ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. ix. 6-8 



Fire-sticks are made 1 from many kinds of wood, 

 but best, according to Menestor, 2 from ivy 3 : for 

 that flares up most quickly and freely. They 

 say also that a very good fire-stick 4 is made of 

 the wood which some call traveller's joy ; this is 

 a tree like the vine or the ' wild vine,' which, 

 like these, climbs up trees. The stationary piece 5 

 should be made of one of these, the drill of bay ; 

 for the active and passive parts of the apparatus 

 should not be of the same wood, but different in 

 their natural properties to start with, one being 

 of active, the other of passive character. Never- 

 theless they are sometimes made of the same wood, 

 and some suppose that it makes no difference. 

 They are made in fact of buckthorn kermes- 

 oak lime and almost any wood except olive ; 

 which seems surprising, as olive-wood is rather 

 hard and oily ; however it is plainly its moisture 

 which makes it less suitable for kindling. The 

 wood of the buckthorn is also good, and it makes 

 a satisfactory stationary piece ; for, besides being 

 dry and free from sap it is necessary that this 

 should also be of rather open texture, that the 

 friction may be effectual ; while the drill should 

 be one which gets little worn by use. And that 

 is why one made of bay is best; for, as it is not 

 worn by use, it is effective through its biting 

 quality. All fire-sticks take fire quicker and better 

 in a north than in a south wind, and better in an 

 exposed spot than in one which is shut in. 



Some woods, such as prickly cedar, exude 6 

 moisture, and, generally speaking, so do those 



8 i.e. the piece of wood to be bored, cf. de igne, I.e. 

 6 avifi. 



473 



