root and beare the fairer head Let that which you cut or shred be so little short withal that it resemble a mans fist rather than a bough the thicker will it come again a tree no doubt that would not be set in the lowest rank but be wel regarded how soeuer we make but base reckoning thereof for surely there is not a tree for reuenue and profit more safe and certain for cost lesse chargeable and for iniury of weather in better security Certes Cato among the commodities that commend a good ferm or manor esteemeth it in the third place and preferreth the increase and benefit thereby before the gain that groweth from oliue rows corn fields good medows Yet hereof we must not infer that we are not furnished with many other things which wil serue for bands to bind withal for we haue certain sorts of Spart or Spanish broom we haue Poplars Elmes the Sanguine-shrubs Birch clouen Reeds leaues of Cane as for example in Liguria the cuttings also of the very Vine and Briars so their sharp pricks be cut away to tie withall yea and the Hazell wands also so they be writhen and twined wherein a man may see a wonderful property That a wood should be stronger for to bind withal when it is crushed and bruised than whiles it was entire and sound All these I say are good for bands and yet the willow hath a gift therein beyond all the rest The Greek willow is red and commonly is sliuen for to make wit hs The Amerian Osier is the whiter but more brittle and soon wil crack therfore it is put to that vse of binding sound and whole as it groweth and not clouen through In Asia they make account of three sorts of willows the black which they imploy to wind and bind withal so tough and pliant it is the white wherewith husbandmen make their wicker paniers and baskets with other such vessels for their vse as for the third it is the shortest of all other and they cal it Helix or Helice With vs also here in Italy there be as many kinds those distinguished by their seuerall names the first which is of a deep purple colour they call the free osier or willow and that is so good for bands the second which is more thin and slender is named Vitelina or Vitellinam rather for the yellow colour of the yolke of egges for the bright hew that it hath the third that is smallest of all three is the French willow To come now to the brittle Rushes that grow in marish grounds which serue to thatch houses and to make mats and the pith whereof when the rind is pilled maketh wieke for watch-candles and funerall lights to burne by a dead corps whiles it lieth aboue ground they cannot iustly be reckoned in the ranke either of shrubbes or Brier-bushes and Brambles ne yet of tall plants growing vp with stems and stalks no more than among Hearbes and Weeds creeping along the ground but are to be counted a seuerall kind by it selfe True it is that in some places there are to be found rushes more stiffe hard and strong than in others For not onely mariners and watermen in the riuer Po do make sailes thereof but fishermen also of Affrick in the maine sea howbeit they hang their sailes betweene the masts from mast to mast after a preposterous manner contrary to all other The Mores also do couer their cottages with Bulrushes and surely if a man looke neerly to the nature of them they may seeme to serue for that vse which the Papyr-reeds in the netherland of Aegypt are put vnto about the descent and fall of the riuer Nilus As touching Brambles they may go among the shrubs of the water so may the Elders also which consist of a spungeous kind of matter yet cannot wel be counted among those plants which bee termed Fenels-gyant for surely the Elder standeth more vpon the wood than they do The shepherds are verily persuaded that the Elder tree growing in a by-place farre out of the way and from whence a man cannot heare a cock crow out of any town maketh more shrill pipes and louder trumpes than any other The Brambles beare certaine berries like the Mulberries euen as the sweet Brier of another kind which they call Cynosbatos or the Eglantine carieth the resemblance of a Rose A third sort there is of brambles which the Greeks cal Idea of the mountaine Ida. This is the Raspis smaller it is and more slender than the rest with lesse pricks vpon it and nothing so sharpe and hooked The floure of this Raspis beeing tempered with hony is good to be laied to bleared and bloud-shotten eies as also to the wild-fire or disease called Saint Anthonies fire Being taken inwardly and namely drunk with water it is very comfortable to a weake stomacke The Elder beareth certain blacke and small berries full of a grosse and viscous humor vsed especially to die the haire of the head black If they be boiled in water they are good and wholsome to be eaten as other pot-herbs CHAP. XXXVIII ¶ Of the iuice or humor in trees The nature of their wood and timber The time and manner of felling and cutting downe trees TRees haue a certaine moisture in their barkes which we must vnderstand to be their very bloud yet is it not the same nor alike in all for that of the Fig trees is as white as milke and as good as rendles to giue the forme to cheese Cherry trees yeeld a glutinous and clammy humor but Elmes a thin liquor in manner of spittle In Apple trees the same is fattie and viscous in Vines and Pyrries waterish And generally those trees continue and liue longest that haue such a glewy moisture in them In summe there are to be considered in the substance and body of trees like as of all other liuing creatures their skin their bloud flesh sinues veins bones and marrow For in lieu of their hide is the barke And I assure you a strange and maruellous thing it is to be obserued here in the Mulberry that when Physitians seek to draw the foresaid liquour out of it at seuen or eight a clocke in a morning if they scarifie or lightly cut the bark with a stone it issueth forth and they haue their desire but if they crush or cut it deeper in they meet with no more moisture than if it were stark dry In most trees next to the skin lieth the fat this is nought else but that white sap which of the colour is called in Latin Alburnum As it is soft in substance so is it the worst part of the wood and euen in the strong oke as hard as otherwise it is ye shal haue it soon to putrifie and rot yea and quickly be worm-eaten And therefore if a man would haue sound and good timber this white must be alwaies cut away in the squaring After it followeth the flesh of the tree and so the
them to the natural color of the other skin There is an herb which in Latine is named Natrix the root whereof being pulled out of the ground hath a rank smell like vnto a Goat with this herbe they vse in the Picene countrey to driue away those hob-goblins which they haue a maruellous opinion to be spirits called Fatui but for mine own part I am verily persuaded they be nothing else but fantasticall illusions of such as be troubled in mind and bestraught the which may be chased and rid away by the vse of this medicinable herbe Odontitis may be reckoned among the kinds of hey-grasse putting forth many small stems growing thicke together from one root and those knotted and ful of ioints triangled and blackish withall in euery ioint small leaues it hath resembling those of knot-grasse howbeit somwhat longer in the concauities between the said leaues and the stem there is contained a seed like vnto Barly corns the floure is of a purple colour and very small It groweth ordinarily in medow grounds The decoction of the branches and tender stalks of this herb to the quantitie of one handful boiled in some astringent wine cureth the toothach if the patient hold the same in the mouth Othonne groweth plenteously in Scythia like vnto Rocket the leaues be full of holes and the floure resembleth Safron which is the cause that some haue called it Anemone The juice of this herbe entreth very well into those medicines which are appropriate to the eies for it is somewhat mordicatiue and heateth gently besides exiccatiue it is and by that meanes astringent It clenseth the eies of those films and clouds which darken the sight and remoueth whatsoeuer hindereth the same Some ordain for this purpose that it should be washed first and after it is dried againe made into certain balls or troschisks Onosma beareth leaues wel-neare three fingers long and those lying flat vpon the ground three in number and indented or cut after the manner of Orchanet without stem without flour without seed If a woman with child eat thereof or do but step ouer it she shal cast her vntimely birth out of her wombe As for Onopordon they say if Asses eat thereof they will fall a fizling and farting Howbeit of vertue it is to prouoke vrine and the monethly sicknesse of women to stop a laske to discusse and resolue impostumes and to heale them when they be broken and do run Osyris putteth forth small branches of a browne colour slender pliable and easie to wind the same be garnished with leaues resembling those of Line or flax of a dark duskish green at first but afterwards changing colour and inclining to a red colour and the seed is contained in those branches Of these leaues are made certain washing balls to scoure womens skin and make them look faire The decoction of the root being drunk cureth those that haue the jaundise The same roots gathered before the seed be ripe cut into roundles and dried in the Sun do stop the laske but drawn after that the seed is ripe they represse all catarrhes and fluxes of the belly if the patient drink the supping wherein they are boiled Also stamped simply and so giuen in rain water they haue the same effect Oxys beareth three leaues and no more This herb is singular to be giuen for a feeble stomack which hath lost all appetite to meat They also who haue a rupture and whose guts be fallen down eat thereof to very good successe Polyanthemum which some call Batrachion hath a causticke quality whereby it doth blister any vnseemly scars by means whereof reduceth them to their fresh and former colour the same also applied scoureth away the morphew and bringeth the skin to the natiue hue answerable to the rest of the body Knot grasse is that herb which the Greeks name Polygonon and we in Latine Sanguinaria in leaf it resembleth Rue in seed common quich grasse riseth not from the ground but creepeth along the juice of this herb conueied vp into the nosthrils stancheth bleeding at the nose They who set down many kinds of Polygonon do hold that this is to be taken for the male and by reason of the multitude of seed which it beareth is called Polygonon or for that it groweth so thick in tufts Calligonon Others name it Polygonaton for the number of knots or knees which it carrieth There be again who giue it the name Theuthalis some cal it Carcinetron others Clema many Myrtopetalon and yet I meet with some writers who say this is the female knot-grasse and that the male is the greater and not altogether so dark of colour growing also thicker with knots swelling with seed vnder euery leaf wel how soeuer it it the property of them both the one as well as the other is to bind and coole and yet their seed doth loosen the belly which if taken in any great quantity is diuretical and represseth any rheums prouided alwaies that the patient be troubled therwith otherwise it doth no good The leaues are singular good to be applied vnto the stomack for to assuage the heat thereof in a liniment they mitigat the griefe of the bladder and stop the course of shingles and such like wilde-fires The juice is soueraigne to be dropped alone by it selfe into the eares that run and into the eyes to abate their pain It is vsually giuen to the quantity of 2 cyaths in tertian Agues and Quartans especially before the fit commeth likewise for the feeblenesse of the stomack when it will keep nothing for the bloudy flix and the rage of cholerick humors both vpward and downward A third kind there is which they cal Oreon growing vpon the mountains resembling a tender reed rising vp in one single stem but full of little knees or knots and those couched thrust together Leafed it is like the Pitch tree the root needlesse and of no vse and generally the whole herb of lesse strength and operation than the former Howbeit this singular propertie hath it to help the sciatica A fourth Polygonum there is called the wild and this busheth like a shrub or a prety tree rather the root is of a wooddy substance the stock or plant of a reddish colour resembling the Cedar it beareth branches much like to Spart or Spanish broome two spans long iointed into three or four knots and those of a blackish colour This also hath an astringent nature and tasteth in the mouth like to a Quince The decoction thereof in water till the third part be consumed or the pouder of it dried is commended for the sores in the mouth and for any part that is fretted and galled And the very substance thereof is good to be chewed in case the gums be sore It represseth the malignity of eating corrosiue vlcers and cankers and in one word staieth the malice of all sores that run on end and be
you would know which end serueth for the one and the other certaine it is that the bigger and thicker part of the grain yeeldeth root and the smaller the greene blade In all other seeds there is no such diuersitie for from one and the same end breaketh our both root and greene blade All kind of corn carying spike or eare called Frumenta shew nothing but the green blade during winter howbeit no sooner commeth the spring but they begin to grow vp into straw and to spindle vpward pointwise I meane all that be of the winter kind But Millet and Panick run vp into an hollow stem full of knots and ioynts and Sesama by it self into a kex or hollow stem in maner of fenell and such like The fruit or seed of all graine that is sowne or set is contained within eares as we see in bearded wheat and barley and the same is defended as it were with a palisaide of eales disposed square in foure rankes or is inclosed within long cods and husks as the Pulse kind or els lieth in little cups as Sesame and Poppie Millet and Panick only put forth their fruit grape-wise and openly without any partitions and defences so as their seed is exposed to the little birds of the aire for no otherwise are they defended than within small skins and thin huls And as for Panick it taketh the name of certain panicles or chats hanging from the top thereof whereby the head bendeth and leaneth downward as if it were weake and wearie of the burden The stem or stalk thereof groweth smaller and smaller and pointed vpward insomuch as by little and little it runneth vp in maner of a little sprig or sion and there you shall see a number of seeds or grains clustered together thicke insomuch as they are somtimes bunched with an head a good foot long As touching the Millet the head thereof bearing seed round about is bent likewise and curbed beset also with fringes as it were of hairy fillets But to return to Panick againe there be sundry sorts thereof for some of it is found with a tuft or bunch from which depend certain small clustered chats or panicles the same also hath two knaps or heads and this is called Mammosum as one would say the Panick with bigs or dugs Moreouer you shall haue Panick seed of sundry colours white blacke and red yea and purple Of Mill or Millet there be diuers sorts of bread made in many places but of panick it is not so common howbeit there is no grain more ponderous and weighty than it or which in the seething or baking swelleth and riseth more for out of one Modius or pecke thereof there is ordinarily made 60 pound of dough for bread Moreouer take but 3 sextares or quarts of it being steeped and it will yeeld a measure called Modius of thicke gruel or batter called in Latine Puls It is not fully ten yeres since there was a kind of Millet brought out of India into Italy and the same was of colour black the seed or grain in quantitie big and faire and for stem like vnto a reed It riseth vp in height seuen foot the stalks are mighty and great some call them Lobae or Phobae Of all sorts of corne it is most fruitfull and yeeldeth greatest increase for of one grain a man shal haue 3 sextars or quarts again But it loueth yea 〈◊〉 to be sown in a moist soile Moreouer some kinds of spiked corn begin to spindle and gather eare at the third ioynt others at the fourth but there it lieth as yet hidden and inclosed Now as touching these 〈◊〉 wheat beareth vsually foure beere Barly six and the common sprit Barly eight which is wel 〈◊〉 be considered for no corn vseth to spier before it be fully knotted or iointed in maner abouesaid And so soon as the said spier sheweth some hope of an eare within 4 or fiue daies after at the most they begin to bloum and in as many dayes space or little more they will haue done and shed their floures And yet I must needs say that all sorts of barley are a seuen-night at the vtmost in so doing Varro saith that in foure times 9 daies this kind of corn commeth to perfection but it ought to stay nine moneths before it be ripe for to be reaped and mowne downe As for Beanes after they be set or cast into the ground first they put forth leafe and afterward stalk that shooteth vp euen without any partition of ioynts or knots between All other pulse besides the Bean haue a more sollid and wooddy substance in the straw Of which the Chich pease the Ervile and Lentils doe spred forth in branches And some of them runne so low that they creep along the ground vnlesse they be born vp and supported with some props as for example Pease which help if they misse they proue the worse for it Of all manner of Pulse the Bean alone and Lupine beare but one single stalke apiece the rest doe branch into very small sprigs or tendrils Howbeit none of them but their stalke or straw is fistulous and hollow in maner of reeds Some pulse put out leaues presently from the root others again from the top or head only wheat and Barly both the one and the other and what corn soeuer standeth vpon a stalk beareth one leafe in the head or top thereof But the leaues of Barly are rough wheras in other corn they be smooth Contrariwise Beanes Chiches and Pease haue many leaues In spiked corn the leafe resembleth that which groweth to reeds in beans they be round and so likewise in the most kinds of puls how beit in pease and Ervile we see they be somwhat longer The leaues of Fasels or Kidney beanes are ribbed and full of veines of Sesama and Irio they be red and resemble bloud The Lupines only and the Poppies do shed their leaues All pulse is long in the bloom and namely Ervile and the Cich pease but Beans continue longest euen for the space of 40 daies together howbeit euery single stalk beareth not bloom so long but thus it is as one hath done and giuen ouer another beginneth afresh Neither bloumeth the whole field at once as spiked corn doth Also all kinds of Pulse doe cod at sundrie times and not vpon the same day beginning first at the bottome and so likewise the floure riseth vp higher by little and little All corne growing in spike or eare so soone as it hath done blooming waxeth big and strong and commeth to maturitie within forty daies at the farthest so doth Beanes also but the Cich pease receiueth her full perfection in very few daies for from the time that it was first sowed it groweth to be ripe in forty daies Millet Panick Sesame and all Summer corn haue their full ripenesse forty daies after their blooming But herein there is great diuersitie according to the clyme and the soile in which respects corne
them cups of diuers forms and fashions out of which they take no small pleasure to drink And now adaies this herb is planted here in Italy Next to Colocasia the Aegyptians make most account of that Cichory which I named before the wild and wandring Endiue which herb commeth vp in that country after the rising of the Brood hen star it floureth not all at once but bloweth by branches one after another a supple and pliable root it hath and therefore the Aegyptians vse it in stead of cords to binde withall As for Anthalium it groweth not in Nilus but not far from the riuer it beareth a fruit in bignesse and roundnesse resembling a Medlar hauing neither kernell within nor husk without and the leafe of this plant is like to Cyperus or English Galangale This herbe they vse to eat being first dressed and prepared in the kitchin They feed likewise vpon Oetum a plant that hath few leaues and chose very small howbeit a great root Touching Aracidna and Aracos they haue many roots verily branching and spreading from them but neither leafe nor herbage ne yet any thing els appearing aboue ground And thus much of the chiefest and greatest herbs of Egypt serued vp to the table the rest are common or vulgar and euery mans meat by name Condrylla Hypochoeris Caucalis Authriscum Scandix called by some Tragopogon which beareth leaues like to Saffron Parthenium Strychnum Corchorus and A pace which sheweth his head about the Aequinox also Acinos and that which they name Epipetron and it neuer beareth floure whereas Aphace contrariwise neuer giueth ouer flouring but when one floure is faded and shed another commeth vp and this course it holdeth all Winter long throughout the Spring also euen to the heat of Summer Many other hearbs they haue of base reckoning but aboue all they make greatest account of Cnicus an herbe not knowne in Italy not for any good meat they find in it but for the oyle drawne out of the seed thereof Of this herb there be two principall kinds to wit the Wild and the Tame the Wild is subdiuided into two speciall sorts the one of a more mild and gentle nature than the other although the stalks of both be alike that is to say stiffe and streight vpright and therefore women in old time vsed the stems thereof for rocks and distaffes whereupon some do call the herb Atractylis the seed is white big and bitter The second is more rough and hairy creeping long on the ground with stalks more musculous and fleshy and carrieth a small seed The herb may be ranged among those that be prickly for so must herbs be diuided into such general heads namely that some be full of pricks others cleane without and smooth As for those which stand vpon pricks they be subdiuided into many members and branches And to begin with a kind of Sperage called also Scorpio it hath no leafe at all but instead therof pricks and nothing els some there be leafed indeed but those are beset with prickes as the Thistle Sea-holly Liquorice and Nettle for the leaues of all these herbs be pricky stinging withall Others besides their leaues haue prickles also as the bramble Rest harrow or whin Some be provided of pricks both in lease and stalk as Phleos which others haue called Stoebe As for Hippophacet it hath a prick or thorne in euery joint but the bramble Tribulus aforesaid hath this property by it selfe That the fruit also which it beareth is set with pricks Of all these sorts the Nettle is best knowne which carrieth certain goblets and concauities and the same yeelding a purple kind of downe in the floure and it riseth vp sometimes aboue two cubits high Many kinds there be of these Nettles namely the wild Nettle which some would haue to be the female and this is more milde than the rest In this wilde kinde is to be reckoned also that which they cal Cania and is of the twain more aegre for the very stalke will sting and the leaues be purfled as it were and jagged But that Nettle which carrieth a stinking sauor with it called is Herculanea All the sort of them are full of seed and the same blacke A strange quality in these Nettles that the very hairy downe of them hauing no euident prickes sticking out should be so shrewd as it is that if one touch it neuer so little presently there followeth a smarting kind of itch and anon the skin riseth vp in pimples and blisters as if it had been skalt or burnt but well knowne is the remedie of this smart namely to annoint the place with oyle Howbeit this biting property that it hath commeth not to it at the beginning when it is new comevp but it is the heat of the Sun that fortifieth this mordacitie And verily in the Spring when the Nettle is young and peepeth first out of the ground they vse to eat the crops therof for a pleasant kind of meat and many be persuaded besides that it is medicinable therefore precisely religiously feed thereupon as a preservatiue to put by all diseases for that present yeare Also the root of the wild Nettle if it be sodden with any flesh maketh it to eat more tender The dead nettle which stingeth not at all is called Lamium As touching the herb Scorpio I will write in the treatise of herbs medicinable CHAP. XVI ¶ Of Carduus and Ixine of Tribulus and Anchusa THe common Thistle is ful of pricky hairs both in leafe stalk likewise Acorna Leucacanthos Chalceos Cnicos Polyacanthos Onopyxos Ixine Scolymos As touching the Thistle Chamaeleon it hath no pricks in the leafe Moreouer these pricky hearbes are distinguished different one from another in this that some of them be furnished with many stems and spred into diuers branches as the Thistle others againe rise vp with one maine stalk and branch not as Cnecos Also there be of them that be prickly only in the head as the Eryngium or Sea-holly Some floure in Summer as Tetralix and Ixine As for Scolymus late it is also ere it blow but it continueth long in the floure Acorna differeth from it onely in the red colour and fattier juice that commeth from it Atractylis also might go for Scolymus but that it is whiter and yeeldeth a liquor like bloud wherupon there be some who cal it Phonos i. Murderer this quality it hath besides that it senteth strong the seed also ripeneth late not before Autumne and yet this is a property common to all plants of this pricky and thistly kind But all these herbs wil come of seed and root both As for Scolymus it differeth from the rest of these Thistles herein that the root if it be sodden is good to be eaten besides it hath a strange nature for all the sort of them during the Summer throughout neuer rest and giue ouer but either
Pitch tree Larch tree brused and sodden in vineger do ease the tooth-ache if the mouth be washed with the decoction The ashes made of their barks skin the places that be chafed fretted and galled betweene the thighs and heale any burn or scald Taken in drinke they bind the belly but open the passages of the vrin A perfume or suffumigation therof doth settle the matrice when it is loose and out of the right place But to write more distinctly of these two trees the leaues of the Pitch tree haue a particular property respectiue to the liuer and the infirmities thereof if one take a dram weight of them and drink it in mead and honied water It is well known and resolued vpon that to take the aire of those woods and forests only where these trees be cut lanced and scraped for to draw pitch and rosin out of them is without all comparison the best course which they can take who either be in a consumption of the lungs or after some long and languishing sicknes haue much ado to recouer their strength Certes such an aire is far better than either to make a long voiage by sea into Egypt or to goe among the cottages in summer time for to drinke new milk comming of the fresh and green grasse of the mountains As for Chamaepitys it is named in Latine by some Abiga for that it causeth women to slip their conception beforetime of others Thus terrae i. ground Frankincense this herb putteth forth branches a cubit long and both in floure and sauor resembleth the Pine tree A second kind there is of Chamaepitys lower than the other seeming as though it bended and stooped downward to the ground There is also a third sort of the same odor that the rest and therefore so named This last Chamaepitys riseth vp with a little stalke or stem of a finger thicknesse it beareth rough small slender and white leaues and it groweth commonly amongst rockes All these three be herbs indeed and no other and should not be ranged among trees yet for names sake because they carry the denomination of Pitys i. the Pitch-tree I was induced the rather to treat of them in this present place to stay no longer Soueraigne they bee all against the pricks or stings of Scorpions applied in manner of a liniment with dates and quinces they be wholsome for the liuer their decoction together with barly meale is good for the infirmities of reins and bladder Also the decoction of these hearbes boiled in water helpeth the jaundise and the difficulty of vrine if the Patient drinke thereof The third kind last named taken with hony is singular against the poison of serpents and in that maner only applied as a cataplasme it clenseth the matrice natural parts of women If one drink the same herbe it will dissolue and remoue the cluttered thick bloud within the body it prouoketh sweat if the body be therwith annointed and it is especially good for the reins Being reduced into pills together with figs it is passing wholsome for those that be in a dropsie for it purgeth the belly of waterish humors If this herb be taken in wine to the weight of a victoriat piece of siluer i. halfe a Roman denier it warisheth for euer the pain of the loins and stoppeth the course of a new cough Finally if it be boiled in vineger and so taken in drink it is said that it will presently expel the dead infant out of the mothers wombe For the like cause and reason I will do the herb Pityusa this honor as to write of it among trees since that it seemeth by the name to come from the Pitch tree this plant some do reckon among the Tithymals a kind of shrub it is like vnto the Pitch tree with a small floure and the same of purple color If one drink the decoction of the root to the quantity of one hemina it purgeth downward both fleam and choler so doth a spoonfull of the seed therof put vp into the body by suppositories The decoction of the leaues in vineger doth cleanse the skin of dandruffe and scales if the decoction of rue be mingled therwith it is singular for sore brests to appease the wrings and tormenrs of the cholick against the sting of serpents and generally for to discusse and resolue all apostemations and botches a breeding But to returne againe to our former trees how Rosine is ingendred in them of their seuerall kinds and the countries where they grow I haue shewed before first in the treatise of wines and afterwards in the discourse and histories of Trees And to speak summarily of rosins they may be diuided into two principal kinds to wit the dry and the liquid rosin The dry is made of the Pine and the Pitch trees the liquid commeth from the Terebinth Larch Lentisk Cypresse trees for these beare rosin in Asia and Syria wheras some there be of opinion That the rosins of the Pitch and Larch trees be all one they be much deceiued for the Pitch tree yeeldeth a fatty rosin and in maner of frankincense vnctuous but from the Larch tree there issueth a subtill and thin liquor running like to life hony of a strong and rank vnpleasant smell Physitians seldome vse any of these liquid Rosins and neuer prescribe them but to be taken or supped off with an egge As for that of the Larch tree they giue it for the cough and exulceration of some noble parts within neither is that per-rosin of the Pine tree much vsed as for the rest they be not of any vse vnlesse they be boiled Touching the diuers manners of boiling them I haue shewed them sufficiently But if I should put a difference between these rosins according to the trees from whence they come the right Terpentine indeed which the Terebinth yeeldeth liketh and pleaseth me best being of all others lightest and most odoriferous If I should make choice of them in regard of the countries where they are found certes they of Cypresse and Syria be best and namely those that in colour resemble Attick hony and for the Cyprian rosin that which is of a more fleshie substance and drier consistence Of the dry per-rosins those are in most request which be white pure transparent or cleare quite through In generall those that come from trees growing vpon mountains be preferred before them of the plains also regarding the Northeast rather than any other wind For salues to heale wounds as also for emollitiue plasters rosins ought to be dissolued in oile for drinks or potions with bitter almonds As touching their medicinable vertues they be good to clense and close vp wounds to discusse and resolue any apostemes which bee in gathering Moreouer they be vsed in the diseases of the brest and namely true Terpentine by way of liniment for then it is singular good especially if it be applied hot also for the pains
muskles and sinews that he became paralyticke in that part and euer after vnto his dying day was rid as well of all sence as of the paine of the gout But say that in these cases it might be tollerable to set down in their books some poisons what reason nay what leaue had those Greeks to shew the means how the brains and vnderstanding of men should be intoxicat and troubled what colour and pretence had they to set downe medicines and receits to cause women to slip the vntimely fruit of their womb and a thousand such like casts deuises that may be practised by herbs of their penning for mine owne part I am not for them that would send the conception out of the body vnnaturally before the due time they shall learne no such receits of me neither will I teach any how to temper spice an amatorious cup to draw either man or woman into loue it is no part of my profession For wel I remember that Lucullus a most braue Generall and a captain of great execution lost his life by such a loue potion Much lesse then shall ye haue me to write of Magick witch-craft charmes inchantments and sorceries vnlesse it be to giue warning that folk should not meddle with them or to disproue those courses for their vanities and principally to giue an Item how little trust and assurance there is to be had in such trumpery It sufficeth me and contenteth my mind yea and I think that I haue done wel for mankind in recording those herbs which be good and wholsome found out by men of wit and learning for the benefit of posterity CHAP. IIII. ¶ Of Moly and Dodecatheos of Poeony otherwise called Pentorobus or Glycyside Of Panaces Asclepium Heraclium and Chironium Of Panaces Centarium or Pharnaceum Of Heraclium Siderium Of Henbane called Hyoscyamus Apollinaris or Altercangenus HOmer is of opinion That the principall and soueraigne hearb of all others is Moly so called as he thinketh by the gods themselues The inuention or finding of this hearbe hee ascribeth vnto Mercury and sheweth that it is singular against the mightiest witcheraft inchantments that be Some say that this herb Moly euen according to Homers description with a round and black bulbous root to the bignesse of an onion and with a leafe or blade like that of Squilla groweth at this day about the riuer or lake Peneus and vpon the mountain Cylleum in Arcadia also that it is hard to be digged out of the ground The Grecian Simplists describe this Moly with a yellow floure wheras Homer hath written that it is white I met with one physitian a skilful Herbarist who affirmed vnto me That this Moly grew in Italy also and in verie truth he brought and shewed me a plant which came out of Campaine about the digging vp whereof among hard and stony rocks he had bin certain daies but get he could not the entire root whole and sound but was forced to break it off and yet the root which he shewed mee was thirtie foot long Next vnto Moly in account and reputation is that plant which they call Dodecatheos for that it doth represent comprehend the maiesty of all the chiefe gods They say if it be drunk in water it is a soueraign medicine for al maladies Seuen leaues it hath resembling very much those of Lectuce and the same spring from a yellow root As touching Paeony it is one of the first herbs that were euer known and brought to light as may appeare by the author or inuentor thereof whose name it beareth still Some call it Pentorobos others Glycyside where by the way I am to aduertise the Reader of the difficulty in the knowledge of herbs by their names considering that the same herbe hath in sundry places diuers appellations But to proceed forward with our Paeony it groweth among bleake and shady mountains rising vp with a stem between the leaues 4 fingers high and bearing in the top 4 or 5 heads fashioned somwhat like to Filberds within which there is plenty of seed both red and black This herb is good against the fantasticall illusions of the Fauni which appeare in sleep It is said that this herb must be gathered in the night season for if the Rainbird woodpeck or Hickway called Picus Martius should chance to spie it gathered he would flie in the face and be ready to peck out the eies of him or her that had it The herb Panace promiseth by the very name a remedy of all diseases A number there be of herbs so called and all ascribed to some god or other for the inuention of them for one of them hath the addition of Asclepion for that Aesculapius had a daughter named also Panacea As touching the concret juice named Opopanax it is drawn from the root of this plant beeing of the Ferula or Fennell kind such as I haue heretofore shewed by way of incision the which root hath a thick rind and of a saltish sauor When the root is pulled out of the ground there is a religious ceremony obserued to fil vp the hole again with all sorts of corn as it were in satisfaction to the earth for the violence offered in tearing it vp As for the said juice Opopanax where and how it should be made and which is the best kind therof and not sophisticat I haue declared already in my Treatise of forrain and strange plants That which is brought out of Macedony they cal Bucosicum because the Neat-heards of the country mark when the liquor breakes forth and runneth out of it selfe and so receiue and gather it from the plant this wil not last but of all the rest soonest loseth the force Moreouer in all sorts of it that is rejected principally which is black and soft for these be markes to know that it is corrupted and sophisticate with wax A second kind there is of Panaces which they cal Heraclium the inuention of the vertues and properties whereof is attributed vnto Hercules Some there be who call it Origanum Heracleaticum the wild because it is like to Origan wherof I haue heretofore written but the root of this Panaces is good for nothing A third kind of Panaces took the name of Chiron the Centaur who was the first that gaue intelligence of the herbe and the vertues thereof The leafe is like vnto the Dock but that it is bigger and more hairy the floure is of a golden yellow color the root but small it loueth to grow in rich fat and battle grounds The floure of this Panaces is most effectual in Physick in which regard there is more vse and profit thereof than of all the former kindes A fourth Panaces there is besides found out also by the same Chiron whereupon it hath the denomination of Centaureum called also it is Pharnaceum the occasion of this two fold name is this because there is some controuersie in the first inuention thereof
much forked diuided into branches wherwith folk vsed to kil fishes But among al other herbs of name Peucedanum is much talked of and commended principally that which groweth in Arcadie next to it most account is made of that in Samothrace a slender stalk it carrieth and a long resembling the stem of Fennell neere vnto the ground it is replenished well with leaues the root is black thick full of sap and of a strong and vnpleasant smell it delighteth to come vp and grow among shady mountains The proper time to dig it out of the ground is in the later end of Autumne the tenderest roots and those that run deepest downe into the earth are most commendable The manner is to cut these roots ouerthwart into certaine cantels or pieces of foure fingers in length with kniues made of bone whereout there issueth a juice which ought to be dried kept in the shade but the party who hath the cutting of them had need first to annoint his head all ouer and his nosthrils with oile rosat for feare of the gid and least he should fall into a dizzinesse or swimming of the braine There is another juice or liquor found in this plant lying fast within the stems therof which they yeeld forth after incision made in them The best juice is knowne by these marks It carieth the consistence of honey the colour is red the smell strong and yet pleasant and in the mouth it is very hot and stinging Much vse there is of it in many medicines as also of the root and decoction thereof but the juice is of most operation which being dissolued with bitter almonds or rue people vse to drink against the poison of serpents in case the body be annointed all ouer with oile it preserueth them safe against their stings CHAP. X. ¶ Of ground Elder or Wallwoort Of Mullen or Taper wort Of the Aconit called Thelyphonos Of remedies against the pricke of Scorpions the venome of Hedge-toads the biting of mad Dogs and generally against all poysons THe smoke or perfume also of VValwort a common herb and knowne to euery man chaseth and putteth to flight any serpents The juice of Polemonia is a proper defensatiue especially against scorpions if one haue it tied about him or hanging at his neck likewise it resisteth the prick of the spiders Phalangia and any other of these venomous vermins of the smaller sort Aristolochia hath a singular vertue contrary vnto serpents so hath Agaricke if foure oboli thereof be drunke in as many cyaths of some artificiall or compound aromatized wine Vervaine is a soueraigne herb also against the venomous spider Phalangium being taken in wine or oxycrat i. vineger and water so is Cinquefoile and the yellow Carrot That herb which the Latines call Verbascum i. Lungwort or Hightaper is named in Greek Phlomos Two special kinds there be of it the one is whiter which you must take for the male the other black that may go for the female There is a third sort also but it is found no where but in the wild woods The leaues of all the former be broader than those of the Colewort and hairy withal they beare a main vpright stem a cubit in height with the vantage the seed is black and of no vse in Physicke a single root they haue of a finger thicknes These grow also vpon plains and champian grounds The wild kinde beareth leaues resembling sauge the branches be of a wooddy substance the same grow high There be moreouer of this kind two other herbs named Phlomides both of them hairy their leaues be round and they grow but low A third sort there is be sides named by some Lychnitis and by others Thryallis it sheweth 3 leaues or foure at the most and those be thick fat good to make wyks or matches for lights It is said that if figs be kept in the leaues of that which I named the female they will not rot To distinguish these herbs into seuerall kinds is a needlesse peece of work considering they agree all in the same effects their root together with rue is to be drunk in water against the poyson of scorpions true it is that the drinke is very bitter but the effect that it worketh maketh amends There is an herbe called by some Thelyphonon by others Scorpion for the resemblance that the root hath to the Scorpion and yet if Scorpions be but touched therwith they will die thereupon no maruell therefore if there be an ordinary drinke made of it against their poison and here commeth to my mind that which I haue heard namely that if a dead scorpion be rubbed with the white Ellebore root it wil reuiue and quicken again The said Thelyphonon hath such a spightful nature against the four-footed beasts of the female sex that if the root be laid to their shap or naturall place it killeth them and if the leafe which is like vnto the Cyclamin or Sowbread leafe aboue named be applied in that maner they will not liue one day to an end This herb is parted and diuided into knots or joints taking pleasure to grow in coole and shady places To conclude and knit vp these remedies against scorpions the juice of Betonie and of Plantaine likewise is a singular remedie for their poison Moreouer Frogs such especially as keep in bushes and hedges and be called in Latine Rubetae i. toads are not without their venom I my self haue seen these vaunting Montebanks calling themselues Psylli as comming from the race of those people Psylli who feared no kind of poison I haue seen them I say in a brauery because they would seem to surpasse all others of that profession to eat those toads baked red hot between 2 platters but what became of them they caught their bane by it and died more suddenly than if they had bin stung by the Aspis but what is the help for this rank poison surely the herb Phrynion drunk in wine Some cal it Neuras others Poterion pretty flours it beareth the roots be many in number full of strings like vnto sinews and the same of a sweet pleasant sent Likewise Alisura is counted another remedy in this case an herb it is called by some Damosorium by others Liron the leaues might be taken for Planta in but that they be narrower more iagged and plaited bending also toward the ground for otherwise ribbed they be and full of veins as like as may be to Plantain As for the stalk it is likewise one and no more plain and slender of a cub it in heigth in the head wherof it hath knobs roots growing many and thick together and those but small like vnto those of the blacke Ellebore but they be hot and biting of a sweet and odoriferous smell and of a fatty substance withall it groweth ordinarily in watery and moist places And yet there is a second kind of it which commeth vp in woods of a more duskish
