Chaps. 48-67.

Chap. 48.—That Bees Are Sensible of Hunger.

If it is found that the bees are in want of aliment, it will be a good plan to place at the entrance of the hive raisins or dried figs beaten up, [Honeycombs and rough wax are placed in the hive, when the bees are in want of aliment; also honey and sugar-sirop.] as also carded wool soaked in raisin wine, boiled [“Defrutum:” grape-juice boiled down to one-half.] must, or hydromel, and sometimes even the raw [Fée is at a loss to know how this could be of any service as an aliment to bees.] flesh of poultry. In certain summers, too, when long-continued drought has deprived them of the nutriment which they usually derive from flowers, similar food must be provided for them.

When the honey is taken, the outlets of the hive should be well rubbed with melissophyllum or broom, [A mere puerility, Fée says.] beaten up, or else the middle of it should be encircled with bands of white vine, to prevent the bees from taking to flight. It is recommended, too, that the honey-pots and combs should be washed with water: this water, boiled, it is said, will make an extremely wholesome vinegar. [But extremely weak, no doubt; for after boiling, the hydromel must be subjected, first to vinous, and then to acetous, fermentation.]

Chap. 49.—The Method of Preparing Wax. The Best Kinds of Wax. Punic Wax.

Wax is made [The method here described differs but little from that employed at the present day.] from the honeycombs after the honey has been extracted. For this purpose, they are first cleaned with water, and then dried three days in the shade: on the fourth day they are melted on the fire in a new earthen vessel, with sufficient water to cover them, after which the liquor is strained off in a wicker basket. [“Sporta.”] The wax is then boiled again with the same water and in the same pot, and poured into vessels of cold water, the interior of which has been well rubbed with honey. The best wax is that known as Punic [Or Carthaginian.] wax, the next best being that of a remarkably yellow colour, with the smell of honey. This last comes from Pontus, and, to my surprise, it is in no way affected by the poisonous honey which it has contained. [In reality, the wax has properties totally different from those of the honey, and it is not always gathered from the same plants.] The next in quality is the Cretan wax, which contains the largest proportion of propolis, [A kind of bee-glue. See B. xi. c. 6.] a substance of which we have previously made mention when treating of bees. Next to these varieties comes the Corsican wax, which, being the produce of the box-tree, is generally thought to be possessed of certain medicinal properties.

The Punic wax is prepared in the following manner: yellow wax is first blanched in the open air, after which it is boiled in water from the open sea, with the addition of some nitre. [Neither the nitre nor the salt, Fée says, would be of the slightest utility.] The flower of the wax, or, in other words, the whitest part of it, is then skimmed off with spoons, and poured into a vessel containing a little cold water. After this, it is again boiled in sea-water by itself, which done, the vessel is left to cool. When this operation has been three times repeated, the wax is left in the open air upon a mat of rushes, to dry in the light of the sun and moon; for while the latter adds to its whiteness, the sun helps to dry [By causing the aqueous particles that may remain in it, to evaporate.] it. In order, however, that it may not melt, it is the practice to cover it with a linen cloth: if, when it has been thus refined, it is boiled once more, the result is a wax of the greatest possible whiteness.

Punic wax is considered the best for all medicinal preparations. Wax is made black by the addition of ashes of papyrus, and a red colour is given to it by the admixture of alkanet; indeed, by the employment of various pigments, it is made to assume various tints, in which state it is used for making models, [Or “likenesses”—“similitudines.” Waxen profiles seem to have been the favourite likenesses with the Romans: See the Asinaria of Plautus, A. iv. sc. i. l. 19, in which one of these portraits is clearly alluded to. Also Ovid, Heroid. xiii. l. 152, and Remed. Amor. l. 723. The “imagines” also, or busts of their ancestors, which were kept in their “atria,” were made of wax.] and for other purposes without number, among which we may mention varnishing walls [To protect the paintings, probably, with which the walls were decorated.] and armour, to protect them from the air. We have given the other particulars relative to bees and honey, when speaking [In B. xi.] of the nature of those insects. We have now stated pretty nearly all that we have to say on the subject of the pleasure garden.

