It is a peculiarity of the white ivy to throw out arms from the middle of the leaves, with which it invariably embraces any object that may be on either side of it; this is the case, too, with walls, even though it should not be able to clasp them. If the trunk is cut across in ever so many places, it will still live and thrive, having as many fresh roots as it has arms, by means of which it ensures safety and impunity, while at the same time it sucks and strangles the trees to which it clings. There are great differences also in the fruit of both the white ivy and the black; for in some of them the berry is so bitter that birds will not touch it. There is an ivy also which grows upright,[2600] and stands without any support; being the only one that does so among all the varieties, it has thence obtained the distinctive name of “cissos.” The chamæcissos,[2601] on the other hand, is never found except creeping upon the ground.
CHAP. 63. (35.)—THE SMILAX.
Very similar to the ivy is a plant which first came from Cilicia, but is now more commonly found in Greece, and known by the name of smilax.[2602] It has numerous thick stalks covered with joints, and thorny branches of a shrub-like form: the leaf resembles that of the ivy, but is not angular, while from the foot-stalk it throws out tendrils; the flower is white, and has the smell of the lily. It bears clusters like those of the wild vine and not the ivy, and of a reddish colour. The larger berries contain three stones, the smaller but one only: these berries are black and hard. This plant is looked upon as ill-omened, and is consequently banished from all sacred rites, and is allowed to form no part of chaplets; having received this mournful character from the maiden Smilax, who upon her love being slighted by the youth Crocus, was transformed into this shrub. The common people, being mostly ignorant of this, not unfrequently take it for ivy, and pollute their festivities with its presence; for who, in fact, is unaware that the ivy is used as a chaplet by poets, as also by Father Liber and Silenus? Tablets are made[2603] of the wood of the smilax, and it is a peculiarity of this wood to give out a slight sound,[2604] if held close to the ear. It is said that ivy is remarkably efficacious for testing wine, and that a vessel made of this wood will let the wine pass through it, while the water will remain behind, if there has been any mixed with it.[2605]
CHAP. 64. (36.)—WATER PLANTS: THE RUSH: TWENTY-EIGHT VARIETIES OF THE REED.
Among those plants which thrive best in cold localities, it will be only proper to mention the aquatic shrubs.[2606] In the first rank, we find the reed, equally indispensable for the emergencies of war and peace, and used among the appliances[2607] of luxury even. The northern nations make use of reeds for roofing their houses, and the stout thatch thus formed will last for centuries even; in other countries, too, they make light vaulted ceilings with them. Reeds are employed, too, for writing upon paper, those of Egypt more particularly, which have a close affinity to the papyrus: the most esteemed, however, are the reeds of Cnidos, and those which grow in Asia, on the margin of the Anaitic Lake[2608] there.
The reed of our country is naturally of a more fungous nature, being formed of a spongy cartilage, which is hollow within, and covered by a thin, dry, woody coat without; it easily breaks into splinters, which are remarkably sharp at the edge. In other respects, it is of a thin, graceful shape, articulated with joints, and tapering gradually towards the top, which ends in a thick, hairy tuft. This tuft is not without its uses, as it is employed for filling the beds used in taverns, in place of feathers; or else, when it has assumed a more ligneous consistency, it is pounded, as we see done among the Belgæ, and inserted between the joints of ships, to close the seams, a thing that it does most effectually, being more tenacious than glue, and adhering more firmly than pitch.
CHAP. 65.—REEDS USED FOR ARROWS, AND FOR THE PURPOSE OF WRITING.
It is by the aid of the reed[2609] that the nations of the East decide their wars; fixing in it a barbed point, they inflict a wound from which the arrow cannot be withdrawn. By the addition of feathers they accelerate the flight of this instrument of death, and the weapon, if it breaks in the wound, furnishes the combatants with a weapon afresh. With these missiles the warriors darken the very rays of the sun.[2610] It is for this reason more particularly that they desire a clear and serene sky, and hold in abhorrence all windy and rainy weather, which has the effect of compelling them, in spite of themselves, to be at peace with one another.
If a person were carefully to enumerate the peoples of Æthiopia, Egypt, Arabia, India, Scythia, Bactria, and Sarmatia, together with all the numerous peoples of the East, and the vast realms of the Parthians, he would find that fully one-half of mankind throughout the whole world live under a dominion imposed by the agency of the arrow. It was their surpassing excellence in this arm that so ennobled the warriors of Crete, though in this respect, as well as in all others, Italy has gained the mastery; there being no reed in existence better adapted for making arrows than that found in the Rhenus, a river of the territory of Bononia: filled with a greater quantity of pith than any of the others, it is light, and easily cleaves the air, while at the same time it has sufficient weight to resist the action of the wind; an advantage that is not possessed in an equal degree by those employed among the Belgæ. These advantages, however, are possessed by the most approved kinds that are found in Crete, although those of India are preferred; in the opinion of some persons, however, these last are of a totally different nature, for by adding a point to them, the natives are able to use them as lances even. Indeed, we find that in India the reed grows to the thickness of a tree, a fact which is proved by the specimens which are everywhere to be seen in our temples. The Indians assure us that in this plant, too, there is the distinction of male and female; the body of the male being more compact, and that of the female of a larger size. In addition to this, if we can credit the fact, a single compartment between the joints is sufficiently large to answer the purposes of a boat.[2611] These reeds are found more particularly on the banks of the river Acesines.
In every variety of the reed a single root gives birth to numerous stems, and if cut down, they will shoot again with increased fecundity. The root, which is naturally tenacious of life, is also jointed as well as the stem. The reeds of India are the only ones in which the leaves are short; but in all the varieties these leaves take their rise at the joints, and surround the stem with a fine tissue about half way upwards to the next joint, and then leave the stem and droop downwards. The reed, as well as the calamus, although rounded, has two sides, which throw out leaves alternately from above the joints, in such a way that when one springs from the right side, the next issues from the joint above it on the left, and so in turns. Branches, too, shoot occasionally from the stem, being themselves reeds of diminutive growth.