ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. ii. 9-1 1 



attention of other kinds, which cause the wild to 

 become cultivated, or again cause some cultivated 

 kinds to go wild,i such as pomegranate and almond. 

 Some say that wheat has been known to be produced 

 from barley, and barley from wheat, or again both 

 growing on the same stool ; but these accounts should 

 be taken as fabulous. Anyhow those things which do 

 change in this manner do so spontaneously,- and the 

 alteration is due to a change of position (as we said ^ 

 happens with pomegranates in Eg\-pt and Cilicia), 

 and not to any particular method of cultivation. 



So too is it when fruit-bearing trees become un- 

 fruitful, for instance the persion when moved from 

 Egypt, the date-palm when planted in Hellas, or the 

 tree which is called 'poplar' in Crete,'* if anyone 

 should transplant it. ^ Some again say that the 

 sorb becomes unfruitful if it comes into a very warm 

 position, since it is by nature cold-loving. It is 

 reasonable to suppose that both results follow because 

 the natural circumstances are reversed, seeing that 

 some things entirely refuse to grow when their place 

 is changed. Such are the modifications due to 



position. 



As to those due to method of culture, the changes 

 which occur in things grown from seed are as was 

 said ; (for with things so grown also the changes are 

 of all kinds). Under cultivation the pomegranate 

 and the almond change character,*^ the pomegranate 

 if it receives pig-manure ^ and a great deal of river 

 water, the almond if one inserts a peg and ^ removes for 

 some time the gum which exudes and gives the other 



^ cf. C.P. 2. 14. 2 ; 3. 9. 3 ; Plin. 17. 259 ; Col. 5. 10. 15 

 and 16. 



8 cf. 2. 7. 6 ; C.P. 1. 17. 10 ; 2. 14. 1 ; Plin. 17. 2-52. 



117 



