1 48 PLANTS IN SCRIPTURE 



pression of the text, " And when the blade came up, 

 and brought forth fruit," or gave evidence of its fruit, 

 the zizania appeared. And if the husbandry of the 

 ancients were agreeable unto ours, they would not have 

 been so earnest to weed away the darnel ; for our 

 husbandmen do not commonly weed it in the field, but 

 separate the seed after thrashing. And, therefore, 

 Galen delivereth, that in an unseasonable year, and 

 great scarcity of corn, when they neglected to separate 

 the darnel, the bread proved generally unwholesome, 

 and had evil effects on the head. 



Our old and later translators render zizania tares, 

 which name our English botanists give unto aracus, 

 cracca, -vicia sylvestris, calling them tares and strangling 

 tares. And our husbandmen by tares understand some 

 sorts of wild fitches, which grow amongst corn, and 

 clasp unto it, according to the Latin etymology, vicia 

 a vinciendo. Now in this uncertainty of the original, 

 tares, as well as some others, may make out the sense, 

 and be also more agreeable unto the circumstances of 

 the parable. For they come up and appear what they 

 are, when the blade of the corn is come up, and also 

 the stalk and fruit discoverable. They have likewise 

 little spreading roots, which may entangle or rob the 

 good roots, and they have also tendrils and claspers, 



