BOOK XIII. XVI. 59-.\viii. 62 



been called by some the Egyptian fig. But this is 

 clearly a mistake, as it does not grow in Egypt but 

 in Syria and lonia. and also in the neighbourhood of 

 Cnidus and on the island of llhodes. It is always in 

 fuU foHage, and it has a white flower with a powerful 

 scent. It sends out shoots at the lower parts, and 

 consequently is of a yellow colour above ground, as 

 the suckers drain away the sap. If the fruit of the 

 preceding year is picked about the rising of the Dog- 

 star, it at once grows a second crop, after which it 

 blossoms through the period of the Bear-ward, and 

 the winter nourishes its fruit. 



XVII. Egypt also possesses a tree of a peculiar kind Egyptian 

 called the persea,'^ which resembles a pear but is an p^sea, 

 evergreen. It bears fruit without intermission, as^^J^-'^'^' 

 when it is plucked a fresh crop sprouts the next day, 

 but its season for ripening is when the midsummer 

 winds are blowing. The fruit is longer than a pear, 

 and is enclosed in a shell Hke an almond and a rind 

 the colour of grass, but where the almond has a 

 kernel this has a plum, which differs from an almond 

 kernel in being short and soft, and although tempt- 

 ingly sweet and luscious, is quite wholesome. The 

 wood is just like that of the lotus for goodness and 

 soundness and also in its black colour, and it too 

 has liabitually been used for making statues. The 

 timber of the tree we have mentioned called the § ^^- 

 behen-nut, although rehable, is not so highly valued, 

 as a large proportion of it has a twisted grain, so it is 

 only used for ship-building. XVTII. But on the con- 

 trarv the cuci ^ is in great esteem ; this tree re- 

 sembles a palm in that its leaves are also used for 

 textiles, but it differs because it spreads out into 

 branches Hke arms. The fruit is of a size that fills 



^35 



