserved better when completely immersed in water, than when exposed to the variations of the atmosphere.] even if it has been under water all that time. They say, also, that in the same island there is a certain shrub, [He borrows this fable from Theophrastus, B. v. c. 5.] about the thickness of a walking-stick only, and spotted like a tiger’s skin: it is very heavy, and will break like glass if it happens to fall upon a hard substance.

Chap. 81. (42.)—The Woods Used in Building.

We have in Italy some woods that are apt to split of themselves: to prevent this, architects recommend that they should be first seasoned in manure [This process, Fée says, would be attended with no success.] and then dried, in order to render them proof against the action of the atmosphere. The woods of the fir and larch are well adapted, even when used transversely, for the support of heavy burdens; while the robur and the olive are apt to bend and give way under a weight. The wood of the poplar and the palm are also strong, but this last will bend, though in a manner different from the others; for, while in all other instances the wood bends downwards, in the palm it bends in the contrary direction, [It is not quite clear whether he intends this observation to apply to the poplar and the palm, or to the last only. It is true, however, in neither case, and is contrary, as Fée observes, to all physical laws.] and forms an arch. The woods of the pine and the cypress are proof against decay and all attacks of wood-worm. The walnut is easily warped, but we sometimes see beams even made of it. It gives warning, however, before it breaks, by a loud cracking noise; such was the case at Antandros, at the public baths there—the bathers took the alarm upon hearing the beams crack, and made their escape. The pine, the pitch-tree, and the alder are employed for making hollow pipes for the conveyance of water, and when buried in the earth will last for many years. If, however, they are not well covered over, they will very soon rot; and the resistance they offer to decay will increase in a most surprising degree if the outer surface as well is left in contact with the water.

Chap. 82.—Carpenters’ Woods.

The wood of the fir is strongest in a vertical [The resistance that woods offer when placed vertically is in the same ratio as that presented by them when employed horizontally. This paragraph is borrowed from Theophrastus, B. iii. c. 4, and B. v. cc. 6, 7, 8.] position: it is remarkably well adapted for the pannels of doors, and all kinds of in-door joiners’ work, whether in the Grecian, the Campanian, or the Sicilian style. The shavings of this wood when briskly planed, always curl up in circles like the tendrils of the vine. This wood, too, unites particularly well with glue: it is used in this state for making vehicles, and is found to split sooner in the solid parts than in a place where the pieces have been glued together.

Chap. 83. (43.)—Woods United with Glue.

Glue, too, plays one of the principal parts in all veneering and works of marqueterie. For this purpose, the workmen usually employ wood with a threaded vein, to which they give the name of “ferulea,” from its resemblance to the grain of the giant fennel, [Ferula.] this part of the wood being preferred from its being dotted and wavy. In every variety there are some woods to be found that will not take the glue, and which refuse to unite either with wood of the same kind or of any other; the wood of the robur for example. Indeed, it is mostly the case that substances will not unite unless they are of a similar nature; a stone, for instance, cannot be made to adhere to wood. The wood of the service-tree, the yoke-elm, the box, and, in a less degree, the lime, have a particular aversion to uniting with the cornel. All the yielding woods which we have already spoken [In c..] of as flexible readily adapt themselves to every kind of work; and in addition to them, the mulberry and the wild fig. Those which are moderately moist are easily sawn and cut, but dry woods are apt to give way beyond the part that is touched by the saw; while, on the other hand, the green woods, with the exception of the robur and the box, offer a more obstinate resistance, filling the intervals between the teeth of the saw with sawdust, and rendering its edge uniform and inert; it is for this reason that the teeth are often made to project right and left in turns, a method by which the saw-dust is discharged. The ash is found the most pliable wood of all for working; and, indeed, for making [See c..] spears it is better even than the hazel, being lighter than the cornel, and more pliable than the wood of the service-tree. The Gallic variety is so supple, that it is employed in the construction of vehicles even. The elm would rival the trunk of the vine [Fée thinks, from the context, that the meaning is, that the vine was employed in the construction of chariots; it depends entirely on the punctuation adopted.] for some purposes, were it not that its weight is so much against it.

Chap. 84.—Veneering.

