BOOK XXIV. XX. 29-xxi. 31 



aizoiim." A thivd variety has the same smell, and 

 therefore also the same name ; it is rather small, 

 with a stem as thick as a finger, and with rough, slen- 

 der, pale leaves, gi-owing on rocky soils. All three 

 are * plants, not trees, but should be considered here 

 because their names are derived from that of the pine. 

 They are good for the stings of scorpions, and also for 

 the Uver when apphcd with dates or quinces, as is a 

 decoction of them with barley meal for the kidneys 

 and bladder. Decoctions of them in water are taken 

 also for jaundice and for strangury. The last men- 

 tioned kind mixed with honey counteracts the poison 

 of serpents, and in this form too purges the uterus 

 when used as a pessary. Taken as drink it draws away 

 extravasated blood.*^ Rubbing witli it promotes per- 

 spiration, and it is particularly good for the kidneys. 

 It is also made up into pills with figs for dropsy ; 

 these purge the bowels."^ In doses of one victoriatus 

 bv weight in wine it ends lumbago, and also coughs 

 if taken in good time. A decoction in vinegar taken 

 as a drink is said to expel at once the dead foetus. 



XXI. For a Uke reason honourable mention shall Pityusu 

 be made of pityusa also, which some include in the 

 same class as tithymalus. It is a shrub Uke the pitch- 

 pine, with a small, purple '^ flower. 15ile and phlegm 

 are carried ofFin the stools by a decoction of the root, 

 the dose being one hemina, and by suppositories made 

 of a spoonful of the seed. A decoction of the leaves 

 in vinegar removes scaly eruptions on the skin and, 

 mixed with a decoction of rue, is good for aflfections 

 of the breasts, for griping pains, for snake bites and 

 for gatherings in general in their early stages. 



^ Or, " pills, which with fig purge etc." It is implied that 

 this relieves the dropsy. ' A mistake. 



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