384 
pliist's natural histobt. 
[Book XXIX. 
applied to purposes almost innumerable ; the grease produced 
by the sheep of Attica being the most highly esteemed. There 
are numerous ways of obtaining it, but the most approved 
method is to take the wool, fresh clipped from those parts of 
the body, or else the sweat and grease collected from any part of 
the fleece, aild boil it gently in a copper vessel upon a slow fire : 
this done, it is left to cool, and the fat which floats upon the 
surface collected into an earthen vessel. The material originally 
used is then subjected to another boiling, and the two results 
are washed in cold water; after which, they are strained 
through a linen cloth and exposed to the sun till they become 
bleached and quite transparent, and are then put by in a pew- 
ter box for keeping. 
The best proof of its genuineness is its retention of the 
strong smell of the original grease, and its not melting when 
rubbed with water upon the hand, but turning white, like 
white-lead in appearance. This substance is extremely use- 
ful for inflammations of the eyes and indurations of the eye- 
lids. Some persons bake the wool in an earthen pot, until it 
has lost all its grease, and are of opinion that, prepared this 
way, it is a more useful remedy for excoriations and indurations 
of the eyelids, for eruptions at the corners of the eyes, and for 
watery eyes. And not only does this grease heal ulcerations 
of the eyes, but, mixed with goose-grease, of the ears and 
generative organs as well ; in combination also with melilote 
and butter, it is a cure for inflammations of the uterus, and for 
excoriations of the rectum and condylomata. The other uses 
to which it is applied, we shall detail on a more appropriate 
occasion. 
The grease, too, of the wool about the tail is made up into 
pills, unmixed with any substance : these pills are dried and 
pulverized, being an excellent application for the teeth, when 
loose even, and for the gums, when attacked by spreading ulcers 
of a cancerous nature. Sheep's wool, too, cleaned, is applied 
by itself, or with the addition of sulphur, for dull, heavy pains, 
and the ashes of it, burnt, are used for diseases of the genera- 
tive organs : indeed, this wool is possessed of such sovereign 
virtues, that it is used as a covering for medicinal applications 
even. It is also an especial remedy for the sheep itself, when 
it has lost its stomach, and refuses to feed ; for, upon plucking 
some wool from the tail, and then tying the tail therewith, as 
