Œnanthinum,[1715] again, is made from the œnanthe, as we have already stated when speaking of perfumes. In making gleucinum,[1716] must is boiled with olive-oil at a slow heat; some persons, however, do not employ fire in making it, but leave a vessel, filled with oil and must, surrounded with grape husks, for two and twenty days, taking care to stir it twice a day: by the end of that period the whole of the must is imbibed by the oil. Some persons mix with this not only sampsuchum, but perfumes of still greater price: that, too, which is used in the gymnasia is scented with perfumes as well, but those of the very lowest quality. Oils are made, too, from aspalathus,[1717] from calamus,[1718] balsamum,[1719] cardamum,[1720] melilot, Gallic nard, panax,[1721] sampsuchum,[1722] helenium, and root of cinnamomum,[1723] the plants being first left to steep in oil, and then pressed. In a similar manner, too, rhodinum[1724] is made from roses, and juncinum from the sweet rush, bearing a remarkable[1725] resemblance to rose-oil: other oils, again, are extracted from henbane,[1726] lupines,[1727] and narcissus. Great quantities of oil are made in Egypt, too, of radish[1728] seed, or else of a common grass known there as chortinon.[1729] Sesamum[1730] also yields an oil, and so does the nettle,[1731] its oil being known as “cnidinum.”[1732] In other countries, too, an oil is extracted from lilies[1733] left to steep in the open air, and subjected to the influence of the sun, moon, and frosts. On the borders of Cappadocia and Galatia, they make an oil from the herbs of the country, known as “Selgicum,”[1734] remarkably useful for strengthening the tendons, similar, in fact, to that of Iguvium[1735] in Italy. From pitch an oil[1736] is extracted, that is known as “pissinum” it is made by boiling the pitch, and spreading fleeces over the vessels to catch the steam, and then wringing them out: the most approved kind is that which comes from Bruttium, the pitch of that country being remarkably rich and resinous: the colour of this oil is yellow.
There is an oil that grows spontaneously in the maritime parts of Syria, known to us as “elæomeli;”[1737] it is an unctuous substance which distils from certain trees, of a thicker consistency than honey, but somewhat thinner than resin; it has a sweet flavour, and is employed for medicinal purposes. Old olive oil[1738] is of use for some kinds of maladies; it is thought to be particularly useful, too, in the preservation of ivory from decay:[1739] at all events, the statue of Saturn, at Rome, is filled with oil in the interior.
CHAP. 8. (8.)—AMURCA.
But it is upon the praises of amurca[1740] more particularly, that Cato[1741] has enlarged. He recommends that vats and casks[1742] for keeping oil should be first seasoned with it, to prevent them from soaking up the oil; and he tells us that threshing-floors should be well rubbed with it, to keep away ants,[1743] and to prevent any chinks or crannies from being left. The mortar, too, of walls, he says, ought to be seasoned with it, as well as the roofs and floors of granaries; and he recommends that wardrobes should be sprinkled with amurca as a preservative against wood-worms and other noxious insects. He says, too, that all grain of the cereals should be steeped in it, and speaks of it as efficacious for the cure of maladies in cattle as well as trees, and as useful even for ulcerations in the inside and upon the face of man. We learn from him, also, that thongs, all articles made of leather, sandals, and axle-trees used to be anointed with boiled amurca; which was employed also to preserve copper vessels against verdigrease,[1744] and to give them a better colour; as also for the seasoning of all utensils made of wood, as well as the earthen jars in which dried figs were kept, or of sprigs of myrtle with the leaves and berries on, or any other articles of a similar nature: in addition to which, he asserts that wood which has been steeped in amurca will burn without producing a stifling smoke.[1745]
According to M. Varro,[1746] an olive-tree which has been licked by the tongue of the she-goat, or upon which she has browsed when it was first budding,[1747] is sure to be barren. Thus much in reference to the olive and the oils.
CHAP. 9. (9.)—THE VARIOUS KINDS OF FRUIT-TREES AND THEIR NATURES. FOUR VARIETIES OF PINE-NUTS.
The other fruits found on trees can hardly be enumerated, from their diversity in shape and figure, without reference to their different flavours and juices, which have again been modified by repeated combinations and graftings.
(10.) The largest fruit, and, indeed, the one that hangs at the greatest height, is the pine-nut. It contains within a number of small kernels, enclosed in arched beds, and covered with a coat of their own of rusty iron-colour; Nature thus manifesting a marvellous degree of care in providing its seeds with a soft receptacle. Another variety of this nut is the terentina,[1748] the shell of which may be broken with the fingers; and hence it becomes a prey to the birds while still on the tree. A third, again, is known as the “sappinia,[1749]” being the produce of the cultivated pitch-tree: the kernels are enclosed in a skin more than a shell, which is so remarkably soft that it is eaten together with the fruit. A fourth variety is that known as the “pityis;” it is the produce of the pinaster,[1750] and is remarkable as a good specific for coughs. The kernels are sometimes boiled in honey[1751] among the Taurini, who then call them “aquiceli.” The conquerors at the Isthmian games are crowned with a wreath of pine-leaves.
CHAP. 10. (11.)—THE QUINCE. FOUR KINDS OF CYDONIA, AND FOUR VARIETIES OF THE STRUTHEA.
Next in size after these are the fruit called by us “cotonea,”[1752] by the Greeks “Cydonia,”[1753] and first introduced from the island of Crete. These fruit bend the branches with their weight, and so tend to impede the growth of the parent tree. The varieties are numerous. The chrysomelum[1754] is marked with indentations down it, and has a colour inclining to gold; the one that is known as the “Italian” quince, is of a paler complexion, and has a most exquisite smell: the quinces of Neapolis, too, are held in high esteem. The smaller varieties of the quince which are known as the “struthea,”[1755] have a more pungent smell, but ripen later than the others; that called the “musteum,”[1756] ripens the soonest of all. The cotoneum engrafted[1757] on the strutheum, has produced a peculiar variety, known as the “Mulvianum,” the only one of them all that is eaten raw.[1758] At the present day all these varieties are kept shut up in the antechambers of great men,[1759] where they receive the visits of their courtiers; they are hung, too, upon the statues[1760] that pass the night with us in our chambers.