Chap. 50. (15.)—Plants Which Grow Spontaneously: The Use Made of Them by Various Nations, Their Nature, and Remarkable Facts Connected with Them. The Strawberry, the Tamnus, and the Butcher’s Broom. The Batis, Two Varieties of It. The Meadow Parsnip. The Hop.

We now come to the plants which grow spontaneously, and which are employed as an aliment by most nations, the people of Egypt in particular, where they abound in such vast quantities, that, extremely prolific as that country is in corn, it is perhaps the only one that could subsist without it: so abundant are its resources in the various kinds of food to be obtained from plants.

In Italy, however, we are acquainted with but very few of them; those few being the strawberry, [See B. xv. c. 28.] the tamnus, [See B. xxiii. c.. According to some authorities, it is supposed to be the Delphinium staphis agria of Linnæus; but Fée and Desfontaines identify it with the Tamus communis of Linnæus, Our Lady’s seal.] the butcher’s broom, [The Ruscus aculeatus of Linnæus. See B. xxiii. c..] the sea [In B. xxii. c. 33, this plant is called “halimon.” Some authors identify it with the Atriplex halymus, and others, again, with the Crithmum maritimum of Linnæus. See also B. xxvi. c. 50.] batis, and the garden batis, [Identified by some commentators with the Portulaca sativa or Portulaca oleracea of Linnæus.] known by some persons as Gallic asparagus; in addition to which we may mention the meadow parsnip [“Pastinaca pratensis.” Fée and Desfontaines are undecided whether this is the Daucus carota of Linnæus, the common carrot, or the Pastinaca sativa, the cultivated parsnip.] and the hop, [“Lupus salictarius,” the “willow wolf,” literally; the Humulus lupulus of Linnæus. It probably took its Latin name from the tenacity with which it clung to willows and osiers.] which may be rather termed amusements for the botanist than articles of food.

Chap. 51.—The Colocasia.

But the plant of this nature that is the most famous in Egypt is the colocasia, [The Arum colocasia of Linnæus.] known as the “cyamos” [The “bean.” Not, however, the Egyptian bean, which is the Nymphæa nelumbo of Linnæus, the Nelumbum speciosum of Willdenow.] to some. It is gathered in the river Nilus, and the stalk of it, boiled, separates [These filaments are mentioned also by Martial, Epig., B. viii. Ep. 33, and B. xiii. Ep. 57. But according to Desfontaines, this description applies to the stalks of the Nymphæa lotos, and not of the Arum colocasia.] into fine filaments when chewed, like those of the spider’s web. The head, [“Thyrsus.”] protruding from among the leaves, is very remarkable; and the leaves, which are extremely large, even when compared with those of trees, are very similar to those of the plant found in our rivers, and known by the name of “personata.” [Desfontaines has identified this with the Arctium lappa of botanists; but that is a land plant, and this, Pliny says, grows in the rivers, if the reading here is correct, it cannot be the plant of the same name mentioned in B. xxv. c. 58.] So much do the people of that country take advantage of the bounteousness displayed by their river, that they are in the habit of plaiting [This applies, Desfontaines says, to the Nymphæa nelumbo.] the leaves of the colocasia with such skill as to make vessels of various shapes, which they are extremely fond of using for drinking vessels. At the present day, however, this plant is cultivated in Italy. [Here he returns, according to Desfontaines, to the Arum colocasia.]

Chap. 52.—The Cichorium. The Anthalium or Anticellium, or Anthyllum. The Œtum. The Arachidna. The Aracos. The Candryala. The Hypochœris. The Caucalis. The Anthriscum. The Scandix. The Tragopogon. The Parthenium or Leucanthes, Amaracus, Perdicium, or Muralis. The Trychnum or Strychnum, Halicacabum, Callias, Dorycnion, Manicon, Peritton, Neuras, Morio, or Moly. The Corchorus. The Aphace. The Acynopos. The Epipetron. Plants Which Never Flower. Plants Which Are Always in Flower.

