BOOK XX. Lxii. 170-LXV. 173 



plaints, pains in the side when mixed into a broth 

 with nieal, oil and vinegar, but especially the bites 

 of serpents. 



LXIII. There is a third kind, whieh the Greeks 

 call male cunila, and the Romans cunilago ; it has 

 a foul sniell, wood-Uke root and a rough leaf. Of 

 al] varieties of cunila it is said that this has the 

 strongest qualities, that a handful of it thrown 

 about attracts all the cockroaches in the whole house, 

 that taken in vinegar and water it is a specitic 

 against scorpions, and that if a man be rubbed 

 over with three " leaves in oil serpents are kept 

 away. 



LXIV. On the other hand the cunila called soft 

 has sliaggier and prickly branches, and when pounded 

 the smell of honey, the fingers sticking together at 

 its touch ; a second variety smells of frankincense, 

 and we have called it Ubanotis.'' Either kind in wine 

 or vinegar is an antidote against the bites of serpents ; 

 furthermore, pounded and scattered about in water 

 both varieties kill fleas. 



LXV. Cultivated cunila too has its uses. The 

 juice with rose oil is good for the ear-laps, and it is 

 taken by itself in drink for stings. From it grows 

 the mountain variety, which is like wild thyme and 

 efficacious against the bites of serpents. It is 

 diuretic and cleanses after child-birth. Wild or 

 cultivated it is a wonderful stimulus to digestion and 

 to the appetite, or reUeves indigestion taken fasting 

 and sprinkled in a drink. Useful too for sprains, 

 taken in barley meal with vinegar and water it is 

 very useful for the stings of wasps and the like. 

 Other kinds of libanotis will be dealt with in their 

 proper place. 



