BOOK XVI. XXIV. ^^-xx-v. 65 



for a great many purposes, Tlie kind grown on 

 Ida in the Troad so closely resembles cedar-wood 

 that when the bark has been removed it deceives 

 buyers. The Greeks have distinguished two kinds 

 of ash-tree, a tall one without knots and the other 

 a short tree with harder and darker wood and 

 foUage hke that of the bay-tree. In Macedonia 

 there is a very large ash making very flexible timber, 

 which has the Greek name of * ox-ash.' Other people 

 have distinguished the ash-tree by locaUty, as they 

 say that the ash of the plains has a crinkly grain 

 and the mountain ash is close-grained. Greek 

 writers have stated that the leaves of the ash are 

 poisonous to beasts of burden, though doing no harm 

 to all the other kinds of ruminants ; but in Italy 

 they are harmless to beasts of burden also. Indeed, 

 they are found to be serviceable as an exccptionally 

 effective antidote for snake-bites, if the juice is 

 squeezed out to make a potion and the leaves are 

 apphed to the wound as a poultice ; and they are so 

 potent that a snake wiU not come in contact with the 

 shadow of the tree even in the morning or at sunset 

 when it is at its longest, so wide a berth does it give 

 to the tree itself. We can state from actual experi- 

 ment tliat if a ring of ash-leaves is put round a fire 

 and a snake, the snake wiU rather escape into the 

 fire than into the ash-leaves. By a marveUous pro- 

 vision of Nature's kindness the ash flowers before 

 the snakes conie out and does not shed its leaves 

 before they have gone into hibernation. 



XXV. In the Ume-tree the male and the female Theiime. 

 are entirely different. Not only is the wood of the 

 male Ume hard and reddish and knotted and more 

 scented, but also the bark is thicker, and when 



429 