In Egypt, next to the colocasia, it is the cichorium that is held in the highest esteem, a plant which we have already spoken [See B. xx. c..] of under the name of wild endive. [“Intubum erraticum.”] It springs up after the rising of the Vergiliæ, and the various portions of it blossom in succession: the root is supple, and hence is used for making withes even. The anthalium [The Cyperus Esculentus of Linnæus.] grows at a greater distance [Theophrastus, B. iv. c. 10, says that it grows in the sandy soil in the vicinity of the river.] from the river; the fruit of it is round, [It is similar in appearance to the papyrus, and its tubercles are oblong, or round and fleshy, with an agreeable flavour.] and about the size of a medlar, but without either kernel or rind; the leaves of the plant are similar to those of the cyperus. The people there eat the fruit of it cooked upon the fire, as also of the œtum, [The Arachis hypogæa of Linnæus, the earth pistachio.] a plant which has a few leaves only, and those extremely diminutive, though the root is large in proportion. [The root is not large; but the fruit is so close to the earth that Pliny may have confounded it with the real root of the plant.] The arachidna, [Sprengel identifies this with the Lathyrus amphicarpos, and the aracos with the Lathyrus tuberosus, varieties of the chicheling vetch. Columna thinks that this last was the arachidna. Fée says that the data are altogether insufficient to enable us to form an opinion.] again, and the aracos have numerous branchy roots, but neither leaves nor any herbaceous parts, nor, indeed, anything that makes its appearance above ground.

The other plants that are commonly eaten in Egypt are the chondrylla, [The Chondrylla juncea of Linnæus, according to Fée; but Desfontaines identifies it with the Lactuca perennis.] the hypochœris, [Desfontaines identifies it with the Hyoseris lucida. Fée says that the opinion is equally as difficult to combat as to support.] the caucalis, [Fée identifies it with the Caucalis grandiflora of Linnæus, a native of Greece. Desfontaines mentions the Caucalis Orientalis, an Eastern plant.] the anthriscum, [For this and the Scandix, see B. xxii. c..] the scandix, the come, by some persons known as the tragopogon, [A chicoraceous plant: the Tragopogon crocifolius of Linnæus.] with leaves very similar to those of saffron, the parthenium, [See c. of this Book.] the trychnum, [See cc. and of this Book.] and the corchorus; [The Corchorus olitorius of Linnæus: still cultivated in Egypt.] with the aphace [Identified by some, but it is doubtful if with any good reason, with the Leontodon taraxacum of Linnæus: our dandelion.] and acynopos, [The reading is doubtful, and it does not appear to have been identified.] which make their appearance at the equinox. There is a plant also, called the epipetron, [Or “stone-plant:” identified with the Sedum anacampseros of Linnæus: a variety of house-leek.] which never blossoms; [On the contrary, it has a purple flower.] while the aphace, on the other hand, as its flowers die, from time to time puts forth fresh ones, and remains [It is this, probably, that has caused it to be identified with the Leontodon taraxacum.] in blossom throughout the winter and the spring, until the following summer.

Chap. 53.—Four Varieties of the Cnecos.