The wood, too, of the beech is easily worked, although it is brittle and soft. Cut into thin layers of veneer, it is very flexible, but is only used for the construction of boxes and desks. The wood, too, of the holm-oak is cut into veneers of remarkable thinness, the colour of which is far from unsightly; but it is more particularly where it is exposed to friction that this wood is valued, as being one to be depended upon; in the axle-trees of wheels, for instance; for which the ash is also employed, on account of its pliancy, the holm-oak for its hardness, and the elm, for the union in it of both those qualities. There are also various workman’s tools made of wood, which, though but small, are still remarkably useful; in this respect, it is said that the best materials for making auger handles are the wild olive, the box, the holm-oak, the elm, and the ash. Of the same woods also mallets are made; the larger ones, however, are made of the pine and the holm-oak. These woods, too, have a greater degree of strength and hardness if cut in season than when hewn prematurely; indeed, it has been known for hinge-jambs, made of olive, a wood of remarkable hardness, after having remained a considerable time on the spot, to put out buds [This could only have happened in the first year that they were so employed.] like a growing plant. Cato [De Re Rust. c. 31.] recommends levers to be made of holly, laurel, or elm; and Hyginus speaks highly of the yoke-elm, the holm-oak, and the cerrus, for the handles of agricultural implements.

The best woods for cutting into layers, and employing as a veneer for covering others, are the citrus, the terebinth, the different varieties of the maple, the box, the palm, [It is singular, Fée says, to find the wood of the palm, and that of the poplar, which are destitute of veins, enumerated among those employed for veneering.] the holly, the holm-oak, the root of the elder, and the poplar. The alder furnishes also, as already stated, [In c..] a kind of tuberosity, which is cut into layers like those of the citrus and the maple. In all the other trees the tuberosities are of no value whatever. It is the central part of trees that is most variegated, and the nearer we approach to the root the smaller are the spots and the more wavy. It was in this appearance that originated that requirement of luxury which displays itself in covering one tree with another, and bestowing upon the more common woods a bark of higher price. In order to make a single tree sell many times over, laminæ of veneer have been devised; but that was not thought sufficient—the horns of animals must next be stained of different colours, and their teeth cut into sections, in order to decorate wood with ivory, and, at a later period, to veneer it all over. Then, after all this, man must go and seek his materials in the sea as well! For this purpose he has learned to cut tortoise-shell into sections; and of late, in the reign of Nero, there was a monstrous invention devised of destroying its natural appearance by paint, and making it sell at a still higher price by a successful imitation of wood.

It is in this way that the value of our couches is so greatly enhanced; it is in this way, too, that they bid the rich lustre of the terebinth to be outdone, a mock citrus to be made that shall be more valuable than the real one, and the grain of the maple to be feigned. At one time luxury was not content with wood; at the present day it sets us on buying tortoise-shell in the guise of wood.

Chap. 85. (44.)—The Age of Trees. A Tree That Was Planted by the First Scipio Africanus. A Tree at Rome Five Hundred Years Old.

The life of some trees might really be looked upon as of infinite [According to Adanson, the baobab will live for more than six thousand years.] duration, if we only think of the dense wilds and inaccessible forests in some parts of the world. In relation, however, to those, the date of which is still within the memory of man, there are some olive-trees still in existence at Liternum, which were planted by the hand of the first Scipio Africanus, as also a myrtle there of extraordinary size; beneath them there is a grotto, in which, it is said, a dragon keeps watch over that hero’s shade. There is a lotus [The Celtis australis of Linnæus.] tree in the open space before the Temple of Lucina at Rome, which was built in the year of the City 379, a year in which the republic had no [In consequence of the disputes between the patricians and plebeians.] magistrates. How much older the tree is than the temple, is a matter of doubt; but that it is older is quite certain, for it was from that same grove that the goddess Lucina [Thus deriving Lucina from “lucus,” a grove.] derived her name; the tree in question is now about four hundred and fifty years old. The lotus tree, which is known as the Capillata, is still older than this, though it is uncertain what is its age; it received that name from the circumstance of the Vestal Virgins suspending locks of their hair [Capillos.] from it.

Chap. 86.—Trees as Old as the City.

