272 SYLVAN WINTER. 



first brought into repute by Liciniiis Mutianus, 

 governor of Lycia. Licinius was a curious man, 

 and not unversed in natural history. Pliny, from 

 whom we have the account of the tree, has 

 thought proper to quote him frequently; men- 

 tioning particularly his remarks on Egyptian 

 paper (Lib. xiii. c. 13), and also on that kind 

 of wood of which the statue of Diana at Ephesus 

 was made (Lib. xvi. c. 40). With the Lycian 

 Plane Licinius was exceedingly pleased, and often 

 enjoyed the company of his friends under its 

 shade. It was great luxury, he would say, to 

 dine in its trunk on a sultry summer day; and to 

 hear a heavy shower of rain descending through 

 the several stages of its leaves. As a naturalist, 

 he left it on record that himself and eighteen 

 other persons dined commodiously around the 

 benches in the body of it.' * 



Going on to speak of another famous Plane, he 

 continues, — 



' Caligula had a tree of the same kind at his 

 villa near Yelitr^. But Caligula's tree appears to 

 have been more complex than the Lycian Plane. 



* 'Forest Scenery,' pages 165-6. 



