ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. in. 1-3 



Box and ebony seem to have the closest and 

 heaviest wood ; for their wood does not even float on 

 water. This applies to the box-tree as a whole, and 

 to the core of the ebony, which contains the black 

 pigment. 1 The nettle-tree also is very close and heavy, 

 and so is the core of the oak, which is called ' heart 

 of oak,' and to a still greater degree this is true 

 of the core of laburnum 2 ; for this seems to resemble 

 the ebony. 



The wood of the terebinth is also very black and 

 close-grained ; at least in Syria 3 they say that it is 

 blacker than ebony, that in fact they use it for making 

 their dagger handles ; and by means of the lathe- 

 chisel they also make of it ' Theriklean ' cups/ so 

 that no one could 5 distinguish these from cups made 

 of pottery ; for this purpose they use, it is said, the 

 heart-wood, but the wood has to be oiled, for then 

 it becomes comelier and blacker. 



There is also, they say, another tree 6 which, as 

 well as the black colour, has a sort of reddish 

 variegation, so that it looks like variegated ebony, 

 and of it are made beds and couches and other things 



^ O 



of superior quality. This tree is very large and lias 

 handsome leaves and is like the pear. 



These trees then, as well as the black colour, have 

 close wood ; so also have maple zygia and in general 

 all those that are of compact growth ; so also have 

 the olive and the wild olive, but their wood is 

 brittle. 7 Of wild trees which are used for roof- 

 limbers the wood of the silver-fir is the least corn- 

 colour to the cups made by Therikles, a famous Corinthian 

 potter ; see reff. to comedy in LS. s.v. 



6 ^urjSfVa hv conj. W. ; ^rj5' &v '<iva Aid. 



6 Sissoo wood. See Index App. (21). 



7 a\Aa Kpavpa conj. Sch.; oAAa KOI avpa MVAld. 



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