BOOK XIII. XIV. 56-xvi. 59 



berry in foliage, size and appearance ; it bears its 

 fruit not on the branches but on the trunk itself, and 

 this is an exceedingly sweet fig without seeds inside 

 it. There is an extremely prolific yield, but only if 

 incisions are made in the fruit with iron hooks, other- 

 wise it does not ripen ; but when this is done, it can 

 be plucked three days later, another fig forming in 

 its place, the tree thus scoring seven crops of ex- 

 tremely juicy figs in a summer. Even if the incisions 

 are not made new fruit forms under the old and drives 

 out its predecessor before it is ripe four times in a 

 summer. The wood of this fig is of a pecuUar 

 kind, and is one of the most useful there is. As soon 

 as it is cut it is plunged into a marsh, and at first 

 sinks to the bottom, but afterwards begins to float, 

 and it is clear that moisture not belonging to it, 

 which soaks into all other timber, drains the sap out 

 of this. When it begins to float on the surface, 

 this is its sign that the timber is ready for use. 



XV. A tree to some extent resembUng the Egyptian The Cypria 

 fig is one in Crete caUed the Cyprian fig, as it also ^' 

 bears fruit on its actual trunk and on its branches 



when they have grown to thickness. But the Cj^rian 

 fig puts out a bud without any leaves, resembUng a 

 root. The trunk of the tree is Uke a poplar, and the 

 leaf Uke an ehn. It bears fruit four times a year, 

 and also buds the same number of times, but its 

 unripe figs wiU not ripen unless an incision is made in 

 them to let out the juice. They have the sweet taste 

 and the inside of the common fig, and are the size of 

 a service-tree berry. 



XVI. Another similar tree is the one caUed by st. John's 

 the lonians the ceronia, which also buds from the '""^'^ 

 trunk, the fruit being a pod, which has consequently 



