1916 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 91 



and the white gall-nut parasitic on " latifolia " as similar to the preceding, but 

 lighter in color, and slightly inferior in quality. He includes, as well, the black 

 igall-nut that grows on both the " latifolia " and the " robur " varieties of oaks. 

 He states that the black gall-nut, when on the latter host, has holes in it, and is, 

 in consequence, of much less value. The holes, that he notices apparently only 

 in this form, were without doubt the exit channels of the producers. But, un- 

 fortunately for the progress of the science, this point escaped him entirely, and he 

 saw in them nothing but a proof of the inferior character of the galls. 



In common with his predecessors, Pliny shows the most perfect confidence, 

 real or assumed, in the value of the medicinal properties of gall extracts. He 

 recommends their use in the treatment of twenty-three different ailments, ulcera- 

 tion of the mouth, affections of the gums and uvula, burns, etc. Toothache may 

 be allayed by merely chewing a little of the gall, but, to secure the best results in 

 more serious disorders, the gall substance should be burned and quenched in wine, 

 or in a mixture of water and vinegar. Pliny no doubt owed much that he has 

 stated concerning the healing properties of galls to his contemporary, Dioscorides. 

 This author named and described five or six hundred plants supposed to be 

 medicinal, and included oak-galls in this primitive materia medica. 



In addition to the oak-gall of commerce, the writings of Pliny contain refer- 

 ences to other galls. He states that the "' robur ■' oak produces one that can be 

 used for illuminating purposes, and another that contains a sweet juice. These 

 are clearly the same species mentioned by Theophrastus. In the axils of the 

 branches of this same oak, Pliny has observed galls. Following his description of 

 the species, it adheres to the bark without the medium of a stalk; at the point of 

 junction with the host the gall is white, but is spotted elsewhere with black; the 

 inner substance is scarlet in color, and has a bitter taste. Quite a concise and 

 detailed description, considering the early developmental stage of the subject. It 

 has been inferred that Pliny had seen Cynipid producers, since he speaks of a sort 

 of gnat in watery pustules on the leaves of the " robur " oak. Clearly the corre- 

 lation between the life-history of the insect and that of the gall was not noticed by 

 him, and indeed it is not perfectly conclusive that he recognized the nature of the 

 oak pustule as the same as that of the gall-nut, although he states that the two 

 species mature in about the same way. 



Many of the statements of Pliny incline us to the belief thai he was influenced 

 to a greater degree by tradition than by observation. Only some such charitable 

 conclusion can explain his assumption that gall-nuts are a fruit of the oak, pro- 

 duced in alternate years with the acorns; or that the gall-nut develops in a single 

 day, but shrivels up immediately if the heat strikes it. 



The writers already considered may be regarded as representative of the 

 ancient period of the literature dealing with galls. That era, in reality, contributed 

 very little to our knowledge of the subject. Swellings on certain plants had been 

 noted, and, in some instances, described, but, apart from that, nothing of scientific 

 value had been accomplished. At that time, different hosts, such as the oak, beech, 

 rose, and ash, were known to bear galls. They were supposed to be a fruit-like 

 product of these trees, and it is extremely doubtful that the deformities on the 

 various hosts were known to be of the same fundamental character. It is almost 

 impossible that they could be so regarded, since the common and unifying element, 

 their production by an insect, was unknown. The consideration of galls as fruits 

 caused them to be looked upon as natural products, and made any attempt to ex- 

 plain their origin quite superfluous. During this period, confidence in the 

 medical properties reached its maximum, and their extracts were recommended as 

 infallible remedies for a long list of diseases. 