There is another lotus in the Vulcanal, [An area before the temple of Vulcan.] which Romulus erected with the tenth part of the spoil taken from the enemy: according to Massurius, it is generally considered to be as old as the City. The roots of this tree penetrate as far as the Forum of Cæsar, right across the meeting-places of the municipalities. [“Stationes municipiorum.” A sort of exchange, near the Forum, where the citizens met to discuss the topics of the day.] There was a cypress of equal age growing with it till towards the latter part of Nero’s reign, when it fell to the ground, and no attempts were made to raise it again.

Chap. 87.—Trees in the Suburban Districts Older Than the City.

Still older than the City is the holm-oak that stands on the Vaticanian Hill: there is an inscription in bronze upon it, written in Etruscan characters, which states that even in those days it was an object of religious veneration. The foundation of the town of Tibur, too, dates many years before that of the City of Rome: there are three holm-oaks there, said to be more ancient than Tiburnus even, who was the founder of that place; the tradition is that in their vicinity he was inaugurated. Tradition states also that he was a son of Amphiaraüs, who died before Thebes, one generation before the period of the Trojan war.

Chap. 88.—Trees Planted by Agamemnon the First Year of the Trojan War: Other Trees Which Date from the Time That the Place Was Called Ilium, Anterior to the Trojan War.

There are some authors, too, who state that a plane-tree at Delphi was planted by the hand of Agamemnon, as also another at Caphyæ, a sacred grove in Arcadia. At the present day, facing the city of Ilium, and close to the Hellespont, there are trees growing over the tomb [See B. iv. c. 18. Of course, this story must be regarded as fabulous.] of Protesilaüs there, which, in all ages since that period, as soon as they have grown of sufficient height to behold Ilium, have withered away, and then begun to flourish again. Near the city, at the tomb of Ilus, there are some oaks [Quercus.] which are said to have been planted there when the place was first known by the name of Ilium.

Chap. 89.—Trees Planted at Argos by Hercules: Others Planted by Apollo. A Tree More Ancient Than Athens Itself.

At Argos [These are fables founded upon the known longevity of trees, which, as Fée remarks, Pliny relates with a truly “infantine simplicity.”] an olive-tree is said to be still in existence, to which Argus fastened Io, after she had been changed into a cow. In the vicinity of Heraclea in Pontus, there are certain altars called after Jupiter surnamed Stratios; two oaks there were planted by Hercules. In the same country, too, is the port of Amycus, [See B. v. c. 43.] rendered famous by the circumstance that King Bebryx was slain there. Since the day of his death his tomb has been covered by a laurel, which has obtained the name of the “frantic laurel,” from the fact that if a portion of it is plucked and taken on board ship, discord and quarrelling are the inevitable result, until it has been thrown overboard. We have already made mention [See B. v. c. 29.] of Aulocrene, a district through which you pass in going from Apamia into Phrygia: at this place they show a plane upon which Marsyas was hanged, after he had been conquered by Apollo, it having been chosen even in those days for its remarkable height. At Delos, also, there is a palm [The palm is by no means a long-lived tree.] to be seen which dates from the birth of that divinity, and at Olympia there is a wild olive, from which Hercules received his first wreath: at the present day it is preserved with the most scrupulous veneration. At Athens, too, the olive produced by Minerva, is said still to exist.

Chap. 90.—Trees Which Are the Most Short-lived.

On the other hand, the pomegranate, [The pomegranate, on the contrary, has been known to live many centuries.] the fig, and the apple are remarkably short-lived; the precocious trees being still more so than the later ripeners, and those with sweet fruit than those with sour: among the pomegranates, too, that variety which bears the sweetest fruit lives the shortest time. The same is the case, too, with the vine, [He has elsewhere said that the vine is extremely long-lived.] and more particularly the more fruitful varieties. Græcinus informs us that vines have lasted so long as sixty years. It appears, also, that the aquatic trees die the soonest. The laurel, [In the last Chapter he has spoken of a laurel having existed for many centuries.] the apple, and the pomegranate age rapidly, it is true, but then they throw out fresh shoots at the root. The olive must be looked upon, then, as being one of the most long-lived, for it is generally agreed among authors that it will last two hundred years.

Chap. 91.—Trees That Have Been Rendered Famous by Remarkable Events.

