PLANTS OF GREECi:. 237 



before the acorn is ripe, in the month of August. A quantity of this 

 oak is planted in the plain of Eleusis, and the Valanida is sold to the 

 tanners of Athens for two paras the oke. The wood of the KovTr^Ki 

 is esteemed in ship-building and in house work, and makes good 

 charcoal. 



• 4. Quercus Ilex, "A^eoc. This tree does not grow in great abund- 

 ance in Attica. It may be observed on the higher parts of Pendeli, 

 near the ancient marble quarries. The wood is preferred for the share 

 of the plough, and for making the tyes in the walls of the Greek 

 houses. 



5. Quercus Coccifera, 7rp;t/«'p . The bark of the root is used by 

 the tanners, particularly for tanning hides for the soles of shoes. It 

 is powdered and mixed in equal quantity with the Valanida and the 

 bark of the Pine. Small quantities of the grain used for dyeing 

 scarlet are collected from this plant near Casha in Attica ; but in the 

 Morea, the collecting of it forms a considerable object of commerce. 

 The wood being hai'd and durable is employed for the handles of 

 mattocks, and for other agricultural instruments. : ., . 



The plant, says Mr. Hawkins, is found stunted in its growth by 

 the constant nibbling of the goats, of which it is the favorite food. 

 It occasionally, however, attains the size of a small tree, and is then 

 very fit either for timber or charcoal. 



Notes by the Editor. 



4. The ?pOj of Homer, according to Sprengcl, and Trpivo; of Theophr. Hist. iii. i6. 



5. It is the irplvo:, r) rov foivixouv xiixxov (pepsi of Theophrastus, Hist. iii. 8. and xoxxo; 

 |3a^(xt)of Diosc. iv. 48. The kermes are still collected in Crete and Cyprus; in the latter 

 island the name TrpTvoj is retained, according to Dr. Sibthorp. The grains were found in 

 the time of Pausanias in Phocis and in various parts of Asia Minor (Plin. ct Dioscor.) 

 The colour expressed from them is the Galatiais rubor oi Tertullian, de Pallio, p. 38. 



The coccus is mentioned by Moses under the name Phceni Tola; the Phoenicians, ac- 

 cording to Prof. Tychsen, having brought them into Palestine from Syria. The Eg}'p- 

 tians also were acquainted with the dye. See Beckmann. vol. ii. 



Mr. Hawkins says the wood of the Q. C. is used for charcoal. We may add from tiie 

 Schol.'on the Achar. of Aristoph. ^ S; irfitiai itnTrfisiov fuXov sij avSpaxaj. Athens is still 

 supplied with charcoal from that part of the country where Acharnae may be supposed to 

 have been situated; 'A;^apvixo( Tzplvivoi. Ach. 1/8. 