poole it would draw the same dry and was of power by touching onely to open lockes or vnbolt any dore whatsoeuer Of Achoemenis also another herb they made this boast That beeing throwne against an armie of enemies ranged in battel array it would driue the troups and squadrons into feare disorder their ranks and put them to flight Semblably they gaue out and said That when the king of Persia dispatcâ—…ed his Embassadors to any forrein states and Princes he was wont to giue them an herb called Latace which so long as they had about them come where they would they should want nothing but haue plenty of all that they desired besides a number of such fooleries wherewith their bookes bee pestered But where I beseech you were these herbs when the Cimbrians and Teutons were defeated in a most cruell and terrible battell so as they cried and yelled again What became of these Magitians and their powerfull herbs when Lucullus with a small army consisting of some few legions ouerthrew and vanquished their owne kings If herbs were so mighty what is the reason I pray you that our Romane captaines prouided euermore aboue all things how to be furnished with victuals for their camp and to haue al the waies and passages open for their purveâ—…ours In the expedition of Pharsalia how came it to passe that the souldiers were at the point to be famished for want of victuals if Caesar by the happy hauing of one hearbe in his campe might haue injoied the abundance of all things Had it not bin better think ye for Scipio Aemilianus to haue caused the gates of Carthage to flie open with the help of one herbe than to lie so many yeres as he did in leaguer before the city with his engins ordinance to shake their wals batter their gates Were there such vertue in Ethiopius aforesaid why do we not at this day dry vp the Pontine lakes and recouer so much good ground vnto the territory about Rome Moreouer if that composition which Democritus hath set downe and his bookes maketh prayse of to be so effectual as to procure men to haue faire vertuous and fortunat children how happeneth it that the kings of Persia themselues could neuer attaine to that felicity And verily wee might maruell well enough at the credulity of our Ancestors in doting so much vpon these inuentions howsoeuer at the first they were deuised and brought in to right good purpose in case the mind and wit of man knew how to stay and keepe a meane in any thing els besides or if I could not proue as I suppose to doe in due place that euen this new leech-craft brought in by Asâ—…lepiades which checketh those vanities is growne to farther abuses and absurdities than are broched by the very Magitians themselues But this hath beene alwaies and euer will bee the nature of mans mind To exceed in the end and go beyond all measure in euery thing which at the beginning arose vpon good respects and necessary occasions But to leaue this discourse let vs proceed to the effects and properties remaining behind of those herbs which were described in the former booke with a supplement also and addition of some others as by occasion shall be offered and presented vnto vs. Howbeit to begin first with the remedies of the said Tettars so foule and vnseemly diseases I mean to gather a heape of as many medicines as I know appropriat for that malady notwithstanding I haue shewed alreadie of that kind not a few Well then in this case Plantaine stamped is very commendable so is Cinquefoile and the root of the white Daffodill punned and applied with vineger The young shoots or tender branches of the fig-tree boiled in vineger likewise the root of the Marsh-Mallow sodden with glow in a strong and sharpe vineger to the consumption of a fourth part Moreouer it is singular good to rub tettars throughly with a pumish stone first to the end that the root of Sorrell stamped and reduced into a liniment with vineger might be applied afterwards therupon with better successe as also the floure of Miselto tempred incorporat with quick-lime the decoction likewise of Tithymale together with rosin is much praised for this cure but the herb Liuerwort excelleth all the rest which therupon tooke the name Lichen it groweth vpon stony grounds with broad leaues beneath about the root hauing one stalke and the same small at which there hang downe long leaues and surely this is a proper herb also to wipe away all marks and cicatrices in the skin if it be bruised and laid vpon them with hony Another kind of Lichen or Liuerwort there is cleauing wholly fast vpon rockes and stones in manner of mosse which also is singular for those tettars being reduced into a liniment This herb likewise stancheth the flux of bloud in green wounds if the juice be dropped into them and in a liniment it serueth well to be applied vnto apostumat places the jaundise it healeth in case the mouth and tongue be rubbed and annointed with it and hony together but in this cure the Patients must haue in charge To bathe in salt water to anoint themselues with oile of almonds and in any case to abstain from all salads and pothearbs of the garden For to heale tettars the root of Thapsia stamped with hony is much vsed As for the Squinsie Argemonia is a soueraigne remedy if it be drunk in wine Hyssop also boiled in wine and so gargarized likewise Harstrang with the rennet of a Seale or Sea-calse taken both of them in equall portion moreouer Knot-grasse stamped with the pickle made of Cackrebs and oile and so gargled or els but held only vnder the tongue Semblaby the juice of Cinquefoile being taken in drink to the quantity of three cyaths this juice besides in a gargarisme cureth all other infirmities of the throat And to conclude with Mullen if it be drunk in water it hath a speciall vertue to cure the inflammation of the amygdals or almond kernels of the throat CHAP. V. ¶ Receits for the scrophules ar wens called the Kings-euill for the paines and griefes of the singers for the diseases of the breast and namely for the Cough PLantaine is a soueraigne herb to cure the Kings euill also Celendine applied with honey and hogs lard so is Cinquefoile The root of the great Clot-bur serueth for the same purpose if it be incorporat with hogs grease so that the place after it is annointed therewith be couered with a leafe of the said Bur laid fast vpon it in like manner Artemisia or Mugwort also a Mandrage root applied with water is good for that purpose The broad leafed Sideritis or Stone-sauge being digged round about with a spike of yron and taken vp with the left hand and so applied vnto the place cureth the kings euill prouided alwaies that the Patients when they be healed keep the same herbe still by them for
In agues it procureth sweat so that the patient drink the juice thereof mingled with hot water But of all herbes that be there is none more wonderful then Greimile some call it in Greek Lithospermon others Aegonychon some Diospyron and other Heracleos It groweth ordinarily fiue inches high and the leaues be twice as big as those of Rue The foresaid stalks or stems be no thicker than bents or rushes and the same garnished with small and slender branches It bringeth forth close ioining to the leaues certain little beards one by one in the top of them little stones white and round in manner of pearls as big as cich pease but as hard as very stones Toward that side where they hang to their steles or tailes they haue certain holes or concauities containing seed within This herb groweth in Italy but the best in the Island Candy And verily of all the plants that euer I saw I neuer wondred at any more so sightly it groweth as if some artificiall goldsmith had set in an alternatiue course and order these prety beads like orient pearls among the leaues so rare a thing it is difficult to be conceiued that a very hard stone should grow out of an herb The Herbarists who haue written thereof do say that it lieth along and creepeth by the ground for mine owne patt I neuer saw it growing in the plant but shewed it was vnto me plucked out of the ground This is for certaine knowne that these little stones called Greimile seed drunke to the weight of one dram in white wine breake the stone expell the same by grauell and dispatch those causes that be occasions of strangurie Certes a man no sooner seth this hearb but he may presently know the vertues thereof and for what it serueth in Physicke a thing that he shall not obserue again in any other whatsoeuer for at the very first sight of these little stones his eie will tell him what it is good for without information from any person at all There be common stones found about riuers bearing a certain drie hoary mosse vpon them Rub one of these stones against another hauing spit first therupon and then therewith touch the tettar or ringworme in any part of the body it will kill the same but the party must as he toucheth it vtter this charme following 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That is to say Cantharides flie apace for a wilde Wolfe followeth in chase The French-men haue a certaine herbe which they call Limeum out of which they draw a venomous juice named by them Stags-poison wherewith they vse to envenome their Arrow heads when they go to hunt their red Deere Take of this as much as goeth to the poysoning of one arrow and put it in three measures or Modij of a mash wherewith they vse to drench cattel and make sops thereof and conuey them down the throat of sick oxen or kine it will recouer them But presently after the receit of this medicine they must be tied vp sure vnto their bousies vntill the medicine haue done purging for the beasts commonly fare all the while that it is in working as if they were wood In case they fall a sweating vpon it they must be washed all ouer with cold water Leuce is an herbe like vnto Mercury but it tooke that name by reason of a certaine white strake or line that runneth crosse through the mids of the leafe for which cause some cal it Mesoleucas The iuice of this herbe healeth fistuloes and the substance of the herbe it selfe stamped cureth cancerous sores It may be peraduenture the same herb which is named Leucas that is so effectuall against all venomous stings proceeding from any sea-fishes The herbarists haue not described this herb otherwise than thus That the wild kind thereof with the broader leafe is more effectual in the leaues and that the seed of the garden kind hath more acrimony than the other Touching Leucographis what manner of herbe it should be I haue not found in any writer and I wonder thereat the rather because it is reported to be so good for them that void reach bloud vpward namely if it be taken to the weight of three oboli with Safron likewise stamped with water and so applied it is singular good against those fluxes that proceed from the imbecility of the stomacke soueraigne also for to stav the immoderat flux of womens termes And it entereth into those medicines which are appropriate for the eies yea and into incarnatiues such especially as be fit to incarnat those vlcers which are in the most tender and delicat parts of the body CHAP. XII ¶ Of Medium Myosota Myagros Nigina Natrix Odontitis Othonne Omosma Onopordos Osyris Oxys Batrachion Polygonon Pancration Peplos Periclymenos Laucanthemon Phyteuma Phyllon Phellandrion Phalaris Polyrrhizon and Proserpinaca of Rhacoma Reseda and Stoechas MEdion hath leaues like vnto garden Floure-de-lis A stem three foot high garnished with faire large floures of purple colour and round in forme the seed is small and the root halfe a foot long it groweth willingly vpon stony grounds lying in the shade The root taken in a liquid electuary or lohoch made with hony to the quantity of 2 drams for cerdaies together staieth the immoderat flux of womens monethly termes The seed also reduced into pouder and drunke in wine represseth their extraordinary shifts Myosota otherwise called Myosotis is a smooth herbe shooting forth many stems from one single root and those in some sort of a reddish colour and hollow garnished with leaues which toward the root be narrow long and blackish hauing their backe part sharpe and edged which leaues grow along the stems two by two together and out of the concauities or armpits between the stalk and them there put forth other small branches with a blew floure The root is of the thicknesse of a mans finger bearded with many small strings resembling hairs This root is of a corrosiue nature fretting and exulcerating any place wherunto it is applied in which regard it healeth vp the fistulous vlcers called Aegilops growing between the nose and angles of the eies The Aegyptians are of opinion that if vpon the 27 day of that moneth which they call Thiatis and which answereth very neare to our moneth August a man or woman do annoint themselues with the juice of this herb in a morning before they haue spoken one word he or she shall not be troubled with bleared eies all that yeare long Myagros is an herb growing vp with stems in manner of Fenell geant in leaues resembling Madder and riseth to the height of 3 foot The seed which it beareth is oleous out of it there is an oile drawne which is good for the sores in the mouth if they be annointed therewith The herbe called Nigina hath three long leaues like vnto those of Succorie wherewith if scars remaining after vlcers and wounds be rubbed it will reduce
seat another besides of good importance called Sabe But for them that would make a voiage to the Indians the most commodious place to set forward is Ocelis for from thence and with the West wind called Hypalus they haue a passage of forty daies sailing to the first towne of merchandise in India called Muziris Howbeit a port this is not greatly in request for the daunger of pirates and rouers which keep ordinarily about a place called Hydrae and besides that it is not richly stored and furnished with merchandise And more than so the harborough is farre from the town so as they must charge and dischrge their wares to and fro in little boats At the time when I wrot this story the king that reigned there was named Celebothras But another hauen there is more commodious belonging to the Necanidians which they cal Becare the kings name at this present is Pandion not far off is another town of merchandise within the firme land called Madusa As for that region from whence they transport pepper in small punts or troughes made of one peece of wood it is named Corona And yet of all these nations hauens and towns there is not a name found in any of the former writers By which it appeareth that there hath been great change and alteration in these places But to come again to India our merchants returne from thence back in the beginning of our month December which the Aegiptians cal Tybis or at farthest before the sixt day of the Aegyptians month Machiris and that is before the Ides of Ianuary and by this reckoning they may passe to and fro and make return within the compasse of one yere Now when they saile from India they haue the Northeast wind Vulturnus with them and when they be entered once into the red sea the South or Southwest Now wil we return to our purposed discourse as touching Carmania The coast wherof after the reckoning of Niccarchus may take in circuit 12050 miles From the first marches thereof to the riuer Sabis is counted 100 miles From whence all the way as far as to the riuer Andaius the country is rich and plenteous for in it are vineyards and corne fields wel husbanded This whole tract is called Amuzia The chiefe townes of Carmania be Zetis and Alexandria Vpon the marches of this realme the sea breaks into the land in two armes which our countrymen call the red sea and the Greekes Erythraeum of a king named Erythras or as some thinke because the sea by reason of the reflection and beating of the Sun beams seemes of a reddish colour There be that suppose this rednesse is occasioned of the sand and ground which is red and others againe that the very water is of the own nature so coloured CHAP. XXIV ¶ The Persian and Arabian gulfes THis red sea is diuided into two armes that from the East is named the Persian gulfe being in compasse 2500 miles by the computation of Eratosthenes Ouer against this gulfe in Arabia which lieth in length 1200 miles on the other side another arme there is of it called the Arabian gulfe which runs into the Ocean Azanius The mouth of the Persian gulfe where it maketh entrance is 5 miles ouer and some haue made it but 4 from which to the farthest point thereof take a direct and straight measure by a line and for certaine it is that it containeth 1225 miles and is fashioned directly like a mans head One sichritus and Nearchus write That from the riuer Indus to the Persian gulfe and so from thence to Babylon by the meeres and fens of the riuer Euphrates it is 2500 miles In an angle of Carmania inhabit the Chelonophagi i. such as feed vpon the flesh of Tortoises and the shells of them serue for roofes to couer their cottages They inhabit all that coast along the riuer Arbis euen to the very cape rough they are hairy all their body ouer but their heads and weare no garment but fish skins CHAP. XXV ¶ The Island Cassandrus and the kingdomes vnder the Parthians WHen you are past this tract of the Chelonophagi directly toward India there lieth fifty miles within the sea the Island Cassandrus by report all desart and not inhabited and neere to it with a little arme of the sea between another Island called Stois wherein pearles are good chaffer and yeeld gainfull trafficke But to returne againe to Carmania when you are beyond the vtmost cape thereof you enter presently vpon the Armozei who ioyn vpon the Carmanians But some say that the Arbij are between both and that their coast may containe in the whole 402 miles There are to be seen the port or hauen of the Macedonians and the altars or columnes which Alexander erected vpon the very promontorie and vtmost cape Where also be the riuers Saganos Daras and Salsos Beyond which is the cape Themisceas and the Isle Aphrodisias well peopled Then beginneth the realme of Persis which extendeth to the riuer Oroatus that diuides it from Elymais Ouer-against the coasts of Persis these Islands be discouered Philos Cassandra and Aratia with an exceeding high mountaine in it and this Isle is held consecrated to Neptune The very kingdome of Persis Westward hath the coasts lying out in length 450 miles The people are rich and giuen to royall and superfluous expence in all things and long since are become subiect to the Parthians carying their name And seeing we are come to speake of them we will briefly now mention their dominion and empire the Parthians haue in all 18 realmes vnder them for so they termed all their prouinces as they lie diuided about the two seas as wee haue before said namely the red sea Southward and the Hircane sea toward the North. Of which eleuen that lie aboue in the countrey and are called the higher Prouinces they take their beginning at the confines and marches of Armenia and the coasts of the Caspians on the one side and reach to the Scythians whom they confront of the other side with whom they conuerse and keepe company together as Equalls The other seuen are called the base or lower Realmes As for the Parthians their land was alwaies counted to ly at the foot and descent of those mountains wherof we haue so often spoken which do enuirone and enclose all those nations It confineth Eastward vpon the Arij and Southward vpon Carmania and the Arians on the West side it butteth vpon the Pratites â—…nd Modes and on the North boundeth vpon the realm of Hircania compassed round about with deserts and mountaines The vtmost nations of the Parthians before yee come to those desarts be called Nomades and their cheife townes seated toward the West are Islaris and Calliope whereof we haue written before but toward the Northeast Europum and Southeast Mania In the heart and midland standeth the citie Hecatompylos as also Arsacia And there likewise the noble region of Nysaea in Parthyerum together with the famous
gaue the name vnto that city Howbeit the Persians caused this Hypparenum to be dismantled and the walls thereof to be demolished There be also in this tract the Orchenes towards the South from whence is come a third sort of the Chaldaeans called Orcheni Being past this region you meet with the Notites Orthophants and Graeciophants Nearchus and Onesicratus who registred the voiage of Alexander the Great into India report That from the Persian sea to the city Babylon by the riuer Euphrates is 412 miles But the later and moderne Writers do count from Seleucia to the Persian gulfe 490 miles K. Iuba writeth That from Babylon to Charax is 175 miles Some affirme moreouer That beyond Babylon the riuer Euphrates doth maintaine one entire course and keepeth one channel 87 miles before he is diuided into seuerall branches here and there for to water the country and that he holdeth on his course from his head to the sea for the space of 1200 miles This varietie of Authors as touching the measure is the cause why a man may not so wel resolue and conclude thereof considering that euen the very Persians agree not about the dimensions of their Scoenes and Paraâ—…anges but haue diuers measures of them Whereas the riuer Euphrates giueth ouer his owne chanel which for the bredth thereof is a sufficient munition to it selfe and beginneth to part into diuers branches which it doth about the marches confines of Charax in all the tract neere adioyning great danger there is of the Attalae a theeuish nation amongst the Arabians who presently set vpon all passengers comming and going to and fro When you are past this infamous and suspected Region you shall enter into the Countrey of the Schenites As for the Arabians which are called Nomades they occupie all the coasts of the riuer Euphrates as farre as to the Desarts of Syria From the which place we haue said that hee turned and tooke his way into the South abandoning the desarts of Palmyrene To conclude from the beginning and head of Mesopotamia it is counted to Seleucia if you passe vpon the riuer Euphrates 1125 miles and from the red sea if you go by the riuer Tigris 320 miles from Zeugma 527 miles and to Zeugma from Seleucia in Syria vpon the coast of our sea is reckoned 175 miles This is the very true and iust latitude there of the firm land between the two seas to wit the Persian gulfe and the Syrian sea As for the kingdome of Parthia it may containe 944 miles Finally there is yet another towne of Mesopotamia vpon the banke of Tigris neere the place where the riuers meet in one called Digba CHAP. XXVII ¶ The riuer Tigris MEet also and conuenient it is to say somewhat of the riuer Tigris It begins in the land of Armenia the greater issuing out of a great source and euident to be seen in the very plaine The place beareth the name of Elongosine The riuer it selfe so long as it runs slow and softly is named Diglito but when it begins once to carry a more forcible streame it is called Tigris for the swiftnesse thereof which in the Medians language betokens a shaft It runs vp into the lake Arethusa which beareth vp aflote all that is cast into it suffering nothing to sinke and the vapors that arise out of it carry the sent of Nitre In this lake there is but one kind of fish and that entreth not into the chanell of Tigris as it passeth through nor more than any fishes swim out of Tigris into the water of the lake In his course and colour both he is vnlike and as he goes may be discerned from the other and being once past the lake and incountreth the great mountain Taurus he loseth himself in a certain caue or hole in the ground and so runs vnder the hill vntill on the other side thereof he breaketh forth again and appeares in his likenesse in a place called Zoroanda That it is the same riuer it is euident by this that he carrieth through with him and sheweth in Zoroanda whatsoeuer was cast into him before he hid himselfe in the caue aforesaid After this second spring and rising of his he enters into another lake and runneth through it likewise named Thospites and once again takes his way vnder the earth through certain blinde gutters and 25 miles beyond he putteth forth his head about Nymphaeum Claudius Caesar reporteth that in the countrey Arrhene the riuer Tigris runs so neere the riuer Arsania that when they both swell and their waters are out they ioyne both their streams together yet so as the water is not mingled for Arsanias being the lighter of the twain swimmeth and floteth ouer the other for the space wel-neere of 4 miles but soon after they part asunder and Arsania turneth his course toward the riuer Euphrates into which he entreth But Tigris receiuing into him certain goodly great riuers out of Armenia to wit Parthenis Agnice and Pharion so diuiding the Arabians Troeanes from the Adiabenes and by this means making as it were an Island of Mesopotamia aforesaid after he hath passed by and viewed the mountaines of the Gordiaeans neere vnto Apamia a town of Mesene on this side Seleucia syrnamed Babylonia 125 miles diuiding himselfe into two armes or channels with the one he runneth Southward to Seleucia watering as he goeth the country of Messene and with the other windeth Northward he goeth on the backside of the said Mesene and cutteth through the plains of the Cauchians Now when these two branches are re-vnited again the whole is called Pasitigris After this he taketh into him out of Media the great riuer Coaspes and so passing between Seleucia and Ctesiphon as we haue said he fals into the meeres and lakes of Chaldaea which he furnisheth and replenisheth with water for the compasse of seuentie miles which done he issueth forth againe gushing out with a mighty great and large streame and running along the towne Charax on the right hand thereof he dischargeth himselfe into the Persian sea carrying there a mouth ten miles ouer Between the mouthes of these two riuers Tigris Euphrates where they fall into the sea were counted in old time 25 miles or as some would haue it but seuen and yet both of them were nauigable and bare right great ships But the Orcheniens and other neighbor inhabitants long since turned the course of Euphrates aside to serue their owne turnes in watering their fields and stopped the ordinarie passages thereof insomuch as they forced him to run into Tigris not otherwise than in his chanell to fall into the sea The next country bordering vpon Tigris is called Parapotamia in the marches whereof is the city Mesene whereof we haue spoken The chiefe towne thereof is Dibitach from thence you enter presently into the region Chalonitis ioyning hard vpon Ctesiphon a rich country beautified not only with rowes of date trees but also with Oliue Apple and peare
Mentor at length was ware that the Lion had a wound in his foot and that it swelled therwith whereupon he gently plucked out the spill of wood that had gotten into it and so eased the beast of his paine This accident is for a memoriall represented in a picture at Syracusa Semblably Elpis a Samiaâ—… being arriued and landed in Africk chanced to espy neer the shore a Lion gaping wide and seeming afar off to whet his teeth at him in menacing wise he fled apace to take a tree calling vpon god Bacchus to help him for then commonly wee fall to our praiers when we see little or no hope of other helpe but the Lion stopt him not in his flight albeit he could haue crossed the way well enough but laying himselfe downe at the tree root with that open mouth of his wherewith he had skared the man made signes to moue pitty and compassion Now so it was that the beast hauing lately fed greedily had gotten a sharp bone within his teeth that put him to exceeding paine besides that hee was almost famished and he looking pittifully vp to the man shewed how he was punished himselfe among those verie weapons wherewith he was wont to anoy others and after a sort with dumb and mute prayers besought his help Elpis avised him well a pretty while and besides that hee was not very forward to venture vpon the wilde beast he staied the longer and made the lesse hast while he considered rather this strange and miraculous accident than otherwise greatly feared At last hecomes downe from the tree and plucks out the bone whiles the Lion held his mouth handsomly to him and exposed himselfe to his helpfull hand as fitly as he possibly could In requitall of which good turne it is said that so long as this ship of his lay there at anchor the Lion furnished him and his company with good store of venison ready killed to his hand And vpon this occasion Elpis after his return dedicated a temple to Bacchus which vpon this reason the Greeks called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. of gaping Bacchus 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. the chappell of Bacchus the Sauiour Can we maruell any more from henceforth that wild beasts should marke and know the footing of a man seeing that in their extremities and necessities they haue recourse to him alone for hope of succour Why went not they to other creatures or who taught them that the hand of man was able to cure them vnlesse this be the reason that griefe anguish and extreme perill forceth euen sauage beasts to seeke all means of help and reliefe CHAP. XVII ¶ Of Panthers DEmetrius the philosopher so wel seen into the speculation of Natures works the causes thereof makes mention of as memorable a case as the former touching a Panther for as he saith there was a Panther desirous to meet with a man therefore lay in the mids of an high-way vntill some passenger should come by and suddenly was espied by the father of Philinus the Philosopher who trauailed that way The man for feare began to retire and go backe againe but the wild beast kept a tumbling and vauting all about him doubtlesse and by all apparance after a flattering sort as if it would haue had somwhat and such a tossing and tormenting of it selfe she made so piteously that it might soone be seene in what griefe and pain the Panther was The poore beast had but lately kindled and her young whelps were falne into a ditch afarre off well the first point that the man shewed of pitty and commiseration was not to be affraid and the next was to haue regard and care of her follow he did the Panther as she seemed to train and draw him by his garment which with her clawes shee tooke hold of daintily vntill they were come to the pit or ditch aboue-said So soon then as he knew the cause of her griefe and sorrow and withall what might be the reward of his courtesie euen as much as his life came to he drew forth her little ones that were fallen into the said pit which don she and her whelps together leaping and shewing gambols for ioy accompanied him and through the wildernesse directed him vntill he was gotten forth So as it appeared in her that shee was thankfull vnto him and requited his kindnesse albeit there passed no couenant nor promise between them of any such recompence a rare example to be found euen among men This story and such like giue great colour of truth to that which Democritus reporteth namely that Thoas in Arcadia saued his life by means of a dragon This Thoas being but a very childe had loued this dragon when he was but yong very well and nourished him but at last being somewhat fearfull of his nature and not well knowing his qualities and fearing withall the bignes that now he was growne vnto had carried him into the mountains and desarts wherein it fortuned that he was afterward set vpon and inuironed by theeues whereupon he cried out and the dragon knowing his voice came forth and rescued him As for babes and infants cast forth to perish and sustained by the milke of wilde beasts like as Romulus and Remus our first founders who were suckled by a she wolfe such things in mine opinion are in all reason to be attributed more to fortune and fatall destinies than to the nature of those beasts The Panthers and Tygers are in a maner the only beasts for the varietie of spotted skins and furres which they yeeld in great request and commendable for other beasts haue each one a proper colour of their owne according to their kind Lions there be all blacke but they are found in Syria only The ground of the Panthers skin is white beset all ouer with little black spots like eies It is said that all foure-footed beasts are wonderfully delighted and enticed by the smell of Panthers but their hideous looke and crabbed countenance which they bewray by shewing their heads skareth them as much againe wherefore their maner is to hide their heads and hauing trained other beasts within their reach by their sweet sauour they fly vpon them and worrie them Some report that they haue one marke on their shoulder resembling the Moone growing and decreasing as she doth sometime shewing a full compasse and otherwhiles hollowed and pointed with tips like hornes In all this kind and race of wild beasts now adaies they cal the male Variae and Pardi and great abundance there is of them in Africke and Syria Some there be againe that make no other difference betweene the Luzernes and Leopards and these Panthers but only this that the Panthers are white and as yet I know no other marks to descry them by There passed an old Act and Ordinance of the Senate forbidding expresly that any Panthers of Africke should be brought into Italy Against this edict Cn. Aufidius a Tribune of the commons put
Germanie The Geese there be all white but lesse of bodie than from other parts and there they be called Ganzae And truly a pound of such feathers be worth 5 deniers Hereupon it is that so many complaints are made of Colonels and Captaines ouer companies of auxiliarie souldiers for their disorders For wheras they should keep them together in a standing corps de gard to watch and ward night and day they license many times whole bands to straggle abroad to hunt and chase Geese for their feathers and downe And now forsooth the world is growne to be so delicate and daintie that not only our fine smooth dames but also our men cannot take their repose and sleep without this ware but complaine of a paine in their necks and heads vnlesse they may lay them vpon bolsters and pillowes of goose feathers and their soft downe Now to that part of Syria called Comagena we are beholden for another proper inuention of theirs They take me the leafe and grease of Geese and Cinnamon together which they put into a brazen pot and couer it all ouer with good store of snow wherein they let it lie in steepe well infused in this cold humor to vse in that notable composition and sweet ointment which of that countrey is called Comagenum Of the Geese kind are the Birganders named Chelanopeces and than which there is not a daintier dish knowne in England the Chenerotes lesse than wild Geese As for the phesant Bustards they haue a trim shining brightnesse that becommeth and graceth them exceeding well in their perfect and absolute black hew and their eie-browes painted red as it were with deep Scarlet Another kind there is of them bigger than Vultures but in feather and colour much resembling them And there is not a Foule setting the Ostrich aside that poiseth weigheth more heauy than they for they grow to that bignes that a man can hardly lift them from the ground These breed in the Alpes and the North countries If they be mued vp and kept in a pen they lose their pleasant taste and are no good meat nay they grow so sullen and self-willed that they will die with holding their breath Next to these are those which in Spaine they cal the Slowbirds and in Greece Otides but their meat is naught for the marow in their bones if it be let run out hath such a stinking smell that a man cannot abide it but shall be readie to vomite CHAP. XXIII ¶ Of Cranes Storkes Swans Quailes the Glotis and strange birds of other countries THe nation of the prettie Pigmies enjoy a truce and cessation from armes euery yeare as we haue said before when the Cranes who vse to wage war with them be once departed come into our countries And verily if a man consider well how far it is from hence to the Leuant sea it is a mightie great journey that they take their flight exceeding long They put not themselues in their journey nor set forward without a counsell called before and a generall consent They flie aloft because they would haue a better prospect to see before them and for this purpose a captain they chuse to guide them whom the rest follow In the rereward behind there be certaine of them set and disposed to giue signall by their manner of crie for to raunge orderly in rankes and keep close together in array and this they doe by turnes each one in his course They maintaine a set watch all the night long and haue their sentinels These stand on one foot and hold a little stone within the other which by falling from it if they should chance to sleepe might awaken them and reproue them for their negligence Whiles these watch all the rest sleep couching their heads vnder their wings and one while they rest on the one foot and otherwhiles they shift to the other The captaine beareth vp his head aloft into the aire and giueth signall to the rest what is to be done These Cranes if they be made tame and gentle are very playfull and wanton birds and they will one by one dance as it were and run the round with their long shankes stalking ful vntowardly This is surely known that when they mind to take a flight ouer the sea Pontus they will fly directly at the first to the narrow streights of the sayd sea lying between the two capes Criu-Metophon and Carambis and then presently they ballaise themselues with stones in their feet and sand in their throats that they flie more steadie and endure the wind When they be halfe way ouer down they fling these stones but when they are come to the continent the sand also they disgorge out of their craw Cornelius Nepos who died in the daies of Augustus Caesar Emperor in that chapter where he wrote That a little before his time men began to feed and cram Blackbirds and Thrushes in coupes saith moreouer That in his daies Storks were holden for a better dish at the bourd than Cranes And yet see how in our age now no man will touch a Storke if it be set before him vpon the bourd but euery one is readie to reach vnto the Crane and no dish is in more request From whence these Storks should come or whither they go againe is not yet known No doubt from far remote countries they visite vs and in the same manner as the Cranes do only this is the difference that the cranes are our guests in Winter and the Storks in Summer When they be minded to part out of our coasts they assemble all together in one certain place appointed there is not one left out nor absent of their owne kind vnlesse it be some that are not at libertie but captiue or in bondage Thus as if it had been published before by proclamation they rise all in one entire companie and away they flie And albeit well knowne it might be afore that they were vpon their remoue and departure yet was there neuer any man watched he neuer so well that could perceiue them in their flight neither do we at any time see when they are comming to vs before we know that they be alreadie come The reason is because they doe the one and the other alwaies by night And notwithstanding that they flie too and fro from place to place and make but one flight of it yet be they supposed neuer to haue ariued at any coast but in the night There is a place in the open plaines and champion countrey of Asia called Pithonos-Come where by report they assemble all together and being met keepe a jangling one with another but in the end look which of them lagged behind and came tardie him they reare in peeces and then they depart This also hath been noted that after the Ides of August they be not lightly seene there Some affirme constantly that Storkes haue no tongues But so highly regarded they are for â—…aying of Serpents that in Thessalie it
