194 PLINY'S NATURAL HISTORY. [Book XIX. 



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

 ]iuum," a4 and by others "srnyrnium." This plant is repro- 

 duced from a tear-like gum 85 which exudes from the stem ; it 

 is also grown from the roots as well. Those whose business 

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

 myrrh; and, according to Theophrastus, 86 it is obtained by 

 planting myrrh. The ancients recommended that hipposelinum 

 should be grown in uncultivated spots covered with stones, 

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

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

 prevalence of the west winds and the autumnal equinox. 



The caper, 87 too, should be sown in dry localities more par- 

 ticularly, the plot being hollowed out and surrounded with an 

 embankment of stones erected around it : if this precaution is 

 not taken, it will 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 VergiliaB ; 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 88 enlarged upon them when speaking of the exotic 

 shrubs. 



CHAP. 49. THE CARAWAY. 



The caraway 89 is an exotic plant also, which derives its 

 name, " careum," from the country 90 in which it was first 

 grown ; it is principally employed for culinary purposes. This 

 plant 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 w;hich comes from Caria, and the next best is 

 that of Phrygia. 



CHAP. 50. LOVAGE. 



Lovage 91 grows wild in the mountains of Liguria, its native 



84 " Horse-parsley." 



85 See B. xvii. c. 14, and B. xxi. c. 14. 



^ 6 Hist. Plant. B. ix. c. 1. This story originated, no doubt, in the fan- 

 cied resemblance of its smell to that of myrrh. 



b7 The Capparis spinosa of Linnaeus. See B. xiii. c. 44, also B. xx. 

 c. 59. sy In 13. xiii. e. 44. 



s9 The Carum carvi of Linnaeus. 



90 Caria, in Asia Minor. 



91 The Ligusticum levisticum of Linnaeus. 



