242 PLINY'S NATUUAL HISTORY. [Book XX. 



on a string, at short distances from each other. After these 

 pieces are thoroughly dried, they are thrown into a jar of the 

 very strongest vinegar, suspended in such a way, however, as 

 not to touch any portion of the vessel. This is done forty-eight 

 days hefore the summer solstice. The mouth of the jar is then 

 tightly sealed with plaster ; after which it is placed beneath 

 some tiles which receive the rays of the sun the whole day 

 through. At the end of forty-eight days the vessel is removed, 

 the squills are taken out of it, and the vinegar poured into 

 another jar. 



This vinegar has the effect of sharpening the eyesight, and, 

 taken every other day, is good for pains in the stomach and 

 sides : the strength of it, however, is so great, that if taken in 

 too large a quantity, it will for some moments produce all the 

 appearance of death. Squills, too, if chewed by themselves 

 even, are good for the gums and teeth ; and taken in vinegar 

 and honey they expel tapeworm and other intestinal worms. 

 Put fresh beneath the tongue, they prevent persons afflicted 

 with dropsy from experiencing thirst. 



Squills are cooked in various ways ; either in a pot with a 

 lining of clay or grease, which is put into an oven or furnace, ' 

 or else cut into pieces and stewed in a saucepan. They are 

 dried also in a raw state, and then cut into pieces and boiled 

 with vinegar ; in which case, they are employed as a liniment 

 for the stings of serpents. Sometimes, again, they are roasted 

 and then cleaned ; after which, the middle of the bulb is 

 boiled again in water. 



When thus boiled, they are used for dropsy, as a diuretic, 

 being taken in doses of three oboli, with oxymel : they are 

 employed also in a similar manner for affections of the spleen, 

 and of the stomach, when it is too weak to digest the food, 

 provided no ulcerations have made their appearance ; also for 

 gripings of the bowels, jaundice, and inveterate cough, accom- 

 panied with asthma. A cataplasm of squill leaves, taken off 

 at the end of four days, has the effect of dispersing scrofulous 

 swellings of the neck ; and a decoction of squills in oil, applied 

 as a liniment, is a cure for dandriff and running ulcers of the 

 head. 



Squills are boiled with honey also for the table, with the 

 view of aiding the digestion more particularly ; used in this 

 way, too, they act upon the inside as a purgative. Boiled 



