363 
M. Link on the Ancient History of 
eercula are varieties. In Italy L. sativus is called cicerchia; 
m France it was formerly called sars, at present gesse , or 
pois de brebis ; in Spain and Portugal chicharo. It is cul- 
tivated as far as the north of India, and the Sanskrit name 
is hesari , which is wonderfully like the word cicera. It thrives 
in a climate like that of the south of Europe, and is found, 
like lentils and other similar plants, growing wild in the fields. 
.Dioscorides, who passes by no kitchen vegetable, no edible 
fruit, does not use xolS-v^os, 7r ico?, but on ty a name 
which, according to Galen, agrees with which also shews 
the small difference between these names. Lathyrus cicera is 
at present cultivated as fodder in some of the districts of 
France. 
Aphaca. 
Aphaca is mentioned by Theophrastus, (Hist. PL 1. viii. c. 1.) 
It ought to be sowed late : the pods are broad as in the lentil ; 
it has a resemblance to the human members, like the bean, 
(c. 2.) Dioscorides describes (1. ii. c. 177.) aphaca as a plant 
taller than the lentil, with small leaves, with pods larger than 
those of the lentil, in which from three to four seeds are found; 
Aphaca is not to be confounded with Lathyrus, as is easily un- 
derstood, since this last has round leaves. The Romans do not 
mention Aphaca , only Pliny speaks of it as a wild plant, 
(1. xxi. c. 13.) ; he also uses the words Amara aphace , (c. 17.) 
Instead of it the Romans speak only of Vida, but not the 
Greeks, except the later Greeks, who have admitted the word 
(ZAict. Columella speaks of the cultivation of vetches, (1. ii, 
e. 11.) and there is nothing which should prevent us from be- 
lieving that the Vida of the Romans is our Vicia sativa. The 
name Vicia has also passed into all languages. But how was 
Vicia named among the older Greeks P The Arabians seem to 
be correct in translating aphaca by Vicia : the descriptions of 
the Greeks also agree extremely well with our vetch, and Galen 
uses both names, yet he does not speak distinctly respecting 
their agreement. The native country of the vetch is uncertain. 
Of the garden vegetable Aphaca , we shall speak by and bye 
