BOOK XIX. XXXVI. 1 19-122 



XXXVI. The seeds of most plants are round, but Orowing 

 those of some oblong ; in a few they are foliated and {^^^ ^'J^'*' 

 broad, for instance orage, in some narrow and grooved, '■"''"• 

 for instance cummin. They differ in colour as well, 

 dark or lighter, and also in woody hardness. The 

 seeds of radishes, mustard and turnip are contained in 

 a pod ; the seed of coriander, dill, fennel and cummin 

 has no cover, that of blite. beet, orage and basil is 

 covered with a skin, while that of lettucos is wrapped 

 in down. No seed is more prolific than basil ; they 

 recommend sowing it with curses and imprecations 

 to make it come up more abundantlv : when it is 

 sown the earth is rammed down. Also people sowing 

 cummin pray for it not to come up. It is difficult for 

 seeds contained in a pod to get dry, particularlv basil, 

 and consequently they are all dried artificiallv to 

 make them fertile. In any case plants grow better 

 when the seed is sown in heaps than wlien it is 

 scattered ; indeed it is on that principle that they 

 sow leek and parsley tied up in strips of rag, and also 

 before sowing parslev they make a hole with a dibble 

 into which they put dung. All plants grow either 

 from seed or from sUps, or some both from seed and 

 from cuttings, as rue, wild marjoram,basil — for people 

 lop off the top of this plant too when it has reached the 

 height of a palm ; and some plants grow both from 

 seed and from a root, as onion, garlic, bulbs, and the 

 perennials <» the roots of which stay aUve. But with 

 plants that grow from a root tlie root Hves a long time 

 andthrows out shoots, for instance bulbs, long onions 

 and squills. Others make shrubby growth and without 

 heads, for instance parsley and beet. When the stalk 

 is cut back, noarly all plants except those which have 

 not got a rough stem throw out fresli shoots, indeed 



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