OF ACCOMPANYING ANIMALS AND PLANTS. 



135 



Nymphcea alba of Europe and the adjoining portion of Asia. Called in Britain white water-lily 

 (Prior), in France " nuphar blanc " (Fe"e), in Germany " weisse seerose," in Italy " ninfea " or " nin- 

 fea bianca" or "carfano femina" (Lenz), "in Greece " nerokolokuthia " (Sibth.) ; and remnants 

 found in debris of the same lake- villages — (Heer) : the " sithe " with leaves and rose-like flower 

 floating upon the Orchomenian lake and seeds eaten according to Theophrastus iv. 10. 1 to 7, known 

 in the same locality to Nicander ther. 887, mentioned also by Athenaeus xiv. 53, and the white-flow- 

 ered " numphaia " of Dioscorides growing in rivers of the Peloponnesus, are referred here by writers : 

 the " nymphaea " with a flower " lilio simili " is identified by Pliny xxv. 37 with the " heracleon " 

 or " rhopalon ; " and according to Marcellus Burdigalensis its clavate root is called by the Gauls 

 " baditin " (Spreng.) : N. alba is termed " n. alba major " by Tournefort inst. 260 ; was observed by 

 Lenz in Italy ; is known to grow also in Sicily, Sardinia, Algeria, Spain, and throughout middle and 

 Northern Europe as far as the Shetland Islands and Lapland (Munby, Guss., Wats., Fries, and A. 

 Dec.) ; was observed by Sibthorp, and Fraas, from Zacynthus and the Peloponnesus to Thessaly 

 and Bithynia. Its root-stock according to Lindley is "astringent," and "is occasionally chewed by 

 singers to relieve the relaxation of the uvula." 



Nuphar lutea of Europe and the adjoining portion of Asia. Called in Britain yellow water-lily 

 (Prior), in France "nenuphar jaune " (Fe"e), in Germany " gelbe seerose," in Italy " ninfea gialla " 

 or "nannunfero" or "carfano maschio " (Lenz), in Greece " nupbaron " or " nounoupharon," or 

 by the Turks "pufer ciceghi " (Sibth.), and remnants found in debris of the same lake-villages — 

 (Heer): the sweet-rooted "numphaia" growing according to Theophrastus ix. 13 in lakes and 

 marshes from Crete to the Orchomenian district, and called " math6nia" by the Boeotians who eat its 

 fruit, is referred here by writers : the " alle numphaia " is described by Dioscorides as having yellow 

 flowers and growing about the river Peneus in Thessaly ; is identified in the added Synonyms with 

 the " numphdna " whose flower is called " nouphar ; " but seems known to Pliny xxv. 37 only from 

 Dioscorides : N. lutea is termed "n. lutea major" by Tournefort inst. 261 ; was observed by Sib- 

 thorp from Thessaly to Constantinople, and a refrigerating drink made from the flowers by the 

 Turks; was observed by Lenz frequent in North Italy; is known to grow also in Sicily, Sardinia, 

 and throughout Europe as far as Finland (fl. Dan. pi. 603, and Pers.), its roots and leaf-stalks eaten 

 by the Finns and Russians (Linder venen. p. 651, and Spreng.). Eastward from Russia, has been 

 observed only in the neighbouring portion of Siberia (Ledeb.), its presence in Japan alleged by 

 Thunberg, requiring confirmation (A. Dec). The root-stock according to Lindley " has been reputed 

 sedative and anti-aphrodisiac." * 



Of quadrupeds inhabiting Switzerland during the Stone age, the main sustenance of the inhabi- 

 tants, and found in debris of the earliest lake-villages, the following are enumerated by Riitimeyer 

 (Troyon p. 271 and 442) : 



The elk, Cervus alces. — A " peculiar " animal, having the form of the stag with the neck and 

 hair of a boar " kapr6," and under the chin a hairy appendage a span long and as thick as a colt's 

 tail, is attributed to the Alps by Polybius (Strab. iv. 6. 10). The " alcem " is also mentioned by 

 Pliny viii. 16, and as not unlike the reported "achlin " of Scandinavia. At the present day, the elk 

 is confined to the Scandinavian peninsula, and Russia as far as Poland (see Heer) : 



The urus, Bos urus. — " Vo£s agrioi " are mentioned by Herodotus vii. 126 ; and are attributed 

 to the Alps by Polybius (Strab. iv. 6. 10). The "urus" is described by Caesar as resembling a 

 bull, but larger and very swift : according to Pliny xi. 45, " urorum cornibus barbari septemtrionales 

 potant," the barbarians of the North use horns of the urus for drinking-cups : the " ouros " is also 

 described by Epiphanius expos, iii. : and from this animal (according to Heer), the Swiss canton of 

 Uri derives its name, the head being figured to the present day on the escutcheon. The urus, after 

 lono- continuing frequent throughout middle and Northern Europe, gradually became rare, and in 

 the " Seventeenth " century disappeared. The name however is retained in French dictionaries ; 

 and we have a relic in the English phrase " to take a horn ; " explicable by Pliny's account of the 

 habits of our ancestors living on continental Europe : 



The bison, Bos bison. — The " vonasos " by the Paeonians called " monapon," described by 

 Aristotle anim. ix. 45 as inhabiting the country North of Macedonia, is clearly the bison : the brazen 

 head of a " vis6nos " or Paeonian bull was sent by Dropion Deontis king of the Paeonians to Delphi 

 (Paus. x. 13. 1) ; and Pliny viii. 15 and 16 speaks of the " iubatos bisontes " of Germany. The 

 bison, once known throughout middle and Northern Europe, is described by Heer as a fierce animal, 

 now restricted to a forest in Lithuania and to Caucasus : 



* Nuphar pumilum of middle and Northern Europe. Remnants of the dwarf yellow water-lily 

 are found in debris of the same lake-villages — (Heer), at the present day growing in but one of the 

 lakes of Switzerland (Troyon p. 445) : known however to grow in Germany and Sweden (Tiram, 

 Willd., and Wahlenberg). 