purpose they make much of Iaies Dawes and Choughes whom they doe honour highly because they flie opposite against the Locusts and so destroy them Moreouer in Syria they are forced to leuie a warlike power of men against them and make riddance by that meanes See in how many parts of the world this hurtfull and noisome vermine is dispersed and spread and yet in Parthia they are taken for very good meat The voice that they haue such as it seemes to come from the hinder part of their head for about that place where the joincture is of the shoulders to the nape of the neck they are thought to haue certain teeth which by grating and grinding one against the other doe yeeld a kind of crashing noise and namely about the time of both the Aequinoctials like as the Grashoppers at mid summers Sunstead Locusts engender after the manner of all other Insects which do engender to wit the female carries the male and she lying vnderneath bends vp the very end of her taile against the other and thus they continue a good while ere they part asunder To conclude the males of all this kind be lesse than the females CHAP. XXX ¶ Of the ordinarie Pismires of our countrey in Italie MOst part of Insects do breed a grub or little worme For euen the very Ant in the Spring time doth bring forth such wormes like egges These silie creatures labor and trauell in common as the Bees do this only is the difference that Bees do make their owne meat wheras these store vp only their food and prouision As touching their strength if a man would compare the burdens that they carie with their own bodies he wil find and confesse that there is not a creature againe in the world for that proportion stronger And how doe they carrie them euen with their very mouthes Howbeit if they meet with any greater load than they can bite betweene their chawes then they set their shoulders to it and with their hinder legs also make meanes to driue it forward They haue among them a certaine forme of Common-wealth they remember they are not without care and fore-cast Looke what seedes or graines they do lay vp for prouision sure they will be to gnaw it first for feare they should sprout and take root againe and so grow out of the earth If a corne or seed be too big for their carriage they diuide it into peeces that they may go with it more easily into their house If their seeds within chance to take wet they lay them abroad and so drie them They giue not ouer worke by night when the Moone is at the full but when she is in the change they rest and play them When they are at worke how painfull are they how busie how industrious And for as much as they make their purueiance in diuers places and bring from al parts without knowledge one of the other they keepe among them certaine market daies for a mutuall enteruiew and conference together And verily it is a world to see how then they will assemble what running what greeting what entercourse and communication there is between them whiles they are inquisiâ—…iue as they meet one with onother What newes abroad euen like merchants at a Burse Their â—…aifare is so ordinarie and continual that we may see the very hard flint and pebble stones worn â—…ith their passage too and fro we may see I say a very path-way made where they vse to goe about their worke whereby let no man doubt of what force and power continuall vse is of any thing whatsoeuer be it neuer fo little Of all liuing creatures they only and men doe enterre and burie their dead among them To conclude thoroughout all Sicilie a man shall not see a flying Ant. CHAP. XXXI ¶ Of Indian Pismires IN the temple of Hercules at Erythrae there were to be seen the horns of a certain Indian Ant which were there set vp and fastned for a wonder to posteritie In the countrey of the Northerne Indians named Dardae the Ants do cast vp gold aboue ground from out of the holes and mines within the earth these are in colour like to cats and as big as the wolues of Aegypt This gold before said which they worke vp in the winter time the Indians do steale from them in the extreme heate of Summer waiting their opportunitie when the Pismires lie close within their caues vnder the ground from the parching Sun Yet not without great danger for if they happen to wind them and catch their sent out they go and follow after them in great hast and with such fury they fly vpon them that oftentimes they teare them in pieces let them make way as fast as they can vpon their most swift camels yet they are not able to saue them So fleet of pace so fierce of courage are they to recouer gold that they loue so well CHAP. XXXII ¶ The diuers generation of some Insects MAny Insects there be that breed after another sort than the former aboue specified and principally of dew which settles vpon the radish leafe in the beginning of the Spring For being made thicke and hardned with the heate of the Sun it growes to the bignes of the grain of Millet From it ariseth a little grub and three daies after it becomes a kind of canker-worme and so in processe and tract of time it groweth bigger without mouing at all and gathereth an hard husk or case about her only if a man touch the webby panicles wherein the said worme lieth inwrapped it will seem to stir This is called Chrysalis and after some time when the kex or husk is broken he proueth a faire flying butter-fly CHAP. XXXIII ¶ Of Insects that breed in wood and of wood SEmblably there be some Insects ingendred of raine drops standing vpon the earth and others also of wood for not only the ordinarie wood-wormes breed in timber but also câ—…tain Brees and horse-flies come of it yea and other such like creatures whensoeuer the wood happen to be dotted with ouer-much moisture Like as within one of our bodies there haue bin found broad wormes of 30 foot in length yea and sometimes longer Also there haue bin seen in dead carions many worms and the very flesh of liuing men is apt to breed such vermin and so is the haire of the head to harbor lice of which silthy loathsome creatures both Sylla the Dictator and also Alcman one of the most renowned Greeke Poets perished Moreouer birds are much infested and troubled therewith And as for Feasants they will dy thereof vnlesse they bestrew themselues with dust Of such beasts as carry haire it is verily thought that the Asse alone and sheep are free from this kind of vermin Some kind of cloath likewise is apt to ingender lice and especially those which are made of wooll that sheepe bare which were worried of wolues Ouer and besides I find in some writers That there is
be more sweet and pleasant There is sound within a resemblance of canes and reeds full of this iuice Howbeit about the rising of the Dog star there be certain winged wormes settle vpon the said reeds creepe in and eat away the marrow as it were which lay within so as a man shall find nought left behind but a mouldy dust or rotten powder good for nothing Next to this Storax of Syria great account is made of that which commeth out of Pisidia from Sidon Cypres and Cilicia but least reckoning is made of that which Candie sendeth vs. That which is brought from the mount Amanus in Syria is good for the Physicians but better for the perfumers and confectioners From what nation soeuer it comes the best Storax is that which is red somewhat glutinous besides by reason of the fattines The worst is that which hath no consistence and tenacitie but crumbles like bran and is so mouldie that it is ouergrowne with a white hoarie mosse The pedlers and such like petie merchants can skill how to sophisticate this drug also with the rosin of cedar and gum otherwhiles also with honie or bitter almonds But al these deceits are known by the tast The price of the best is 19 deniers a pound There is a Storax besides which Pamphylia doth yeeld but drier it is and nothing so full of moisture Moreouer we haue from Syria out of the same mountain Amanus another kind of gum called Galbanum issuing out of an hearbe like Fennell-geant which some call by the name of the said Rosin others Stagonitis The best Galbanum and which is most set by is gristly and cleare withall resembling Hammoniacum without any spils of wood in it For in that wise the hucksters vse to deceiue chapmen by mingling beanes with it or the gum Sagapenum The right Galbanum if you burn it chaseth away Serpents with the strong perfume or smoke thereof It is sold for fiue deniers the pound and is vsed only in Physicke for medicines CHAP. XXVI ¶ Of Panaces Spondylium and Malobathrum THe same perfumers seeke also into the same Syria for Panaces growing there and yet it is to be found also about Psophis a citie in Arcadia and the fountaines from whence floweth the riuer Erymanthus yea and in Affricke besides and Macedonie This Panax is an hearbe with a tall stalke and round tuft in the head like Fennell and yet it is a plant by it selfe growing to the height of fiue cubits At the first it putteth out foure leaues and afterwards six They be very large and round withall lying vpon the ground but toward the top they resemble the leaues of an Oliue it beareth seed in the head hanging within certaine round tufts as doth the Ferula Out of the stalk of this hearb there there is drawn a liquor by way of incision made in haruest time and likewise out of the root in Autumne or the fall of the leaf And this is called Opopanax The best lookes white when it is gathered and congealed The next in worth and weight is that which is yellow As for the blacke it is of no account The berter Opoponax costeth not aboue two Asses a pound Another hearbe there is of this Fennell kind namely Spondylium somwhat different from the former but in leaues only because they be lesse than those of Panax and diuided after the manner of the Plane leaues This Spondylium groweth no where but in cold and shadowie places It carrieth a fruit or graine called also Spondylium which resembleth the forme of Sil or Siler montanum and serueth for no vse but Physick We are beholden moreouer to Syria for Malobathrum This is a tree that beares leaues rolled vp round together and seeming to the eie withered Out of which there is drawne and pressed an Oile for perfumers to vse Aegypt is more fruitfull of this hearbe than Syria And yet there comes a better kind therof from India than both those countries It is said that it grows there in meeres and standing waters swimming aloft after the manner of Fen-lentils or Duckes meat more odoriferous than Saffron enclining to a blacke colour rough in handling in tast salt or brackish The white is not so well esteemed It wil soon be mouldie when it is stale The rellish thereof ought to resemble Nardus at the tongues end The perfume or smell that Malobathrum or the leafe yeeldeth when it is boiled in wine passeth all others It is strange and monstrous which is obserued in the price for it hath risen from one denier to 300 a pound whereas the Oile it selfe doth cost 60. CHAP. XXVII ¶ Of Oile Olive made of greene Oliues likewise of Grape Veriuice FOr the mixture and composition of ointments the Oile of vnripe Oliues and Veriuice is very good and verily made it is in two kinds after two sorts to wit of the Oliue and the Vine Of the Oliues if yee would haue good they ought to bee pressed whiles they be yet white for if they turn colour once and be blackish the worse is the Oyle or Veriuice that commeth thereof And such kind of Oliues be called Drupae namely before they be fully ripe and good to eat and yet haue lost their colour And herein is the difference for that the oyle of this later sort is green the other is white Now as for grape Verjuice it should be made of the Vine Psythia or Amminea and before the canicular daies when as the grapes bee but new knit and no bigger than the Cich-pease The grapes I say must be gathered for this purpose at the beginning before they change colour the juice thereof ought then to be taken Then should the Verjuice that comes from it be sunned and heed must be taken in any case that no dews by night do catch it and therefore it would stand in couvert Now when this iuice or verjuice is gathered it is put vp in earthen pots and otherwhiles kept also in vessels of copper The best grape verjuice is red sharp and soure in taste dry withall and scyptick A pound or a pinte of such verjuice is worth six deniers It may be made in another sort namely by punning and stamping vnripe grapes in morters drying it afterwards in the Sunne and so made vp into certain rolls or trochisks CHAP. XXVIII ¶ Of Bryon and Oenanthe of the tree Elate and Cinnamon Cariopus THe mosse of the white Poplar or Asp which is reputed as the grape therof is vsed likewise in these odoriferous and sweet compositions The best grows about Cnidos or Caria in thirsty dry and rough places A second sort is that which is found vpon the Cedar of Lycia To this pertaineth Oenanthae which is no more but the grapes of the wild vine called Labrusca Gathered it is when it floureth that is to say when it smels best It is dried in the shade vpon a linnen sheet lying vnder it and then put vp into little barrels The
which was made of two demie-rounds or halfe circles joined together so artificially that for the closenesse of the joint which could not be discern'd it was more admirable than possibly it could haue been if it had been naturally of one entire peece the diameter of it caried foure foot and a halfe and three inches thicke it was Likewise another such table there was surnamed Nomien of one Nomius a slaue enfranchised by Tiberius the Emperour the square or diametre whereof was foure foot within 3 quarters of an inch and the thicknesse halfe a foot lacking so much And here I cannot forget and ouerpasse how that the Emperor Tiberius himselfe had a table which being two inches and three quarters aboue 4 foot in the diametre and an inch and an half thick throughout he caused to be plated all ouer for that Nomius his freed-seruant had one so rich and magnificent made altogether of a knot a knot I say or a knur in the root of the tree which is the very beautie of the wood and giues all the grace to tables made therof and namely if this knot lie altogether within ground it is without comparison excellent and farre more rare and singular than any of the timber aboue either in the trunk and bodie or in the armes and boughes of the tree So that to say a truth this costly ware bought so deare is no better than the superfluous excrescense of trees the largenesse wherof as also of their roots may be esteemed by the roundnesse that they carie Now are these Citron trees much like to the female Cypresse especially that of the wild kind in leaf in smel and in body A mountaine there is in high Mauritania called Anchorarius which was wont to yeeld the best and fairest citron trees although now it be naked and despoiled of them But to returne to our tables aforesaid the principall be they which are either crisped in the length of the vein or beset here and there with winding spots In the former the wood curleth in and out along the graine and therefore such bee named Tigrinae i. Tigre-tables In the other there be represented sundrie tufts as it were enfolded and enwrapped round and those they call Pantherinae i. Panther or Luzerne tables There be againe whereof the worke in wainescot resembleth the waues of the sea and the better grace they haue and be more esteemed if they make a shew of the eyes appearing in Peacockes tailes Next in account and request to these abouenamed be those that are frisled with small spots standing thicke as if many graines were gathered together which they call thereupon of some resemblance of little bees or flies Apiatae as if they were speckled filed with their dung But be the worke and graine of the wood what it will the color makes all Here at Rome we set most store by that colour which is like to mead or honied wine shining and glittering in the veines of the wood After which considerations men regard much the breadth largenes of the whole plank standing of one entire peece which makes the table Some take a great pleasure to see in one Citron bourd many of those faults which be incident to trees to wit the Lignum for so they call the simple plain and bare wood and timber without any branched or curled graine at all without a shining lustre and glittering glosse without worke to be seen in any order digested or at the most if any be representing the leaues of a Plane tree Againe the resemblance either of the vein or color of a kind of Oke wood called Ilex Moreouer the rifts and chinks which timber is subject vnto by reason principally of wind and Suns heat or else hairie streakes that be like to such clifts and creuisses Afterwards men were delighted with a kind of Lamprey veine trauersing and running ouer a black crosse way and with an outward skin or coat marked with speckes or knottie knurs like to Poppie heads and generally with a color all ouer comming neer to black or at leastwise bespotted with sundrie colors The Barbarians for to season the wood of this Citron tree vse to burie the green bourds or plankes thereof within the ground and besmeare them all ouer with wax But the artificers and workemen do put them for 7 daies within heaps of corne and stay 7 daies more ere they be wrought a wonder it is incredible how much of the weight the wood loses by this means Meorouer of late daies we haue found the experience by shipwracks that this timber also wil by nothing in the world be sooner dried nor hardened to last a long time without corruption than by sea-water Howbeit to maintaine these tables best and to cause them for to shine bright the way is to rub them with a drie hand especially after that a man is newly come out of the baines or hot house Neither catch they any harme or staine if wine be spilt thereupon so as it should seeme they were naturally made for wine To conclude a tree this is seruing for the ornaments of this life and the trim furniture of our house few or none like to it and therfore me thinks I do not amisse to continue the discourse thereof somewhat longer than ordinarie CHAP. XVI ¶ Of the tree Thya what it is WEll knowne vnto Homer was this tree which in Greeke is named * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but some call it Thya for among other daintie odors and sweet woods he reports That dame Circe whom he would haue to be reputed as a goddesse burnt of this Thyon And therefore much deceiued are they who vnderstand by that word Thyon perfumes and lodoriferous spice considering that in one and the very same verse the Poet maketh mention of the Cedar and Larch tree together with Thyon whereby it appeareth plaine that he spake of trees onely Theophrastus who after the daies of Alexander the Great was the first that wrate the historie of those acts which happened about the 440 yeare from the foundation of Rome gaue great honour euen then to this Tree and reported That all carpenters worke of temples in old time was made of the same as of a timber euerlasting and which in roufes would continue without all putrefaction and corruption whatsoeuer Moreouer he writeth That the wood of the root is so curled and frisled as none more and that of no timber besides are more curious peeces of works made nor of greater price Ouer and besides he saith That the fairest and goodliest trees of this kind doe grow about the temple of Iupiter Hammon and some of them also within the countrey Cyrenaica toward the inland parts But all this while not a word of the foresaid costly tables speakes he in his whole history and verily before that of Ciceroes there is no record in writers of any such tables whereby it appeareth that they become vp but of late daies Another tree there is likewise
Italy men hold the Elmes about Atinum to be the tallest and of those they prefer them which grow in dry grounds and haue no water comming to them before those by riuers sides A second sort of them which are not all out so great they call the French Elmes The third kinde be the Italian Elmes thicker growne with leaues than the rest and those proceeding in greater number from one stem In the fourth place be ranged the wilde Elmes The Atinian Elmes aboue said beare no Samara for so they cal the seed or grain of the Elme All the kind of them are planted of sets taken from the roots whereas others come of seeds CHAP. XVIII ¶ The nature of trees as touching the place where they grow HAuing thus discoursed in particular of the most famous and noble trees that are I think it not amisse to say somewhat of their natures in generall And first to beginne with the mountain high countries the Cedar the Larch and the Torch-tree loue to grow among the hills like as all the rest that ingender rosin semblably the Holly the Box tree the Mast-Holme the Iuniper the Terebinth the Poplar the wilde Ash Ornus the Cornell tree and the Carpin Vpon the great hill Apennine there is a shrub named Cotinus with a red or purple wood most excellent for in-laid works in Marquetry As for Firs the wild hard okes Robora Chestnut trees Lindens Mast-holmes and Cornell trees they can away with hills and vallies indifferently The Maple the Ash the Seruis tree the Linden and the cherry tree delight in the mountains neere to waters Lightly a man shall not see vpon any hills Plum trees Pomegranat trees wild Oliues Walnut trees Mulberry trees and Elders And yet the Cornel tree the Hasel the common Oke the wild Ash the Maple the ordinary Ash the Beech and the Carpin are many times found to come downe into the plaines like as the Elme the Apple tree the Peare tree the Bay tree the Myrtle the Bloud shrubs the Holme and the Broome which naturally is so good for to dry clothes do as often climbe vp the mountains The Servis tree gladly groweth in cold places so doth the Birch and more willingly of the twaine This is a tree which is meere French and came first out of France it sheweth wonderfull white and hath as fine and small branches or twigs which are so terrible to the offenders as wherewith the Magistrates rods are made for to execute justice And yet the wood of this tree is passing good for hoopes so pliable it is and easie to bend the twigs thereof serue also for to make paniers and baskets In France they vse to boile the wood and thereof draw a glutinous and clammy slime in maner of Bitumen In the same quarters there loueth to grow for company the white thorn which in old time they were wont to burne for torches at weddings and it was thought to be the most fortunate and lucky light that could be deuised because as Massurius reporteth the Romane shepheards and heardmen who rauished the Sabine maidens were furnished euery one with a branch thereof to make them torches But now adaies the Carpine and Hazel are commonly vsed for such nuptial lights The Cypres walnut Chestnut trees and the Laburnum cannot in any wise abide waters This last named is a tree proper to the Alps not commonly known the wood thereof is hard and white it beares a blossom of a cubit long but Bees will not settle vpon it The plant likewise called Iovis Barba so handsom to be cut in arbors and garden works which groweth so thicke and round withall full of leaues and those of a siluer colour hates waterie places Contrariwise Willows Alders Poplars and Osiars the Privet which is so good for to make dice will not grow well and prosper but in moist grounds Also the Vacinia or Whortles set and sowed in Italy for the Fowlers to catch birds withall but in France for the purple colour wherewith they vse to die clothes for their seruants and slaues To conclude this is a generall rule What trees soeuer will grow indifferently as well vpon hills as plaines arise to be taller bigger and carry a fairer head to see to in the low champion grounds but timber is better and caries a more beautifull grain vpon the mountaines except only Apple trees and Pyrries CHAP. XIX ¶ A diuision of Trees according to their generall kinds MOreouer some trees lose their leaues others continue alwaies green And yet there is another difference of trees before this and whereupon this dependeth For trees there be which are altogether wild and sauage there be again which are more gentle and ciuil and these names me thinks are very apt to distinguish them Those trees therefore which are so kind and familiar vnto vs as to serue our turns either with their fruit which they bear or shade which they yeeld or any other vertue or property that they haue may be very aptly and fitly be called ciuill and domesticall CHAP. XX. ¶ Of Trees that neuer shed their leaues also of Rhododendron AMong these trees and plants which are of the gentle kind the Olive the Lawrel the Date tree Myrtle Cypres Pines Ivy and the Oleander lose not their leaues As for the Oleander although it be called the Sabine herb yet it commeth from the Greeks as may appeare by the name Rhododendron Some haue called it Nerion others Rhododaphne it continueth alwaies green leafed beareth floures like roses and brancheth very thicke Hurtfull it is and no better than poison to Horses Asses Mules Goats and Sheepe and yet vnto man it serueth for a countrepoyson and cureth the venom of serpents CHAP. XXI ¶ What trees shed not their leaues at all which they be that lose them but in part and in what countries all trees are euer greene OF the wild sort the Fir the Larch the wilde Pine the Iuniper the Cedar the Terebinth the Box tree the Mast-holme the Holly the Cork tree the Yew and the Tamariske be green all the yeare long Of a middle nature between these two kinds aboue named are the Adrachne in Greece and the Arbut or Strawberry tree in all countries for these lose the leaues of their waterboughs but are euer green in the head Among the shrubs kind also there is a certain bramble and Cane or Reed which is neuer without leaues In the territorie of Thurium in Calabria where somtime stood the city Sybaris within the prospect from the said Citie there was an Oke aboue the rest to be seen alwaies green and ful of leaues and neuer began to bud new before Midsummer where by the way I maruel not a little that the Greek writers deliuered thus much of that tree in writing and our countrymen afterwards haue not written a word thereof But true it is that great power there is in the clymat insomuch as about Memphis in Egypt and Elephantine in the territorie of Thebais
same which at first was Helix and clasped trees in tract of time changed the leafe and became a very Iuie tree but fouly they are deceiued and disproued plainly they may be by this That of the said clasping Iuie Helix there be many kinds and three principall aboue the rest The first of grasse greene colour which groweth most common the second with a white leafe and the third called also the Thracian Iuie which hath leaues of diuers colours The foresaid greene Iuie is fuller of leaues and those finer and set in better order than in others whereas the contrary is to be seen in the white kind also in the third sort with variety of colours some haue smaller and thinner leaues couched likewise in good order and thicker growing whereas in the middle kind no such thing may be obserued Ouer and besides the leaues of Iuie are bigger or lesse spotted also and marked in which regard one differeth from another Among the white Iuies some be whiter than other The green Iuie groweth most of all others in length the white killeth trees for by sucking and soking al the sap and moisture out of them it feedeth and thriueth so wel it selfe that it becommeth in the end as big as a tree A man may know an Iuie being come to his perfection by these signes the leaues are very big and large withal the tree putteth forth yong shoots straight whereas in others they be crooked and bend inward the berries also stand in their clusters directly vpright Moreouer whereas the branches of all other Iuies be made like vnto roots this hath boughes strong and sturdy aboue the rest and next vnto it the black kind howbeit this property hath the white Iuie by it self that amid the leaues it putteth forth armes that clasp and embrace the tree round on euery side which it doth vpon walls likewise although it cannot so well compasse them And hereupon it is that although it be cut asunder in many places yet it continueth and liueth stil and looke how many such arms it hath so many heads likewise of roots are to be seen whereby it maintaineth it selfe safe and sound and is besides of that force as to suck and choke the trees that it claspeth Furthermore there is great diuersity in the fruit as well of the white as the black Iuie As for the rest the berries of them are so exceeding bitter as no bird wil touch them And yet there is one kind more of Iuy which is very stiffe and standeth alone of it selfe without any prop to beare it vp and this of all others only is therupon called Cissos or Iuie indeed Contrariwise Chamaecissos i. ground Iuie is neuer knowne but to creep along the ground CHAP. XXXV ¶ Of the Bind-weed or Iuie called Smilax LIke vnto Iuie is that plant which they call Smilax or rough Bind-weed It came first out of Cilicia howbeit more commonly it is to be seen in Greece it putteth forth stalks set thicke with ioints or knots and those thrust out many thornie branches The leafe resembleth Iuie and the same is small and nothing cornered from a little stele that it hath it sendeth forth certain pretty tendrils to clasp and wind about the floure is white and smelleth like to a Lilly it beareth clusters comming nearer to those grapes of the wild vine Labrusca than to the berries of Iuie red of color wherof the bigger contain within them 3 kernels or pepins apiece the smaller but one and those be hard and black withall This Smilax is not vsed in any sacrifices or diuine seruice of the gods nor serueth for garlands and chaplets for that it is held to be dolefull and ominous or of an vnlucky presage by occasion of a certain yong lady or Damosell of that name who for the loue of the young gallant and knight Crocus was turned into this shrub or plant retaining still her name which the ignorant people not knowing but taking it for a kind of Iuie stick not to make coronets therof profaning by that means many times their high feasts and sacred solemnities and yet who woteth not with what chaplets Poets are crowned and what garlands prince Bacchus or Silenus vsed to weare Of this Smilax are made certain manuell writing tables And this property moreouer hath the wood thereof That if a man hold it close to his eare he shall heare it to giue a pretty sound But to return againe to the Iuie indeed it hath by report a strange and wonderful vertue to trie wines whether they be delaied with water or no for make a cup of Iuie wood and put wine thereinto all the wine will soke and run through but the water if any be mingled therewith will tarry behind CHAP. XXXVI ¶ Of Reeds Canes and other water shrubs IN this discourse touching plants that loue cold places it wil not be amisse to treat of those that grow in waters Among which the Reeds and Canes may be raunged in the first place for necessarie they be in time both of war and peace they haue their vse besides and are accepted among the delightsom pleasures of this world Moreouer in the Northern regions the people vse therewith to couer and thatch their houses and this kind of roofe will last many ages if it be laid with a thick coat euen vpon high and stately houses In other parts also of the world they are woont with it to make their arch-roufes and hanging floores of most sleight worke As for Canes particularly and those of Aegypt by name which haue a certaine resemblance of the Papyr-reed in Nilus they serue for writing Paper Howbeit those of Gnidos and which grow in Asia along the lake or meere of Anaia be held for the best As for ours heere in Italy they are of a more spungeous substance and gristly matter apt to sucke and drinke vp any liquour The same within-forth is full of holes and concauities but conuerted aloft into a fine wooddy rind and in time becommeth drie fast and hard Apt it is to cleaue and the clifts euermore carry with them a very sharp edge and besides it is full of ioints Now this woodie substance being thus distinctly parted by knots runneth alwaies euen and smooth growing smaller and smaller vntill it proue sharpe pointed in the top with a head consisting of a good thicke downe or plume which serueth also to right good purposes for either in stead of feathers they vse to stuffe beds therewith in common Innes or when it is growne hard and hath a slimie callositie about it they in Picardie and those Nether-lands do stampe it and therewith calfret or calke the ioints of their ships betweene the ribs and plankes and herein it hath no fellow for it taketh faster hold than any glue and for filling vp any rifts and chinks no solder so strong no pitch so sure and trustie Of Reeds the Easterlings make their shafts and archers they be that fight their battels and
water at command and good cause why prouided alwaies that they lie vnder a good towne side In the third place he rangeth the Oâ—…r plots and after them Oliue rewes then he counteth of medows which our ancestors called Parata as a man would say Ready and prouided The same Cato being asked What was the most assured profit rising out of land made this answer To feed Cattell well beeing asked againe VVhat was the next Marie quâ—…th hee to feed in a meane By which answers he would seeme to conclude That the most certain and sure reuenue was that which would cost least Howbeit this is not so generall a rule but it may alter according to the diuersitie of places sundry occasions occurrent Herunto also is to be referred another speech of his That a good husbandman ought to be a seller and not a buyer as also That a man should make speed in his youth and not delay to plant and stocke his ground but not to build thereupon before it be well and throughly stored that way and euen then also he should not be forward thereto but take leisure ere he be a builder for it is the best thing in the world according to the common prouerbe To make vse and reap profit of other mens follies prouided alwaies that a mans land be not ouer-built lest the expence of keeping all in good repaire be chargeable and burdensome Now when there is a sufficient and competent house builded thereupon a good husband will vse to repaire often thereunto and take pleasure so to do and verily a true saying it is That the lords eie is far better for the land than his heele CHAP. VI. ¶ How to chuse a conuenient place for to build a manour house in the country Also certain rules obserued in antient time as touching Husbandrie and tilling ground IN building vpon a mans land this mean and moderation is commended That the house be answerable in proportion to the ground for as it is a bad sight to see a large domain and circuit of ground without a sufficient graunge or home-stal to it so it is as great a folly to ouer-build the same to make a faire house where there is not land enough lying to it Like as there were two men at one time liuing who faulted diuersly in this behalfe to wit L. Lucullus and Q. Scaeuola for the one was possessed of faire lands without competent building thereto whereas Lucullus contrariwise built a goodly house in the country with little or no liuing adjoyning to it in which regard checked he was by the Censors for sweeping more floures than he ploughed lands Now in building there would be art and cunning shewed for euen of late daies C. Marius who had bin seuen times Consull of Rome was the last man that built an house within the territory of the cape Misenum and he seated it so as if he had pitched fortified a camp right skilfully in such sort that when Sylla syrnamed Foelix i. Happy saw his manner of building he gaue out and said That all the rest in comparison of him were blind beetles and knew neither how to build nor to encamp Well then a house in the country would be set neither neere vnto a fenny and dormant water ne yet ouer-against the course and stream of a running riuer and yet what saith Homer besides to this purpose The aire and mists quoth he and that right truly arising from a great riuer betimes in a morning before day-light cannot chuse but be euer cold and vnholesome How then mary if the country or climat be hot an house must stand into the North but in case the quarter be cold it ought to affront the South if the tract be temperate between both it should lie open vpon the East point where the Sun riseth at the Aequinoxes As touching the goodnesse of the soile and namely what signes and marks there be of it although I may seem to haue sufficiently spoken already in the discourse which I had of the best kind of ground yet I am content to subscribe to other tokens thereof deliuered by other men and especially by Cato in these words following When you see quoth hee growing vpon any land store of Walwort Skeg trees Brambles the little wild Bulbous Crow-toes called otherwise our Ladies Cowslips Clauer-grasse or Trifoâ—…le Melilote Oke wilde Pyrries and Crab-trees know yee that these doe shew a ground good for Wheat and such like white-corne So doth also the blacke mould and that of ashes colour testifie no lesse Where there is store of chalke or plaister the ground is not so fit for corne for all kinde of chalke doth heat ouermuch vnlesse the same be very leane The like doth sand also if it be not passing fine and small And the effects abouesaid are much more seen in the plaines and champaine vallies than vpon the hills and mountaines Our ancestours in old time thought it a principall point of Husbandry not to haue ouermuch ground about one graunge for they supposed more profit grew by sowing lesse and tilling it better of which mind I perceiue Virgil was And to say a truth confesse we must needs That these large enclosures and great domains held by priuat persons haue long since bin the ruine of Italie and of late daies haue vndone the prouinces also thereto belonging Six Land-lords there were and no more that possessed the one moitie of all Africke at what time as the Emperour Nero defeated and put them to death Where by the way I may not defraud Cn. Pompeius of the due glory answerable to that greatnesse of his who neuer in all his life would purchase any ground that butted or bordered vpon his owne land Mago thought it no reason but a very vngentle and vnkind part for the buying of land to sell a mansion house and in his conceit it preiudiced much the weale-publick And verily this was the principall point that he recommended in the entrance of his treatise and rules set downe for Husbandry so as a man might perceiue very euidently that hee required continuall residence vpon the land Next to these principles aboue named great regard would be had in chusing of good skilful bayliffs of the husbandry concerning whom Cato hath giuen many rules For mine own part it shal suffice to say thus much only that the lord ought to loue his bayliffe very well set him next to his heart but himself should not let him know so much Moreouer I hold it the worst thing that is to set slaues condemned persons in their gyues chains about tilling and husbanding of a ferm neither do I like of any thing don by such forlorne and hopelesse persons for lightly nothing thriues vnder their hand I would put down one saying more of our antient forefathers but that haply it may seeme a fond rash speech yea and altogether incredible that is this Nothing is lesse profitable expedient
better to grind and withal yeeldeth better and is more fruitfull The Red-wheat called Far is polled wheat in Aegypt and carieth no beard or eiles about it So is the white winter Wheat Siligo saue onely that which is named Laconica To these may be adioyned other kinds also to wit * Bromos the poll wheat Siligo differing from all the other of that name and Tragos strangers all brought from the Levant or East parts and resembling Rice euerie one Typhe likewise is of the same kind whereof in Italy and this part of the world is made that husked corne which goeth among vs for Rice for it turneth into it The Greeks haue a kind of wheat called Zea or Spelt it is commonly said that both it and Typhae considering that they vse to degenerate and proue bastard will turne to their kinde again and become wheat if they be husked before a man sow them howbeit this change will not be seen presently nor before the third yeare As touching our common wheat there is no grain more fruitfull than it this gift hath Nature endued it withall because she meant thereby to nourish mankinde most for one Modius thereof sowne if the soile be good and agreeable thereto such as lieth about Biâ—…acium the champian countrey of Africke will yeeld an hundred and fiftie fold againe The procurator generall of that prouince vnder Augustus Caesar sent from thence vnto him one plant thereof a wondrous thing and incredible to be reported which had little vnder 400 straws springing from one grain meeting all in one and the same root as it appeareth vpon records by the letters sent testifying no lesse Likewise to the Emperour Nero he sent 340 strawes out of the same country rising all from one onely corne But to goe no farther than to Sicilie within the territorie about Leontium there haue beene certaine fields knowne wherein one graine putteth forth no fewer than a hundred stalks with ears vpon them and not there onely but also in many other parts of that Island And this is ordinarie throughout all the kingdome of Granade and Andalusia in Spaine But aboue all the land of Aegypt may make boast in rendring such interest to the husbandmen Moreouer of all those kinds of wheat which are so plentiful there is principal account made of that which branches as also of another which men call Centigranum i. the wheat that beareth 100 graines To leaue this kind of graine and to come to Pulse there hath been found in Italie and goe no farther one beane stalke laden with an hundred beanes Touching Summer corne to wit Sesama Millet and Panicke we haue alreadie spoken As for Sesama it commeth from the Indians whereof they make a certaine kind of oile The color of this graine is white Like vnto it there is another grain called Erysinum which is rife in Asia Greece and I would say it were the very same that with vs in Latine is named Irio but that it is more oileous and fatty and indeed to be counted a medicinable or Physicall plant rather than a kind of corne Of the same nature is that which the Greekes call Hormium it resembleth Cumin aed is vsually sowed with Sesama how beit no beast will eat thereof while it is greene no more than they do of Irio a foresaid To come now to the manner of husking and cleansing of corne the feat is not so easily done in all as in some for in Tuscane they take the eares of their red wheat called Far when they be parched and dried at the fire they pound or bray them with a pestill headed at the nether end with yron or els fistulous and hollow within yet bound about with a hoop or ring of yron and the same within forth toothed in manner of a star so as if they be not heed full in the stamping the yron-work at the pestill end will either cut the cornes in two or else bruise and break them clean In Italy for the most part they vse a reed or plain pestill not headed with yron to huske and dresse their corn or els certain wheeles that are turned and driuen apace with water which going very swift doe also grind the said corne But since we are fallen into this treatise concerning husking and grinding of corn it shall not be amisse for to set down the opinion and resolution of Mago in this behalfe First for common wheat he giueth order that it be well steeped and soked in good store of water afterwards to berid from the hulls and eiles that it hath in a mortar which done it ought to be dried in the sunne and followed a second time with a pestil In like maner saith he should barley be vsed how beit two Sextars or quarts of water will be sufficient to besprinckle and wet twentie Sextars of barly As for Lentils he would haue them first parched and dried and then lightly punned or stamped together with brans or els to put vnto twentie Sextars thereof a fragment or peece of a broken semeld brick and half a Modius or peck of sand Eruile would be cleansed or husked as Lentils be but Sesama after it hath bin infused or soked in hot water he saith ought to be laid abroad a sunning then to be rubbed hard together and afterwards to be put into cold water and therewith couered so as the huls or chaffes do flote and swim aloft which done to be laid forth a second time in the sun vpon linnen clothes for to drie Now if all this be not don one thing after another and dispatched with the more speed and hast it wil soone vinew or catch a mouldinesse and besides lose the bright natiue hew and looke wan and of a leaden colour Now say that corn be cleansed and husked some one way and some another it is ground afterwards in diuers sorts If the ears be bolted by themselues alone for goldsmiths worke the chaffe comming thereof is called in Latine Acus but if it be threshed and beaten vpon a paued floor eare straw and altogether as in most parts of the world they vse to doe for to fodder cattell and to giue in prouender to horses then it is tearmed Palâ—…a but the refuse or chaffe remaining after that Panick or Sesama be clensed they call in Latine Appluda how soeuer in other countries it be otherwise named To speake more particularly of Millet there is great store thereof in Campaine and there they set much by it for of it they make a kind of white grewel or pottage also the bread therof is passing sauorie and sweet The Tartarians also nations in Sarmatia feed most of this water gruell made with Millet as also with the crude and raw meale thereof vnsodden and vnbaked tempered with mares milk or els with horse-bloud that runneth out of their master leg-vains by way of incision made for the purpose with the phleame As for the Aethiopians they know no other corne but Millet and
