52 THE NATURAL HISTORY OF DISTANT LANDS 



In the narrative of the voyage of Nearchus (one 

 of Alexander s generals) from the Indus to the Tigris, 

 mention is made of the tiger, of the cotton-plant and 

 of the use of cotton in weaving, of rice, of silk, of 

 the sugar-cane, of tortoise-shell, and of oriental spices 

 and drugs. The fleets of the Ptolemies made regular 

 trade-voyages to Arabia, tropical Africa and perhaps 

 to countries yet more remote. Ptolemy Philadelphus 

 set up a menagerie at Alexandria, in which elephants, 

 rhinoceroses, buffaloes and ostriches were kept. Aga- 

 tharcides, an Alexandrian scholar of the second century 

 B.C., described strange animals of Ethiopia, the giraffe, 

 the rhinoceros, the baboon, various monkeys and the 

 spotted hyaena. Theophrastus knew something about 

 the banyan-tree, the citron, the tamarind, which was 

 reported to fold up its leaflets at night, and the 

 thorny Mimosa of Egypt, whose leaves droop when 

 touched. 



Under the Eoman empire trade with distant countries 

 was perhaps as much hindered as encouraged by the 

 Roman passion for dominion. Such books as the 

 Natural History of Pliny show that opportunities of 

 enlarging geographical knowledge were not neglected. 

 Koman emperors sent expeditions to the shores of the 

 Baltic for the sake of amber, and to tropical Africa for 

 the sake of birds of rich plumage. Elephants, camelo- 

 pards and ostriches were exhibited and slain in the 

 circus. Ivory, silk, pearls, spices, dyes and drugs were 

 regularly imported. 



During the long decline which followed the downfall 

 of the empire such knowledge as the ancients had 

 possessed about exotic animals and plants shrank to 

 a meagre stock of perverted recollections. Though the 

 elephant was kept in mind by the bestiaries and the 



