194 PLINY S NATUIIAL IIISTOIIT. [Book XIX. 



a nature, a plant which by the Greeks is called ''hippose- 

 linum,"^' and by otliers *' smyrnium." This plant is repro- 

 duced from a tear-like guni^^ which exudes from the stem ; it 

 is also grown from the roots as well. Those w^hose business 

 it is to collect tlie juice of it, say that it has just the flavour of 

 myrrh; and, according to Theophrastus,^ it is obtained by 

 planting myrrh. The ancients recommended that hipposelinuui 

 should be groum in uncultivated spots covered with stones, 

 and in the vicinity of garden walls ; but at the present day it 

 is sowm in ground that has been twice turned up, between the 

 prevalence of the west winds and the autumnal equinox. 



The caper, ^^ too, should be sown in dry localities more par- 

 ticidarly, the plot being hollowed out and surrounded with an 

 embankment of stones erected around it : if this precaution is 

 not taken, it Avill spread all over the adjoining land, and entail 

 sterility upon the soil. The caper blossoms in summer, and 

 retains its verdure till the setting of the YergiliEe ; it thrives 

 the best of all in a sandy soil. As to the bad qualities of the 

 caper which grows in the parts beyond the sea, we have 

 already®^ enlarged upon them when speaking of the exotic 

 shrubs. 



CHAP. 49. — THE CARAWAY. 



The caraway^^ is an exotic plant also, which derives its 

 name, '* careum," from the country^" in which it was first 

 grown ; it is principally employed for culinar}^ purposes. This 

 })lant will grow in any kind of soil, and requires to be culti- 

 vated just the same way as olusatrum ; the most esteemed, 

 however, is that which comes from Caria, and the next best is 

 that of Phrygia. 



CHAP. 50. LOVAGR. 



Lovage®^ grows wild in the mountains of Liguria, its native 



^^ " Ilorse-paisley." 



^^ See B. xvii. c. 11, and B. xxi. c. 14. 



"5 Hist. Plant. B. ix. c. 1. 1 his story originated, no doubt,\n the fan- 

 cicil resemblance of its smell to that of mvrrh. 



'^ The Capparis splnosa of Linnajus. '8eo B. xiii. c. 44, also B. xx. 

 c. 59. ^ sa In B. xiii. c. 44. 



''•^ The Carum carvi of Linnaeus. 



^" Caria, in Asia Minor. 



5' The Ligusticum levisticum of Linnaeus. 



