BOOK XIX. Liii. 167-LIV. 171 



LIII. There are some plants that are sown in com- Poppy. 

 pany with others, for instance the poppy, which is sown 

 with cabbago and purslain, and rocket is sown with 

 lettuce. There are three kinds of cultivated poppy : 

 the white, the seed of which in okl days used to be 

 roasted and served with honey at second course ; it is 

 also sprinkled on the top crust of country loaves, an 

 egg bcing poured on to make it stick, while celery 

 and git are used to give the bottom crust a festival 

 flavour. The second kind of poppy is the black 

 poppy, from which a milky juice is obtained by 

 making an incision in the stalk. The third kind i 

 called bv the Greeks rhoeas " and in our country wild 

 poppy ; it does indeed grow uncultivated, but chiefly 

 in fields sown with barley ; it resembles rocket, and 

 grows eighteen inches high, ^vith a red flower which 

 falls very quickly, and which is the origin of its Greek 

 name. We shall speak of the remaining kinds of ^x. les. 

 self-sown poppy under the head of drugs. That the 

 poppy has always been in favour at Rome is indicated 

 by the story of Tarquinius the Proud, who knocked 

 off the heads of the tallest poppies in his garden and 

 by means of this unspoken rebus conveyed to the 

 envoys sent to him by his son that sanguinary answer 

 of his. 



LIV. Again there is another group of plants which iiH.iiard 

 are sown at the autumn equinox — coriander, dill, ""tinmi^ 

 orage,mallow,sorrel,chervil,the Greek name for which *"""» '^**- 

 is lad's love, and mustard, which with its pungent taste 

 and fiery effect is extremely beneficial for the health. 

 It grows entirely wild, though it is improved by being 

 transplanted : but on the other hand when it has 

 once been sown it is scarcely possible to get the place 

 free of it, as the seed when it falls germinates at once. 



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