BOOK XVI. Lxvi. 164-167 



them, and is also thinner in itsclf. But another 

 kind of cane is hoUow for its whole length ; its 

 Greek name means the flute-reed, and it is very 

 useful for making flutes because it contains no pith 

 and no fleshy substance. The Orchomenus cane 

 has a passage right through even the knots, and is 

 called in Greek the pipe-reed ; this is more suitable 

 for flageolets, as the preceding kind is for flutes. 

 There is another reed the wood of which is thicker 

 and the passage narrow ; this reed is entirely filled 

 with spongy pith. Reeds are of various lengths 

 and thickness. The one called the donax throws 

 out most shoots ; it only grows in watery places — 

 inasmuch as this also constitutes a difference, a 

 reed growing in dry places being much preferred. 

 The reed used as an arrow is a special kind, as we 

 have said, but the Cretan variety has the longest § I6I. 

 intervals between the knots, and when heated allows 

 itself to be bent in any direction you please. Also 

 differences are made by the leaves, which vary not 

 only in number and length but also in colour. The 

 Laconian reed has spotted leaves, and throws out a 

 greater number at the bottom of the stalk, as is 

 thought to be the case with reeds in general that 

 grow round marshy pools, which are different from 

 river reeds, being draped with long leaves cUmbing 

 upward and embracing the stem for a considerable 

 distance above the knot. There is also a slanting 

 reed which does not shoot upward to any height but 

 spreads itself out close to the ground Uke a shrub ; 

 it is very attractive to animals when young and tender, 

 and is called by some people the eletia. Also in Italy 

 there is a growth, found in marsh-reeds, only coming 

 out of the outer skin just below the tuft, named 



495 