The Egyptians have many other plants also, of little note; but they speak in the highest terms of the cnecos; [The Carthamus tinctorius of Linnæus, or bastard saffron. The seed of it is a powerful purgative to man, but has no effect on birds: it is much used for feeding parrots, hence one of its names, “parrot-seed.”] a plant unknown to Italy, and which the Egyptians hold in esteem, not as an article of food, but for the oil it produces, and which is extracted from the seed. The principal varieties are the wild and the cultivated kinds; of the wild variety, again, there are two sorts, one of which is less prickly [Identified by Fée with the Atractylis of Dioscorides, the Carthamus mitissimus of Linnæus; the Carduncellus mitissimus of Decandolle.] than the other, but with a similar stem, only more upright: hence it is that in former times females used it for distaffs, from which circumstance it has received the name of “atractylis” [From ἄτρακτος, “a distaff.”] from some; the seed of it is white, large, and bitter. The other variety [The Centaurea lanata of Decandolle, the Centaurea benedicta of Linnæus.] is more prickly, and has a more sinewy stem, which may be said almost to creep upon the ground; the seed is small. The cnecos belongs to the thorny plants: indeed, it will be as well to make some classification of them.

Chap. 54.—Plants of a Prickly Nature: The Erynge, the Glycyrriza, the Tribulus, the Anonis, the Pheos or Stœbe, and the Hippophaes.

For some plants, in fact, are thorny, while others, again, are destitute of prickles: the species of thorny plants are very numerous. The asparagus [The Asparagus aphylla of Linnæus: the leafless asparagus.] and the scorpio [The Spartium scorpius of Linnæus: scorpion-grass, or scorpion-wort.] are essentially thorny plants, having no leaves at all upon them. Some plants, again, that are prickly have leaves as well, such as the thistle, for instance, the erynge, [See B. xxii. c..] the glycyrriza, [See B. xxii. c.. The “sweet-root;” our liquorice. The Glycyrrhiza echinata of Linnæus bears a prickly fruit; it is of this, Fée thinks, that Pliny speaks here.] and the nettle; [Fée remarks, that though the leaf of the nettle is furnished with numerous stings, or rather prickly hairs, it is quite wrong to look upon them as thorns, which Pliny, in the present instance, (though not in the next Chapter) appears to do. Genuine thorns, he remarks, are abortive branches, which, of course, cannot be said of the fine hairs springing from the nerves of the leaf. See B. xxii. c..] all these plants being provided with leaves that prick or sting.

Some plants have thorns at the base of their leaves, the tribulus [Supposed to be the Tribulus terrestris of Linnæeus, a species of thistle: the leaves of this plant, however, are not provided, Fée remarks, with thorns at their base, the fruit alone being spinous. See c. of this Book.] and the anonis [See c. of this Book.] for instance; others, again, have thorns, not on the leaves but on the stem, the pheos [The Poterium spinosum of botanists. See B. xxii. c..] for example, known as the stœbe to some. The hippophaës [See B. xxii. c.. Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vi. c. 5, identifies this plant with the Stœbe just mentioned.] has thorns at the joints; the tribulus presents the peculiarity of bearing a fruit that is thorny.

Chap. 55.—Four Varieties of the Nettle. The Lamium and the Scorpio.

But of all these plants, it is the nettle that is the best known to us, the calyces [“Acetabulis.” Fée complains of the use of this term (meaning a “small cup”) in relation to the calyces of the nettle; such not being in reality their form.] of the blossoms of which produce a purple down: it frequently exceeds two cubits even in height. [Probably in allusion to the Urtica dioica, which grows to a greater height than the Urtica urens. See B. xxii. c..] There are numerous varieties of this plant; the wild nettle, known also as the female nettle, does not inflict so bad a sting as the others. Among the several varieties of the wild nettle, the one known as the dog [“Canina.” A variety, probably, of the Urtica urens, the nettle, with the exception of the Urtica pilifera, which has the most stinging properties of all those found in Europe, and the leaves of which are the most deeply indented.] -nettle, stings the worst, the stem of it even possessing that property; the leaves of the nettle are indented at the edge. There is one kind also, which emits a smell, known as the Herculanean [This has not been identified. They are all of them either inodorous, or else possessed of a faint, disagreeable smell.] nettle. The seed of all the nettles is copious, and black. It is a singular fact that, though possessed of no spinous points, the down [This “lanugo,” or down, as he calls it, consists of a fine elongated tube of cellular tissue, seated upon a gland of similar tissue. In this gland a poisonous fluid is secreted, and when any pressure is made upon the gland, the fluid passes upwards in the tube. The nettle of the East, known as the Devil’s Leaf, is of so poisonous a quality as to produce death.] of the nettle is of a noxious nature, and that, though ever so lightly touched, it will immediately produce an itching sensation, and raise a blister on the flesh similar in appearance to a burn: the well-known remedy for it is olive oil.

