Pliiiies Naturail Hiflorfe. 



A leaves more than ofthofe Okes. Moreover^ this is knowne for cercain^thauhe allies of this oke ' 

 when it is burnt, hath a qualitie or raft of nitre or falc-peter. 



Howbcit for all the riches and fruit that the Oke affourdcth^ the Scarlet graine alone which 

 comrncth of" the Ilex, challengeth yea and overaiatcheth it. This giaineis no other than a veric 

 excrement or fuperfluitie arifing about the flem of the frnall fbrub called Ilex Aquifoliajfcra- 

 pcd and pared on from it^ like fuch refufe as they call Cufculiun;^r Qnifquilium : but of fuch 

 priccitisjthatthc poore people ofSpaine gather itj& make a good part oftheir revenew there- 

 by, even as much as will pay halfe their tribute. As touching the commendable ufe thereof in 

 dyingj wee have fufficiently fpokcn in the difcourfe of the purple tincture. This fcarlet graine is 

 engendred alfo inGalatia^AfricajPifidiajandGcilia. ^iitthc word of ail; other is that which 



B commeth out of Sardinia. 



As for Agarickejit groweth in Frauncc principally upon trees that beare maft*, in manner of 

 a white muihrom ; of a fweet favor, very cffeduall in Phyiicke, and ufed in many Antidotes and 

 foveraigne confedions. It groweth upon the head and top of trees : it ihineth in the night, and 

 by the light that it giveth in the darke, men know where and how to gather it. 



Of all Maft ireesjthe Oke called by thcGreekcs /Egylops, beare certainedrie exerefcences 

 iwelling out like toucfawoodjcovered all over with a hoarie and hairie mofle, and thefe not onely 

 beare out from the barke of the fruit, but alfo hang downe from the boughs a cubit in length i 

 andodoriferous they arenas wc havclliewed in our treatife of Ointments. 



Now concerning Corke, the woodie fubftance of the tree is very fmail^the maft as bad, hol- 



C low^lpongeous^andgoodfor nothing. The barke onely (erveth for many purpofes , which will 

 grow again when the tree is barkedjandthat of fuch a thicknes, that it will beare ten foot fquare^ 

 Much ufe there is of it in (hips, & namely for boys to ancre cables ^ alfo for flotes to traincls or 

 dragnets that fiiTiers doe occupie : moreover in bungs and floppies of barrels^bottles, and fuch 

 like velTels. Finally, our gentlewomen and daintie dames have the foles of their pantofies and 

 wioLcr-fhoes underlaid therewith. In regard of which barke^the Graekes call it by a prety namcj 

 and not improperly. The Barke tree, or the tree all barke. Howbeit fome would have it to be the 

 female Ilex or maft Hohrsjand fo they name it l and where there groweth no IleXjin ftcad ther- 

 oFthey takeCorke,erpeciallyin carpentri^c and cart-wrights worke, as about Elis and Lacedae- 

 mon. Neither groweth it in all j)arts of femiec^ f^cye; in any one quarter of Fraunce, 



Chap. i^. 



Pfs W^at trees tkj bs that carrk barke good for anj ufe, 



THcpaifantsof thecountreyand the rufticallpeopleemploy mueh,the barke alfo of Bee- 

 ches^ Lindens or Tillers, Firres,and Pitch trees; for thereof they make fundryveffels, as 

 p3niers,baskets, and certain broad and wide hampers for tocarrie their come and grapes 

 in time of barveft and vintage, yea an4otherwhik'st]iey cover their cottages therewith. M.ore^ 

 over, fpies ufe to write in bai-kes(when they be freQi and green) intelligences to their captaii:kes3 

 gcaving and drawing their letters fo, as that the lap and juice thereof covereth them. To con- 

 E ciude.the barke of the Beech tree is ufed in cenainefeligious ceiemoniesof faeritice : but whea 

 the treeis fpoiled of the barke, it foonefadcth and (J5eth. 



Chap, X. 



OfShtndlet : of the Pirn tree, the mid Pine^the Firre, Pitch tree^ 

 Larch tree forehtree^aridt her 



THebourdsort'hindles of the wild Oke called Robur, be of ail others (imply the beft: and 

 next to them, thofe which are made of other maft-trees, and efpecially of the Beech . The 

 ■ fbindles are moft eafily rent or cloven out of all thofe trees which yeeld Rofin , but fetting 

 F afide the Pine-wood onely, none of them are lading. Cornelm Nepos writeth, that the houfen in 

 Rome were no otherwife covered over head but with fhindles,untill the warre with K. Pyrrhus^to 

 wit jfor the fpace of 470 years after the foundation of the citie. And of a truthjthe chiefc quarters 

 of Rome were divided and diftindly named by certain woods and groves neare adjoyning . And 

 even at this day there remaineth the quarter of lu^itcr F^^^a/^/^j^wherc fomctimc flood a tufcoE 



Rr iij gcovc 



