BOOK X\III. xi.v. ST-84 



known of theni and the most prevalent are emmer 

 (the old name for which was adoreum), common wlieat 

 and hard wheat — these are commonto most countries. 

 Arinca " wheat which is indigenous in the (iaUic 

 provinces is also frequent in Italy ; wliile cea, oli/ra, 

 and * rice ' or tiphe'' are only found in Egypt, Syria, 

 CiUcia and Asia and Greece. Egypt makes a prime 

 flour out of its own wheat, but it by no means matches 

 that of Italy. The places that use zea have not got 

 our emmer. Zea also is found in Italy, particulai'ly 

 in Campania, and is called ' seed ' ; it has that name as 

 being a remarkable thing, as we shall soon explain, §§ 112, 19^ 

 which is the reason for Homer's expression zeidoros ii.u.biv 

 aroura, ' the tilth that gives us zea ' — it is not on 

 account of its ' bestowing life ', as some peojile think. 

 Starch of a coarser quality than the kind mentioned be- 

 fore but otherwise identical is made from it. Emmer 

 is the most hardy of every kind and the one that 

 resists winter best. It stands the coldest locali- 

 ties and those that are under-cultivated or extremely 

 hot and dr}'. It was the first food of the Latium of 

 old times, a strong proof of this being found in the 

 oiferings of adoria, as we have said. It is clear § i^. 

 however that for a long time the Romans lived on 

 pottage, not on bread, since even to-day foodstuffs 

 are also called ' pulmentaria ', and Ennius, the oldest 

 of our bards, describing a famine during a siege, re- 

 calls how fathers snatched away a morsel from their 

 crying children. Even nowadays primitive ritiials 

 and birthday sacrifices are performed with gruel- 

 pottage ; and it appears that pottage was as much 

 unknown to Greece as pearl-barlev was to Rome. 



Latin far was properly ^eia Sikokkos, but Pliny mi.sses tliis 

 point. 



243 



