174 PLINT' 8 NATUEAL HISTORY. [Book XIX. 



wanted to bulb before being cut, when they have grown to 

 some size they are transplanted to another bed, the extremities 

 of the leaves being snipped off without touching the white part, 

 and the heads stripped of the outer coats. The ancients were 

 in the habit of placing a stone or potsherd upon the leek, to 

 make the head grow all the larger, and the same with the 

 bulbs as well ; but at the present day it is the usual practice 

 to move the fibrous roots gently with the weeding-hook, so that 

 by being bent they may nourish the plant, and not withdraw 

 the juices from it. 



It is a remarkable fact, that, though the leek stands in need 

 of manure and a rich soil, it has a particular aversion to water ; 

 and yet its nature depends very much upon the natural proper- 

 ties of the soil. The most esteemed leeks are those grown in 

 Egypt, and next to them those of Ostia and Aricia.^"^ Of the 

 leek for cutting, there are two varieties : that with grass- 

 green ^^ leaves and incisions distinctly traced on them, and the 

 leek with paler and rounder leaves, the incisions being more 

 lightly marked. There is a story told, that Mela,^ a member 

 of the Equestrian order, being accused of mal-administration 

 by order of the Emperor Tiberius, swallowed in his despair 

 leek-juice to the amount of three denarii in weight of silver, 

 and expired upon the spot without the slightest symptom of 

 pain. It is said, however, that a larger dose than this is pro- 

 ductive of no injurious effects whatever.^" 



CHAP. 34. — GAELIC. 



Garlic ^ is generally supposed, in the country more particu- 

 larly, to be a good specific ^^ for numerous maladies. The ex • 



'^^ Martial, B. xiii. Epig. 19, mentions the leeks of Aricia. 



^^ Pt'e thinks that this may be the wild leek, which is commonly found 

 as a weed in Spain. 



«" M. Annxnxs Mela, the brother of L. Seneca the philosopher, and the 

 father of I he poet Lucan. 



G'^ Thougli Pliny would seem inclined, as Fee says, to credit this story, 

 the juice of tlio leek is in reality quite harmless. 



5^ The Allium sativum of Linnaeus. It was much eaten by the Roman 

 soldiers and saUors, and by the field labourers. It is in reference to this 

 ve^'ctable, " more noxious than hemlock," that Horace exclaims— 

 '* dura mcssorum ilia!" 



e» It was thought to have the property of neutralizing the venom of 