The stinging property of the nettle does not belong to the plant at the earliest period of its growth, but only developes itself under the influence of the sun. The plant first begins to grow in the spring, at which period it is by no means a disagreeable food; [In some parts of the north of England and of Scotland the young plant of the Urtica dioica is eaten as greens, and is far from a disagreeable dish, strongly resembling spinach. It is also reckoned a very wholesome diet, and is taken habitually in the spring, under the impression that it purifies the blood. This notion, we see from the context, is as old as the time of the Romans.] indeed, it has become quite a religious observance to employ it as such, under the impression that it is a preventive from diseases the whole year through. The root, too, of the wild nettle, has the effect of rendering all meat more tender that is boiled with it. [Dalechamps speaks of it as the custom in his time to wrap up fish and game in nettles, under the impression that they would keep the longer for it.] The kind that is innoxious and destitute of all stinging properties, is known as the “lamium.” [The dead nettle, or blind nettle. See B. xxii. c..] Of the scorpio [See B. xxii. c..] we shall have occasion to speak when treating of the medicinal plants.

Chap. 56. (16).—The Carduus, the Acorna, the Phonos, the Leucacanthos, the Chalceos, the Cnecos, the Polyacanthos, the Onopyxos, the Helxine, the Scolymos, the Chamæleon, the Tetralix, and Acanthice Mastiche.

The carduus [He probably means the thistle, but possibly the artichoke, under this name. See B. xix. cc. and, and B. xx. c..] has leaves and a stem covered with a prickly down; the same is the case, too, with the acorna, [This is probably the same with the second variety of the “Cnecos,” mentioned above in c. 53, the Centaurea lanata, or benedicta.] the leucacanthos, [Probably the Carduus leucographus of Linnæus.] the chalceos, [According to Dalechamps, this is the Echinops ritro of modern botany.] the cnecos, [See c. of this Book.] the polyacanthos, [“Many thorns.” According to Dalechamps, this is the Carduus spinosissimus angustifolius vulgaris of C. Bauhin, the Cirsium spinosissimum of Linnæus.] the onopyxos, [Identified by Dalechamps with the Onopordon Illyricum, or Acanthium of modern botany.] the helxine, [The Acarna gummifera of modern botanists, the flowers of which yield a kind of gum with an agreeable smell. It is quite a different plant from Wall pellitory, mentioned in B. xxii. c. 19, under this name.] and the scolymos; [See B. xx. c., and B. xxii. c..] the chamæleon, [The black chamæleon is identified by Fée with the Brotera corymbosa of Willdenow: the white variety, mentioned in B. xxii. c. 21, with the Acarna gummifera of Willdenow, the Helxine above mentioned. Desfontaines identifies it with the Carlina acaulis.] however, has no prickles upon the leaves. There is, however, this difference among these plants, that some of them have numerous stems and branches, such as the carduus, for instance; while others, again, have a single stem and no branches, the cnecos, for example. Some, again, such as the erynge, [See B. xxii. c..] are prickly at the head only; and some blossom in the summer, the tetralix and the helxine, for instance. The scolymos blossoms late, and remains a considerable period in flower: the acorna being distinguished only for its red colour and its unctuous juice. The atractylis would be similar in every respect to the last, were it not that it is somewhat whiter, and produces a juice the colour of blood, a circumstance to which it owes the name of “phonos,” [The Greek for “blood” or “slaughter.”] given to it by some. The smell of this plant is powerful, and the seed only ripens at a late period, and never before autumn, although the same may be said of all the prickly plants, in fact. All of them are capable, however, of being reproduced from either seed or root.

