BOOK XXI. XIII. 26 .XV. 28 



are tied together and hung in the smoke. Then, as 

 tlie little knots bare themselves, these stems in 

 March are steeped in the lees of dark wine or Greek 

 wine, so that they take on the colour. In this state 

 they are planted in Httle trenches, with a hemina 

 of lees poured round each. In this way bright-red 

 lilies are produced, and it is wonderful that a plant 

 can be so dyed as to grow a bloom that is also dyed." 



XIV. Next in esteem comes the violet, of which vioieh 

 there are several kinds. the purple, the j^ellow, the 

 white, all of them planted as are vegetables, from 

 cuttings.*" Of these kinds however the purple, 

 vvhich comes up wild in sunny, poor soils, springs 



up with a broader, fleshy leaf, coming straight from 

 the root." It is the only one to be distinguished from 

 the others bv a Greek name, being called ion, from 

 which ianthine cloth gets its name. Of the culti- 

 vated violets, the most highly esteemed is the yellow 

 variety. The kinds called Tusculan and marine 

 have a sHghtly broader but less perfumed petal.'* 

 The Calatian variety however is entirely without 

 perfume and has a very small petal ; ^* it is a gift of 

 autumn. but all other kinds bloom in spring. 



XV. Nearest to it comes the caltha,'' both in caitha 

 colour and in size. In the number of the petals it 

 exceeds the marine violet, which never has over 

 flve. The same plant is surpassed in scent, that of 



" Mayhoffs reading means much the same. but the grammar 

 is slightly easier : " with a broader leaf, sjjringing up straight 

 out of the root, being fleshy, etc." 



"* If folium means leaf here, then Mayhoffs odorata must 

 be riglit, as the lcaves have no smell. 



' 8ome say the marsh marigold. Perhaps some variety of 

 pansy. 



181 