made of Zea than of Wheat and called it is Granum or Granatum although in Alica that be counted a fault To conclude they that wil not vse chalk do blanch and make their Frumentie white by seething milke with it and mingling all together CHAP. XII ¶ Of Pulse IT followeth now to write of the nature of Pulse among which Beanes do challenge the first ranke and principall place for thereof men haue assaied to make bread The meale of Beans is called in Latine Lomentum There is not a Pulse weigheth more than it and Beane meale makes euery thing heauier wherin it is Now adaies they vse to sel it for prouender to feed horses And indeed Beanes are dressed and vsed many waies not only to serue all kind of four-footed beasts but also for man especially For in most countries it is mingled with Frumentiâ—… corn and namely with Pannicke most of all whole and entire as it is but the more delicat and daintie way is to break and bruise it first Moreouer by ancient rites and religious ceremonies at the solemn sacrifice called Fabraria the maner was to offer vnto certain gods and goddesses Beane cakes This was taken for a strong food being eaten with a thick grewel or pottage howbeit men thought that it dulled a mans sences and vnderstanding yea and caused troublesome dreames in the night In regard of which inconueniences Pythagoras expressely forbad to eat Beanes but as some haue thought and taught it was because folke imagined that the soules of such as were departed had residence therein which is the reason also that they be ordinarily vsed and eaten at the funerals and obsequies of the dead Varro also affirmeth That the great Priest or Sacrificer called the Flamine abstains from Beanes both in those respects aforesaid as also for that there are to be seen in the floure thereof certain letters or characters that shewheauines and signs of death Further there was obserued in old time a religious ceremonie in Beanes for when they had sown their grounds their maner was of all other corne to bring back with them out of the fieldes some Beanes for good luck sake presaging thereby that their corne would returne home again vnto them and these Beanes thereupon were called in Latine Refriuae or Referiuae Likewise in all port-sales it was thought that if Beanes were entermingled with the goods offered to be sold they would be luckie and gainefull to the seller This is cerataine that of all the fruits of the earth this only will be full and sound when the Moone is croisant notwithstanding it were gnawne and halfe eaten with some thing before Set them ouer the fire in a pan with sea water or any other that is saltish they will neuerbe thoroughly sodden They are set or sowne before the retrait of the Starre Vergiliae i. the Brood-hen the first of al other Pulse because they might take root betimes and preuent the Winter And yet Virgill would haue them to be put into the ground in the Spring like as the manner is in Piemont and Lombardie all about the riuer Po. But the greater part of good Husbandmen are of this opinion That the stalke or straw of Beanes sowne early or set betimes are better than the very fruit it selfe which hath had but three months being in the ground For the cods and stalks only of Beans are passing good fodder and forage for cattell Beanes when they are blouming and in their floure desire most of al to be refreshed with good store of rain but after they haue don flouring they care for little the sowing of this Pulse in any ground is as good as a mucking vnto it for it enriches it mightily And therefore towards Macedonie and about Thessalie the manner is when Beanes begin to blossom for to turne them into the ground with the plough Beans come vp and grow in most places of their owne accord without sowing and namely in certaine Islands lying within the Northern ocean which our countrymen therupon haue named Fabariae Semblably they grow wild commonly thoroughout Mauritania but exceeding hard and tough they be and such as possibly canot be sodden tender There are likewise in Aegypt to be found Beanes with a stalk beset full of prickles or thornes which is the cause that Crocodiles wil not come neer them for feare of hurting their eyes The stemme of these Beanes is foure cubites in height but exceeding thicke and big withall tender it is notwithstanding and soft running vp euen and smooth without any knots or joints at al it caries a head in the top like Chesboule or Poppy of a rose red color wherin are contained not aboue 30 Beanes at the most The leaues be large the fruit it selfe or the Bean is bitter in tast and the smel not pleasant howbeit the root is a most dainty meat which the inhabitants do eat as wel raw as sodden and like it is to reed cane roots These grow in Syria and Cylicia as also about the lake Torone within Chalcis As touching other Pulse Lentils be sown in Nouember and so are Pease but in Greece only Lentils loue a light ground better than a fat heauie they like also drie and faire weather Two kinds thereof be found in Aegypt the one more round and blacke than the other the rest be fashioned as common Lentils According to the manifold vse and diuers effects of Lentils there haue sundrie names and denominations beene borrowed from them for I find in writers that the eating of Lentils maketh men to be mild and patient whereupon they be called Lenti and Lenes As for Pease it ought to be sowed in warm places lying well vpon the Sunne for of all things it cannot abide the cold Which is the cause that in Italie and in other countries where the clime is tough and hard they are not sowne vsually but in the Spring and folke chuse a gentle light and loose ground To come now to the Ciâ—…h pease the nature of it is to be nitrous and saltish and therefore it burneth the ground where it grows Neither must it be sowne vnlesse it were well steeped and soked in water the day before many sorts there be of these cich-pease different in bignes form colour and tast for there are both blacke and white and those in fashion shaped like to a Rams head and therupon they are so called There is a second kind named Columbinum or by others Venerium These are white round light lesse than the former Rams-head ciches which men do eat ceremoniously with great religion when they meane to watch thoroughly all night long There is a little cich pease also called Cicercula made cornered and otherwise vneuen like vnto a Pease But the best ciches and most pleasant are those that come neerest in resemblance to the Eruile and generally the red kind and the black are more firm and fast than the white cich pease grow within round cods whereas other Pulse
he contained in long and flat according to the forme and figure of the seed which they hold Pease by themselues haue a long round cod in forme of a Cylinder The Pulse called Phasâ—…oli i. Kidney Beans vse to be eaten cod and al together These may be set or sowne in what ground you list from the Ides of October to the Calends of Nouember Finally all kinds of Pulse so soone as they begin to ripen are to be gathered or plucked hastily for stay neuer so little they leape out of their cods and shed and being once fallen they lie hidden in the ground like as the Lupine also CHAP. XIII ¶ Of Rapes or Neuewes of Amiternium Turneps NOw let vs proceed and passe to other matters and yet in this discourse it were meet to write somwhat as touching Rapes or Nauews The Latin writers our countreymen haue slightly passed by and touched them only by the way The Greeks haue treated of them somwhat more diligently and yet among pot-hearbes and worts growing in gardens whereas indeed according to good order they would be spoken of immediatly after Corne or Beanes at least wise considering there is not a plant of more or better vse than is the Rape or Nauew First and formost they grow not only for beasts of the earth and the Foules of the aire but also for men For all kinds of Pullen about a Farme-house in the countrey doe feed vpon the feed thereof as much as of any thing else especially if they be boiled first in water As for four-footed beasts they eat the leaues thereof with great delight and wax fat therewith Last of al men also take as great pleasure and delight in eating the leaues and heads of Rapes or Nauewes in their season as they do of young Coly-flories Cabbages or any tender crops of hearbs whatsoeuer yea when they are faded flaggie and dead in the Barn they are esteemed better than being fresh and green As for Rapes or Nauewes they will keep long and last al Winter both within the ground where they grew and being well wintered they will continue afterwards out of the earth lying abroad euen almost till new come so as they yeeld men great comfort to withstand hunger and famin In Piemont Lombardie those countries beyond the Po the people make the most account of gaine by gathering Rapes next to wine vintage and corne haruest It is not choise and daintie of the ground where it will grow for lightly it wil prosper where nothing els can be sowed In foggy mists hard frosts and other cold weather it thriues passing wel and grows to a wonderfull bignes I haue seene one of their roots weigh aboue fortie pounds As touching the handling and dressing of them for our table there be many waies and deuises to commend and set them out Preserued they may be till new come specially condite with sharp and biting Senuie or Mustard seed Moreouer our Cooks know how to giue them six other colours besides their owne which is pure and naturall they haue the cast to set euen a purple hew vpon them And to say a truth there is no kind of viands besides that being thus painted colored hath the like grace The Greeke writers haue diuided them by the sexe and therby made two principal kinds therof to wit the male and the female Nay more than that out of one and the same seed according as it is sowed they can make male or female whether they please For if they sow thicke and chuse therto a hard and churlish ground it will proue of the male kind Also the smaller that the seed is the better it is esteemed But of al Rapes male or female three especiall sorts there be no more For some roots spread flat and broad others are knit round like a ball the third sort that runs downe into the ground with a long root in manner of a Raddish they cal the wild Rape or Nauew this bears a rough lease and ful of angles or corners the juice that it yeelds is sharp hote and biting which being gathered in haruest time reserued mundisieth the eies and cleareth the sight especially being tempered with brest-milke If the weather be cold they are thought not only to thriue in bignesse of the root but also to prooue the sweeter whereas contrariwise in a warm season they run vp all to stalke and leafe The best simply are those that grow in the Nursine territory For they are sold by the weight and euery pound is worth a Roman Sesterce yea and otherwhiles twaine if there be any scarcity of them Next to these in goodnes be those that come out of Algidum Thus much of Rapes Navews As for the Turneps of Amiternum they be in a manner of the same nature that the Rapes aforesaid cold they loue as well Sown they are before the Calends of March foure quarts of their seed will take vp a whole acre of ground The best Husbandmen and such as are more exquisite in their practise of Agriculture giue order That the ground for Turneps should haue fiue tilthes whereas Rapes or Nauewes are content with foure but both the one and the other had need of a soile well inriched with dung or compost By their sayings also Rapes will prosper the better and come vp thicker if they be sowed in their huls chaffe and all together Moreouer they would haue the seeds-man to be naked when he sowes them and in sowing to protest that this which he doth is for himselfe and his neighbors and withall to pray as he goeth The proper season for the seednesse of them both is between the feasts of the two gods to wit Neptune and Vulcan To conclude there is a subtill and curious obseruation that many go by and do hold namely this To marke how many daies old the Moon was when the first snow sel the winter next before for if a man do sow Rapes or Turneps within the foresaid compasse of that time the moon being so many daies old they will come to be wondrous great and increase exceedingly Men vse to sow them also in the Spring but then they make choise of moist and hot grounds CHAP. XIIII ¶ Of Lupines AFter Rapes and Turneps the Lupines haue greatest vse and serue to be raunged next for that they indifferently serue both men and also all foure footed beasts that be houfed either whole or clouen Now for that the stalke is very shittle in mowing and therefore flyeth from the edge of the syth the onely remedie therefore that the mower may catch it is to goe to worke presently after a good shower And verily there is not a plant growing vpon the earth I meane of such as are sowne of seed more admirable than the Lupine in regard of the great amity and sympathie betweene the earth and it Looke how the Sun keepeth his course in our Horizon aboue so doth it turne and go withall insomuch as the
Husbandmen of the countrey go by no other clocke to know how the day passeth in close and cloudie weather than this obseruation Moreouer it hath three seasons of blowming it loueth the earth well but yet willingly it would not be couered ouer with mould for this is the onely seed that is sowne vpon ground without any ploughing or digging it would grow to chuse in a most grauelly drie and sandy soile and in no case can it abide any tending or husbandry about it so affected is it to the earth that cast it vpon any rough ground among bushes leaues briers and brambles it will chit and spurt neuerthelesse neuer lin til it take root within the earth If Lupines be sowed either in vineyards or vpon corne lands they inrich the same and make the ground better as we haue before written and so little need haue they of dung that they stand in stead of the very best To say a truth there is no graine lesse chargeable to be sowne than it nay there is none costeth nought at all but it for it needeth not so much as to be brought into the field and why it soweth it selfe presently in the same field where it grew and sâ—…edding as it doth of the own accord a man neuer needs to cast and throw it vpon the land as other corne It is first sowne and last gathered and lightly both these seasons fall out in the moneth of September for if the Seed-nes preuent not the winter so as it may haue good root before it commeth it will be in danger of the cold Ouer and besides if it chance to lie bare and vncouered aboue-ground left carelessely without any keeping and that no raine come vpon it presently for to driue it into the ground it is safe enough and catcheth no harme for so bitter it is that no liuing creature will touch it and yet for the most part the husbandmen bestow a light furrow vpon it and so couer it verie shallow If the ground be fast and heauie it loueth that â—…est which standeth vpon a red clay And for the maintaining and inriching of this kind of soile it must be turned vp or eared after the third flouring but in case it be grauelly or sandy it wil serue to do it after the second Chalkie grounds onely and myrie it hateth and therein it wil not grow As bitter as otherwise it is yet if it be steeped and soked in hot water it is mans meat also Moreouer one Modius or pecke of Lupines is sufficient for to satisfie and feed an Oxe or a cow at a time and this kind of prouender will make beasts strong and healthfull Moreouer the meale of Lupines applied to the bellies of yong children that haue the wormes is a singular remedy For the good keeping of Lupines all men agree that they should be laid vp in some chimney or smokie place especially for if they lie in a moist roome there be certain little worms that wil nibble off and eat the tip or nauill that it hath and by that meanes marre it for euer sprouting againe Finally if Lupines be eaten downe by beasts while they be greene in the leafe the ground where they grew must presently be ploughed vp CHAP. XV. ¶ Of Vetches and Eruile VEtches also do manure and fat the ground where they be sowed neither be they chargeable or stand the husbandman in much they be sown with one tilth otherwise there needs no harrowing nor weeding there is required no mucking onely they would be couered with mould and the clods broken for sowing of vetches there be three sundry times first about the setting of the star Arcturus that by the moneth of December it may get a good head for to be eaten with beasts and it is generally holden that being sowne in this season it will bring the best seed for say it be eaten downe then it will carry the burden neuerthelesse the second Seednesse is in Ianuarie the last in March and being then put into the ground it will run vp most to blade and yeeld the best forrage for cattell Of all seeds that are cast into the earth it loueth drought most it can brooke also shadie places well enough The chaffe that commeth of the seed thereof is excellent good and better than any other in case it were ripe when it was gathered It robbeth vines of their nourishment if it be sowed neere those trees wherto vines are wedded in somuch as a man may see euidently how they languish As touching Eruile it asketh no great hand or trauell about it yet thus much more attendance it requireth than Vetches for that it must be weeded and grubbed about the roots Besides this kind of Pulse is of great vse in Physick for Augustus Caesar was cured of a disease that he had and recouered his health by the means of Eruile as himselfe reporteth in some of his letters now extant Moreouer fiue Modij or pecks of Eruile sown is sufficient to maintain and find a yoke of oxen As for that which is sowne in March it is hurtfull forage men say for kine and oxen as also that which is sowne in Autumne maketh beasts heauie and stuffed in the head but that which is put into the ground in the beginning of the Spring is harmlesse CHAP. XVI ¶ Of Foenigreeke of Rie of Dredge of the prouender corne or Bolimong Ocymum of Spanish Trefoile or horned Clauer-grasse called in Latine Medica of the shrub Trifoile named Cytisus FOr the sowing of Silicia or Siliqua otherwise called Foenigreeke there needs no more but to scarrifie or scrape it lightly vp with a furrow not aboue foure fingers breadth deepe for the lesse cost and husbandry that is bestowed about it and the worse that it is vsed the better it prospereth and yeeldeth greater increase a strange thing to be spoken and seldom verified That Negligence should be any waies profitable and yet herein it prooueth true That which is called Secale and Farrago in Latine i. Rie needeth no more adoe but to be harrowed the clods well broken There is a kinde of Secale or Rie which the people called Taurines dwelling vnder the Alpes doe call Asia it is simply worst of all other and good for nothing but onely to driue away hunger plentifull enough this corne is and yeeldeth good increase but the straw is slender blacke it is and of an vnpleasant colour howbeit exceeding weightie and ponderous they vse to mingle the red wheat Far therewith and make thereof a Mascelline to allay the bitternesse thereof and yet for all that the bread which it maketh is most vnsauorie to the mouth and ill for the stomack It wil come vp in any ground whatsoeuer and bring forth a hundred fold ordinarily neither doth it eat the ground out of heart but rather maketh it more battle and serueth in stead of compost or mucke As for that kind of dredge of farrage which commeth of the refuse and light corne purged from
winds hurt all spiked corne as well Wheat as Barly at three seueral times to wit in their floure presently vpon their blooming and last of all when they begin to ripen for then namely when they are vpon the point of maturitie those blasts consume the grain and bring it to nothing which before was full whereas at the two former seasons they hinder it altogether from knitting and growing The hot gleames moreouer of the Sun betweene often clouding do much harme to corne Furthermore there be certaine little wormes breeding in the root that do eat it which happeneth by occasion of much raine falling immediatly after the seednesse especially when some sudden heat and drowth ensueth therupon which bindeth the earth aboue and so encloseth the moisture conceiued within the very cause nourice of putrifaction Ye shall haue other such like vermin engender likewise in the very grain of the corn namely when the ear doth glow within and is chafed with sultry hot rains Ouer and besides there be certain green flies like small Beetles called Cantharides which do gnaw and eat the corne But al these and such like worms or flies die presently when the corn which was their food is gone Moreouer Oile Pitch and Tarre all manner of greace also be contrarie to seed-corne especially and therefore take heed that you sow none such as hath caught oile pitch or grease As for showers of raine good they are for corne so long only as it is in the green blade when corne is blooming be it either wheat or barley or such like raine is hurtfull Mary Pulse takes no harme thereby vnlesse it be the Cich-pease All kinds of wheat and other bread corne when they be toward ripenesse catch hurt by showers but Barley more than any Besides all this there is a certaine white hearbe or weed resembling Panicke growing among corne and ouerspreading whole fields which not onely hindereth corne but also killeth all the cattell that feedeth thereupon For as touching ray or darnel burs thistles and brambles I may hold and reckon them not so much for faults and imperfections of corn as rather the plagues and infections proceeding from the very earth And for blasting which commeth of some distemperature of the aire a mischiefe common as well to corn as vines it is as hurtful as any other malady whatsoeuer This vnhappie blast falleth most often in places subject to mists and dewes and namely hollow vallies and low grounds lying vnder the winde for contrariwise windie quarters and such as are mounted high are not subiect to this inconuenience Also we may number among the faults incident to corne their rankenesse namely when the blade is so ouergrowne and the stalke so charged and loden with a heauie head that the corn standeth not vpright but is lodged lieth along Moreouer when there fals a great glut of rain insomuch as the ground stands with water there befalleth vnto all corn and pulse yea and whatsoeuer is sowne a certaine disease called in Latine Vrica insomuch as the very Cich-pease taketh hurt therby for by reason that the rain washed from them that salt quality which was naturall thereunto it becommeth sweeter than it should be and loseth the kind tast There is a weed that claspeth and tieth about Ciches and Eruiles wherby it choketh and killeth them both and thereupon it is called Orobanctum i. Choke Eruile After the same maner dealeth Ray or Darnel by wheat wild Otes likewise named by some Aegilops with barly as also the weed Securidaca i. Ax-fitch which the Greeks also for the resemblance that it hath to an axe head call Pelicinon with Lentils These weeds I say kill corne by winding about it Another herb there is growing neere to the city Philippi which killeth Beans if the ground be fat and good they name the said weed Ateramnon but if it be found in a hungry and leane soile and namely when being wet some vnhappy wind bloweth vpon it they call it Teramnon As for the graine of Raie or Darnell it is very small and lieth inclosed with a sharpe-pointed husk The bread which hath any of this seed in it soone causeth dizinesse and swimming of the head And by report in Asia and Greece the masters of the common Bains and Stuphes when they would keep away the great resort of multitude thither haue a deuise to cast Darnell seeds vpon burning coles for this perfume will quickly set them farther off Moreouer if the Winter proue to be wet and waterish ye shall haue in the Pulse called Eruile a little vermin ingendred there called Phalangion and it is of the kind of these spiders Likewise vpon Vetches there wil breed naked dew-snails yea otherwhile those little ones with shels or houses on their backs which creeping from the ground wil gnaw eat them that it is a wonder to see what foul work they will make Thus much concerning all the maladies and inconueniences to speak of incident to corne It remaineth now to treat of the remedies As touching the cure of those harms that come by hurtful weeds to the corn in blade it consisteth principally in two things namely either in the vse of the weeding knife or hooke when they be newly come vp or els in strewing ashes when the corn is a sowing But as for those dangers that touch the seed or grain in the eare and cod as also that settle about the root they must be preuented by good forecast euen before it be thrown into the ground It is generaly thought that if seed-corn lie steeped beforehand in Wine it will be better able afterwards to resist all diseases whatsoeuer Virgil giueth order to infuse or soke the Beanes that must be sown in nitre and oile lees or dregs and he assureth vs that they will prosper mightily besides and become exceeding great But others are of opinion that if for 3 daies before they be cast into the earth they lie in vrine shere water mingled together they wil being thus prepared come on apace and thriue passing well It is said moreouer That if Beans be thrice raked and rid from weedes one Modius of them being whole and solid wil yeeld a Modius again after it is husked broken As for other seed-corn it wil escape the danger of the worme if either it lie before among Cypresse leaues bruised or be sowed in and about the change of the Moon namely when she is not to be seen aboue the earth in our hemisphaere Many there be who practise other remedies namely for the Millet they would haue a toad to be caried round about the field before that it be harrowed which done to be put close within an earthen pot and so buried in the middest of the said field and by this meanes for sooth neither Sparrows will lie vpon the corn nor any worm hurt it Mary in any case this same toad must be digged out of the ground againe before the field be mowed
soone as the seede is in the ground that it may be harrowed in with the corne But in case this manner of dunging be neglected it followeth then before that you do harrow to strew the short small dung in manner of dust gathered out of Coupes Mues and Bartons where foule are fed or els to cast Goats treddles vpon the land as if you would sow seed and then with rakes and harrowes to mingle it with the soile To the end now that we may determine fully as touching this care also belonging to dung euery sheep or goat and such small cattell should by right yeeld ordinarily in dung one load in ten daies and euery head of bigger beasts ten load for vnlesse this proportion and quantity of muck be gathered plain it is that the granger or master of husbandry hath not don his part but failed in litering of his cattell Some hold opinion that the best way of mucking a land is to fold sheep and such like small cattell thereupon euen in the broad open field and to this purpose they inclose or impark them within hurdles In a word a ground not dunged at al groweth to be cold and again if it be ouermuch dunged the heart thereof is burned away And therefore the better and safer way is to muck by little at once and often rather than to ouerdo it at once The hotter that a soile is it stands by good reason that the lesse compost it requireth CHAP. XXIIII ¶ Of good seed-corne The manner of sowing ground well How much seed of euery kind of graine an acre will take The due seasons of Seednesse THe best corne or Zea for seede is of one yeares age two yeares old is not so good that of three is worst of all for beyond that time the heart is dead and such corne wil neuer spurt And verily this that is said of one sort may be verified of all kindes The corne that setleth to the bottome of the mowgh in a barn toward the floore is euer to be reserued for seed And that must needs be best because it is weightiest for therein lieth the goodnesse neither is there a better way to discern and distinguish good corn from other If you see an eare of corn hauing grains in it here and there staring distant asunder be sure the corn is not good for this purpose and therefore it must be cast aside The best graine looketh reddish and being broken between ones teeth retaineth stil the same colour within the worse corn for seed is that which sheweth more of the white flower within Furthermore this is certain that some grounds take more seed and some lesse And hereby verily do husband men gather their first presage religiously of a good or bad haruest for when they see the ground swallow more seed than ordinary they haue a ceremonie to say beleeue that it is hungry and hath greedily eaten the seed When a man is to sow a moist ground good reason there is to make the quicker dispatch and to do it betimes for fear lest rain come to rot it But contrariwise in dry places it is not amisse to stay the later and attend till raine follow lest by lying long in the earth and not conceiuing for want of moisture it lose the heart turn to nothing Semblably when a man soweth early he must bestow the more seed and sow thick because it is long ere it swel and be ready to chit But if he be late in his seednes he should cast it thin into the ground for thick sowing will choke and kill the seed Moreouer in this feat of sowing there is a pretty skil and cunning namely to cary an euen hand and cast the seed equally thorowout the whole field The hand in any case of the seeds-man must agree with his gate and march it ought alwaies to go iust with his right foot Herein also this would not be forgotten that one is more fortunate and hath a more lucky hand than another and the seed will prosper better and yeeld more encrease that such a one soweth an hidden secret surely in Nature and whereof we can yeeld no sound reason Ouer and besides this is to be considered that corn comming from a cold soile must not be sowne in a hot ground nor that which grew in a forward and hasty field ought to be transferred into lateward lands Howsoeuer some there be that haue giuen rule clean contrary howbeit they haue deceiued themselues with al their foolish curiositie Now as touching the quantitie of seed that must be giuen according to the varietie both of ground and grain these principles following are to be obserued in a reasonable good ground of a mean temperature an acre in ordinarie proportion wil ask of common wheat Triticum or of the fine wheat Siligo 5 modij of the red wheat Far or of seed for so we cal a kind of bread corn ten Modij of Barly six of Beans as much as of common wheat and a fift part or one Modius ouer of Vetches 12 of Cich pease the greater Cichlings the lesse and of pease three of Lupines ten of Lentils 3 as for these folk would haue them sowed together with dry dung of Ervile six of Silicia or Feni-greek six of Phaseols or Kidny beans foure of Dradge or Balimong for horse prouender 20 but of Millet and Panick 4 Sextars Howbeit herein can be set down no iust proportion for the soile may alter all And in one word a fat ground will receiue more and a lean lesse Besides there ariseth a difference another way in this manner if it be a massie fast chalky and moist ground you may bestow in one acre thereof six Modij either of common wheat or of fine Siligo but in case it be loose and light naked dry and yet in good heart and free it will aske but foure For the leaner that a ground is vnlesse it be sown scant and the straw come vp also thinne the shorter eare will the corne haue and the same light in the head and nothing therein Be the ground rich and fat ye shall see out of one root a number of stems to spring so that although the grain be thin sown yet will it come vp thick and beare a faire and full eare And therefore in an acre of ground you shall not do amisse to keep a meane between foure and six Modij hauing respect to the nature of the soile And yet some there be who would haue of wheat fiue Modij sown at all aduenture and neither more not lesse whatsoeuer the ground be To conclude if the ground be set with trees or lying on the side of an 〈◊〉 all is one as if it were lean hungry and out of heart And hereto may be reduced that notable Aphorisme worthy to be kept and obserued as a diuine Oracle Take not too much of a land weare not out all the fatnesse but leaue it in some heart Ouer and aboue
man a god 4. g Man compared with other creatures 152. i Man hath no certaine time to abide in the wombe 258. k Mankind more inordinate than other creatures in the act of generation 302. m the Mani-foot fish Ozoena 250. m Manilius wrot of the Phoenix in Arabia dedicated vnto the Sunne 272. b. the age of this bird and manner of dying ibid. hence the young Phoenix is bred 271. c Mandri people women bring forth children at seuen yeares of age 157. a Manlius Capitolinus first that was rewarded with a murall crown 170. k. his deeds and rewards ib. his praise ib. Manna what it is 376. h Manna Thuris 367. e Mantichora what kinde of beast 206 k. resembleth mans language 222. l Maples of many kindes 466. k. the wood commended for fine graine and serueth in curious workemanship 466. l Maquerels 243. e Cn. Martius first deuised to cut out arbors at Rome 359 b Marcellus Esurinus brought plain trees into Italie 358. m Mareolis Lybia bordering vpon Aegypt described 95. d Mares of the nature of Hermophrodites 352. i. seene they were at Rome ibid. a Mare in fole wan the prize in the Olympian race 304. g Mares better than stallions in war seruice in Scythia 222 l Mares conceiue by the wind ibid. Mares how they be brought to admit Asses to couer them 303. e. Mares with fole labour as well as before 303. f. they steale their foling many times 304. g Margarides Dates 387. b Margo a kinde of Limestone 505. d Mario a fish of pleasant tast 243. b Marioram oyle the best 382. g C. Marius commended by Sylla Foelix for building a mannor house in the countrie 554. i Marmosets where bred 106. g Marmotanes their nature 226. m Maiorinae what Oliues 432. g of Marrow 344. l. m Marrow neuer found but in hollow bones 344. l Marrow of the Uine tree and nature thereof 526. i Marrow of the backe descendeth from the braine ibid. Marrow of a mans backe proueth a snake 305. b Marsians endued with a vertue against serpents 154. l Mars his nature and motion 6. g Mars his course least of all others can be obserued 12. m his colour 13. c Mars his motion and light 10. h Marsys hung himselfe in a Plane tree 495. d Marsyans descended from ladie Circes sonne 154. l Martia the name of a ladie which was strucken with lightening being great with child her child killed and shee without harme 25. f Martines enemies to Bees 292. i Martines called Apodes ibid. Martines or Martinets See Swallowes Martius Musician stroue with Apollo 107. b Martius in an Oration of his his head was on a flaming fire 48. h Massaris what it is 379. d Mast trees honoured especially by the Romanes 456. g Mast a great reuenewes in some countries ibid. ground for bread ibid. serued vp to the table for delicates ibid. Mast of different kindes 456. h beech Mast sweetest of all others 458. i beech Mast described ibid. k Mast of sundry trees ibid. l Mast differ sundrie waies 459. a Mast which is best for feeding cattell 459. e. f Mast of a ship of maine bignesse 489. e Mast tree how it groweth 525. f Masticke tree sheweth three reasons of plowing ground 599. b. Masticke the rosin of the Lentiske tree 424. g Masticke gum 369. c. the best ibid. f. issueth of the Lentiske-tree 370. g of the Matrice 344. g. h Mattimacians their presumptuousnesse 15. b Matutine rising or setting of fixed starres 587. d Mauises change thelr colour 285. f Mauritania the description thereof 90. i M E Measure of the sea 149 d Measure of the parts of the world ibid. e Medow grounds how to be chosen and ordered 595. b. when to be mowed ibid. Medaea burnt her husbands concubine by force of Naptha 47. a. Medowes called Prata or Parata 553. f Media the descâ—…ption thereof 122. i Medica described 573. b. how and where to be sowed ib. c. d a singular forage ibid. Medicines not applied in due season be mischiefes 546. g Melampus taught to vnderstand birds language 296. l Melitaei dogs whence so called 71. f Meleandrya 243. d Mellaria a towne 51. d Members of mens bodies of miraculous effects 168. h Memorie lost by sundry occasions 155. Memorie rare examples 167. f. reduced into art 168. g Members genitall of a bonie substance 352. h. in what creatures ib. are medicinable for the disease of the ston ib Memmonides birds 284. k Memphis sometime neere the sea 36. e Men slaine for sacrifice 154 g Men conuersing generally with beasts 154. h. their deformitie and swiftnesse ibid. Men headed like dogs their manners 155. 〈◊〉 Men aboue fiue cubits tall their strong constitution of bodie ibid. Men without noses and mouthes in Aegypt 146. l Men that know not the vse of fire in Aegypt ibid. Men that goe euer naked 177. b Men eight cubits high called Olabij 147. b Men headed like dogs called Cynamolgi ibid. e Men in Aethiopia which liue onely on wild locusts 147. f Men and women greatest footed for their proportion 150. l Men surnamed of trees 499. c Men made to husband the earth 516. g Men weigh heauier than women 165. 〈◊〉 Men haue been slaine and yet not bled ibid. Men canonized wherefore 54. g. their strange shapes 155 f Menoba a riuer 52. i Mentor plucked a spill out of a lions foot 203. b Mercurie so named to expresse his nature 4. g Mercurie his nature and motion 6. k. of some called Apollo ibid. Mercurie his stations 10. i. wherefore his starre differs not from the Sunne aboue three and twentie degrees 12. h Mercurie his colour 13. c Meremaides 236. h. no fabulous things ibid. Meremen or Seamen ibid. i Meroe an Island 36. g Merops a bird 289. b Mese wind 23. a Mesopheron 364. k Messalina the Empresse of vnsatiable lusts 302. i Lu. Messalinus Cotta deuised a dish of meat made of Geese feet and Cockes combes 280. l L. Metellus his rare praises 177. f Metellus Macedonicus highly commended 178. i. his vnhappie fortune ibid. k. l Meteagrides what birds 284. k Motopia what trees 375. d M I Mice and Rats indocible 295. b Mice presage the fall of an house 211. e Mice forced a people to void out of an Island 212. h Mice great theeues 233. a Mice presage shining things to one 232. m. they gnaw yron and steele ibid. Mice engender more in a drought 305. a Mice of Aegipt prickely and goe on their hinder feet 305. a Mice most fruitfull 304. l. they engender by licking ibid. young Mice found with young in the bellie of the old dam. 304. l Mice forced the inhabitants of Troas to abandon the region ibid. m Mice and rats ominous in some cases 233. f field-Mice sleepe all Winter ibid. c against Mice Rats and Dormice to be serued vp to the table an Act made ibid. of the Midriffe 342. h Miel-dewes remedied in corne 576. g Miletus the head citie of Ionia 108. g. the diuerse names