The scolymos, which belongs to the thistle [“Carduus.”] genus, differs from the rest of them in the circumstance that the root of it is boiled and eaten. It is a singular fact that this genus of plants bears blossoms, buds, and fruit the whole of the summer through, without any interruption: when the leaf is dried, the prickles lose their pungency. The helxine is a plant but rarely seen, and in some countries only. It throws out leaves at the root, from the middle of which there is a protuberance in the shape of an apple, covered with leaves of its own: the head of it contains a thick juice of a sweet flavour, the name given to which is “acanthice mastiche.” [“Thorn mastich,” or “resin.”]

Chap. 57.—The Cactos; the Pternix, Pappus, and Ascalias.

The cactos, [This is not the Cactus of modern botany, a plant mentioned in the sequel under the name of “Opuntia,” but probably the Cinara carduncellus. See B. xx. c..] too, is a plant that grows only in Sicily, having peculiar characteristics of its own: the root throws out stalks which creep along the ground, the leaves being broad and thorny. The name given to these stalks is “cactos,” and they are not disliked as an article of food, [Theophrastus says, that when peeled they have a somewhat bitter flavour, and are kept pickled in brine.] even when old. The plant, however, has one stem which grows upright, and is known by the name of “pternix;” it has the same sweet flavour as the other parts, though it will not keep. The seed of it is covered with a kind of down, known as “pappus:” [This name is now given by naturalists to the calyx of Compositæ, which exists in the rudimentary condition of a membranous coronet, or of downy hairs, like silk.] when this is removed, as well as the rind [“Cortex.”] of the fruit, it is tender, and like the pith of the palm: the name given to it is “ascalias.”

Chap. 58.—The Tribulus: The Anonis.

The tribulus [The Trapa natans of Linnæus, or water chesnut, a prickly marsh plant of Europe and Asia. Hence our word “caltrop.”] grows nowhere except in marshy places: though held in abomination elsewhere, [“Dira res alibi.”] it is employed on the banks of the Nilus and Strymon as an article of food. It always bends towards the water, and has a leaf like that of the elm, with a long stalk. In other parts of the world there are two varieties of this plant; the one [These two plants have no affinity whatever with the one just mentioned. The first of these so-called varieties is the Tribulus terrestris of Linnæus; and the second is identified by Fée, though with some doubt, with the Fagonia Cretica of Linnæus.] with leaves like those of the chicheling vetch, the other with leaves protected by prickles. This last variety blossoms also at a later period than the other, and is mostly found in the hedge-rows about farm-houses. The seed of it is black, rounder than that of the other, and enclosed in pods: that of the other variety bears a resemblance to sand.

Among the prickly plants there is also another kind, known as the “anonis:” [The Ononis antiquorum of Linnæus, the Cammock, or rest-harrow.] indeed, it has thorns upon the branches, to which leaves are attached similar to those of rue, the stem being entirely covered also with leaves, in form resembling a garland. It comes up in land that has been newly ploughed, being highly prejudicial to the corn, and long-lived in the extreme.

Chap. 59.—Plants Classified According to Their Stems: The Coronopus, the Anchusa, the Anthemis, the Phyllanthes, the Crepis, and the Lotus.

