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,[2411] 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,[2412] and the flowers, which are a cubit[2413] in length, no bee will ever touch. The shrub, too, known as Jupiter’s beard,[2414] 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,[2415] the siler,[2416] and the privet,[2417] so extensively employed for making tallies,[2418] will only grow in damp, watery places; which is the case also with the vaccinium,[2419] grown in Italy for drugging our slaves,[2420] and in Gaul for the purpose of dyeing the garments of slaves a purple colour. All those trees[2421] 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.