foure deniers Roman The lint or nappie downe which linnen cloth beareth in manner of a soft cotton especially such as commeth of ship sailes that haue lien at sea is of great vse in Physicke The ashes also made thereof be counted a good Succedane of Spodium and for their efficacie may go for it Moreouer there is a kind of Poppies much sought after for blanching and bleaching of linnen clothes for being skoured therewith it is wonderfull how white and pure they will look yet for all the beautie that consisteth in that colour people are grown to this disorder vain enormity that they haue assaied to stain and die their linnen and naperie into other colours as well as their woollen cloth Which practise was first seen in the Armada or fleet of K. Alexander the Great vpon the great riuer Indus at what time as his captaines and Admiralls in a certaine skirmish that they made with the Indians changed the armes and ensignes of their ships wherat the inhabitants being vpon the shore and strond were astonied to see their sailes and streamers painted with diuers colours wauing in the wind Semblably the sailes of that ship were died purple wherein M. Antonius together with Cleopatra came to Actium and in which they fled both from thence and escaped And indeed heretofore a red purple banner erected on the top of the mast was the badge or ensigne of the royall Admirall ship but afterwards they began at Rome to incourtaine their Theatre with such vailes dyed in colours onely for shade an inuention deuised by Q. Catulus at what time as he dedicated the temple of the Capitoll In processe of time Lentulus Spinter by report was the first man that in the solemnity of the games and plaies Appollinate drew fine curtaines ouer the great Amphitheatre at Rome howbeit not long after Caesar Dictator caused the grand Forum or Common place at Rome to be couered all ouer with such rich Courtains yea and the high faire street called Sacra to bee hanged on both sides from his owne dwelling house to the very Capitoll cliffe which magnificent and sumptuous sight was more wondered at and seene with greater admiration than the braue shew and Tourney that he set out at the same time of Sword-plaiers at sharpe and to the vtterance Then followed Marcellus also the son of Octauia sister to the Emperour Augustus who in his own Aedileship and in the tenth Consulship of his vncle Augustus beforesaid vpon the Calends or first day of August that yeare caused the Romane Forum to be drawne all ouer and shadowed with the like courtains although he represented at that time no solemnitie at all of games and plaies and this he did only that they who came to plead at the barre might stand vnder shade more wholesomely Lord what a change was here at Rome since the daies of Cato the Censor who thought it meet and requisit yea and gaue aduise that the said Forum or great Hal of common Pleas should be paued and laid all ouer with caltraps vnder foot To keep our Lawyers and busie pleaders from thence Of late daies there were seene in the Amphitheatres of Emperour Nero trauerses drawne vpon cords and ropes with fine courtains of blew azure colour like the skie and those beset with stars where the very floore of the ground vnder mens feet was coloured red And wherefore serue these in cloister courts and walks now but to keepe the mosse forsooth vpon the ground or rather the fine fret-worke in pauements from sun-burning But for all these paintings and rich dyes yet when all is done the white linnen held the own still was highly esteemed aboue al colors And no doubt in great price such cloth was in the time of the Trojan war and in good faith I see no reason why it should not be as well in bloudy battails as at broken shipwracks howbeit Homer testifies that few there were who went to the wars with linnen habergeons or curets but it should seem that the Poet as the better learned expositors doe terpret meant That ship-tackling sailes cords and ropes were made of this Line speaking as he doth of Sparta whereby he vnderstandeth indeed Sata i. cordage of sowne Line or garden Flaxe CHAP. II. ¶ The nature of Spart or Spanish broome the manner of handling and dressing it when it was first vsed in cordage what Plants there be that liue and grow without root SPart verily was not in vse and request for many hundred yeares after neither was it knowne before the first voiage and expedition that the Carthaginians made in warlike manner into Spaine An herb this is also growing of it selfe without setting or sowing which indeed it cannot abide Full well and properly it might be called the rush of a dry and leane ground and a very defect or imperfection appropriate to that countrey alone of Spaine for to say a truth it is the fault and badnesse of the soile in the highest degree that breedeth it and where it commeth vp nothing else can be sowed and set or will grow at all That in Affricke or Barbary is very small and good for nothing In the territory of new Carthage or Cartagena which is in the higher part of Spaine it groweth much howbeit all that tract is not giuen to breed it but look where it commeth vp you shall see whole mountaines all ouer-spread and couered with it Hereof the rusticall peasants make their mattraces and beds this is their fewel wherewith they keep fires of it they make their torches and links to giue them light with it they are commonmonly shod and the poore sheepheards cloath themselues therewith Howbeit hurtfull is this plant to cattell vnlesse it be the tender tops and crops of the branches which they may brouse and eat without harme For other vses when the Spaniards would plucke it vp they haue much adoe withall and a great toile about it for their legs must be wel booted as it were with griues their hands couered with thick hedging-gloues as gantlets and being thus armed at all points yet they lie tugging at it pulling writhing and wresting the same with hooks and crooks either of bone or wood vntill they haue their will of it Come they about this work in winter time it is in manner vnpossible to get it vp but from the Ides i. the mids of May vnto mid-Iune it is very tractable for this is the time and season when it is ripe and then commonly they gather it for their ordinary vses before named Being once pulled and sorted the good from the bad it is made vp into bundles and faggots with the life still in it and so piled on a heap for the first two daies the third day they vnbind it lay it loose and scattering in the Sun for to be dried which done they make it vp againe into fagots and so bring it in and lay it vp within house After all this they steep it
especially I say if it thunder much Secondly they wil not last aboue one yere Item The tenderest daintiest be those that breed in the Sprinâ—… and that indeed is the best time for them Item In some countries the ouerflow of riuers engender Mushromes and namely at Mitylene where by report they will not otherwise grow but vpon floten grounds and namely in such places whither the water hath brought from Tiara a certain vegetatiue seed to breed them And verily That Tiara is wonderfully stored replenished with such As touching the Truffles or Mushroms of Asia the most excellent of all others be neer vnto Lampsacum and Alopeconnesus but the best that Greece yeeldeth are in the territorie about the citie Elis. In this Toad-stoole or Mushrome kind are those flat Fusses and Puffes to be reckoned which the Greekes name Pezitae as they haue no root at all so they be altogether without either stele or taile In the next place to these I must needs speake of the most noble and famous plant Laserpitium which the Greeks name Silphium discouered and found first in the abouesaid prouince of Barbarie Cyrenaica The juice or liquor drawne out of this hearb they cal Laser a drug so magnified of such singularitie and vse in Physicke especially that it was sold by weight and a dram thereof cost commonly Romane denier For these many yeares of late there is none of this plant to be found in that country of Cyrenaica beforesaid for that the Publicans and Farmers of the pastures and grounds there vnder the people of Rome doe put in their cattell among these plants and eat al downe by that means finding thereby a greater gaine or commodity than by letting them stand for the juice or liquor aforesaid One only stalk or stem thereof hath bin found in our days which was sent vnto Emperor Nero as a present for a great nouelty If it chance at any time that either sheepe or goat which commonly bite neer to the ground do light vpon a yong plant thereof newly peeping forth and not euident to be seene you shall know it by these signes The sheepe presently so soone as she hath tasted it will drop asleep and the goat fal a neesing For these many yeres the merchants haue brought vs into Italy no other Laser than that which grows abundantly in Persis or Media and in Armenia but it is far inferior to this of Cyrenaica and commeth short of it for goodnes And this that we haue is no better than it should be for they sophisticate and corrupt it with gum with Sagapeum or else with bruised Beans In regard of which scarsity I canot chuse but remember that which befell at Rome in that yere wherin C. Valerius and M. Herennius were consuls when by great good fortune there was brought from Cyrenae thirtie pound weight of the best Laser and set abroad to be seene in open place of all commers As also I may not let passe another occurrent namely how Caesar Dictatour at the beginning of the ciuile war tooke forth openly out of the chamber of the citie with other treasure both of gold and siluer an hundred and eleuen pounds of the best Laser Moreouer this one thing more I canot forget the best and most renowned Greeke Authors haue left in writing That 7 years before the foundation of the citie Cyrenae which was built 143 yeres after our citie of Rome this plant Laserpitium that beareth the said Laser was engendered at one instant by occasion of a certain thicke grosse and black shewer of raine in manner of pitch which sodainely fell and drenched the ground about the hortyards or gardens of the Hesperides the greater Syrtis The which rain was effectual and left the strength thereof for the compasse of foure thousand stadia within Affricke or Barbarie They affirme moreouer That the herb Laserpitium there growing is of so sauage and churlish a nature that it canot abide any culture or good ordering by mans hand but if one should goe about to tend and cherish it it would rather chuse to be gon into the desart and vnpeopled parts of the countrey or else winder away and die Moreouer they set downe this description of it That it hath many roots and those bigge and thicke a stemme or stalke resembling the hearb Sagapeum or Fennell-geant howbeit not altogether so great the leaues of this plant which they termed by the name of Maspetum come very near in all respects to those of Smallach or Persely As touching the seed that it beareth flat and thin it is in maner of leaues but the leafe it selfe therof sheddeth in the Spring time The cattell that vse to feed thereupon and whereof they be very greedy first fall a scouring but afterwards when they be clensed and rid of il humors begin to wax fat and their flesh by this means becommeth wonderfull sweet and pleasant They report moreouer that after the leaues be fallen men also were wont in old time to eat the stem or stalk thereof either rosted and baked vnder the cindres or else boiled and sodden in water and their bodies likewise for the first 40 daies ensuing did nothing but purge til they were cleared of al diseases breeding by occasion of any Cacochymie or collection of ill humours within them Now concerning the juice or soueraigne liquor before said the manner was to draw it after two sorts to wit by scarification either out of the root or forth of the stem and maister stalke And hereof it came to haue two names Rhizias and Caulias But the later of these two to wit that which came of the stem was counted the worst fubiect to putrifaction and sold cheaper than the other To come now to the root of Laserpitium it hath a blacke rind or barke vpon it wherewith the merchants vse to sophisticat many of their drugs As for the manner of dressing and ordering the juice thereof it was no sooner drawne but they put it into certaine vessels together with brans among then euer and anone they plied it with stirring and shogging vntil it had lost the cruditie and verdure thereof and by that working came to the maturity and perfection for if it were not thus well followed soon would it catch a vinew begin to putrifie and so continue but a while In this worke of theirs they had an eye vnto the color how it changed for when they perceiued it to be high that they saw it once drie and haue don sweating breathing out the raw humidity and vapor within then they knew therby that it was wrought sufficiently and come to the full ripenesse Others there be who say that the root of Laserpitium beareth more than a cubit in bignesse and that out of it there swelleth an excresence aboue the ground out of which there was wont by way of incision to issue forth a certaine white juice in manner of milke vpon which grew the stalke or
stem which they called Magydaris And they affirme besides that it beareth leafy flat graines for the seed in color like gold which shed presently vpon the rising of the Dog-star especially if the wind be south Of which grains or seeds fallen to the ground young plants of Laserpitium vse to grow vp vnderneath that within the compasse of one yere wil thriue both in root and stem to the just and full perfection they haue writen moreouer that the vse was to dig about their roots and to lay them bare at certain times of the yeare Also that they serued not to purge cattell as is aforesaid but to cure them if they were diseased for vpon the eating thereof either they mended presently or else ended and died out of hand but few they were that miscaried in this sort As touching the former opinion of purging and scouring true it is that it agreeth well to the other Silphium or Laserpitium of Persia aforesaid Another kind there is of it named Magydaris more tender and lesse forcible and strong in operation than the former and affourdeth no such juice or liquor at all it grows about Syria and commeth not vp in all the region about Cyrenae Moreouer vpon the mount Pernassus there is great plentie found of a certaine hearbe which the inhabitants would needs haue to be Laserpitium and so they cal it wherewith indeed they are wont to abuse and sophisticat that singular and diuine plant the true Laserpitium so highly commended and of so great account and regard The principall and best triall of the true and sincere Laser is taken from the colour somewhat enclining to rednesse without breake it you shall haue it appeare white within and anone transparent If you drop water vpon it or otherwise thin spittle it will resolue and melt Much vse there is of it in many medicines for to cure mens maladies Two plants more therebe well knowne to the common sort and base multitude and to say a truth few els are acquainted with them notwithstanding they be commodities of much gaine and many a peny is gotten thereby The first is Madder in great request among diers and curriers and for to set a color vpon their wooll and leather right necessarie The best of all and most commended is our Madder of Italie principally that which groweth about villages neere vnto our citie of Rome And yet there is no country or prouince lightly but is full of it It commeth vp of the owne accord and is sowed besides of seed and set of slips in manner of Eruile Howbeit a prickie stalke it hath of the owne the same is also full of joints and knots and commonly about euery one of them it hath fiue leaues growing round in a circle The seed is red What medicinable vertues it hath and to what purpose it serueth in Physicke I will declare in place conuenient The second is that which is called in Latin Radicula i Sope-wort an hearb the juice wherof Fullers vse so much to scoure their wooll withall and wonderfull it is to see how white how pure how neat and soft it will make it Beeing set it will come vp and grow in any place but of it selfe without mans hand it groweth most in Asia and Syria among rough craggie and stony grounds The best is that which is found beyond the riuer Euphrates and that bears a stem like tall Fennell howbeit small and slender and whereof the inhabitants of the countrey there doe make a delicate dish for besides that it hath a commendable tast and much desired it giueth a pleasant colour to what meat soeuer is sodden in the pot with it It beareth a leafe like the Oliue the Greeks cal it Strution it floureth in Summer louely it is to the eie but no smel at all it hath to content the nose prickie moreouer it is like a thorne and the stalke notwithstanding couered with a soft down seed hath it none but a big root which they vse to cut shred mince small for the purposes aforesaid CHAP. IV. ¶ The manner of trimming and ordering Gardens the sorting of all those things that grow out of the Earth into their due places besides corne and plants bearing fruit IT remaineth now to treat of Gardens and the carefull diligence thereto belonging a commendable thing in it selfe and recommended vnto vs besides by our fore-fathers and auncient writers who had nothing to speake of in more account and admiration in old time than the gardens of the Hesperides of Adonis and Alcioniis as also those pendant gardens vpon tarraces and leads of houses whether they were those that Semyramis Queene of Babylon or Cyrus K. of Assyria deuised and caused to be made Of which and of their workmanship my intent is to make a discourse in some other booke Now for this present to goe no farther than Rome the Romane KK verily themselues made great store of gardens and set their minds vpon them for so we read that Tarquin surnamed the Proud the last king of Rome was in his garden when he gaue dispatch vnto that messenger that was sent from his sonne about a cruell and bloudie errand for to know his fathers aduise and pleasure as touching the citizens of Gabij In all the twelue tables throughout which contain our ancient lawes of Rome there is no mention made so much as once of a Grange or Ferm-house but euermore a garden is taken in that signification and vnder the name of Hortus i. a Garden is comprised Haeredium that is to say an Heritage or Domain and herupon grew by consequence a certain religious or rediculous superstition rather of some whom we ceremoniously to sacre and blesse their garden and hortyard dores only for to preserue them against the witchcraft and sorcerie of spightful and enuious persons And therefore they vse to set vp in gardens ridiculous and foolish images of Satyres Antiques and such like as good keepers and remedies against enuy and witchcraft howsoeuer Plautus assigneth the custodie of gardens to the protection of the goddesse Venus And euen in these our daies vnder the name of Gardens and Hortyards there goe many daintie places of pleasure within the very citie vnder the color also and title of them men are possessed of faire closes and pleasant fields yea and of proper houses with a good circuit of ground lying to them like pretie farmes and graunges in the countrey all which they tearme by the name of Gardens The inuention to haue gardens within a citie came vp first by Epicurus the doctor and master of all voluptuous idlenesse who deuised such gardens of pleasance in Athens for before his time the manner was not in any citie to dwell as it were in the countrey and so to make citie and countrey al one but all their gardens were in the villages without Certes at Rome a good garden and no more was thought a poore mans cheiuance it went I say for land and liuing The
be not all commendable in one and the same respect For of some the goodnesse lieth only in their bulbous and round root of others contrariwise in their head aloft There be of them that haue no part good but their stem or maister stalk and there are for them againe the leaues wherof be only eaten Now a man shall haue amongst them those that are wholesome meat both leafe and stalke In some the seed or graine in other the outward pil or rind alone of the root is in request And as there be that tast well in the skin or cartilage and gristly substance without-forth so there are that haue either their pulpous carnosity within or else their fleshy coat aboue as daintie All the goodnes of many of them lieth hidden within the earth and of as many again aboue the ground and yet some there be that are al one as good within as without Some traine along and run by the ground growing on end stil as they creep as Gourds and Cucumbers And yet the same as well as they loue to be neere the earth yet are led lpon trailes and hang thereon yea and be knowne for to rampevpon trees How beit much weightier and better nourished be they that keepe beneath As for the Cucumber it is the cartilage substance of the fruit thereof that delighteth and pleaseth our tast for of all fruits this propertie it alone hath that the vtmost rind which it beareth groweth to a very wood when it is once ripe Within the earth lie hidden and are kept all Winter Raddishes Nauews Turneps or Rapes Elecampane also after another sort so doe Skirworts and Parseneps or Wypes Moreouer this I would aduertise the Reader that when I tearme some hearbes Ferulacea I meane such as resemble in stalke Dil or the great Mallowes For some writers doe report That in Arabia there be a kind of Mallowes which after they haue grown six or seuen months come to be in the nature of pretie trees insomuch as their stalks streightwaies serue in stead of walking staues But what should I stand vpon this In Mauritania by report of trauellers neer the frith or arme of the sea adjoining to Lixos the head citie of Fez where somtimes as folke say were the hort-yards and gardens of the Hesperides not aboue halfe a quarter of a mile from the maine ocean hard vnto the chappell of Hercules farre more ancient than that temple of his which is in the Island Calis there groweth a Mallow that is a very tree indeed in height it is twentie foot and in bodie bigger and thicker than any man can fadome In this kind I meane for the raunge the Hempe likewise And as I purpose to tearme such Ferulacea so there bee some others that I will call Carnosa such as resemble the riuer or fresh-water Spunges which commonly are seene vpon ouer-floten medowes where the water standeth For as touching the fungous substance or calliositie of some plants I haue alreadie spoken thereof in the Treatise of Wood and Trees and of their nature Likewise in our late discourse of another sort of Mushroomes and Toad-stooles CHAP. V. ¶ Garden plants their natures kinds and seuerall histories OF the cartilage and pulpous kind such I meane onely wherof there is nothing good but that which is aboue the ground I reckon the Cucumber a fruit that Tiberius the Emperor much loued and affected for he tooke such a wondrous delight and pleasure therein that there was not a day went ouer his head but he had them serued vp to his table The beds and gardens wherein they grew were such as went vpon frames to be remooued euery way with wheeles and in winter during the cold and frosty daies they could draw them backe into certaine high couert buildings exposed to the Sun and there house them vnder roufe Moreouer I find in some ancient Greek writers that their seed ought to lie 2 daies in steepe or infused in honied milke before they be prickt or set into the ground for by that meanes the Cucumbers will be the sweeter and more pleasant The nature of them is to grow in what forme and fashion soeuer that a man would haue them Throughout all Italy green they be of colour and least of any others in the out-prouinces they be as fair and great and those either of a yellow color like wax and citrons or els blacke In Affrick or Barbary men take delight to haue the greatest plenty of them wheras in Moesia they lay for to haue them passing big and huge Now when they exceed in greatnes they be called Pepones is Melons or Pompons Let a man eat them alone they will lie raw and greene in the stomacke a whole day and neuer be digested howbeit with meats they are not vnwholsom and yet for the most part swim they will aloft and ride vpon a mans stomacke A wonderfull thing in their nature they cannot abide oile in any wise but water they loue well insomuch as if they be cut off or fallen from the place where they grew they wind and creep therinto if it be but a little way off contrariwise flie they will as fast from oile if a man set it by them and in case any thing be in their way to let them or that they hang still vpon their plant a man shall perceiue how they wil turn vp and crook to shun auoid it This amitie to the one and enmity to the other may be seene euen in one nights space for if a man set vnder them 4 fingers off where they grow a vessel with water ouer-night he shal see by the morning that they wil come downe to it contrariwise let oile stand the like distance from them shrink they wil from it and hook vpward Marke another experiment in the cucumber If when it hath don flouring you enter the knot of the fruit into a long cane or trunk it will grow vo a wonderfull length But behold a very straunge and new fashion of them in Campaine for there you shall haue abundance of them come vp in forme of a Quince And as I heare say one of them chanced so to grow first at a very venture but after from the seed of it came a whol race and progeny of the like which therupon they cal Melopepones as a man would say the quince pompions or Cucumbers These neuer hang on high but go low by the ground and gather round in form of a globe A strange case it is of this kind for ouer and besides their shape their color and sauor different from the rest they are no sooner ripe but presently they fall from the stele or taile wherto they grew notwithstanding they hang not hollow from the ground where their owne poise might weigh them downe Columella tells of a pretie deuise that he hath of his own how to keep of them fresh all the yere long chuse quoth he the biggest bramble you can meet with among a thousand translate
it into a warm sun-shine bank and there replant it then cut it off leauing not aboue 2 fingers breadth from the root aboue the ground but this must be don about the Spring Aequinox in mid-March then take a Cucumber seed set it within the soft pith of the said bramble bank it will round about with fine fresh mould dung blended together This is the way he assureth vs to make that the roots therof bearing such cucumbers or Melons will abide the greatest cold in Winter and neuer shrink at it of cucumbers the Greeks haue set down 3 kinds to wit the Laconick the Scvtalick the Boeotick Of which as they say the first sort only they be that loue waters so wel some there be who prescribe to take the seed of Cucumber or Melon to temper it in the juice of a certain hearb stamped which they cal Culix then to sow it persuading vs that we shal haue fruit therof without anyseed Of the like nature I meane for their manner of growing be the Gourds Winter and al cold weather they canot endure they loue also places wel watered dunged As wel Gourds as the cucumbers or Melons aboue said are commonly sowed between the Aequinox in March the Sunstead in Iune prouided alwaies that their seedly in a trench within the ground a foot a halfe deepe But in very deed the best and meetest time to sow them is about the feast Parilia howsoeuer there be some would haue the seed of gourds to be put into the ground presently after the Calends or first day of March but of cucumbers about the Nones i. the 7 day thereof or at farthest by the feast or holy-daies of Minerva named Quinquatrus They loue both alike to creep and crawle with their winding top branches or tendrels and gladly they would be clambering vpon walls and climbing vp to the house roofe if they can meet with any rough places to take hold by for naturally they are giuen to mount on high Howbeit their strength is not answerable â—…o their will and desire for stand they canot alone without the help of some props forks or railes to stay them vpright Exceeding forward and swift they be in growth They run on end when they are set on it and if they may be born vp sustained in maner aforesaid they will gently ouershade galleries walking places arbors frames allies vnder them in a garden and that right quickly In regard of which nature and behauior of theirs two principall kindes there be of them the one Camerarium as one would say the frame or trail Gourd and cucumber which climbeth aloft the other Plebeium i. the vulgar and common which creepeth along the ground beneath In the former kind it is worth the noting to see how the fruit heauy as it is hangeth stiffe poised as it were in the wind and will not stir notwithstanding the stele wherto it groweth be wondrous fine and smal Moreouer Gourds also may be fashioned in the head euery way as a man will like as the Cucumbers or Melons before named and specially within wicker cases made of pliable oisiers into which they are put for to grow to take their form so soon as they haue cast their blossom The nature of them I say is to receiue what figure a man will force and put them to but commonly shaped they are in their growth like to a Serpent winding and turnign euery way There haue bin known of them such I meane as were of the traile kind being led vpon a frame from the ground and permitted to run at libertie which grew to an incredible length for one of them hath bin seen 9 foot long As for cucumbers they bloom not all at once but by piece-meale floure after floure now one and then another yea and floure vpon floure one vpon the head of another Howsoeuer the Cucumber loueth waterish grounds yet can he abide drier places also Couered al ouer this plant and fruit is with a white down euen at the first but especially all the while he is in his growth Gourds are imploied sundry waies and to many more vses than Cucumbers For first their yong and tender stalks be very good meat and being dressed are serued vp as a dish to the table but the rind is of a cleane contrary nature Gourds of late time came to be vsed in stouves and baines for pots and pitchers but long before that they stood in stead of rundlets or small barrels to keep wine in The green of this kind hath a tender rind which must be scraped notwithstanding before a dish of meat can be made thereof And certes albeit Gourds be of digestion hard and such as will not throughly be concocted in a mans stomacke yet they are taken 〈◊〉 be a light mild and wholsom meat as they be handled and dressed diuers waies for that they 〈◊〉 not a mans belly to swel as some meats doe Of those seeds which be found within the gourd next â—…o the neck therof if they be set come the long gourds commonly such lightly you shall haue ingendred of those also that are in the bottom howbeit nothing comparable to the other Those that lie in the midst bring forth round ones but from the seeds that are taken out of the sides ordinarily there grow the shorter sort of Gourds such as be thicke and broad These grains or seeds would be handled in this manner First they are dried in the shadow and afterwards when a man list to sow them they ought to be steeped in water The longer slenderer that a Gourd is the better meat it yeelds and more pleasant to be eaten and therefore it is that they be thought more wholesome which grew hanging vpon trailes such indeed haue least store of seed within them Howbeit wax they once hard away with them out of the kitchen for then they haue lost all their grace and goodnes which commended them to the cooks dresser Such as are to be kept for seed the manner is not to cut vp before winter and then are they to hang or stand a drying in the smoake as proper stuffe and implements to be seen in a country house to keep as good chaffer seeds for the gardner against the time Moreouer there is a means deuised how to preserue them and cucumbers too for meat sound and good almost til new come that is by laying both the one and the other in a kind of brine or pickle Some say also that they may be kept fresh and greene interred in a caue or ditch vnder the ground in some darke and shady place with a good course or bed of sand laid vnder them and well couered afterward with dry hay and earth vpon the same in the end Ouer besides as in all plants and herbs in maner of the garden there be both wild and tame so is there of Gourds and Cucumbers both a certain sauage kinde
the stomack The Empresse Iulia Augusta passed not a day without eating the Elecampane root thus confected and condite and therupon came it to be in so great name and bruit as it is The seed therof is needlesse and good for nothing therefore to maintaine and increase this plant gardeners vse commonly to set the joints cut from the root after the order as they doe Reeds and Canes The manner is to plant them as well as Parsnips Skirwirts and Carrots at both times of seednes to wit the Spring and the Fall but there would be a good distance betweene euery seed or plant at least three foot because they spread and braunch very much and therewith take vp a deale of ground As for the Skirwirt or Parsnip Siser it will do the better if it be remoued and replanted It remaineth now to speak in the next place of plants with bulbous or onion roots and their nature which Cato recommendeth to Gardeners and he would haue them to be set and sowed aboue all others among which he most esteemeth them of Megara Howbeit of all this bulbous kind the Sea-onyon Squilla is reputed chiefe and principall notwithstanding there is no vse of it but in Physick and for to quicken vinegre As there is none that groweth with a bigger head at the root so there is not any more aegre and biting than it Of these Sea-onyons there be two kinds medicinable the male with the white leafe the female with the blacke There is a third sort also of Squillae which is good for to be eaten the leaues whereof be narrower and not so rough and sharp as the other and this they cal Epimenidium All the sort of these squilles are plentifull in seed howbeit they come vp sooner if they be set of cloues or bulbes which grow about their sides And if a man would haue the head of the root wax big the leaues which vsually be broad and large ought to be bended downe into the earth round about and so couered with mould for by this means all the sap and nourishment is diuerted from the leafe and runneth backe into the root These Squils or sea-onions grow in exceeding great abundance within the Baleare Islands and Ebusus as also throughout all Spaine Pythagoras the Philosopher wrote one entire volumne of these onions wherein he collected their medicinable vertues and properties which I meane to deliuer in the next booke As touching other bulbous plants there be sundry kinds of them differing all in colour quantity and sweetnesse of tast for some there bee of them good to be eaten raw as those of Cherrhonesus Taurica Next vnto them are they of Barbary and most commended for goodnesse and then those that grow in Apulia The Greeks haue set downe their distinct kindes in these terms Bulbine Setanios Pythios Acrocorios Aegylops and Sisyrinchios But strange it is of this Sisyrinchios last named how the foot and bottom of the root wil grow down stil in winter but in the Spring when the Violets appeare the same diminisheth and gathereth short vpward by which meanes the head indeed of the root seedeth and thriueth the better In this rank of bulbous plants is to be set that which in Egypt they call Aron i. Wake-Robin for bignesse of the head it commeth next to Squilla beforesaid the leaues resemble the herb Patience or garden Dock it riseth vp with a streight stem or stalke two cubits high as thicke as a good round cudgell As touching the root it is of a soft and tender substance and may be eaten raw If you would haue good of these bulbous roots you had need to dig them out of the ground before the spring for if you passe that time they will presently be the worse You shall know when they be ripe and in their perfection by the leaues for they will begin to wither at the bottom If they be elder or if their roots grow small and long they are reiected as nothing worth Contrariwise the ruddy root the rounder and the biggest withall are most commended know this moreouer That the bitternesse of the root in most of them lyeth in the crowne as it were or top of the head for the middle parts be sweet The antient writers held opinion That none of these bulbous plants would grow but of seed only howbeit both in the pastures and fields about Preneste they come vp of themselues and also among the corn lands and arable grounds of the Rhenians they grow beyond all measure CHAP. VI. ¶ Of the roots leaues floures and colours of Garden-herbes ALl Garden plants ordinarily put out but one single root apiece as for example the Radish Beet Parsley and Mallow howbeit the greatest and largest of all others is the root of the herb Patience or garden Docke which is knowne to run downe into the ground three cubits deep In the wild of this kind which is the common docke the roots be smaller yet plumpe and swelled whereby after they be digged vp and laied aboue ground they will liue a long time Some there be of them that haue hairy strings or beards hanging to the roots as namely Parsley or Ach and Mallows Others there be againe which haue branching roots as the Basill As the roots of some be carnous and flâ—…ie altogether and namely of the Beet but especially of Saffron so in others they consist of rind and carnositie both as we may see in Radishes and Rapes or Turneps And ye shall haue of them that be knotty and full of ioints as for example the root of the Quoich grasse or Dent-de-chien Such hearbs as haue no streight and direct root run immediatly into hairie threds as we may see plainly in the Orach and Bleet as for the sea Onion Squilla and such bulbous plants the garden Onions also and Garlicke they put forth their roots streight and neuer otherwise Many hearbes there be which spring of their own accord without setting or sowing and of such many there be that branch more cloue in root than in leafe as we may see in Aspalax Parietarie of the wall and Saffron Moreouer a man shall see these hearbes floure at once together with the Ash namely the running or creeping Thyme Southernewood Naphewes Radishes Mints and Rue and by that time as others begin to blow they are ready to shed their floures whereas Basill putteth forth floures by parcels one after another beginning first beneath and so going vpward by leisure which is the cause that of all others it is longest in the floure The same is to be seene in the herb Heliotropium i. Ruds or Turnsol In some the floures be white in others yellow and in others purple As touching the leaues of herbes some are apt to fall from their heads or tops as in Origan and Elecampane yea and otherwhiles in Rue if some iniurie be done vnto it Of all other herbes the blades of Onions and Chibbols be most hollow Where by the
be tied fast vnto them Of all Garden-hearbs Beets are the lightest The Greeke writers make two kinds thereof in regard of the colour to wit the black Beets and the whiter which they prefer before the other although it be very scant and sparie of seed these also they cal the Sicilian Beets and for their beautiful white hew and nothing else they esteeme them aboue Lectuce But our countreymen here in Italy put no other difference between Beets but in respect of the two seasons when they be sowed namely in the Spring and Autumne whereof we haue these two sorts the spring Beets and the Autumnall and yet they be vsually sowne in Iune also This herbe likewise is ordinarily remooued in the plant and so replanted or set againe it loueth besides to haue the roots medicined with muck as well as the other abouesaid yea and it is very wel content with a moist and waterish ground The roots as well as the leaues or herbage thereof vse to be eaten with Lentils Beans but the best way to eat them is with Senuie or Mustard for to giue a tast and edge as it were to that dull and wallowish flatnesse that it hath Physitians haue set downe their iudgement of this herb That the roots be more hurtfull than the leafe and therefore being set vpon the bourd before all persons indifferently as well the sound as the sick and crasie yet many a one maketh it nice and scrupulous once to tast therof and if they do it is but slightly for fashion only leauing the hearty feeding thereupon to those rather that be in health and of strong constitutions The Beet is of two diuers natures and qualities for the herbage or leafe hath one and the bulbs comming from the head of the stem another but their principall grace and beautie lieth in their spreading and breadth that they beare as they cabbage And this they come vnto as the manner is of Lectuces also by laying some light weight vpon the leaues when they begin once to gather into a stalke and shew their colour And there is not an hearbe throughout the Garden that taketh vp greater compasse with fuellage than doth the Beet for otherwhiles you shal see it to spread it selfe two foot euery way whereunto the goodnesse and nature of the soile is a great help The largest that be knowne of these Beets are those which grow in the territory about Circij Some hold opinion that the only time to sow Beets is when the Pomegranat doth blossome and to transplant them so soon as they haue 5 leaues A wonderfull thing to see the diuersitie in Nature of these Beets if it be true namely that the white should gently loosen the belly and make one soluble whereas contrariwise the black doe stay a flux and knit the body It is as strange also to obserue another effect thereof for when the Colewort hath marred the taste of wine within the tun or such like vessell the only sauour and smell of Beet leaues steeped therein will restore and fetch it againe As touching the Beets as also Colewoorts which now beare all the sway and none but they in Gardens I do not find that the Greeks made any great account of them yet Cato highly extolleth Coules and reporteth great wonders of their vertues and properties which I meane to relate in my treatise of Physick For this present you shall vnderstand that he putteth downe three kinds of them the first that stretcheth out broad leaues at ful and carieth a big stem the second with a crisped and frizled leafe the which he calleth Apiana the third is smooth plain and tender in leafe and hath but a little stalke and these are of no reckoning at all with Cato Moreouer like as Coleworts may be cut at all times of the yeare for our vse so may they be sown set al the yere long yet the most appropriat season is after the Aequinox in Autumn Transplanted they be when they haue once gotten fiue leaues The tender crops called Cymae after the first cutting they yeeld the Spring next following now are these Cymae nothing else but the yong delicat tops or daintier tendrils of the maine stem And as pleasant and sweet as these crops were thought to other men yet Apicius that notable glutton tooke a loathing of them and by his example Drusus Caesar also careth not for them but thought them a base and homely meat for which nice and dainty tooth of his he was well checked and shent by his father Tiberius the Emperor after this first crop or head is gone there grow out of the same colewort other fine colliflories if I may so say or tendrils in Summer in the fall of the leafe and after them in winter and then a second spring of the foresaid Cymae or tops against the spring following as the yeare before so as there is no hearb in that regard so fruitfull vntill in the end her owne fertility is her death for in this manner of bearing she spends her heart her selfe and all There is a third top-spring also at mid-summer about the Sunstead which if the place bee any thing moist affoordeth yong plants to be set in summer time but in case it be ouer-drie against Autumne If there be want of moisture and skant of muck the better taste Colewoorts haue if there be plenty and to spare of both the more fruitfull and ranke they are The onely muck that which agreeth best with Coleworts or Cabbages is Asses dung I am content to stand the longer vpon this Garden-wort because it is in so great request in the kitchin and among our riotous gluttons Would you haue speciall and principal Coleworts both for sweet tast and also for great and faire cabbage first and foremost let the seed be sowne in a ground throughly digged more than once or twice and wel manured secondly see you cut off the tender springs and yong stalkes that seem to put out far from the ground or such as you perceiue mounting too ranke and ouer-high from the earth thirdly be sure to raise other mould in maner of a bank vp to them so as there peep no more without the ground than the very top these kind of Coleworts be fitly called Tritiana for the threefold hand and trauell about them but surely the gaine will pay double for all the cost and toile both Many more kindes there be of them to wit that of Cumes which beareth leaues spreading flat along the ground and opening in the head Those of Aricia be for heigth no taller than they but rather more in number than for substance thinner and smaller this kind is taken for the best and most gainfull because vnder euery main leafe in maner it putâ—… forth other yong tendrils or buds by themselues which are good to be eaten The Colewort Pompeianum so called of the towne Pompeij is taller than the rest rising vp with a smal stem
