BOOK XIX. Lviii. 181-LX. 185 



however which keep best none is of any use after 

 four years, at all events for sowing; they are fit for 

 kitchen use even beyond that period. 



LIX. There is a curative propcrtv speciallv effec- DirecHons 



c T 1 1 1.1 fc' tvateriiig. 



tive lor radisli, beet, rue and savory in salt water, 

 which moreovcr also contributes a great deal to their 

 sweetness and to their fertility. AU other plants are 

 benefited by being watered with fresh water, the 

 most useful for the purpose being water from streams, 

 which is extremely cool and very sweet to drink ; 

 water from a pond or brought by a conduit is not so 

 useful, because it carries with it the seeds of weeds. 

 However it is rain that nourishes plants best, as rain- 

 water also kills insects that breed on them. 



LX. For gardens the times for watering are in the 

 morning and the evening, so that the water may not 

 be heated by the sun. It only suits basil to water it 

 at midday as well ; for it is thought that this plant 

 even when first sown will bi*eak out most rapidly if at 

 the first stage it is watered u-ith water that is warm. 

 All plants grow better and larger when transplanted, 

 most of all leeks and navews. Also transplanting has Trantplaru- 

 a medicinal effect, and such plants as long onion, leek, "*^' 

 radishes, parsley, lettuces, turnip and cucumber cease 

 to suffer from injuries when transplanted." But Useofuild 

 almost all the wild varieties, for example savory, wild p'"'"''- 

 marjoram, rue, are smaller in leaf and stalk, and have 

 a more acrid juice. Indeed sorrel is the only one of 

 all the plants of which the wild variety is the better ; 

 the cultivated sorrel is called rumix, and it is the 

 strongest of all the plants grown under cultivation or 

 wild ; at all events it is reported that when once it has 

 been estabhshed it lasts on and is never overcome, and 

 that it is specially everlasting when close to water. 



537 



