144 CULTIVATED VEGETABLES. 



of Pontus. This antidote, with slight altera- 

 tions, has been in use for nearly nineteen 

 centuries : the receipt will be found in Phil- 

 lip's History of Fruits, page 351. 



The Greeks bordered their gardens with 

 parsley and rue ; and from thence arose their 

 proverb, " You are not yet arrived at the 

 parsley and rue." This proverb was applied 

 by the Greeks to those who were about to 

 undertake an enterprise, and had not begun 

 it ; for the garden could not be entered with- 

 out passing the border of rue. 



That man, who is blessed with reason, 

 should study the virtues and powers of plants 

 is natural ; but that animals should be aware 

 of their efficacy is truly astonishing : and of 

 this the rue affords a curious instance. The 

 weasel will eat rue as a preservative, when 

 he hunts for rats, or before he fights with 

 them ; and in hot countries, where serpents 

 are found, the weasel will eat rue before at- 

 tacking them, to prevent, as is supposed, 

 the effects of poison. 



This is noticed by Pliny ; and Macer, 

 whose poem was written about twenty years 

 before the Christian era, also regards this 

 circumstance of natural history. 