it came vp without sowing euen in the very woods and carried a more duskish green leafe and the same rougher It is said that if men eat the seed it wil extinguish vtterly their own seed The juice of green Hemp-seed being dropped into the eares driueth out any wormes or vermin there ingendred yea and what ear-wigs or such like creatures that are gotten into them but it will cause head-ach withall So forcible is this plant that by report if it be put into water it will make it to gather and coagulat Which is the reason that if horses haue the gurry they shall find help by drinking the said water The root if it be boiled in water doth mollifie and softenioints that be shrunk vp it assuageth the pains likewise of the Gout and such like wicked humors that fall down vpon any part Being yet green and reduced into a liniment and so applied it is good for burnes or scaldings but it must be often remoued and changed before it be drie As for Ferula or Fennel geant it carrieth a seed like to Dill. That kind which riseth vp in one stem and then diuideth it self and brancheth forth in the head is supposed to be the female The stalks are good to be eaten boyled and the right sauce wherein they be serued vp to giue them a more commendable tast is new wine and hony tempered accordingly and so prepared they be good for the stomack Howbeit if one eat ouer-liberally of them they cause head-ach Take the weight of one denier Roman of the root beat it to pouder and drinke it in two cyaths of wine you shall find it a soueraigne medicine against the stinging of serpents but you must not forget mean while to apply the root it self stamped into a cataplasme vnto the hurt place After this manner it helpeth the wringing torments of the guts Make a liniment or vnguent thereof and vineger together annoint the body therewith it restraineth the immoderate sweats that burst out although the Patient be sick of a feuer The juice of Ferula if it be eaten to the quantity of a Beane doth loosen the belly The small tendrils or branches of greene Ferula is good for all the infirmities abouenamed Take ten grains of Ferula seed in pouder with wine or so much of the pith within the stalk it stancheth bloud Some hold it good to giue a spoonful thereof euery fourth sixth and seuenth day after the change of the Moon to preuent the fits of the falling sicknes The nature of all these Fennel-geants is most aduerse to Lampreies for if they be touched neuer so little therewith they will die vpon it Castor was of opinion That the juice is excellent good to cleare the eye-sight And forasmuch as I haue spoken somewhat of Thistles and Artichoux how they should be ordered in my treatise of other garden plants I will put off no longer to discourse also of their properties and vertues in Physick Of the wild Thistles there be two kinds the one more ful of branches shooting out immediatly from the root the other riseth vp in one intire stem and the same is thicker withall Both of them haue but few leaues and those beset with prickles they beare heads pointed with sharp pricks round about in manner of caltrops Howbeit there is one kind which is the Artichoke which putteth forth a purple floure amidst those sharpe pointed prickes which very quickly turns into an hoarie downe readie to flie away with euery puffe of wind and this thistle the Greeks cal Scolymos The juice of the Artichoke stamped pressed out before it bloome bringeth haire again thicke if the naked place be annointed therewith The root either of Thistle or Artichoke sodden in water and so eaten is as good as a shooing-horne to draw on pot after pot for these great bibbers that desire nothing more than to be thirsty and to make quarrell to the cup. It strengtheneth the stomacke and if we may beleeue it is so appropriate vnto the matrice of women that it disposeth and prepareth it to conceiue men children In good faith Chaereas the Athenian and Glaucias especially who seemeth to be most curious in describing the nature and properties of these Thistles or Artichokes giue out no lesse To conclude if one chew them in his mouth hee shall finde that they will cause a sweet breath CHAP. XXIV ¶ The composition of a Treacle which was the ordinarie and familiar medicine of King Antiochus BVt before that we go out of the garden and leaue the herbes there growing I think it good to set down one confection made of them thought to be a most excellent and soueraigne antidote or preseruatiue against the poison of all venomous beasts whatsoeuer and which for the excellency thereof was ingrauen in stone vpon the forefront of the temple dedicated to Aesculapius in this maner following Take of wild running Thyme the weight of two deniers of Opopanax and Meu of each the like quantitie the seed of Dil Fennel Ameos and Parsly of each the weight of six deniers of Ervil floure twelue deniers or drams Let these be beaten into pouder and finely searced and when they be incorporat in the best wine that may be had they ought to be reduced into the form of Trosches euery one weighing a victoriat or half denier When occasion is to vse this composition dissolue one of these Trosches in three cyaths of wine and drinke it This is that famous Treacle or countrepoyson which great Antiochus the King was wont by report to take against all venoms or poysons whatsoeuer THE TVVENTY FIRST BOOKE OF THE HISTORIE OF NATVRE WRITTEN BY C. PLINIVS SECVNDVS The nature of Floures and namely those of Chaplets and Guirlands CHAP. I. ¶ The wonderfull varietie of Floures CAto in his Treatise of Gardens ordained as a necessary point That they should be planted and inriched with such herbs as might bring forth floures for Coronets and Garlands And in very truth their diuersitie is such that vnpossible it is to decipher and expresse them accordingly Whereby wee may see that more easie it was for dame Nature to depaint adorn the earth with sundrie pictures to beautifie the fields I say with all maner of colours by her handy-worke especially where she hath met with a ground to her minde and when she is in a merrie humour and disposed to play and disport her selfe than for any man in the world to vtter the same by word of mouth Wherin certes her admirable prouidence she hath shewed principally in this That whereas she hath giuen vnto those fruits of the earth which serue for necessities the sustentation of man long life and a kind of perpetuitie euen to last yeares and hundreds of yeres these floures of pleasure and delight good only to content the eye or please the sence of smelling she would haue to liue and die in one day A great document and lesson for vs men in generall to
it somwhat stuffeth and offendeth The floure is of a golden colour And say that it carrieth neither seed nor floure yet commeth it vp of it selfe in void and vacant places altogether neglected and without any culture for it doth propagat and increase by the tops and tips of the branches lying vpon the ground and so taking root And therefore it groweth the better if it be set of root or slip than sowed of seed For of seed much adoe there is to make it come vp and when it is aboue ground the yong plants are remoued and set as it were in Adonis gardens within pots of earth and that in Summer time after the maner of the herb and floure Adonium for as well the one as the very tender and can abide no cold and yet as chill as they be they may not away with ouer-much heat of the Sun for taking harme But when they haue gotten head once and be strong enough they grow and branch as Rue doth Much like vnto Sothernwood in sent and smell is Camomile the floure is white consisting of a number of pretty fine leaues set round about the yellow within CHAP. XI ¶ Of Marioram the greater and the lesse called in Latine Amaracus or Sampsuchum Of Nyctygretum Melilote the white Violet of Codiaminum and wild Bulbes of Heliochrysum and Lychnis or Rose Campain And of many other herbs growing on this side the sea DIocles the Physitian and the whole nation in maner of the Sicilians haue called that herb Amaracus which in Egypt and Syria is commonly named Sampsuchum It commeth vp both waies as well of seed as of a slip and branch It liueth and continueth longer than the herbs beforenamed and hath a more pleasant and odoriferous sent Marjoram is as plentifull in seed as Sothernewood but whereas Sothernewood hath but one tap root and the same running deep into the ground the rest haue their roots creeping lightly aloft and eb within the earth As for all the other herbes they are for the most part set and sowne in the beginning of the Autumne some of them also in the spring and namely in places which stand much in the shade which loue to be well watered also and inriched with dung As touching Nyctygretum or Lunaria Democritus held it to be a wonderfull herb and few like vnto it saying that it resembleth the colour of fire that the leaues be pricky like a thorne that it creeps along the ground he reporteth moreouer That the best kind therof growes in the lad Gedrosia That if it be plucked out of the ground root and all after the Spring Aequinox and be laid to drie in the Moonshine for 3 daies together it will giue light and shine all night long also That the Magi or Sages of Persia as also the Parthian kings vse this herb ordinarily in their solemn vowes that they make to their gods last of all That some call it Chenomychos because Geese are afraid of it when they see it first others name it Nyctilops because in the night season it shineth and glittereth afarre off As for Melilote it commeth vp euery where howbeit the best simply wherof is made the greatest account is in Attica but inwhat place soeuer it growes that is most accâ—…pted which is fresh new gathered not enclining to white but as like vnto Saffron as is possible And yet in Italie the white Melilote is the sweeter and more odoriferous The first floure bringing tidings of the springs approch is the white bulbous stock-Gillofre And in some warmer climates they put forth and shew euen in Winter Next vnto it for their timely appearance is the purple March Violet and then after them the Panse called in Latine Flammea and in Greeke Phlox I meane the wild kind onely Codiaminon bloweth twice in the yeare namely in the Spring and the Autumne for it cannot abide either Winter or Summer Somewhat later than those before rehearsed are the Daffodil and Lilly ere they flour especially in countries beyond sea in Italy verily as I haue said before they bloum not till after Roses for in Greece the Passe-floure Anemone is yet more lateward Now is this Anemone the floure of certain wild Bulbes different from that other Anemone whereof I will speake in the Treatise of Physick-hearbs Then followeth Oenanthe and Melanion and of the wild sort Heliochrysos After them a second kind of Passe-flower or Anemone called also Leimonia beginneth to blow And immediatly vpon it the pety Gladen or sword-grasse accompanied with the Hyacinth last of all the Rose sheweth in her likenes But quickly hath the Rose done and none so soone and yet I must except the garden Rose Of all the rest the Hyacinths or Harebels the stock-Gillo floure and Oenanthe or Filipendula beare floures longest But of this Oenanthe this regard must bee had that the floures bee often picked and plucked off and not suffered to run to seed This groweth in warme places It hath the very same sent that Grapes when they first bud and put out blossom whereupon it took the name Oenanthe But before I leaue the Hyacinth I cannot chuse but report the fable or tale that goeth thereof and which is told 2 maner of waies by reason that the floure hath certaine veines to be seen running in and out resembling these two letters in Greek AI plaine and easie to be read which as some say betoken the lamentable mone 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that Apollo made for his wanton minion Hyacinthus whome he loued or as others make report sprung vp of the bloud of Aiax who slew himselfe and represented the two first letters of his name AI. Helyachrysos beareth a yellow floure like to gold a small and fine leafe a little stalk also a slender but hard and stiffe withall The Magi or Sages of Persia vse to weare this hearbe and floure in their Guirlands and they be fully persuaded that by this meanes they shall win grace and fauour in this life yea and attaine to much honour in glorie prouided alwaies that their sweet compositions wherewith they annoint and perfume themselues be kept in a vessel or box of gold not yet fined nor purified in the fire which gold they call Apyron And thus much for the floures of the Spring Now succeed and comeafter in their rank the summer floures to wit Lychnis Iupiters flower or Columbine-and a second kind of Lilly likewise Iphyon and that Amaracus or Marjeram which they cal the Phrygian But of all others the flower Pathos is most louely beautifull whereof there be two kinds the one with a purple flower like vnto the Hyacinth the other is whiter and groweth commonly in churchyards among graues and tombs and the same holdeth on flouring better and liueth longer The flower de-luce also is a Summer flower These haue their time fade and are soone gone And then come other flowers for them in their place in
they floure or they apple or els be ready to bring forth fruit and look when the leaues begin to wither their prickes lose their force and will not pierce Ixine is a rare herb and geason to be seen and not found growing in al countries alike Immediatly from the root it putteth forth leaus plenty out of the mids of which root there swelleth out a bunch like an apple but the same is couered with the foresaid leaues in the very â—…p of which fruit there is contained a gum of a pleasant tast called the thistle Mastick Touching the herb Cactos which groweth also in Sicily and no where els it hath a property by it self the stalks whereof shooting from the root creep along the ground and it carrieth a broad leafe full of pricks and thorns and indeed these stalks thus running vpon the earth the Sicilians cal Cactos which they vse to keep and preserue and being thus condited also they commonly eat as very good meat One stem it hath growing vpright which they terme Pternix as sweet pleasant as the other but it will not abide to be kept long The seed thereof is couered with a certain soft down which they call Pappos which being taken off with the husk there remaineth a tender kernell within which they eat find it as delicat as the very heart of the Date tree top which is called the Brain and this pith aforesaid the Sicilians name Ascalia The Caltrop thistle Tribulus groweth not but in moory grounds and standing dead waters Surely in other places folke curse it as they passe by the prickes and spurs stick out so dangerously but about the riuers Nilus and Strymon the inhabitants do gather it for their meat the nature of this plant is to lean and bend downward in the head to the water The leafe resembles in form those of the Elme and they hang by a long stele or taile But in other parts of the world there be two other kinds of Tribulus the one is leafed like vnto the Cichling pease the other hath leaues sharp pointed this second kind is later ere it floure and commonly groweth about the mounds of closes lying by villages and town sides the seed lieth in a cod rounder than the other and black withall whereas the former hath a sandy seed Of these thorny and pricky plants there is yet one kind more namely Ononis i. Rest. harrow for it carrieth pricks close to the very branches the leafe is like to Rue the whole stalk throughout is set with leaues disposed in manner of a garland This plant commonly groweth after corn it plagueth the plough and yet there is much adoto rid it out of a ground so loth it is to die Of plants that be prickie some haue their stalkes and branches trailing by the ground as namely that hearbe which they call Coronopus i. Harts horn or Buck-horne Plantaine contrariwise there stand vpright Orchanet the root whereof is so good to colour wax and wood red And of such as be more gentle in handling Camomile Phyllanthus Anemone and Aphace As for Crepis Apate their stalks be all leafe Moreouer this would be noted that the leaues of herbs differ one from another as well as in trees some in the length or shortnesse of the stele whereto they hang others in the breadth or narrownesse of the leafe it selfe in form also whereby you shal haue some cornered others cut and indented likewise in sent and floure for some there be that continue longer in flouring than others and blow not all at once but one part after another as Basill Tornsall Aphaca and Onocheile CHAP. XVII ¶ The difference of herbs in their leafe what hearbes they be that floure all the yeare long of the Asphodell Pistana and Petie-Gladen or Sword-grasse MAny hearbes there be as well as some trees which continue greene and hold their leaues from one end of the yeare to the other as Tornsol and Adianthum or Capillus Veneris Another sort there is of herbs that floure spike-wise of which kind are Cynops Alopecurus i. Foxtaile Stelephuros which some call Ortyx others Plantaine of which I will write more at large among Physick herbs and Thryollis Of these Alopecurus carrieth a soft spike and a thick mossie down not vnlike to Fox-tails whereupon it tooke that name in Greeke and Stelephurus resembleth it very much but that the Foxtaile bloweth not all together but beareth floures some at one time some at another Cichory and such like haue their leaues spreading vpon the ground and those put forth directly from the root beginning to spring immediatly after the apparition of the star Vergiliae As touching Parietary there be other nations as wel as the Aegyptians who feed vpon it it took the name Perdicium in Latine of the bird Perdix i. the Partridge that seeketh after it so much and plucketh it out of the wals where it groweth it hath many roots and the same thick In like maner the herb Ornithogale i. Dogs onion hath a small stem and a white but a root halfe a foot long the same is full of bulbs like onions soft also and accompanied with three or foure other spurs growing out of it This hearbe they vse to seeth among other pot-herbs for potage I will tell you a strange quality of the herb Lotos and of Aegilops if their seed be cast into the ground it wil not come vp in a yeare As wonderfull is the nature also of the Camomile for it beginneth to floure in the head whereas all other herbes which blow not all at once floure at the foot first Notable is the Bur likewise and worthy to be obserued I mean that which sticketh to our clothes as we passe by the floure lieth close and groweth within the said Bur and neuer appeareth without-forth it is I say as it were hatched within much like vnto those liuing creatures that couve and quicken their egges within their belly Semblably about the city Opus there is an herb called Opuntia which men delight to eat this admirable gift the leafe hath That if it be laied in the ground it will take root and there is no other way to plant this herb maintain the kind As for Iasione one leafe it hath and no more but so lapped and infolded that it seemeth as if they were many Touching Condrylla the herb it selfe is bitter but the juice of the root is hot and biting Bitter also is Aphaca or Dent de Lion as also that which is called Picris which name it took of the exceeding bitternesse that it hath the same floureth all the yere long As for Squilla and Safron they be both of a maruellous nature for whereas all other hearbes put out leafe first and then knit round into a stem in those two a man may euidently see the stalk before the leafe And in Saffron verily the said stalk thrusteth out the floure before it but in
drink the same with salt and hony mixed therwith but the said decoction if it be made with an hogs foot with a hen capon or cock boiled withal is the wholsomer Some Physitians were of opinion That for to purge the body both Mercuries as wel the male as the female are to be giuen either boiled alone by themselues or els with Mallows they clense the brest parts and euacuat choler but they hurt the stomacke Touching all the other properties of Mercury I will write in place conuenient As Chiron the Centaure found out the medicinable vertues of certaine herbes so we are beholden to his scholler Achilles for one which is singular to heale wounds and of his name is called Achilleos This is that wound-herb wherewith by report he cured prince Telephus Some haue thought that hee deuised first the rust of brasse or verdegreece which is so excellent for salues and plasters therfore you shall see Achilles commonly painted scraping off the rust of his speare head with his sword into the wound of the said Telephus Others say that he tooke both the said rust or verdegreece and also the herb Achilleos to worke his cure Some would haue this Achillea to be Panaces Heracleon and others Sideritis we in Latine call it Millefolia An herb it is growing with a stalk or stem to the height of a cubit spreading into many branches clad from the very root vp to the top with leaues smaller than those of Fenell Others confesse indeed that this herb is singular good for wounds but the true Achilleos say they hath a blewish stalk a foot high no more bare and naked without any branches at all howbeit finely deckt and garnished on euery side with round leaues standing one by one in excellent order and making a faire sight There be again who describe it with a foursquare stem bearing heads in the top in manner of Horehound and leaued like vnto an Oke And this they say is of that efficacy that it wil conglutinat vnite sinews again if they were cut quite a sunder Moreouer you shall haue some who take it for Achillea that kinde of Sideritis growing vpon mud walls which if it be brused or stamped yeeldeth a stinking sent Moreouer there is another going vnder the name Achilleos like to this last described but that the leaues be whiter and fattier the little stalks or sprigs more tender it groweth in vineyards Last of al there is one more called Achilleos which riseth vp to the height of 2 cubits bearing pretty fine slender branches and those three square leaues resembling Fearn hanging by a long stele the seed is much like to that of the Beet In one word they be al of them most excellent for healing wounds And as for that especially which hath the largest leaues our countrimen in Latine haue called it Scopa Regia And the same is holden to be good for to heale the Squinancy or Gargle in swine In the same age wherin Achilles liued prince Teucer also gaue the first name and credit to one speciall herb called after him Teucrion which some nominat Hemionium this plant putteth forth little stalks in maner of rushes or bents and spreadeth low the leaues be small it loueth to grow in rough and vntoiled places a hard and vnpleasant sauor it hath in tast it neuer floureth and seed it hath none Soueraigne it is for the swolne and hard spleene the knowledge of which property came by this occasion as it is credibly and constantly reported It fortuned on a time when the inwards of a beast killed for sacrifice were cast vpon the ground where this herb grew it took hold of the spleen or milt and claue fast vnto it so as in the end it was seen to haue consumed and wasted it clean hereupon some there be that call it Splenion i. Spleenwort and there goeth a common speech of it That if swine doe eat the root of this herbe they shall be found without a milt when they are opened Some there be who take for Teucrium and by that name do call another herb full of branches in manner of hyssop leafed like vnto beans and they giue order that it should be gathered whiles it is in floure as if they made no doubt but that it would floure The best kind of this herb they hold to be that which commeth from the mountains of Cilicia and Pisidia Who hath not heard of Melampus that famous diuinor and prophet he it was of whom one of the Ellebores tooke the name and was called Melampodion and yet some therebe who attribute the finding of that herb vnto a shepheard or heardman of that name who obseruing wel that his she goats feeding therupon fell a scouring gaue their milk vnto the daughters of king Proetus whereby they were cured of their furious melancholy and brought again to their right wits This herb then being of so excellent operation it shall not be amisse to discourse at once of all the kinds of Ellebore whereof this maketh one And to begin withal two principal sorts there be of it namely the white and the black which distinction of colour most writers would haue to be meant and vnderstood of the roots only and no part else others there be who would haue the root of the blacke Ellebore to be fashioned like vnto those of the Plane-tree but that they be smaller and of a more darke duskish green diuided also into more jags and cuts but those of the white Ellebore to resemble the yong Beet new appearing aboue the ground saue onely that they be of a more blackish colour and along the back part of their concauitie inclining to red Both the one and the other bringeth forth a stalke in fashion like the Ferula or Fenel-geant a span or good hand-breadth high and the same consisteth of certain tunicles or skins folded one within another in manner of bulbous plants rising from the like root and the said root is full of strings or fringes as is the head of an onion The blacke Ellebore is a very poison to horses kine oxen and swine for it killeth them and therefore naturally these beasts beware how they eat of it whereas confidently they feed vpon the white The right season of gathering the Ellebores is in haruest time Great store thereof groweth vpon the hill Oeta but the best is that which is found in one only place therof neere about Pyra The black Ellebore commeth vp euery where but the best is in Helicon a mountaine much renowned and praised for other herbs beside it wherewith it is well furnished As touching the white that of the mount Oeta is counted the principall in a second degree is the white Ellebore of Pontus in the third place is to be ranged that which commeth from Elaea which they say groweth among vines in the fourth and last place for goodnesse is that of the mount Pernassus which is sophisticated with the Ellebore of
root resembling the leaues of Branc-vrsin there riseth vp a stem between them both in the mids carrying an incarnat floure in the head like a rose Pompeius Lenaeus who by the commandement of Pompey the Great translated into Latine the Physick notes and receits of K. Mithridates saith moreouer that the said prince found out another herb named Scordotis or Scordium and that among other his writings hee met with the description of the said herb set down vnder the kings own hand in this manner namely That it grew a cubit high with a main stem four-square and the same full of branches garnished with downy or furred leaues indented and cut like to those of the oke This herb is found ordinarily growing within the region of Pontus in battle and moist champian grounds and in taste is very bitter There is another kind of Scordium with larger and broader leaues and like it is vnto wild Minth or Calamint both the one the other be of great vse in Physicke either by themselues alone or els put into opiats and antidots among other ingredients Touching Polemonia which others call Philetaeria it tooke the name vpon ocasion of the strife and controuersie betweene certaine princes which debated about the first inuention thereof The Cappadocians know it by the name Chiliodynama i. as one would say endued with a thousand vertues This plant hath a thicke and grosse root but smal slender branches from the tops whereof there hang down certaine berries in tufts and clusters inclosing within them black seed in all other respects it resembles rue groweth commonly vpon mountaines As for Agrimony called otherwise Eupatoria it hath gotten credit reputation by a king as it may appeare by the name The stalk or stem of this herb is of a wooddy substance blackish in colour hairy and of a cubit in height or rather more The leaues grow disposed and distant by certaine spaces asunder much like vnto those of cinquefoile or hempe snipped cut about the edges ordinarily in fiue parts the same are of a blackish or dark green and full of a kinde of plume or downe The root is superfluous for any operation that it hath in Physick the seed of this herb drunk in wine is a singular remedy for the dysentery or bloudy flix The greater * Centaury is that famous herbe wherewith Chiron the Centaure as the report goeth was cured at what time as hauing entertained Hercules in his cabin hee would needs be handling tempering with the weapons of his said guest so long vntill one of his arrows light vpon his foot and wounded him dangerously wherupon some there be who name it Chironion The leaues grow large broad and long indented or cut rather like a saw round about the edges neare vnto the root they come vp very thick the stems run vp three cubits high full of knots and joints all the way knobbed in the top like vnto Poppie heads the root is of a mighty bignesse inclining to a red colour howbeit tender and easie to break or knap in sunder two cubits it beareth in length full of a liquid juice bitter in taste and yet sweet withal it loueth to grow vpon banks and prety hils where the ground is fat and battle The best Centaury of this greater kinde commeth out of Arcadie Elis Messenia Pholoe and mount Lycaeus and yet there is good found vpon the Alpes and in many other places Some there be who out of this plant draw a juice in manner of Lycium Of such efficacy it is to incarnat wounds that by report if it be put into the pot to seeth among many gobbets or pieces of flesh it wil cause them to grow together and vnite The root only is to be giuen inwardly and namely in drinke to the weight of two drams in such cases as I will shew hereafter with this charge That if the Patient haue an ague hanging vpon him it be stamped and taken in water others may drink it well enough in wine Also the juice drawn forth of it when it is boiled is good for the diseases or rot of sheep Another Centaury there is syrnamed also in Greeke Lepton i. Small for that it hath little leaues in comparison of the other some name it Libadion for that it loueth to grow neere to springs or fountains it is somwhat like to Origan saue that the leaues be narrower and longer the stalk is cornered rising vp to a smal height to wit a hand-breadth or a span at most the same also putteth forth little branches the floure hath some resemblance of the red-Rose campion the root is small needlesse for any Physicke vse but the juice of the herb it selfe is of singular operation This herb would be gathered in Autumne when it is fresh full of leaues and floures for then it yeeldeth best iuice Some take the stalks and branches thred them smal let them lie infused in water 18 daies and then presse forth the juice This is that Centaury which we here in Italy call Fel Terrae i. the Gal of the earth by reason of the exceeding bitternesse which it hath the Gauls terme it Exacos because if it be drunk it sendeth downeward by seege out of the body any hurtfull poison whatsoeuer There is a third Centaury named Centauris knowne by the addition Triorches whosoeuer commeth to cut this herb he quits himselfe wel and escapeth faire if he wound not himselfe This plant yeeldeth forth a certaine red juice like vnto bloud Theophrastus hath deliuered in his history of Plants that the hawkes * Triorchides protect and defend this herbe are ready to incounter and fight with them that come to gather it wherupon it took the foresaid name Triorchis But many ignorant and vnskilfull persons there be who write confusedly of all these Centauries and attribute this last property and name to the first Centaurie the great CHAP. VII ¶ Of Clymenos Gentian Lysimachia Parthenis or Artemisia Ambrosia Nymphaea Heraclium and Euphorbium with their operations in Physicke THe herb Clymenos beareth the name of K. Clymenus the first inuenter and finder out therof Leafed it is like vnto Ivie full of branches the stalkes or stems be hollow and emptie within diuided by joints and partitions of a strong and vnpleasant smell the seed resembleth the grains or berries of Ivie and it taketh pleasure to grow in wilde woods and among mountains As touching the operations which it hath namely what diseases it cureth being taken in drink I will shew hereafter mean while I will not put off any longer but aduertise the Reader euen in this place That this herb as it doth good one way so it hurteth another for if they be men that drink it wel may it cure them of the maladies for which it is giuen but surely it killeth their naturall seed and disableth them for getting children so long as they vse it The Grecian writers described it to
Euphorbium The same being grown thick and hard if a man break it resembleth gum Ammoniacke Tast it neuer so little at the tongues end it setteth all the mouth on a fire and so continueth it a long time hot but more by fits vntill in the end it parcheth and drieth the chaws and throat also far within CHAP. VIII ¶ Of Plantain Buglosse and Borrage Of Cynoglossa or Hounds tongue Of Buphthalmus i. Oxe eie or Many-weed Of Scythica Hippice and Ischaemon Of Vettonica and Cantabrica Of * Consiligo and Hiberis Of Celendine the great Canaria and Elaphoboscos Of Dictamnum Aristolochie or Hertwort That fish are delighted so much therwith that they will make hast vnto it and be soon taken Also the medicinable vertues of those herbs aboue named THemison a famous Physitian set forth a whole booke of the herbe Way-bred or Plantaine wherein he highly praiseth it and challengeth to himselfe the honor of first finding it out notwithstanding it be a triuiall and common herb trodden vnder euery mans foot Two kinds of it be found the one which is the lesser hath also narrower leaues and inclining more to a blackish green resembling for all the world sheepe * or lambs tongues the stalke is cornered bending downward to the ground it growes ordinarily in medows The other is greater with leaues enclosed as it were within certain ribs resembling the sides of our body which being in number seuen gaue occasion to some herbarists for to call it Heptapleuron as a man would say the seuen ribbed herb The stem of this Plantain riseth to a cubit in height much like to that of the Naphew That which groweth in moist and waterie places is of greater vertue than the other Of wonderfull power and efficacy it is by the astringent quality that it hath for to dry and condensate any part of the body and serueth many times in stead of a cautery or searing yron And there is nothing in the world comparable vnto it in staying of fluxes and destillations which the Creeks call Rheumatismes To Plantain may be ioined the herb * Buglossos so called for that the leafe is like an Oxe tongue This herb hath one speciall property aboue the rest that if it be put into a cup of wine it cheareth the heart and maketh them that drink it pleasant and merry whereupon it is called Euphrosynon Vnto this for affinity of name it were good to annex Cynoglossos i. Hounds tongue for the resemblance that the leaues haue to a dogs tongue a proper herb for vinet-works and knots in gardens It is commonly said That the root of that Cynoglossos which putteth forth 3 stems or stalks and those bearing seed if it be giuen to drink cureth tertian agues but the root of that which hath foure is as good for the Quartains Another * Cynoglossos there is like to it which carrieth small burs the root whereof being drunke in water is a singular counterpoison against the venome of toads and serpents An herb there is with flours like vnto oxe eies wherupon it took the name in Greek * Buphthalmos the leaues resemble Fennel it groweth about town sides it shutteth forth stalkes from the root plentifully which being boiled are good to be eaten Some there be who call it Cachla This herb made into a salue with wax resolueth all * schirrous and hard swellings Other plants there be which beare the names not of men but of whole nations which first found them and their vertues out And to begin withall beholden we are to Scythia for that which is called Scythica It groweth notwitstanding in Boeotia and is exceeding sweet in tast Also there is another of that name singular good for the cramps called by the Greeks Spasmata An excellent property it hath besides for that whosoeuer holds it in their mouth shall for the time be neither hungry nor thirsty Of the same operation there is another herb among the Scythians or Tartars called Hippice because it workes the like effect in horses keeping them from hunger and thirst And if it be true that is reported the Scythians with these herbs wil endure without meat or drink for twelue daies together Touching the herbe Ischaemon the Thracians first found out the rare vertue that it hath in stanching bloud according as the very name implies For say they it wil stop the flux of bloud running and gushing out of a veine not only opened but also if it were â—…ut through It coucheth and creepeth low by the ground and is like vnto Millet but that the leaues be rough and hairy The manner is to stuffe the nosthrils therewith for to stay the bleeding at nose And that which groweth in Italy stancheth bloud if it be but hanged about the neck or tied to any part of the body The people in Spaine named Vettones were the first authors of that herb which is called in France * Vettonica in Italy Serratula and by the Greeks Cestron or Psychotrophon Surely an excellent herb this is and aboue all other simples most worthy of praise It commeth forth of the ground and riseth vp with a cornered stalke to the heigh of two cubits spreading from the very root leaues of the bignesse of Sorrell cut in the edges or toothed in manner of a saw with floures of a purple color growing in a spike seed correspondent therto The leaues dried and brought into pouder be good for very many vses There is a wine and vineger made or condite rather with Betony soueraign for to strengthen the stomack and clarifie the eiesight This glorious prerogatiue hath Betony that look about what house soeuer it is set or sowed the same is thought to be in the protection of the gods and safe enough for committing any offence which may deserue their vengeance and need any expiation or propitiatory sacrifice In the same Spain groweth * Cantabrica lately found by the people Cantabri and no longer since than in the daies of Augustus Caesar. This herb is to be seen euery where rising vp with a benty or rushy stalk a foot high vpon which you may behold small long floures like to cups or beakers wherein lie enclosed very small seeds Certes to speak the truth of Spain it hath bin alwaies a nation curious in seeking after simples And euen at this day in their great feasts where they meet to make merry Sans-nombre they haue a certain wassell or Bragat which goeth round about the table made of honied wine or sweet mead with a hundred distinct herbs in it and they are persuaded that it is the most pleasant and wholsomest drinke that can be deuised yet there is not one amongst them all who knoweth precisely what speciall herbs there be in all that number in this only they be all perfect that there go a hundred seuerall kinds therto according as the name doth import In our age we remember well that there was an hero discouered in
