DRY FRUITS. 237 



own defence, it might very well plead that it is not 

 easy for a plant scarcely a foot high to shelter two 

 grown-up people and a baby, not to mention the 

 mule : " A 1'impossible nul n'est tenu ! " But, at any 

 rate, the sticky and spiteful little vegetable might 

 have abstained from making a noise so as to bring the 

 soldiers to the spot. 



We must admit that the Chick Pea richly 

 deserved the Virgin's malediction. Cursed or not, 

 this pea is insipid to the last degree. Yet as a food 

 it is considered nutritious, and when roasted it will 

 sustain life longer than any other substance ; at least, 

 so they say. I wonder if this is the pulse which we 

 read of in history as forming the sole diet of those 

 fierce Arab conquerors who swept northward over 

 Palestine, and westward along the coast of Africa. 



The Chick Pea is ground and mixed with Chicory 

 to the extent of fifty per cent. This is not regarded 

 as an adulteration ; on the contrary, it is said to 

 improve the flavour of the coffee. The "Kam's 

 Head," with curling horns, may be seen, with a little 

 help from the imagination, by holding the young seed 

 at a certain angle. From Cicer is derived the name 

 of the great Roman orator. 



If we turn to the Cress flowers (Crucifers) we 

 shall find some interesting variations of the shorter 

 pod (silicule). Woad (Isatia timtoria) grows plenti- 

 fully all along the Var beside the high road. I have 

 also found it below the village of Peillon, and in the 

 mountain district near Duranus, at the top of that 

 fearful precipice the " Frenchman's Fall." 



But the headquarters of Woad ought to be the 

 village of La Gaude, which is called after the plant. 



