Chap. 7G.] THE SIZE OF TEEES. 417 



tree, or, indeed, any other kind of tree, mind and do so when 

 the moon is on the wane, after midday, and when there is no 

 south wind blowing. The proper time for cutting a tree is 

 when the seed 98 is ripe, but be careful not to draw it away or 

 plane it while the dew is falling." He then proceeds to say" 

 — " Never touch the timber, except when the moon is on the 

 change, or else at the end of the second quarter : at those 

 periods you may either root up the tree, or fell it as it stands. 

 The next seven days after the fufl moon are the best of ail for 

 grubbing up a tree. Be particularly careful, too, not to rough- 

 hew timber, or, indeed, to cut or touch it, unless it is perfectly 

 dry; and by no means while it is covered with frost or dew," 

 The Emperor Tiberius used also to observe the changes of 

 the moon for cutting his hair. 1 M. Yarro 2 has recommended 

 that the hair should be cut at full moon only, if we would 

 avoid baldness. 



CHAP. 76. THE SIZE OF TEEES : THE NATIJKE OF WOOD : THE 



SAPPINUS. 



From _ the larch, and still more the fir, after it has been 

 cut, a liquid 3 flows for a considerable period : these are the 

 loftiest and straightest of all the trees. The fir is pre- 

 ferred for making the masts and sailyards of ships, on account 

 of its comparative lightness. It is a common feature with 

 these trees, in common with the pine, to have four rows of 

 veins running along the wood, or else two, or sometimes only 

 one. The heart 4 of these trees is peculiarly well adapted for 

 joiners' work, and the best wood of all is that which has four 

 layers of veins, it being softer than the rest : men of expe- 

 rience m these matters can instantly form a judgment of the 

 quality from the bark. That part in the fir which is nearest 

 to the ground is free from knots : when soaked in river water 

 m the. way we have already mentioned, 5 and then barked, the 



98 This practice is observed in modern times. 



99 C. 37. 



J Pliny no doubt, observes an analogy between the hair of the human 

 head and trees as terming the hair of the earth. The superstition here 

 mentioned, Fee says, was,' till very recently, observed in France to a con- 

 siderable extent. 



I u\^l ? USt - 1 '. 37, 3 Terebinthine or turpentine. 



Ad tabrorum mtestina opera medulla sectilis." This passage is pro- 

 bably corrupt. 5 i n c 74 * a F 



vol. in. . E E 