Some, again, among the prickly plants have a stem which creeps along the ground, that, for instance, known as the “coronopus.” [The Cochlearia coronopus. See B. xxii. c..] On the other hand, the anchusa, [The Anchusa tinctoria, probably, or dyers’ alkanet. See B. xxii. c..] the root of which is employed for dyeing wood and wax, has an upright stem; which is the case also with some of the plants that are prickly in a less degree, the anthemis, [See B. xxii. c..] for example, the phyllanthes, [It has not been identified with any degree of certainty: the Centaurea nigra and the Campanula rapunculus have been named.] the anemone, and the aphace: [See B. xxvii. c. 21: also c. of this Book. The name appears to have been given to both the Leontodon taraxacum and the Lathyras aphaca of modern botany.] the crepis, [Theophrastus has Picris in the parallel passage, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 9, the Helminthia echioides of Linnæus. If “Crepis” is the correct reading, that plant has not been identified.] again, and the lotus, [The herbaceous kinds are no doubt those alluded to.] have a foliated stem.

Chap. 60.—Plants Classified According to Their Leaves. Plants Which Never Lose Their Leaves: Plants Which Blossom a Little at a Time: The Heliotropium and the Adiantum, the Remedies Derived from Which Will Be Mentioned in the Following Book.

The leaves of plants, as well as those of trees, differ from one another in the length of the footstalk, and in the breadth or narrowness of the leaf, and the angles and indentations perceptible on its edge. Other differences are also constituted in respect of their smell and blossom. The blossom remains on longer in some of those plants which flower only a little at a time, such as the ocimum, [See B. xix. cc.,, and; and B. xx. c.. The ocimum of the Greeks has been identified by some with the Ocimum basilicum of Linnæus, our basil. That of the Romans seems to have been a name given to one or more varieties of leguminous plants of the vetch kind.] the heliotropium, [The Heliotropium Europæum. See B. xxii. c..] the aphace, and the onochilis, [This plant has not been identified, but Fée is inclined, from what Dioscorides says, B. iv. c. 24, to identify it with either the Lithospermum fruticosum, or else the Anchusa Italica of Linnæus.] for example.

(17.) Many of these plants, the same as certain among the trees, never lose their leaves, the heliotropium, [This is not the case, if this plant is identical with the Heliotropium Europæum, that being an annual.] the adiantum [The Adiantum Capillus Veneris of Linnæus, or the Asplenium trichomanes of Linnæus. “Venus hair, or coriander maiden hair; others name it to be well fern.”—T. Cooper. The leaves of these plants last the whole of their lives.] and the polium, [The Teuerium polium of Linnæeus, our poley; the leaves of which are remarkably long-lived.] for instance.

Chap. 61.—The Various Kinds of Eared Plants: The Stanyops; the Alopecuros; the Stelephuros, Ortyx, or Plantago; the Thryallis.

The eared [“Spicatæ.”] plants form another variety: among them we find the cynops, [Fée is in doubt whether to identify it with the Plantago cynops of the south of Europe, and the banks of the Rhine.] the alopecuros, [“Foxtail.” According to Dalechamps, it is the Saccharum cylindricum, the Lagurus of Linnæus; but Fée expresses his doubts as to their identity.] the stelephuros, [Fée inclines to think that it may be the Secale villosum of Linnæus; though the more recent commentators identify it with the Plantago angustifolia. The Saccharum Ravennæ has been suggested.] also known to some persons as the ortyx, [Or “quail.”] and to others as the plantago, of which last we shall have occasion [In B. xxv. c. 39.] to speak more at length among the medicinal plants, and the thryallis. [Hardouin takes this to be our pimpernel, the Sanguisorba officinalis of Linnæeus. Sprengel inclines to the Verbascum lychnitis of Linnæus.] The alopecuros, among these, has a soft ear and a thick down, not unlike a fox’s tail in fact, to which resemblance it owes its name. The plant most like [“Proxuma.”] it is the stelephuros, were it not that it blossoms only a little at a time. In the cichorium and similar plants, the leaves are near the ground, the buds springing from the root just after the rising of the Vergiliæ. [See B. xviii. c..]

Chap. 62—The Perdicium. The Ornithogale.

