BOOK XII. Liv. 111-115 



and it is a remarkable fact that ever since the time 

 of Pompey the Great even trees have figm-ed among 

 the captives in our triumphal processions. The 

 balsam-tree is now a subject of Rome, and pays tri- 

 bute together with the race to which it belongs ; it 

 differs entirely in character from the accounts that 

 had been given of it by Roman and foreign writers, 

 being more Hke a vine than a myrtle : it has quite 

 recently been taught to grow from mallet-shoots tied 

 up on trelHses hke a vine, and it covers whole hill- 

 sides as vineyards do. A balsam unsupported by a 

 trelHs and carrying its own weight is pruned in a 

 similar manner when it puts out shoots ; the use of 

 the rake makes it thrive and sprout rapidly, bearing 

 in its third year. Its leaf is very near that of the 

 tuber-apple," and it is an evergreen. The Jews 

 vented their wrath upon this plant as they also did 

 upon their own Hves, but the Romans protected it 

 against them, and there have been pitched battles 

 in defence of a shrub. It is now cultivated by the 

 treasury authorities, and "was never before more 

 plentiful; but its height has not advanced beyond 

 three feet. 



There are three varieties of balsam-tree : one Varieties of 

 with thin foHage Hke hair, caHed easy-to-gather ; '^ ^'^"*' 

 another with a rugged appearance, curving over, of 

 a bushy growth and with a stronger scent — they 

 call this rough balsam, and the third tah balsam 

 because it grows higher than the rest ; this has a 

 smooth bark. This last is the secondbest in quality, 

 and the easy-to-gather kind is the lowest grade. 

 Balsam-seed tastes very Hke wine, and has a red 

 colour and a rather greasy consistency ; that con- 

 tained in a husk, which is Hghter in weight and greener 



81 



