* or, Pezici, 
% Some take It 
for Benioin,or 
Afaduleis, 
*Which is 
equivolentin 
weight toa 
dram,z.7 dob, 
Englifh, 
* Thought to 
be Afa fated 
¥509 miles. 
ThenineteenthBooke of - | 
much, Secondly, they will not laftabove one yearei ‘ens The rendereth ind daiisdal bee thofe 
thatbreed inthe Spring, and thatindeedisthe befteime for themicuem, lo fomeoauniesthe 
* 
overflow ofrivers engender Mufhtomes,and namelyatMitylene,whereby EAR ree " 
srobeht 
otherwife grow butupon flotengrounds,&namely;in uch placeswhitherehe water hath'brobe 
from Tiara,a certaine vegetative feed to breed them, And verily thatTiara is wonderfully ftored 
andreplenithedwithfuch. Astouchingthe Trafiles or Mufhromes of Afiasthe moftexcellent _ 
of allothers beneare unto Lampfacumand Alopeconnefus : butthe bet that Greeee yedldeth 
arin the territorie about the citieElisy In this Toadftoole or Mufhroome kind aréthofe fat’ 
Fuffes and Puffesto be reckoned,whichthe Greekes attic * Peziteg asthey have tio r66r at all, 
fo they bee altogethenwithioureitherfteleortailey (218 |) VaR SH WON AG. ON Gobas 
In the next place to thefe Lmuft needs ipeakeiof the moft noble and famous plant Laferpiti! 
um,which the Greckes name Silphium, difcovered and found firtt in theabovelaid province of 
Barbarie Cyrenaica: The juice or liquor drawne out of this hearbthey.call*Lafersadriig fo mag: 
nified, of {uch fingularitie and ufein Phyficke efpeciall)3 thapit was fold by weight, andadram 
thereof coft ordinarily a* Romane denier. ‘Por thefe tiany yeares of lacey there istione of this 
plant to be found in that countrepef Oprenaica'beforefaid :for thatehe Publicanvand Farmers 
of the paftures & grounds there, (under the people of Rome) do purittheitcattell among thefe 
plants,andcatall downe bytharmeanes; finding thereby 2 preaér esineohdcommioditie, than 
by:leccing them ftand for the juice ot liquor aforefaid! One onely falke or ftem thereof hiathben 
found in our daiesswhich wasfentunto the Emperour-Were as a prefent,fora greatinoveltie If it 
chauaccatanytmesthar eitherfheepe or goat(which commonly biteneare tothe'ground)doe » 
lightupon a young plant thereof, newly peeping forth and not evidenit to bee feene, youfhall 
know stby thefe fignes, The theepe prefently fo foone as fhe'hath tafted ic,will drop afleepe,and 
the goat falla {neeting.For thefemany years,the merchants have bionght usinto lealie’no other 
*}aler,than that which growethiabundantly in Perfis or Media,andin Armenia:but itis far’ in- 
y ; 2 
feriovto this of Cyrenaica,and coninieth fhort of it for goodneffe. And this thatwee have is no 
better than it (houldbe, fortheyfophifticare and comp it with gum,withSagapeum, orels with 
brufed Beanes. In regard of which fearfitic, I cannot chufebut remember that which befell at 
Romic in that yeare wherein C.Vale/{ws and ,Herennias were Confuls, wher by great good fore 
tune there was broughttrom Cyrene thirtie pound weight of che beft Lafer, and fet abroad to 
befeene in open place;of all conimers. As alfo Imay not let paffe another occurrent, namely; 
how Ce/ar Diciarouratthe beginning of the civilewar,tooke forth openly out of thechainber 
of the citic with other treafure both of goldand filver,a hundred and eleven pounds of the beft 
Lafer. Moreover this one thing morél cannot forget: the beft and moft renowned Greeke Au- 
thors haveleft in writing, T hat feven years before the foundation of the citie Cyrene, which was 
builca hundred fortie and three yeares after our citie'of Rome, this plant Laferpitiany that bea- 
reth the faid Lafer,:was engendered at one initant,by occafion of a certaine thicke, erofle, and 
blacke thewer of raine in manner of pitch,which fuddainely felland drenched the grotind,about 
the hortyards or gardens of the Hefperides,and the greater Syrtis: The which raine was eflectu’ 
ajl,and leftrhe ftrength thereof, for the compafle of *foure thoufand ftadiawithin’Affricke or 
Barbarie. Theyafiume moreover, Thatthe hearbe Laferpitium, there growing ,isof fo favage 
and churlifhanatare, tharit cannotabide any culture or good ordering by mans hand: butif 
onefhould goeaboutto tend and cherith it,it would rather chufeto be gone into the defert and 
unpeopled parts of the counirey,or elfe winder away & die, Moreover,they fet down this defcrip- 
tion of it, Phat ithath many roots,& thofe big and thicke ; aftem or ftalke,refembling the hearb 
Sagapeum or Fennel-geant,owbeit,not altogether fo great: the leaves of this plant,whichthey 
termed by che name of Mafpetum come very near in all refpe&s to thofe of Smallach or Perfely. 
As touching the feed that it beareth, flatandthinit isin manner of leaves : but the leafe it felfe 
tlierof, (heddeth in the Spring time. The cattel that nférofeed thetupon (arid wherof theybe very | 
ereedic)ficlt fall a {couring: but afterwards,when they be cleanfed andtid of il! humors,begin to 
‘wax fat :and their fleth by this meanes becommeth wonderfull {weet and pleafant. They report 
moreover, That afterthe leavesbe fallensmen alfo were wontin oldtinie to eatthe ftem or ftalke 
thereof, either rofted and baked underthe cindres,or elfe boiled andfodden in water: and their 
bedieslikewile for the firft 4a daies enfuing, did nothing but purge untill they werecleared of all 
difeaies, breeding bydccafion of any Cacochymieor collection of comupt humors within them, | 
oki aeny | eo ‘Now 
® 
nats 