In the territory about the suburbs of Tusculum, upon a hill known by the name of Corne, there is a grove which has been consecrated to Diana by the people of Latium from time immemorial; it is formed of beeches, the foliage of which has all the appearance of being trimmed by art. Passienus Crispus, the orator, who in our time was twice consul, and afterwards became still more famous as having Nero for his step-son, on marrying his mother Agrippina, was passionately attached to a fine tree that grew in this grove, and would often kiss and embrace it: not only would he lie down, too, beneath it, but he would also moisten its roots with wine. [To its great detriment, probably.] In the vicinity of this grove there is a holm-oak, likewise of very considerable celebrity, the trunk of which is no less [Fée says that no holm-oak is ever known to attain this size.] than thirty-four feet in circumference; giving birth to ten other trees of remarkable size, it forms of itself a whole forest.

Chap. 92.—Plants That Have No Peculiar Spot for Their Growth: Others That Grow Upon Trees, and Will Not Grow in the Ground. Nine Varieties of Them: Cadytas, Polypodion, Phaulias, Hippophæston.

It is a well-known fact that trees are killed by ivy. [See c..] The mistletoe also has a similar influence, although it is generally thought that its injurious effects are not so soon perceptible: and, indeed, this plant, apart from the fruit that it bears, is looked upon as by no means the least remarkable. There are certain vegetable productions which cannot be propagated in the ground, and which grow nowhere but on trees; having no domicile of their own, they live upon others; such, for instance, is the case with the mistletoe, and a herb that grows in Syria, and is known as the “cadytas.” [Sprengel says that this is the parasitic plant, which he calls Cassyta filiformis. Fée says that this opinion, though perhaps not to be absolutely rejected, must be accepted with reserve.] This last entwines around not only trees, but brambles even; in the neighbourhood of Tempe, too, in Thessaly, there is found a plant which is called “polypodion;” [It does not seem to have been identified.] the dolichos [See B. xviii. c. 33.] is found also, and wild thyme. [Serpyllum. See B. xx. c. 90.] After the wild olive has been pruned there springs up a plant that is known as “phaulias;” [A mistletoe, apparently, growing upon the wild olive. Fée says that no such viscus appears to be known.] while one that grows upon the fuller’s thistle is called the “hippophæston;” [See B. xxvii. c. 66. The Calcitrapa stellata of Lamarck. Fée remarks that Pliny has committed a great error, in making it a parasite of the Spina fullonia. Dioscorides only says that the two plants grow in the same spots.] it has a thin, hollow stem, a small leaf, and a white root, the juice of which is considered extremely beneficial as a purgative in epilepsy.

Chap. 93.—Three Varieties of Mistletoe. The Nature of Mistletoe and Similar Plants.

There are three varieties of the mistletoe. [The Viscum Europæum of modern naturalists.] That which grows upon the fir and the larch has the name of [The Viscum album of Linnæus; but Sprengel takes it to be the Loranthus Europæus.] stelis in Eubœa; and there is the hyphear [Fée questions whether this may not be the Loranthus Europæus.] of Arcadia. It grows also upon the quercus, [The Viscum album of Linnæus; the oak mistletoe or real mistletoe.] the robur, the holm-oak, the wild plum, and the terebinth, but upon no other tree. [This is not the fact: it grows upon a vast multitude of other trees.] It is most plentiful of all upon the quercus, and is then known as “adasphear.” In all the trees, with the exception of the holm-oak and the quercus, there is a considerable difference in its smell and pungency, and the leaf of one kind has a disagreeable odour; both varieties, however, are sticky and bitter. The hyphear is the best for fattening [It is no longer used for this purpose.] cattle with; it begins, however, by purging off all defects, after which it fattens all such animals as have been able to withstand the purging. It is generally said, however, that those animals which have any radical malady in the intestines cannot withstand its drastic effects. This method of treatment is generally adopted in the summer for a period of forty days.

Besides the above, there is yet another difference [The mistletoe never in any case loses its leaves, upon whatever tree it may grow.] in the mistletoe; that which grows upon the trees which lose their leaves, loses its leaves as well; while, on the other hand, that which grows upon evergreens always retains its leaves. In whatever way the seed may have been sown, it will never come to anything, unless it has been first swallowed [This is, of course, untrue; but the seeds, after being voided by birds, are more likely to adhere to the bark of trees, and so find a nidus for germination.] and then voided by birds, the wood-pigeon more particularly, and the thrush: such being the nature of the plant, that it will not come to anything unless the seed is first ripened in the crop of the bird. It never exceeds a single cubit in height, and is always green and branchy. The male [The exact opposite is the case, the female being the fruitful plant.] plant is fruitful, the female barren; sometimes, indeed, the male even bears no berry.

