2 PLINY'S NATURAL HISTORY. [Book XXiV. 



if touched by the hand of man before the axe is applied : it 

 is a common belief, too, that when their load consists of fruit, 

 beasts of burden are immediately sensible 6 of it, and will in- 

 stantly begin to sweat, however trifling it may be, unless the 

 fruit is duly shown to them before starting, fennel-giant, as 

 a fodder, is extremely grateful to the ass, and yet to other beasts 

 of burden it is a deadly poison : hence it is that the ass is con- 

 secrated to Father Liber, 7 to which deity the fennel is also 

 sacred. 



Inanimate objects again, even of the most insignificant 

 character, have their own peculiar antipathies. Cooks dis- 

 engage meat of the brine, when it has been too highly salted, 

 by the agency of fine meal and the inner bark 8 of the linden- 

 tree. Salt again, tends to neutralize the sickly flavour of food 

 when over- sweet. The taste of water, when nitrous or bitter, 

 is modified by the addition of polenta, 9 so much so indeed, as 

 to be rendered potable 10 in a couple of hours : it is for a similar 

 reason, too, that a layer of polenta is put 11 in our linen wine- 

 strainers. A similar property is possessed also by the chalk 12 

 of Ehodes, and the argilla of our own country. 



Equal affinities exist as well ; pitch, for instance, is extracted 

 by the agency of oil, both of them being of an unctuous nature : 

 oil again, will incorporate only with lime, both of them having 

 a natural antipathy 13 to water. Gum is most 14 easily removed 

 with vinegar, and ink 15 with water; in addition to which, there 



6 See the same statement made in B. xxiii. c. 62. 



7 Or Bacchus. 



8 " Philyra." Fee does not think that it can be of any use for such a 

 purpose. Hardouin says, however, that in his time meat when too highly 

 salted was wrapped in leaves of the lime or linden, for the purpose of ex- 

 tracting the salt. . 9 See B. xviii. c. 14. 



10 Instead of having this effect. Fee says, it would render it much worse. 



11 The intention being to clear the wine, though in reality, as Fee ob- 

 serves, it would have a tendency to turn the wine into vinegar. 



12 Chalk, or in other words, sub-carbonate of lime, and argilla, or 

 aluminous earth combining several earthy salts, would probably neutralize 

 the acetic acid in the wine, but would greatly deteriorate its flavour, 



18 On the contrary, lime would appear to have a great affinity for water, 

 absorbing it with avidity, if we may use the term. 



14 More easily with water ; though vinegar will do for the purpose. 



15 " Atramentum." By this passage, Fee says, it is clearly proved that 

 the ink of the ancients was soluble in water, and that it contained neither 

 galls nor salts of iron, "What it really was made of is still a matter of 



