the ends of the branchlets. A beautiful 

 object for planted grounds." 



The color of the flowers, which develop 

 on the ends of the younger branches, is 

 a deep and rich scarlet or crimson. Many 

 variations have been produced by grow- 

 ing the plants from seeds and one of these 

 bears white flowers. The petals are 

 rounded and usually crumpled. 



The fruit, which is a berry about the 

 size of an ordinary orange, is when fresh 

 usually of a reddish yellow color, becom- 

 ing brownish in drying. The rind is 

 thick and leathery, and encloses a quan- 



tity of pulp which is filled with a refresh- 

 ing juice that is acid. It is of a pinkish 

 or reddish color, and encloses the nu- 

 merous angular seeds. Probably the 

 chief value of the plant lies in the use of 

 the fruit as a relish, though the rind of 

 the fruit and the bark of the root are 

 used in medicine. 



The bark contains a large amount of 

 tannin and from it there is also obtained 

 a bright yellow dye, which is used to pro- 

 duce the yellow Levant Morocco. 



In regions without frost the tree is 

 often grown for ornamental purposes. 



FISHES AND FISH-CULTURE AMONG THE GREEKS AND 



ROMANS. 



Greek mythology shows us that for a 

 long time, perhaps many centuries, the 

 ancestors of the Greeks knew but very 

 little about the sea or about rivers. The 

 numerous monsters of the sea, products 

 of the imagination, combined in their 

 forms the parts of marine and land ani- 

 mals, including man. The angry waves 

 suggested to them some creature that was 

 wroth ; in the ocean depths what more 

 likely to be found than the caverns empty 

 and dry, the homes of the monsters with 

 which they had peopled it ? Their knowl- 

 edge of the sea was of very slow growth. 

 It was yet a divine thing in Homer's time, 

 who lived just before the dawn of history. 

 Their knowledge of marine life had made 

 but little if any greater advance than their 

 knowledge of the sea itself. The people 

 of Homer make no use whatever of fish. 

 We do not find a word indicating that 

 either noble or slave ate fish, although the 

 bill of fare in the Homeric household is 

 given to us with considerable fullness. 



Passing over two centuries or more to 

 the Athens of Pericles' time, we will find 

 that a great change has been wrought. 

 Fish i9 now the daintiest viand that comes 

 into the Athenian market. The fishing 



industry has developed and grown to im- 

 mense proportions. The fishmonger has 

 taken on. a character which seems des- 

 tined to be eternal. Till this day it has 

 suffered no change except that he has 

 transferred to his wife some of the traits 

 that once were his. 



The task of supplying the fish-market 

 of Athens and other cities must have re- 

 quired a large number of fishermen. 

 For at this time fish might almost be 

 called the national dish, hence an enor- 

 mous consumption, whereas the means of 

 capture were far inferior to those of to- 

 day. As a matter of fact the market was 

 supplied from a very wide area, but chief- 

 ly from the seas to the east. Far along 

 the north and south shores of the Black 

 Sea the industry was a flourishing one. 

 Particularly from these regions were salt- 

 ed and dried fish supplied. Here they 

 were prepared in the huts of the individ- 

 ual fisherman and were gathered up by 

 the traders, who sailed their little boats 

 far and wide in search of traffic. The 

 fish were exchanged for merchandise, es- 

 pecially for earthen utensils and for cloth- 

 ing. These salted and dried fish were the 

 staple varieties and were supplied to the 



89 



