COOK XIII. xLiv. 127-XLV11. 130 



Marmarica," is iMJiirioiis to the wonib. Also the 

 Apuhaii caper-tree produces vomiting and diarrhoea 

 by causing flatulence in all the organs. Some 

 persons call this shrub ' dog-brier,' others * snake- 

 vine.' 



XLV. The saripha growing on the banks of the 

 Nile also belongs to the shrub class. It is about 3 ft. 

 higli and the thickness of a man's thumb ; its foHage 

 is that of the papyrus, and it is chewed in a similar § 72. 

 manner. The root is highly rated in workshops for 

 use as fuel, because of its hardness. 



XLVI. Also we must not leave out a plant * that at 

 Babylon is grown on thorn-bushes, because it will not 

 live anywhere else — ^just as mistletoe grows on trees, 

 but the plant in question will only grow on what is 

 called the ' royal thorn,' It is a remarkable fact 

 that it buds on the same day as it has been planted — 

 this is done just at the rising of the Dogstar — and it ?.- . 

 very quickly takes possession of the whole of the 

 tree. It is used in making spiced wine, and is 

 cultivated for that purpose. This thorn also grows 

 on the Long Walls at Athens. 



XL\TI. There is also a shrub called cytisus,'^ which The cytum. 

 lias been remarkably praised by Amphilochus of 

 Athens as a fodder for all kinds of cattle, and when 

 dried for swine as well, and he guarantees a yearly 

 return of 2,000 sesterces for an iugerum of it, even 

 on only moderate soil. It serves the same purpose 

 as vetch, but produces satiety more quickly, an 

 animal being fattened by quite a moderate amount — 

 so much so that beasts of burden fed on it refuse 

 barley. No other fodder produces a larger quantity 

 or a better quality of milk, and above everything as 

 a medicine for cattle it renders them immune from 



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