and indeed so like as oftentimes one is taken for the other howbeit the leaues be not altogether so white and more little branches it putteth forth bearing likewise a pale yellow floure cast this herb or strew it in any place all the moths there about will gather to it whereupon at Rome they call it Blattaria The herbe Lemonium yeeldeth a white juice much like vnto milke which will harden and grow together in manner of a gum and it groweth in moist places The weight of one denarius giuen in wine is a singular preseruatiue against the dangerous sting of serpents As for Cinque soile or fiue leaued grasse there is not one but knoweth it so common it is and commendable besides for the strawberries which it beareth The Greeks call it Pentapetes Chamaezelon or Pentaphyllon the Latines Quinquefolium The root when it is new digged looketh red but as it beginneth to drie aboue ground so it waxeth black and becommeth also cornered It tooke the common naâ—…e both in Greeke and Latine of the number of leaues which it beareth This herb herein is of great affinitie with the vine that they both bud spring leafe and shed the same together It is vsed also about purging blessing of the house against naughtie spirits or inchantments As for Sparganium an herb so called by the Greeks the root thereof is good to be giuen in white wine against venomous serpents Of Carrots Petronius Diodotus hath set downe 4 seueral kinds But what need I to go through them all foure seeing they may be reduced well enough into twaine and doe require no other distinctions The best and most approued Carrots be those of Candy the next to which in goodnesse come out of Achaia But generally in what countrey soeuer they grow the better be such as come vp in the sounder and drier grounds As touching the Candy Carot it resembleth fennel but that the leaues stand more vpon the white they be smaller also and hairy withall The stem groweth vpright a foot high and hath a root odoriferous to smell vnto and of a most pleasant tast this ioieth in stony places exposed to the South quarter of the world As for the other Carots of a wild nature In what countrey grow they not you shall finde them vpon earthie bankes and hils you shall haue them about high waies but neuer shal a man meet with them in a leane and hungry ground they loue a battle and fat soile their leaues come neare to the Coriander their stem ariseth to a cubit heigth bearing round heads three ordinarily and otherwhiles more the root is of a wooddy substance and being once dried it serueth to no purpose The seed of this kind is like vnto Cumin but of the former to Millet grain white quick and sharp and they be all odoriferous and hot in the mouth The seed of the second is more aegre and biting than the former and therefore ought to be taken in lesse quantitie As for the third kind if we list to make so many it is much like to the wild Parsnep called in Greek Staphylinos and in Latine Pastinaca Erratica the same beareth a seed somwhat long in form and a sweet root All the sort of these Dauci or Carots are safe enough from the bit of four-footed beasts both winter summer vnlesse it be after they haue cast their abortiue fruit before-time for then they seek therto to be clensed of their gleane Of all Carots the seeds be vsed only but that of Candie affordeth the root also which is sweet but both the seed of the one sort and the root of the other be most appropriat remedies against serpents a dram weight in wine is a sufficient dose at a time which also may be giuen in a drench to foure-footed beasts that be stung by them Touching the herb Therionarca I mean not that which the Magitians vse it groweth also in this part of the world here with vs in Italy many branches it putteth forth and springs thick with diuers shoots from the root the leaues be of a light green and the floure of a red-rose colour it killeth serpents outright besides it hath this property That if it be brought neere vnto any wild beast whatsoeuer it benummeth their sences whereupon it took that name Persolata which the Greek writers call Arcion there is not one but knoweth large leaues it hath and bigger than the very Gourds more hairy blacker also and thicker a white root and a great this root taken in wine to the weight of two deniers Roman is good likewise against the venom of serpents In like manner the root of Cyclaminus or Sow-bread is as effectual against them all leaues it hath somewhat resembling those of Ivy but that they be of a more duskish and sad greene smaller also and without corners wherein a man may perceiue certaine whitish specks The stem is little and hollow within the flours of a purple colour the root broad so as a man would take it to be a Turnep and couered ouer with a black rind it groweth in shadowy places Our countrymen here in Italy call it in Latine Tuber terrae that is to say The knur or bunch of the ground Sowne and planted it would be in euery garden about an house if so be it be true that is reported of it namely that wheresoeuer it groweth it is as good as a countercharm against al witchcraft and sorceries which kind of defensatiue is called properly Amuletum Moreouer this root they say if it be put into a cup of wine turneth the brain presently and maketh as many drunk as drink therof For the better keeping and preseruing of this root it must be ordered after the manner of Squilla or Sea-onion roots i. cut into thinne slices or roundles then dried and so laid vp the same also is vsually sodden to the consistence or thickenesse of hony As good as this root is in those former respects yet it is not without some venomous quality for it is commonly said That if a woman with child chance to step ouer it shee will fall presently to labour before her time and lose the fruit of her wombe A second kind of Cyclaminus or Swine bread I finde syrnamed by the Greekes Cissanthemos growing with stems full of knots or joints hollow within and good for nothing far different from the former winding and clasping about trees bearing berries much like to those of Ivy but they are soft a white floure faire and louely to see too but a needlesse root for any goodnesse in it the berries that it beareth be only in vse and those are of a sharp and biting tast yet they be viscous and clammy to the tongue these being dried in the shadow and stamped are afterwards reduced into certain bals or trosches My self haue seen a third kind also of Cyclaminos carying the name besides of Chamaecissos which brought forth but one only leafe the root was
herbe Flea-wort or Cotyledon otherwise called Vmbilicus veneris stamped with fried Barly meale into a cataplasme or els to take Iubarb i. Sengreen to the same effect The herbe Molon hath a stem chamfered or channelled along soft leaues those small a root foure fingers long in the end whereof it beareth an head like vnto Garlicke Some call it Syron Taken in wine it helpeth the stomack and difficulty of drawing breath In which cases the greater Centaury is singular if it be reduced into a lohoch or liquid electuary Plantain also eaten any way either in a green-sauce or sallad This composition is reputed a soueraign medicine Take of Betony stamped the weight of one pound of Atticke hony as much incorporat them together and hereof drinke euery day the quantity of halfe an ounce in some conuenient liquor or in water warm Aristolochia or Agarick are soueraigne meanes to be vsed in these infirmities if one drinke the weight of three oboli thereof either in warme water or asses milke The herb Cissanthemos is good to be drunk for those that be streight winded and must sit vpright when they draw their breath In the like case Hyssop is commended as also for pursiuenesse and shortnesse of wind The juice of Harstrang is an ordinary medicine for the griefe of the liuer the pains also of brests and sides in case the Patient be cleare of the ague As for Agarick it helpeth all such as spit bloud if the pouder thereof to the weight of one Victoriat be giuen in fiue cyaths of honied wine Of the same operation is Amomum But particularly for the liuer the herb Teucria is thought to be soueraign if it be taken fresh green to the weight of foure drams in one hemine of water and vineger mixed together One dram of Betony giuen in three cyaths of warm water or in tw ain of cold is thought to be a singular cordiall The iuice of Cinquefoile helpeth all the imperfections of the liuer and lights it cureth them that voyd or reach vp bloud and generally it serueth for al inward corruptions and distemperatures of the whole masse of bloud Both Pimpernels be wonderfull medicinable for the liuer Fumiterre the herb whosoeuer do eat shal purge choler by vrine Galangale is helpfull likewise to the liuer to the chest also and the midriffe or precordial parts The herb Caucon named also Ephedra and by some Anabasis groweth ordinarily in open tracts exposed to the wind it wil clime vpon trees and hang down from their boughs and branches Leafe it hath none but is garnished with a number of haires which are no other but rushes indeed full of ioints and knots the root is of a pale colour Let this herb be beaten to pouder and giuen in red wine that is greene and hard it is good for the cough for the shortnesse of wind and the wrings of the belly it may be taken also in some other supping whereto it were conuenient to put wine In like sort the infusion of one dram of Gentian which hath lien steeped the day before may be very wel taken in three cyaths of wine for those purposes Herb Benet or Auens hath a small root of a blackish colour which hath a good sent this herb not only cureth the pains of the brest and side but also discusseth all crudities proceeding of vnperfect digestion by reason of the pleasant sauour that it hath As for Veruaine it is medicinable vnto all the prrncipall and noble parts within the body good for the sides the lungs the liuer and the breast but most properly it respecteth the lungs and namely when the patient is in a phthy sick or consumption by the means of their vlcer The root of Bearfoot an herb which I said was but lately found out is a present remedie for swine sheep goats all such cattel in case they be diseased in the lights if it be but drawn crosse through any of their eares The same ought to bee drunke in water and a piece thereof continually held vnder the tongue As for any other part of this hearbe aboue ground be it leafe stalke floure or seed it is not yet certainly knowne whether it be good or no for any purpose in Physicke As for the kidneies the hearbe Plantaine is good to be eaten Betonie to be drunke Agaricke also to be taken in drinke like as for the cough Tripolium groweth vpon the rocks by the sea side on which the sea-water beateth so as a man cannot say that it is either in the sea or the drie land in leafe it resembleth woad but that it is thicker the stemme is a span or hand-breadth high forked and diuided at the point the root white odoriferous grosse and hot in taste when it is sodden in a frumenty pottage of wheat they giue it with good successe to those that be diseased in the liuer this is thought of some to be all one with Polium whereof I haue spoken in due place Symphonia or Gromphena an herbe hauing leaues some red others greene growing to the stem in order one red and another greene is a soueraigne medicine for such as reach and void vp bloud if it be taken in oxycrat or vineger water mingled together Melandryum is an herb found growing in corn-fields medows with a white floure and the same of a sweet and pleasant sent the smal stems therof be commended for the liuer in case they be stamped giuen in old wine Chalcetum commeth vp in vineyards which if it be punned serueth for a good cataplasme to be applied vnto the region of the liuer The root of Betony taken to the weight of foure drams in wine cuit or honied wine prouoketh vomit readily as well as Ellebore But for this purpose Hyssope is better being beaten in pouder and giuen with honey but order would be giuen before vnto the Patient to eat Cresses or Irio Molemonium also is of the like effect if it be taken to the weight of one denier Moreouer the herb Silybum hath a white juice like vnto milke which after it is thickened to the substance of a gum is vsually taken to the foresaid weight with hony for a vomitorie and doth euacuat cholericke humors especially On the contrary side wild Cumin and the poâ—…der of Betony if they be drunk with water do stay vomiting For to digest the crudities of the stomack and to rid away the loathing to meat Carrot is thought to be very good so is the pouder of Betony if it be taken in honied water and Plantain also boiled in potage after the manner of Coleworts or such like potherbs Hemonium staieth the painful yex oâ—… hocquet In like sort Aristolochia Clymenos giues liberty to draw the wind more freely The greater Centaury and Hyssop are singular in drink for the pleurisie and inflammation of the lungs The iuice of Harstrang principally is a proper remedy for those that haue the
pleurisie Touching that Plant which the French cal Halum the Venetians Cotonea it is holden excellent for the griefe of the sides for the reines those that be plucked with the cramp and bursten by any inward rupture this herb somwhat resembleth wild Origan or Marjeram saue that in the â—…ead it is like rather vnto Thyme sweet it is in tast and quencheth thirst a spungeous and â—…ht root it hath in one place white in another black Of the same operation for the paires of the â—…de is Chamaerops an herbe which hath leaues growing double about the stalk and those like vnto the Myrtle leaues and bearing certain buttons or heads much after the manner of the Greekish Rose and the way to take it is in wine Agarick drunk in that order as it was prescribed for the cough doth assuage the paine of the Sciatica and the back bone Semblably doth the pouder of dried Stoechas or Betony if it be taken in mead or honied water CHAP. VIII ¶ Of all the infirmities and remedies of the belly and those parts that either be adioining to it or within contained The means how to loosen and bind the belly TOuching the panch or belly much ado there is with it and although most men care for nothing els in this life but to content and please the belly yet of all other parts it putteth them to most trouble for one while it is so costiue as that it will giue no passage to the meat another while so slippery as it will keep none of it one time you shal haue it so peeuish as that it can receiue no food and another time so weake and feeble that it is able to make no good concoction of it And verily now adaies the world is growne to that passe that the mouth and panch together are the chiefe meanes to worke our death The wombe I say the wickedest vessell belonging to our bodies is euermore vrgent like an importunat creditour demanding debt and oftentimes in a day calleth vnto vs for victuals for the bellies sake especially we are so couetous to gather good for the belly we lay vp so many dainties and superfluities to content the belly we stick not to saile as far as the riuer Phasis and to please the belly we seek sound the bottome of the deep seas and when all is done no man euer thinketh how base and abject this part of the body is considering that filthy ordure and excrement which passeth from it in the end No maruell then if Physitians be much troubled about it and be forced to deuise the greatest number of medicines for the help and cure thereof And to begin with the staying and binding of it a dram of Scordotis the herbe stamped greene and taken in wine doth the feat so doth the decoction thereof if it be drunke Also Polemonia is a soueraigne herb to be giuen in wine for the bloudy flix The root of Mullen or Lungwort taken to the quantity of two fingers in water worketh the same effect The seed of Nymphaea Heraclea drunk in wine is of the like operation so is the vpper part of the double root of Glader or the Flagge ministred to the weight of two drams in vineger To this purpose also serueth Plantaine seed done into pouder and put into a cup of wine or the herb it selfe boiled with vineger or els frumenty pottage taken with the juice thereof Plantaine sodden with Lentils or the pouder of the dry herb strewed like spice into drinke together with the pouder of starched Poppie The iuice also of Plantain or of Betony put into wine that hath bin heat with a red hot gad of steele either ministred by clystre or drunk in the said case is very commendable Moreouer the same Plantain or Betony is singular to be giuen in some green or austere wine for those who are troubled with the lask proceeding from a weake stomack and for that purpose Iberis may be applied vnto the region of their belly as I haue before said In the disease Tinesmus which is an inordinat quarrell to the stool and a straining vpon it without doing any thing the root of Nemphar or Nymphaea Heraclia is singular good to bee drunk in wine likewise Fleawort taken in water the decoction of Galangale root the juice of Housleeke or Sengreene stoppeth the flux of the womb staieth the bloudy flix and chaseth out of the body the round worms The root of Comfrey and of the Carot stoppeth likewise the bloudy flix The leaues of Housleeke stamped and taken in wine are singular good against the wringing torments of the belly The pouder of dried Alcaea drunk cureth the said wrings Astragalus i. Pease Earth-nut an herb bearing long leaues indented with many cuts or jags and those which be about the root made bias riseth vp with three or foure stems full of leaues carieth a floure like to the Hyacinth or Crow toes the roots are bearded and full of strings enfolded one within another red of colour and exceeding hard in substance it groweth in rockes and stonie grounds exposed to the Sun and yet charged or couered with snow the most part of the yeare such as is the mountain Pheneus in Arcadia This herb hath an astringent power the root if it be drunk in wine bindeth the belly by which means it prouoketh vrine namely by driving backe the serous and watery humors to the reines like as most of those simples that be astringent that way are diureticall The same root stamped and taken in red wine healeth the exulceration of the guts thereby staieth the bloudy flix but suâ—…ely hard it is to bruise or stamp it the same is singular for the apostumation of the gums if they be fomented therwith the right season to draw and gather those roots is in the end of Autumne when the herb hath lost the leaues and then they ought to be dried in the shade Both sorts of Ladanum growing among corne be excellent for to knit the belly if they be stamped and searced The manner is to drink them in mead likewise in wine to represse choler Now the herb whereof Ladanum is made is called Lada groweth in the Island Cypros the liquor wherof sticketh commonly to goats beards The excellent Ladanum commeth out of Arabia There is a kind of it made now adaies in Syria and Africke which they call Toxicon for that in those countries the people vse to take their bow strings lapped about with wooll trail the same after them among those plants which beare Ladanum and so the fattie dew cleaueth therto Of this Ladanum I haue written more at large in my treatise of ointments redolent compositions but this later kind is strongest in sauor hardest in hande and no maruell for it gathereth much grosse and earthy substance whereas indeed the best Ladanum is commended and chosen when it is pure clear odoriferous soft green and full of rosin The nature
blew vnder the eies with hony it reduceth the place to the natiue colour againe The vapour or fume of the decoction of wormwood receiued into the eares assuageth their paine or if they run with corrupt matter it is good to apply the same reduced into pouder and incorporat in hony Take three or foure sprigs of wormwood one root of Nardus Gallicus boile them in six cyaths of water it is a soueraigne medicine to drinke for to prouoke vrine and bring downe the desired sicknesse of women or beeing taken simply alone with hony and withall put vp in a pessarie made with a locke of wooll it is of speciall operation to procure their monthly terms with honey and sal-nitre it is singular for the Squinancie it healeth chill-blanes if they be bathed with the decoction thereof in water applied vnto fresh or green wounds in a cataplasme before any cold water come vnto them it healeth them and besides in that manner it cureth the scals in the head being incorporat with Cyprian wax or figges and so applied to the flankes or hypochondrial parts it hath a particular vertue by it selfe to helpe their griefes Moreouer it killeth any itch Howbeit this would be noted that wormewood in no case must be giuen to those that haue an ague Let a man or woman vse to drinke wormewood they shall not be sea-sicke nor giuen to heauing as commonly they be that are at sea If wormewood be worne in a trusse to the bottome of the bellie it allayeth the swelling in the share The smell of wormewood procureth sleepe or if it be laid vnder the pillow or bolster prouided alwaies that the patient be not ware of it Either basted within cloaths or strewed vpon them it keepeth away the moth If one rub his body therewith and oile together it driueth gnats away so doth the smoke therof also when it burneth If writing inke be tempered with the infusion of wormewood it preserueth letters and bookes written therewith from being gnawne by mice The ashes of wormewood burnt and incorporate with oile Rosat to an ointment coloureth the haire of the head black There is yet another kinde of Sea-wormewood which some call Seriphium and excellent good is that which groweth about the city Taphositis in Aegypt Of this wormewood it is that the priests of Isis in their solemne marches and processions vse to beare branches before them The leaues be somewhat narrower than those of the former and the bitternesse not altogether so much An enemy it is to the stomacke howbeit the belly it loosneth and chaseth worms out of the guts for which purpose it is good to drink it with oile and salt or else the infusion therof in a supping or grewell made with the floure of the three moneth corne To make the decoction of wormwood well there would be taken a good handfull of wormwood and sodden in a sextar of water to the consumption of the one halfe CHAP. VIII ¶ Of stinking Horehound of Mille-graine or Oke of Ierusalem of Brabyla Bryon Bupleuros Catanance of Calla Circaea and Cersium of Crataeogonon and Thelygonum of Crocodilium and Cynosorchis of Chrysolachanon Cucubalon and Conserua STinking Horehound which some Greeks call Ballote others Melamprasion i. Black Horehound is an herbe tufted full of branches the stems be black and cornered the leaues wherwith they be clad and garnished are somewhat hairy resembling those of sweet or white Horehound but that they be bigger blacker and of a stinking sauor but the leaues stamped and applied with salt be very effectuall against the biting of a mad dog also if they be wrapped in a Colewort or Beet leafe and so rosted vnder the embers they are commended for the swelling piles in the fundament This Horehound made into a salue with honey clenseth filthie vlcers Botrys is an herb ful of branches and those of a yellowish colour and beset round with seed the leaues resemble Cichorie Found it is commonly growing about the banks of brookes and riuerets Good it is for them that be streight winded and cannot draw their breath but sitting vpright The Cappadocians call it Ambrosia others Artemisia As for Brabyla they be astringent in manner of Quinces More than so I find not any Author to write thereof Bryon no doubt is a Sea-herbe like in leaues to Lettuce but that they be riuelled and wrinkled as if they were drawne together in a purse no stem it hath and the leaues come forth at the bottom from the root it groweth ordinarily vpon rockes bearing out of the sea and ye shall find it also sticking to the shels of certaine fishes especially such as haue gathered any mud or earth about them The herbe is exceeding astringent and desiccatiue by vertue whereof it is a singular repercussiue in all impostumes and inflammations of the gout especially such as require to be repressed or cooled Touching Bupleuros I read that the seed thereof is giuen against the sting of serpents and that the wounds inflicted by them are to bee washed or somented with the decoction of the herb putting thereto the leaues of the Mulberrie tree or Origan Catanance is a meere Thessalian herb and growing no where els but in Thessalie and forasmuch as it is vsed only in amatorious matters and for to spice loue drinks withall I meane not to busie my selfe in the description therof howbeit thus much it would not be amisse to note for to detect and lay open the folly and vanities of Magitians namely that they went by this conjecture onely that it should be of power to win the loue of women because forsooth when it is withered it draweth it selfe inward like a dead Kites foot For the same reason also I will hold my tongue and say neuer a word of the herb Cemos Cala is of two sorts the one like to Aron which loueth to grow in toiled and ploughed grounds the time to gather this herb is before it begin to wither the same operation it hath that Aron and is vsed to the like purposes the root thereof is commended to be giuen in drink for a purgation of the belly and to prouoke the monethly termes of women the stalkes boyled leafe and all together with some pulse or other into a pottage and so taken cure the inordinate prouocations to the stoole and streinings therupon without doing any thing The second kind some call Anchusa others Rhinochisia the leaues resemble Lettuce but that they be longer ful of plume or down the root red which being applied with the floure of barly groats healeth shingles or any other kind of S. Anthonies fire but drunke in white wine cureth the infirmities of the liuer Circaeum is an herb like to winter Cherry or Alkakengi but for the flours which are black the seed small as the graine of Millet and the same groweth in huskes or bladders resembling little hornes the root is halfe a foot long forked for
vntoward for to be healed but a peculiar property it hath by it selfe to cure any vlcer occasioned by the snow Our Herbarists vse this kind much for the squinancy and to ease the head-ach make a garland thereof appointing it to be set vpon the head but to represse any violent catarrhs they prescribe to weare it about the neck In Tertian agues some giue direction to pluck it out of the ground with the left hand and then to tie it to the arm or other part of the patient And there is not an herb or plant that they be more careful to keep dry and to haue alwaies ready at hand than Polygonon for to stanch any issue or flix of bloud whatsoeuer Pancration which some chuse rather to cal the little Squilla or sea-onion beareth leaues resembling the white Lilly but that they be longer and thicker with a great bulbous root the same in color red The juice of it taken with the floure of Eruile maketh the belly laxatiue and outwardly applied mundifieth vlcers For the dropsie and hardnesse of the spleene it is giuen with hony in maner of a syrrup Some take the root and boile it in water vntill the liquour be sweet which they poure forth and then stamp the said root and reduce it into bals or trosches which they lay to dry in the Sun and vse them afterwards as occasion serueth for the skals or vlcers of the head and all other sores that require mundification Semblably they giue thereof as much as one may take vp with three fingers in wine for the cough and in a liquid electuarie or lohoch for the pleurisie and peripnewmonie They prescribe it likewise to be drunke in wine for the Sciatica to allay also the gripes and wrings of the belly and to procure the monethly termes of women Peplos called by some Syce by others Meconion Aphrodes from one smal root busheth into many branches the leaues be like vnto Rue but that they be somewhat broader the seed appeareth vnder the leaues round but that they be smaller not vnlike to the white Poppie Ordinarily it is found among Vines and they gather it in haruest time They hang it forth seed and all together a drying setting water vnderneath that the said seed or fruit may fall down into it If it be taken in drinke it purgeth the belly and doth euacuat both choler and fleagme The measure of one acetable is counted an ordinary and indifferent potion to be drunk in three hemines of mead or honied water With this seed they vse to pouder meats and viands thereby to keep the body soluble Periclymenos is also a bushie plant and loueth to branch much it beareth whitish soft leaues disposed two by two at certain spaces distances very orderly In the top of the branches it beareth hard seeds between the leaues which hardly may be plucked off It groweth in tilled corn fields hedges winding about euery thing that it can catch hold of for to support and beare it vp The seed after it is dried in the shade folk vse to pun in a morter and so to make it vp into trochisks In case that the spleen be swollen or hard they take of these trosches and after they be dissolued giue thereof a sufficient quantity in 3 cyaths of white wine for 30 daies together which drink is of such operation that it will wast and spend the spleen partly by vrine which wil appeare bloudy and partly also by seege and this will be perceiued sensibly by the tenth day of the cure The leaues also be diureticall and a decoction made with them prouokes vrine The same likewise are good for those that cannot draw their wind but sitting with their body vpright Being drunk in like manner they help women who are in sore trauell to speedie deliuerance and fetch away the after-birth As touching Pelecinum it groweth as I said before among corn branching thick and garnished with leaues like vnto the cich pease It beareth seed in certain cods which crook in manner of little horns and those be four or fiue in number together The said seed resembleth Gith so far as euer I could see and is bitter but good for the stomack one of the ingredients that goe into antidotes and preseruatiues against poison Polygala reacheth vp with a stem a span high in the top wherof it beareth leaues resembling the Lentils of an astringent tast which being drunk causeth nources to haue plenty of milk in their breasts Poterion or as some call it Phrynion or Neurada brancheth and spreadeth much armed it is with sharp pricks and besides full of a kind of thick down the leaues be small and round the branches slender long soft and pliable the floure in form long of a grasse green color The seed is of no vse in Physick but of a quick and sharp tast odoriferous also and pleasant to the smell It is found growing as well in watery places as also vpon little hils Two or three roots it hath which run down two cubits deep into the ground ful of cords or sinews white and of a firm and hard substance About Autumne they vse to dig round about it hauing before cut the plant it selfe aboue ground which yeeldeth thereby a juice like vnto a gum The root is by report of wonderfull operation in healing wounds and especially of sinews cut in sunder if it be applied thereto in a liniment Also the decoction thereof drunke with honey in manner of a syrrupe helpeth the feeblenesse and dissolution of the sinewes and namely when they bee wounded and cut Phalangites by some is called Phalangion by others Leucanthemon or as I find in some copies Leucacantha Little branches it putteth forth neuer fewer than twaine and those tending directly a contrary way The floures white fashioned like the red Lilly the seed blacke broad and flat shaped after the manner of halfe a Lentill but much lesse and the root is of a greenish colour The leafe floure and seed of this herbe is a singular remedie against the venomous sting of scorpions the spiders Phalangia and serpents also for the wringing torments of the belly As for Phyteuma somewhat els I haue to do rather than to describe it considering there is no vse of it but in amatorious medicines to procure womens loue There is an herbe called by the Greekes Phyllon growing vpon stony mountaines standing much vpon a rocke The female of this kinde is of a deepe greene colour the stem is slender the root small the seed round and like vnto that of Poppie This hearbe serueth for the getting and conceiuing either of boyes or girles according as the male or the female is vsed which differ only in seed or fruit which in the male resembleth an oliue that is new come forth and biginneth only to shew But both of them are for the said purpose to be drunke in wine Phellandrion groweth in moory grounds and in leafe
shels and all into a plaister or liniment but especially such as be found sticking to the roots of shrubs and bushes The ashes of the serpent Aspis calcined are likewise very good for this disease if they be incorporat with buls tallow so applied Some vse snakes grease and oil together also a liniment made with the ashes of snakes burnt tempered either with oil or wax Moreouer it is thought that the middle part of a snake after the head and taile both be cut away is very wholsome meat for those who haue the kings euill or to drink their ashes being in the same manner prepared and burnt in a new earthen pot neuer occupied mary if the said snakes chanced to be killed between two cart-tracts where the wheeles went the medicine will look much more effectually Some giue counsell to apply vnto the affected place Crickets digged out of the earth with the mould and al that commeth vp Also to apply Pigeons dung only without any thing els or at the most to temper it with Barley meale or Oatmeale in vinegre Likewise to make a liniment of a Moldwarps ashes incorporat with hony Some there be who take the liuer of a Moule crush and bruise it between their hands working it into a liniment and lay the same to the sore and there let it drie on the place and wash it not off in three daies And they affirme That the right foot af a Moule is a singular remedie for this disease Others catch some of them cut off their heads stampe them with the mould that they haue wrought and cast vp aboue ground reduce them into certain trochisks which they keep in a box or pot of tinne and vse them by way of application to all tumors and impostumes which the Greeks call Apostemata and especially those that rise in the necke but then they forbid the patient to eat porke or any swines flesh during the cure Moreouer there is a kind of earth-beetles called tauri i. Buls which name they took of the little hornes that they carry for otherwise in colour they resemble tickes some tearme them Pedunculos terrae earth lice These also worke vnder the ground like wants and cast vp mould which serueth in a liniment for the Kings euil such like swelling as also for the gout in the feet but it must not be washed off in three daies space Howbeit this is to be noted that this medicine must be renued euery year for the said mould wil continue no longer in vertue than one year In sum there be attributed to these beetles all those medicinable properties which I haue assigned vnto the crickets called Grylli Moreouer some there be who vse in manner and cases aforesaid the mould which ants do cast vp Others for the Kings euil take iust as many mads or earthworms in number as there be wens gathered and knotted together and bind the same fast vnto them letting them to drie vpon the place and they are persuaded that the said wens will drie away and consume together with them There be again who get a Viper about the rising of the Dog star cut off the head and taile as I said before of snakes and the middle part betweene they burne the ashes that come thereof they giue afterwards to be drunke for three weeks together euery day as much as may be comprehended and taken vp at three fingers ends and thus they cure and heale the kings euill Moreouer there be some that hang a Viper by a linnen thread fast tied somewhat vnder the head so long till she be strangled and dead and with that thread bind the soresaid wens or Kings euill promising vnto their patients assured remedie by this meanes They vse also the Sowes called Multipedae and incorporat the same with a fourth part in proportion to them of true Turpentine and they be of opinion That this ointment or salue is sufficient to cure any impostumes whatsoeuer As touching the paines that lie in the shoulders there is a proper medicine made in forme a liniment with the ashes of a Weazill tempered with wax which easeth the same To keepe young boies from hauing any haire growing on their face that they may seem alwaies young it is good to annoint their cheekes and chin with Ants egges Also the marchants or hucksters that buy yong slaues to sell them againe for gaine vse to hinder the growth of hair as well of the visage as in the armeholes and vpon the share that they may be taken for young youths still by annointing those parts with the bloud that commeth from lambs when they be libbed which ointment doth good also to the armpits for to take away the ranke and rammish smell thereof but first the haire there growing ought to be pulled vp by the roots Now that I am come to speake of the precordiall region of the body know this That by this one word Praecordia I meane the inwards or entrailes in man or woman called in Latine Exta whensoeuer then there shall be pain felt in these parts or any of them apply thereto a yong sucking whelpe and keepe it hard huggled to the place doubtlesse the said griefe will passe away from the part to the puppie it selfe as men say and this hath been found true by experience in one of those whelpes ripped and opened aliue and the said bowels taken forth for looke what part in man or woman was grieued the very same was seene infected thereupon in the puppie And such whelpes thus vsed for the curing and taking vpon them our maladies were wont to be enterred with great reuerence and ceremoniall deuotion As touching the pretty little dogs that our daintie dames make so much of called Melitaei in Latine if they be euer and anon kept close vnto the stomacke they ease the paine therof And in very truth a man shall perceiue such little ones to be sicke yea and many times to die thereupon whereby it is euident that our maladies passe from vs to them CHAP. VI. ¶ Of the diseases incident to the lights and liuer Of those that vse to cast and reach vp bloud at the mouth MIce are very good for the infirmities of the lungs especially those of Barbarie if they be first flaied then sodden in oile and salt and so giuen to the patient for to eat Thus prepared and vsed they cure them that either spit purulent and filthy matter or else reach vp shere bloud But a dish of meat made of snailes with shels is most excellent for the stomacke But for the better ordering and dressing of them first they ought to siver ouer the fire and take a few waulmes till they be parboiled without touching or medling one jot with their body afterwards they must be broiled vpon the coales without putting any thing in the world vnto them and then to be serued vp in wine and fish pickle or brine called Garum and so eaten But the best for
againe is subiect no more vnto putrifaction And as for cesterne waters the Physicians also themselues confesse That they breed obstructions and schirrhosities in the bellie yea and otherwise be hurtfull to the throat As also that there is not any kinde of water whatsoeuer which gathereth more mud or engendreth more filthie and illfauoured vermine than it doth Neither followeth it by and by that all great riuer waters indifferently are the best no more than those of any brooke or the most part of ponds and pooles are to bee counted and esteemed most wholesome But of these kinds of water wee must conclude and resolue with making destinction namely That there be of euery sort thereof those which are singular and very conuenient howbeit more in one place than in another The kings and princes of Persia bee serued with no other water for their drinke but from the two riuers Choaspes and Eulaeus onely And looke how farre soeuer they make their progresse or voyage from them two riuers yet the water thereof they carry with them And what might the reason be therefore Certes it is not because they be riuers which yeeld this water that they like the drinke so well for neither out of the two famous riuers Tygris and Euphrates nor yet out of many other faire and commodious running streames doe they drinke Moreouer when you see or perceiue any riuer to gather abundance of mud and filth wote well that ordinarily the water therof is not good nor wholesome and yet if the same riuer or running streame bee giuen to breed great store of yeeles the water is counted thereby wholesome and good ynough And as this is a token of the goodnesse so the wormes called Tineae engendered about the head or spring of any riuer is as great a signe of coldnesse Bitter waters of all others bee most condemned like as those also which soone follow the spade in digging and by reason that they lie so ebbe quickly fill the pit And such be the waters commonly about Troezen As for the nitrous brackish and salt waters found among the desarts such as trauell through those parts toward the red sea haue a deuise to make them sweet and potable within two houres by putting parched barley meale into them and as they drinke the water so when they haue done they feed vpon the said barly grots as a good and wholsom gruel Those spring waters are principally condemned which gather much mud and settle grosse in the bottome those also which cause them to haue an il colour who vse to drink thereof It skilleth also very much to mark if a water staine any vessels with a kinde of greene rust if it be long before pulse will be sodden therein if being poured vpon the ground it be not quickly sucked in and drunk vp and lastly if it fur those vessels with a thicke rust wherein it vseth to be boiled for all these be signes of bad water Ouer and besides it is a fault in water not only to stink but also to haue any smack or tast at all yea though the same be pleasant and sweet enough and inclining much to the rellice of milk as many times it doth in diuers places In one word would you know a good and wholsome water indeed Chuse that which in all points resembleth the aire as neere as is possible At Cabura in Mesopotamia there is a fountaine of water which hath a sweet and redolent smel setting it aside I know not any one of that qualitie in the whole world againe but hereto there belongs a tale namely that this spring was priuiledged with this extraordinary gift because queen Iuno forsooth sometimes bathed and washed her selfe therein for otherwise good and wholesome water ought to haue neither tast nor odor at all Some there be who iudge of their wholsomnesse by their ballance and they keep a weighing and poising of waters one against another but for all their curiositie they misse of their purpose in the end for seldom or neuer can they find one water lighter than another Yet this deuise is better and more certain namely to take two waters that be of equal measure and weight for looke whether of them heateth and cooleth sooner the same is alwaies the better And for to make a trial herof lade vp some seething water in a pale or such like vessel set the same down vpon the ground out of your hand to ease your arm of holding it hanging long in the aire and if it be good water they say it will immediatly of scalding hot become warm and no more Well what waters then according to their sundry kindes in generalitie shall we take by all likelihood to be best If we go by the inhabitants of cities and great towns surely wel-water or pit water I see is simply the wholsomest But then such wels or pits must be much frequented that by the continual agitation and often drawing thereof the water may be more purified and the terren substance passe away the better by that means And thus much may suffice for the goodnesse of water respectiuely to the health of mans body But if we haue regard to the coldnesse of water necessarie it is that the Wel should stand in some coole and shadowie place not exposed to the Sun and nathelesse open to the broad aire that it may haue the full view and sight as it were of the sky And aboue all this one thing would be obserued and seen vnto that the source which feedeth it spring and boile vp directly from the bottom and not issue out of the sides which also is a main point that concerns the perpetuitie thereof and whereby we may collect that it will hold stil and be neuer drawn dry And this is to be vnderstood of water cold in the owne nature For to make it seem actually cold to the hand is a thing that may be done by art if either it be forced to mount aloft or fal from on high by which motion and reuerberation it gathers store of aire And verily the experiment hereof is seene in swimming for let a man hold his winde in he shall feele the water colder by that means Nero the Emperor deuised to boile water when it was taken from the fire to put it into a glasse bottle and so to set it in the snow a cooling and verily the water became therby exceeding cold to please and content his tast and yet did not participate the grossenesse of the snow nor draw any euill qualitie out of it Certes all men are of one opinion that any water which hath been once sodden is far better than that which is still raw Like as that after it hath been made hot it will become much colder than it was before which I assure you came first from a most subtil and witty inuention And therefore if we must needs occupy naughty water the only remedy that we haue to alter the badnesse thereof