It is not in Egypt only that the perdicium [Supposed by most commentators to be the Parietaria officinalis of Linnæus; Wall pellitory or parietary. Some, however, have suggested the Polygonum maritimum, or the Polygonum divaricatum of Linnæus. Fée expresses doubts as to its identity, but remarks that the modern Greek name of pellitory is “perdikaki.” See c. of this Book, and B. xxii. c..] is eaten; it owes its name to the partridge, [“Perdix,” the Greek name.] which bird is extremely fond of digging it up. The roots of it are thick and very numerous: and so, too, with the ornithogale, [Probably the Ornithogalum umbellatum of Linnæus. Sprengel identifies it with the Ornithogalum natans: but that variety is not found in Greece, while the other is.] which has a tender white stalk, and a root half a foot in thickness, bulbous, soft, and provided with three or four other offsets attached to it. It is generally used boiled in pottage. [“Puls”]

Chap. 63.—Plants Which Only Make Their Appearance at the End of a Year. Plants Which Begin to Blossom at the Top. Plants Which Begin to Blossom at the Lower Part.

It is a remarkable thing that the herb lotus [Probably the Melilotus cœrulea of Linnæus, Fée says. Desfontaines mentions the Melilotus Cretica or Italica.] and the ægilops [The Avena fatua or sterilis; the barren oat. See B. xviii. c..] never make their appearance above ground till the end of a year after the seed has been sown. The anthemis, [See B. xxii. c..] too, offers the singular peculiarity that it begins to blossom at the top, while in all the other plants which flower gradually, it is at the lower part that the blossom first makes its appearance.

Chap. 64.—The Lappa, a Plant Which Produces Within Itself. The Opuntia, Which Throws Out a Root from the Leaf.

In the lappa, [The Gallium aparine of Linnæus. See B. xviii. c..] too, which clings so tenaciously, there is this remarkable peculiarity, that within it there grows a flower, which does not make its appearance, but remains concealed and there produces the seed, like those among the animals which produce within themselves. In the vicinity of Opus there grows a plant [The Opuntia. The Cactus Opuntia of Linnæus; the cactus, or Indian fig.] which is very pleasant eating to man, and the leaf of which, a most singular thing, gives birth to a root by means of which it reproduces itself.

Chap. 65.—The Iasione. The Chondrylla. The Picris, Which Remains in Flower the Whole Year Through.

The iasione [Perhaps the Convolvulus sepium of Linnæus; though Fée dissents from that opinion. See B. xxii. c..] has a single leaf only, but that so folded and involved, as to have all the appearance of being several in number. The chondrylla [See c. of this Book.] is bitter, and the juice of the root is of an acrid taste. The aphace, too, is bitter, and so is the plant called “picris,” [See B. xxii. c..] which also remains in flower the whole year through: it is to this bitterness that it is indebted for its name. [From the Greek πικρὸς.]

Chap. 66.—Plants in Which the Blossom Makes Its Appearance Before the Stem. Plants in Which the Stem Appears Before the Blossom. Plants Which Blossom Three Times in the Year.

The peculiarities also of the squill and saffron deserve remark; for while all other plants put forth their leaves first, and then a round stem, these show the stem before the leaf makes its appearance: in the saffron, however, the blossom is protruded by the stem, but in the squill it is the stem that first makes its appearance, and then the flower emerges from it. This plant blossoms three times in the year, indicating thereby, as previously stated, [In B. xviii. c. 65.] the three seasons for ploughing.

Chap. 67.—The Cypiros. The Thesion.

Some authors reckon among the bulbs the root of the cypiros, or gladiolus; [“Little sword:” the Gladiolus communis of Linnæus. See the remarks on the hyacinthus of the ancients in the Notes to c. of this Book.] it is a pleasant food, and when boiled and kneaded up with bread, makes it more agreeable to the taste, and at the same time more weighty. Not unlike it in appearance is the plant known to us as the “thesion,” [Sprengel says that it is the Thesium linophyllum of modern botany; an opinion at which Fée expresses his surprise. See B. xxii. c..] but it is of an acrid flavour.