Chap. 94.—The Method of Making Birdlime.

Birdlime is made of the berries of the mistletoe, which are gathered at harvest, and while in an unripe state; for if the rainy season comes on, though they increase in size, the viscous juice is apt to lose its virtues. They are then dried, [The method used in Italy for making bird-lime is very similar at the present day.] and when brought to a state of perfect aridity, are first pounded, and then put in water, in which they are left to rot for twelve days; this being, in fact, the only thing that finds improvement in decay. After this, they are again beaten in running water with a mallet, and after losing the outer coat there is only the viscous inner pulp remaining. This substance is birdlime; and after it has been thinned by the addition of walnut oil, it is found particularly useful for catching birds, it being quite sufficient if they only touch it with the wings.

Chap. 95.—Historical Facts Connected with the Mistletoe.

Upon this occasion we must not omit to mention the admiration that is lavished upon this plant by the Gauls. The Druids—for that is the name they give to their magicians [Magos.] —held nothing more sacred than the mistletoe and the tree that bears it, supposing always that tree to be the robur. [Decandolle was of opinion, that the mistletoe of the Druids was not a viscum, but the Loranthus Europæus, which is much more commonly found on oaks.] Of itself the robur is selected by them to form whole groves, and they perform none of their religious rites without employing branches of it; so much so, that it is very probable that the priests themselves may have received their name from the Greek name [Δρῦς, an “oak.” It is much more probable that it was of Celtic origin.] for that tree. In fact, it is the notion with them that everything that grows on it has been sent immediately from heaven, and that the mistletoe upon it is a proof that the tree has been selected by God himself as an object of his especial favour.

The mistletoe, however, is but rarely found upon the robur; and when found, is gathered with rites replete with religious awe. This is done more particularly on the fifth day of the moon, the day which is the beginning of their months and years, as also of their ages, which, with them, are but thirty years. This day they select because the moon, though not yet in the middle of her course, has already considerable power and influence; and they call her by a name which signifies, in their language, the all-healing. [Omnia sanantem.] Having made all due preparation for the sacrifice and a banquet beneath the trees, they bring thither two white bulls, the horns of which are bound then for the first time. Clad in a white robe the priest ascends the tree, and cuts the mistletoe with a golden sickle, which is received by others in a white cloak. [“Sagum.” Properly, a “military cloak.”] They then immolate the victims, offering up their prayers that God will render this gift of his propitious to those to whom he has so granted it. It is the belief with them that the mistletoe, taken in drink, will impart fecundity to all animals that are barren, and that it is an antidote for all poisons. [It was, in comparatively recent times, supposed to be efficacious for epilepsy.] Such are the religious feelings which we find entertained towards trifling objects among nearly all nations.

Summary. —Remarkable facts, narratives, and observations, one thousand one hundred and thirty-five.

Roman authors quoted. —M. Varro, [See end of B. ii.] Fetialis, [Author of a History or Annals of Rome. Nothing further is known of him.] Nigidius, [See end of B. vi.] Cornelius Nepos, [See end of B. ii.] Hyginus, [See end of B. iii.] Massurius, [See end of B. vii.] Cato, [See end of B. iii.] Mucianus, [See end of B. ii.] L. Piso, [See end of B. ii.] Trogus, [See end of B. vii.] Calpurnius Bassus, [He is wholly unknown; but is conjectured to have lived in the reign of Caligula or Tiberius.] Cremutius, [See end of B. vii.] Sextius Niger, [See end of B..] Cornelius Bocchus, [He is unknown; but Solinus speaks of him as a valuable writer.] Vitruvius, [M. Vitruvius Pollio, an eminent architect, employed by Augustus. His valuable work on architecture is still extant.] Græcinus. [See end of B..]

Foreign authors quoted. —Alexander Polyhistor, [See end of B. iii.] Hesiod, [See end of B. vii.] Theophrastus, [See end of B. iii.] Democritus, [See end of B. ii.] Homer, Timæus [See end of B. ii.] the mathematician.