is to seeth it wel vntil the one halfe be consumed Now if a man desire to know the vertue and commoditie of cold water first it ordinarily stancheth any flux of bloud if it be cast vpon the place Also if one be not able to endure the heate in a bain or hot-house the best way to auoid this inconuenience is to hold in his mouth cold Water all the while Moreouer many a man hath found by a verie familiar experience that the coldest water in the mouth is not alwaies the coldest in the hand And contrariwise when it is exceeding cold without to be felt it is not so sensibly cold within to be drunk Of all Waters in the world that which wee call here in Rome Martia carrieth the greatest name by the generall voice of the whole City in regard both of coldnesse and wholesomnesse And verily we may esteeme this water for one of the greatest gifts that the gods haue bestowed vpon our city In times past it was called Auffeia and the very fountaine from whence it commeth Piconia The head or source thereof ariseth at the foot of the vtmost mountains of the Pelignians it runneth through the Marsians country and passing through the lake Fucinus it tendeth no doubt euen then directly toward Rome but anon it is swallowed vp within a hole vnder the ground so as it is no more seen vntill it shew it selfe again in the territorie of the Tiburtines from which place it is conueyed vnder vaults and so carried through to Rome by arch-worke for the space of nine miles The first that began to bring this water to the city was Ancus Martius one of the Roman Kings Afterwards Qu. * Martius Rex in his Pretorship finished the said worke and when in processe of time it was fallen to decay M. Agrippa repaired it againe who also brought the water named Virgo to the city which hath her head eight miles from Rome in a certaine nouke or by-corner about two miles turning from the great port way leading to Praeneste Neere vnto it runneth the riuer Herculaneus but this water keepeth stil behinde as though it fled from it whereupon it tooke the name Virgo Compare these two riuers together which are conueyed to Rome you shall see the difference beforesaid as touching the coldnesse of waters for looke how cold Virgo is to the hand so much is Martia in the mouth But long ago haue wee of Rome lost the pleasure and commoditie of these two Rills through the ambition and auarice of some great men who haue turned away these waters from the City where they yeelded a publique benefit to the Commonwealth and deriued them for their priuat delight and profit into their owne mannors and houses in the country for to water their gcrdens and serue to other vses And here in this place I thinke it not impertinent to adioine to this present treatise the maner and skill of searching and finding out waters And first to speake in general terms springs ordinarily be found in Vallies in the pitch or crest of some little hill where it hath a fall and descent or else at the foot of great mountaines Many are of opinion That in any tract whatsoeuer that side or coast which regardeth the North is giuen to haue water in it And verily it were not amisse to shew how Nature disporteth her selfe and worketh variably in this behalfe First a man shall neuer see it raine on the South side of the mountaines in Hyrcania which is the reason that on that part onely which lieth to the North they are giuen to beare wood and be full of forrests But Olympus Ossa Pernassus Apenninus and the Alpes be replenished with Woods on all sides and are furnished with their Springs and Riuers euerie where In some countries the hills be greene and watered on the South side onely As for example in Candy the mountaines called Albi so that there is no heed to be taken by this for the rule holdeth not alwayes But to come now vnto particulars Looke where you see growing Rushes Reeds or the Herbe whereof I made relation before be sure you shall find water vnderneath Item Wheresoeuer you finde Froggs lying in any place vpon their breasts make account of good store of water there As for the wilde and wandering Sallow the Aller tree Agnus-Castus or Yvie they come vp many times of their owne accords in some low grounds where there is a setling or stay of raine water fallen from higher places insomuch as they that goe by these signes to finde some Spring may soone be deceiued A surer aime yet by farre is a mist or exhalation which a man may discouer a farre off a little before the Sunne rising And for to espie it the better some there be who get vp into an high place and lay themselues grouelong with their chinnes touching the ground and by that meanes discerneth where any such smoke or vapor doth arise There is also another speciall means besides to find out Waters but knowne it is vnto those onely who be skilfull and expert in this feat For they that are guided by this direction to Water goe forth in the hottest season of the yeare and about the noone-tide of the day to marke the reuerberation of the Sunne beames in any place for if this repercussion and rebounding appeare moist and namely when the face of the earth looketh dry and thirstie they then make nodoubt but to finde Water there But they had need to looke so intentiuely and earnestly that oftentimes their eyes ake and be pained withall For auoiding which trouble and inconuenience some betake themselues to other experiments and namely they dig a trench or ditch fiue foot deep within the ground the mouth wherof they couer all ouer with earthen vessels of potters worke vnbaked or els with a barbars brasen bason well enhuiled and withall a lamp burning ouer all which they make a little arch-work of leaues and boughs and mould thereupon Now if they come within a while after to this place and either see the earthen pots broken or wet or perceiue a dew or sweat standing vpon the brasse or finde the lamp aforesaid gon out and yet no want of oile to maintaine light or if they feele a lock of wool which they hung within the trench to be moist they assure themselues they shall find water if they sink the pit deeper Some there be who for better assurance hereof make a fire in the place and burne it throughly for then the vessels aforesaid if they proue to be wet giue a more infallible hope of a spring Moreouer the very leire it selfe of the soile if it be spotted with white specks or be altogether of a reddish bright colour promiseth spring water to be vnderneath for if the ground look black lightly the water wil soon fail if there be any spring there found If you chance to light vpon a vein of potters clay or chalk make
the edges and by this signe they know the oisters of the best kind and race from others and call them by a proper name Calliblephara Oisters delight as I may so say to trauell into strange quarters to be transported from their naturall seat into other vnknown waters Thus the oisters bred about Brindis and remoued from thence to the lake Auernus and beeing there fed are suppoposed by that means to keep still their own natiue juice and humidity and besides to gain nouriture by the moisture of Lucrinus Thus much as touching the substance and body of Oisters it remaineth now to speake of those parts and tracts where the best oisters are to be had to the end that such coasts may not be defrauded of the honour due and appertaining vnto them But of this point speake I will by the tongue of another and alledge his speech who is thought to haue written hereof with best judgement of any man in our time These therefore bee the verie words of Mutianus which I will put downe as followes The oisters quoth he of Cyzicum taken about the straights of Callipolis be the fairest of all other and bigger than those which are fed or bred in the lake Lucrinus sweeter than those of Brittain more pleasant in the mouth than the Edulian quicker in tast than those of Leptis fuller than the Lucensian drier than those of Coryphanta more tender than the Istrian and last of all whiter than the oister of Circeij and yet there haue not bin found any oisters either more sweet or tender than these last named The Historiographers who wrote of Alexanders voiages and exploits haue left in writing that within the Indian sea there be oisters found a foot long euery way Moreouer there is among vs a certain Nomenclator or Controller belonging to one of our prodigall and wastful spend thrifts here at Rome who haue giuen a proper name to certain oisters and termed them Tridacna his desire was by that significant name to expresse thus much That they were so big as that they would make three good bits or mouths-full a piece Now proceed I will to their medicinable vertues before I go any further in this very place set down how far forth they serue in physick First and formost they be the only meat to comfort and refresh a decaied stomack they recouer an appetite that was cleane gone But see the practise of our delicat wantons to coole oisters forsooth they must needs whelm couer them all ouer with snow which is as much as to bring the tops of mountaines and bottom of the Sea together and make a confused medley of all This good moreouer do oisters that they gently loose the belly and make a body soluble seeth the same with honied wine they cure the Tinesme which is an inordinat and bootlesse desire to the stoole without doing any thing especially if the tiwil which is the place affected be not exulcerat oisters likewise so prepared clens and mundifie the vlcers of the bladder eat them in their shel with their water as they came closed and shut from the sea you shall find them wondrous good for any rheumes or distillations The ashes of an oister shell calcined and incorporat with honey be singular for the paine of the uvula and assuage the inflammation of the tonsils semblably they represse the swelling kernels that rise vnder the ears assuage the biles and botches called Pani mortifie the hard tumours of womens brests and heal the sores or scalls of the head if they be applied accordingly with water and in the same order prepared they rid away wrinkles and make womens skin to lie smooth and euen These ashes are a soueraigne powder to be cast vpon any place that is raw by reason of a burne or scalding and the same is commended for an excellent dentifrice to clense whiten the teeth withall temper the said ashes with vineger it killeth the itch and healeth angrie wheales the small pocks also and meazils Oisters punned raw and reduced into a cataplasme heale the kings euill and kibed heels if they be applied accordingly Moreouer the Shell-fishes called Purples are very good against poison As for the reits Kilpe Tangle such like sea-weeds Nicander saith they are as good as treacle Sundry sorts there be of these reits going vnder the name of Alga as I haue already declared some are long leafed some large others of a reddish colour and some haue curled and jagleaues the best simply of all others be they of the Island Creta which grow near the ground vpon rocks and namely for to dye wooll woollen cloth for they set so sure a colour as neuer will shed or be washed off afterwards Nicander giueth direction to take the said treacle in wine CHAP. VII ¶ Medicines against the shedding of haire For to colour the haire of the head Also against the accidents of the eares teeth and vis age IF by occasion of some infirmity the haire be fallen off or grow very thin the ashes of the fish called the Sea-hors mingled with sal-nitre and swines grease or applied simply with vineger replenish the bare places with new haire and cause it to come vp thick again and for to apply such medicines for this purpose the pouder of a cuttle bone prepareth the skinne well before-hand Also the ashes of the sea-Tortoise incorporat with oile of a sea-vrchin likewise burnt and calcined flesh and all together as also the gall of a scorpion be appropriat medicines to recouer haire that was lost In like maner take the ashes of 3 frogs burnt together aliue in an earthen pot meddle them with hony it is a good medicine to cause haire to grow but the operation will be the better in case the same be tempered with liquid pitch or tar If one bee disposed to colour the haire of the head black let him take horse-leeches which haue putrified and been resolued together in some grosse red wine for the space of 60 daies he shall find this to be an excellent medicine Others there be who giue order to put as many horse-leeches as a sextar will hold in two sextars of vineger and let them putrifie within a vessell of lead as many daies together and when they be reduced into the form of a liniment to annoint the haire in the sunshine for the same purpose And Sornatius attributeth so much power vnto this composition that vnlesse they that haue the annointing of the haire with it hold oile in their mouths all the while their teeth also by his saying who haue the doing of it wil turn black The ashes of Burrets or Purples shels incorporat in hony serue passing well in a liniment to heale scald heads and the pouder of the foresaid fish shels although they be not burnt and calcined tempered with water is as good for the head-ach Of the same operation is Castoreum incorporat with Harstrang in oile rosat The fat or grease of all fishes
of salnitre it healeth corrupt and putrified vlcers such as stink again the same being boiled in hony with Nigella Romana doth gently loose the belly if the naual be anointed therwith To conclude M. Varro saith that gold wil cause werts to fal off CHAP. V. ¶ Of Borras and the six medicinable properties that it hath the wonderfull Nature thereof in sodring one mettall with another and in bringing all mettals to their perfection CHrysocolla called otherwise Borax or green earth is found in those pits and mines that are digged for gold and a humor it is at the first running along the veine of gold which as it thickneth and groweth muddy congealeth at length by the extreame cold of winter to the hardnesse of a pumish stone Howbeit the best kind of Borax we haue known by experience to be ingendred in mines of brasse and the next to it for goodnes in those of siluer otherwhiles also men meet withal in leaden mines but the same is not so good as that which the gold mines doe yeeld Moreouer there may be an artificiall Borras made in all the said mettall mines but far inferior to that which is naturall namely by letting water gently to run among their veines all winter long vntill the month of Iune the which water in Iune Iuly wil grow to be dry and prooue Borras whereby a man may perceiue plainely that Borras is nothing els but a putrified vein of mettall But this Minerall if it be of the own kind differeth from this other which is made by art of man especially in hardnesse for much harder it is and called the yellow Borax or in Latine Lutea and yet it may be brought to that colour by artificiall means namely by dying with an herb called likewise Lutea for of this nature it is that it will take color drink it in as well as linnen or woollen But for to dresse and prepare it for the purpose first they pun it in a morter then they let it passe through a fine serce afterwards it is ground or beaten againe so it is serced a second time through a finer serce whatsoeuer passeth not through but remaineth behind must be punned once more in a mortar so ground into a small pouder and euer as they haue reduced any into pouder they put it into sundry pots or cruses then they let the same to lie enfused and soked in vinegre till the hardnes therin be wholly resolued which done to the mortar it goeth againe where it must be throughly stamped for altogether and so when it is well washed out of one trey or boll into another they let it dry after it is thus prepared they giue it a colour with the herb Lutea beforesaid and alume de plume and thus you see it must be painted and died first before it selfe serue to paint or die withall And herein it skilleth much how pliable apt it is to receiue the said color for vnlesse it haue willingly taken a deep tincture they vse to put therto Schytanum and Turbystum for so they call two drugs which serue to make it take a color the better This Borax thus died our painters vse to call Orobitis and two kinds they make therof to wit Lutea i. the yellow which they keep for the pouder or colour Lomuntum the other liquid namely when the said grains or pellets be resolued into a kind of moisture like drops of sweat This Borax of both sorts is made in the Isle Cypros The principall and best of all other comes from Armenia in a second degree from Macedonia but the greatest quantity therof is in Spain The excellent Borax is known by this mark especially If it resemble perfectly in colour the deep and full green that is in the blade of corn wel liking In our time namely in the daies of the Emperor Nero the floore of the grand cirque or shew-place at Rome was seen paued all ouer with greene Boras at what time as he exhibited goodly sights and pastimes to the people and namely when he meant himselfe to run a race with charriots and took pleasure to driue his horses vpon a ground sutable to the colour of the cloth or liuerie that he wore himself at that time and in truth a world of workemen he brought thither to lay the said pauing Al the sorts of Boras may be reduced into three distinct kinds to wit the rough valued at seuen denarij a pound the meane which is worth fiue and the poudred Boras called also the grasse-green Borax which costeth not aboue three deniers the pound As for the sandie or poudred Boras the painters before they vse it lay the first ground vnderneath it of vitrioll and Paraetonium and then the Borax aloft for these things take it passing well besides giue a pleasant lustre to the color This Paraetonium for that it is most fattie vnctious by nature for the smoothnes besides most apt to sticke too and take hold ought to be laid first vpon which must follow a course of the vitrioll ouer it for feare least the whitenes of the foresaid Paraetonium do pall the greenesse of the Borax which is to make the third coat As for the Borax called Lutea some thinke it tooke that name of the herbe Lutea which also if it be mixed and tempered with azure or blew maketh a greene which many do lay and paint withall in stead of Borax which as it is the cheapest greene of all other so is it a most deceitfull colour Borax doth not onely serue painters but is much vsed also by Physicians and namely to mundifie wounds and vlcers if it be made into a salue with wax and oile and dry as it is of it selfe in pouder it hath a desiccatiue qualitie and doth conglutinat and sodder very well being mixed with hony into an electuarie they giue it inwardly vnto those that haue the squinancie and cannot draw their wind but sitting vpright and so it prouoketh vomit Moreouer it entreth into many collyries or eie-salues especially to consume and discusse the cicatrices and filmes growing with in the eie it goeth also to the making of green plasters such as be applied either to mitigat paine or to heale the skin And verily this Borax not artificially died thus emploied in Physick the Physicians call Acesin and is not that which men name Orobitis and which receiueth a tincture from mans hand Furthermore there is a Borax or Chrysocolla that goldsmiths occupie especially about sodring their gold of this kind al the rest take the name also of Chrysocolla This is altogether artificiall and is made of Cyprian Verdegris or rust of brasse the vrin of a yong lad and salnitre tempered all together incorporat in a brasen morter stamped with a pestill of the same mettall Our countrymen in Latin call this Borax Santerna with it they vse to sodder that gold especially which standeth much vpon
the name of Miltos and yet some terme it Cinnabari and hereof arose the error occasioned by the Indian name Cinnabari For so the Indians call the bloudy substance of a dragon crushed and squeesed with the weight of the Elephants lying vpon them ready to die to wit when the said dragons are full with sucking out the Elephants bloud before and now their owne and it are mingled together according as I haue shewed before in the story of those beasts And verily there is not a color besides which expresseth the liuely colour of bloud in pictures so properly as Minium As for that other Cinnabaris of India it is most wholsom to be put into antidots preseruatiues and countrepoisons yea and other souerain medicines to be taken inwardly But our physitians beleeue me for that by an error Minium or vermilion is called Cinnabaris vse in stead of Sanguis draconis the said Minium which in very truth is no better than a meere poison as I will shew anon Wel in old time they vsed to draw those pictures and pourtraits which consist of one single colour and bee called Monochromata with this colour Cinnabaâ—…s They painted also with the Minium of Ephesus but they gaue it ouer in processe of time because such colors were so costly required such pains ere they were prepared and made perfect Besides both the one and the other were thought to be ouer-quick and stinging in hand and therfore they betook themselues to the red earth Rubrica and Sinopis of which colours I will speak more in their proper places But to returne again to Cinnabaris or Sangdragon it is sophisticated and corrupted either with Goats bloud or else with the fruit of Seruoises punned But the true Cinnabaris or Sangdragon is worth fifty Sesterces by the pound As for Minium or Vermilion aforesaid K. Iuba saith that it groweth plentifully also in Carmania And Hermogenes affirmeth that Aethiopia likewise is not without good store of it But from neither of those two countries is it brought vnto vs nor to say a truth out of any other place but Spain The best and most excellent is that which comes out of the territory of Sisapone in the Realm of Granada or Boetica a part of Spain euen from a Mine of Vermilion there which payeth a great custome and yeelds much reuenue to the people of Rome and there is nothing looked to more streightly for feare of fraud and imposture for lawfull it is not there to dresse and refine it but vncocted and crude is it brought to Rome in the masse as it lay within the vein sealed by the sworn masters of the mine which yeelds one yeare with another 10000 pound weight or much thereabout At Rome it is washed and a price there is set vpon it by an expresse Act namely That it should not be sold aboue seuentie deniers the pound But many wayes is it sophisticated whereby the societie and fellowship of the Publicanes who had the ordering of it at Rome robbed the Commonweale and gained themselues For a second kind there is of Minium found almost in euerie mine of siluer lead the which is made of a certain stone intermingled in the veins of those mettals after the same is burnt and not of that red stone which yeeldeth forth the humor that I named before Quicke-siluer for this stone may it selfe by boiling be brought to siluer but of other red pieces of earth found together with the said true Vermilion which are knowne to be barraine and void of the right Vermilion onely by the leaden hue which they haue for vnlesse it be in the furnace they neuer wax red and then being fully burnt and calcined they are beaten to pouder This is that Minium of a second sort and much inferiour vnto those naturall pouders and sands of the true Minium notwithstanding very few there bee that know it Well this is that Minium wherewith the true Vermilion is sophisticated in the Worke-houses and shops of those Publicanes whose Companie and Fellowship had the ordering of it like as it is corrupted also with Scyricum But how this colour Scyricum is made I will in due place write hereafter Certes our painters to giue the better lustre vnto Minium yea and to saue charges haue deuised to lay the first ground vnder it of this Scyricum Besides this they haue another cast to gain or steale rather by Minium for by reason that it sticketh to their pensils euer and anon they wash it off when they be full this setleth down to the bottom of the water where it remaines and the painters take it for their auailes but they were as good pick their masters purse who setteth them aworke But if a man would know the true and sincere Vermilion indeed it ought to haue the rich and fresh colour of skarlet As for the brightnesse that is in the second sort if a wall bee painted therewith the naturall moisture and dankenesse that commeth from thence will abate the lustre soon And yet this Minium is taken to be but a kind of rust in mettals either siluer or lead as they lie in the mines Moreouer the minerall Vermilion found naturally in the foresaid Minium mines of Sisapona haue no siluer mixed therwith boyle and trie it in the fire as much as you will Also the way to find true Minium from false is by the means of gold for touch the sophisticat Minium with a piece of gold red hot it will wax blacke whereas the true Minium keepeth colour still Where by the way note That I read it may be falsified with Quicklime And after the same maner if there be no gold at hand to trie it by you shal soon see the proofe and find the falsehood by a plate of yron red hot and vsed accordingly Furthermore this hath beene obserued That the shining beams either of Sun or Moone do much hurt to the lustre of Vermillion or any thing painted therewith But what meanes to preuent this inconuenience Euen to vernish the wall after the colour is dried vpon it in this manner Take white Punicke wax melt it with oyle and while it is hot wash the said painting all ouer with pensils or fine brushes of bristles wet in the said vernish But when this vermish is laid on it must be well chafed heat again with red hot coales made of Gall-nuts held close to it that the wall may sweat and frie again which done it ought afterwards to be rubbed ouer well with cerecloths and last of all with cleane linnen cloths that it may shine again and be slicke as statues of marble be Moreouer the workemen that are emploied in their shops about the making of Vermillion doe bind vnto their faces in manner of Maskes large bladders that they may take and deliuer their wind at libertie and yet not be in danger of drawing in with their breath that pernicious and deadly pouder which is no better than poyson yet so as they may
shapes and portraits of so worthy personages against the injury of time which weareth and consumeth all things indeuoring by this means as it were in a kind of emulation striuing to do as much for them in this behalf as the gods could do not only in giuing them immortality but also by dispersing those pourtraits into all parts of the world to shew them personally in euery place to the eies of men as if they were present CHAP. III. ¶ At what time scutchions and shields with images ingrauen in them were first erected in publique place Where they beg an to be set vp in priuat houses The originall of pictures The first pourtrait that was of one single colour Of the first Painters How antient the Art of Painting was in Italy ANd this verily which Varro did namely to insert the names counterfeits of famous men in his books was to gratifie strangers only But of those who were desirous in this kinde to honour Romans I find in the Chronicles that Appius Claudius was the first him I meane who in the 259 yeare after the foundation of the city of Rome bare the Consulship with Seruilius and namely by dedicating in temples and publicke places of the city the shelds of his predecessours by themselues alone For within the chappell of Bellona hee caused to bee set vp the scutchions and shields of his ancestors taking great contentment to haue the armes of his predecessors seen on high and the same accompanied with the titles of their honorable dignities to be read A goodly shew no doubt and a magnificent in case there should be shewed withall a long descent of petty images representing a numâ—…er of children as it were the nest of a faire brood and off-spring for who would not take great joy and pleasure to see such a sight who would not fauorably behold the arms of such a race and linage After that Appius Claudius had giuen this precedent at Rome there followed M. Aemilius companion in the same Consulship with Q. Luctatius who not contented to haue the Armoires and coats of his Progenitors to be aduanced aloft in the stately hall and pallace Aemilia only tooke order that they should stand also at home in his owne house and this also was a matter of right great consequence beeing done according to the pattern and example of the martiall worthies in Homer for within these shields scutchions resembling those which were vsed in old time in the battels before Troy were represented the images of such as serued with them ingrauen therein for thereupon such shields took the name Clypei i. chased and ingrauen not of the old word in Latine Cluere which signifieth to fight or to be well reputed as our thwarting Grammarians would with their subtile sophistrie seeme to etymologize and deriue it Certes this originall of shields and coats of armours implied abraue mind and noble spirit ful of vertue and valour when euery mans shield shewed the liuely pourtrait of him that bare it in the warres The Carthaginians were wont to make their targuets of beaten gold and those likewise they caused to bee ingrauen with their own portraits carried the same with them to the wars And verily Q. Martius that worthy warriour and reuenger of the 2 Scipio's in Spain hauing defeated the Carthaginians taken many of them prisoners found among other spoils and pillage the shield of Asdrubal made in maner aforesaid Which shield was erected hung vp ouer the porch of Iupiters temple vpon Capitoll hill and remained there vnto the first fire that consumed the temple And seeing I am fallen vpon this poynt namely of erecting the armours woon from enemies in publicke place I may not passe ouer in silence the securitie and carelesse regard that our forefathers had in this behalfe which was so great that M. Aufidius who farmed and vndertook the custody or keeping of the Capitoll the temple and all therein the same yeare wherein L. Manlius and Q. Fulvius were Consuls and which was from the foundation of the city of Rome 575 yeares aduertised the Senat That those shields there which for so long together were appointed assigned thither by the Censors were not of brasse as they had been taken for but of siluer Concerning pictures and the first originall of painters art I am not able to resolue and set downe any thing for certain neither is it a question pertinent to my designe and purpose I am not ignorant that the Aegyptians do vaunt thereof auouching that it was deuised among them and practised 6000 yeres before there was any talk or knowledge therof in Greece avain brag and ostentation of theirs as all the world may see As for the Greeke writers some ascribe the inuention of painting to the Sicyonians others to the Corinthians But they do all jointly agree in this That the first pourtrait was nothing els but the bare pourâ—…ing and drawing onely the shadow of a person to his just proportion and liniments This first draught or ground they began afterwards to lay with one simple colour and no more which kind of picture after that they fell once to more curious workmanship they called Monochromaton i. a pourtrait of one colour for distinction sake from other pictures of sundry colours which notwithstanding yet this plaine manner of painting continueth at this day and is much vsed As for the linearie portraying or drawing shapes and proportions by lines alone it is said that either Philocles the Aegyptian or els Cleanthes the Corinthian was the inuentor thereof But whosoeuer deuised it certes Ardices the Corinthian and Telephanes the Sicyonian were the first that practised it howbeit colours they vsed none yet they proceeded thus far as to disperse their lines within as well as to draw the pourfle and all with a coale and nothing els And therefore their manner and order was to write also the names of such as they thus painted and alwaies to set them close to the pictures But the first that tooke vpon him to paint with colour was Cleophantus the Corinthian who as they say took no more but a piece of a red potsherd which he ground into pouder and this was all the colour that he vsed This Cleophantus or some other of that name was he who by the testimony of Cornelius Nepos as I will anon shew more at large accompanied Demaratus the father of Tarquinius Priscus king of Rome when he fled from Corinth to auoid the wrongs of Cypsellus the tyrant who persecuted and oppressed him But it cannot be so for surely before this Tarquines time the art of painting was grown to some perfection euen in Italy for proofe wherof extant there be at this day to be seen at Ardea within the temples there antique pictures and indeed more antient than the city of Rome and I assure you no pictures came euer to my sight which I wonder so much at namely that they should continue so long fresh and
in manner aforesaid As touching cerusse burnt the inuention thereof came by meere chance vpon occasion of a skare-fire happening in the harbor of Piraeeum which caught the pots and boxes wherein the Athenian dames that dwelt by the said harbor kept their blanch of cerusse for complexion and this cerusse thus calcined the first that vsed in picture was Nicias of whom I haue already spoken The best that we haue in these daies comes out of Asia and for that it inclineth to a purple colour they cal it Purpurea a pound of it is fold for 16 deniers Roman This also is made in Rome namely by cal cining Sil or ochre minerall which standeth much vpon marble and then quenching it with vineger Such vse the painters make thereof thus burnt that no shadowes will do well without it Concerning Eretria another kind of white earth it takes the name of the place from whence it commeth Nicomachus Parasius vsed this colour much In Physick it is found to be cooling and emolitiue Being burnt or calcined it is an excellent incarnatiue singular good for to drie any sore proper also to be applied to the forhead for the headach like as to discouer any festring or rankling matter that lieth secret within for if a place be anointed therwith when it is reduced into a liniment with water in case it wax not dry be sure there is some suppuration vnderneath As touching Sandaracha and Ochra K. Iuba writeth that they are to be found in Tapazus an Island within the red sea but that which we haue was neuer brought from thence How Sandaracha is ingendred I haue said already in the discourse of mines There is an artificiall and sophisticat Sandaracha made of cerusse burnt in a furnace The colour of Sandaracha ought to be fiery like a flame a pound thereof is bought for 5 Asses i. halfe a denier Calcine this and Ruddle together and of both being concorporat in equall quantity you shall haue the color called Sandyx Howbeit I do obserue in Virgil that he took Sandyx for an herb as may appear by this verse Sponte sua Sandyx pascentes vestiet agnos A ruddie fleece shall Sandyx yeeld To lambs as they do graze in field This Sandyx to be bought and sold carrieth but halfe the price of Sandaracha neither bee there any colours more weighty than these in the ballance Among the artificiall and made colors I reckon Scyricum which as I haue already said serueth for a good ground to take vermillon The maner of making it is to mix the best ruddle Sinopis and this Sandyx together Painters black called in Latine Atramentum I count an artificiall colour although I know there is a vitrioll or coperose going vnder that name which is minerall and is ingendred two manner of waies for either it issueth and ooseth out of the mine in maner of a salt humor or liquor or els there groweth an earth it self of a brimstone colour which serueth for it that it may be drawn out thereof Some painters haue bin knowne who for to get black haue searched into sepulchres for the coles there among the reliques and ashes of the dead But in mine opinion all these be but new deuises and foolish irregular toies without any reason for a man need seek no farther but to soot and that made many waies by burning either of rosin or pitch in which regard many haue built places and forges of purpose to burn them in without any emissaries tunnels or holes that the said soot or smoke may not get forth but the best black in that maner made comes of the smoke of torchwood This fine soot is sophisticat with grosse soot that doth gather and ingender in forges furnaces stouphs and this is that inke wherewith wee vse to write our books Some there be who take the lees or dregs of wine and when it is dried boile it throughly and they affirme that if the wine were good whereof those lees came the said inke or black will make a colour like Indico And in truth Polygnotus and Mycon two as renowned painters as euer were vsed no other black at all but that which they made of the mare or refuse of grapes after they be pressed this they cal Tryginon Apelles deuised a way by himself to make it of yuorie or the elephants tooth burnt and this they named therupon Elephantinum as touching the black called Indicum it is brought from India but as yet I know not the maner either of the making or the ingendring of it A kind thereof I see the diers do make of that black florie which sticketh to their coppers Also there is a black made of torchwood burnt the coles that come of it punned to powder in a mortar And here commeth to my mind the wonderfull nature of Cuttle fishes which do yeeld a black humor from them like to ink howbeit I do not find that painters or writers make any vse thereof But all blacks whatsoeuer take their perfection by sunning if it be writing inke with gum Arabick if to colour pargetting or walls with glew among and looke what blacke is dissolued and liquified in vineger the same will hold well and hardly be washed off And thus much of the ordinary colours low prized Of all the colours besides which as I said once before for their high price the poore painters be serued with from their masters hands who set them on worke the rich roset or purple red that is made of Tripolie or goldsmiths earth is simply the best for this Tripolie is commonly died together with purples and no silk wooll or cloth wil so soon take that tincture as it The principal is that which hauing had the floure of a fatt hath drunk the fil as it were whiles the liquor is yet boiling and the drugs within the caudron be in their verdure and haue not lost the heart When this first Tripoly thus deepely died is cast vp and taken forth that which is put in next into the said liquor is counted the second in goodnes so consequently by degrees for the former euer taketh the higher die the oftner you dip therein the weaker will the tincture be which is the reason that the roset or purple red of Puteoli is more commended than either the Tyrian Getulian or Lacedemonian notwithstanding from thence come the most rich and pretious pearls The reason is because the Tripoli in Puteoli is died most with the juice of the Magaleb berries among which yeelds the gallant red besides is forced to drink the tincture of Mader That roset which is made at Canusium is the worst of all other and carieth the lowest price a pound of roset costeth vsually 30 deniers Roman Painters or complexioners when they would counterfeit a lustre or glosse of vermilion lay a ground first with Sandyx and then charge roset vpon it with the white of an egg but if they be desirous to make a
purple colour the first course or ground is azur and straitwaies they come vpon it with roset and the white of an egg abouesaid After this rich and liuely rosat or purple red Indico is a colour most esteemed out of India it comes wherupon it took the name and it is nothing els but a slimy mud cleaning to the fome that gathereth about canes and reeds while it is punned or ground it looketh black but being dissolued it yeelds a wonderfull louely mixture of purple and azur There is a second sort of it found swimming vpon the coppers or vats in purple Diers worke-houses and in truth nothing els but the very fome or scum that the purple casts vp as it boileth in maner of a florey Some there be that do counterfeit and sophisticat Indico selling in stead therof pigeons dung Selinusian earth and Tripoli died and deeply coloured with the true Indico but the proofe thereof is by fire for cast the right Indico vpon liue coles it yeeldeth a flame of most excellent purple and while it smoketh the fume senteth of the sea which is the reason that some do imagine it is gathered out of the rockes standing in the sea Indico is valued at 20 denarij the pound In physicke there is vse of this Indico for it doth asswage swellings that doe stretch the skin it represseth violent rheums and inflammations and drieth vlcers The land of Armenia doth furnish vs with the colour verd d'azur and of that country it is named Armenicus a stone it is that is likewise died before it can die in manner of Borras or verd d'terre the best is the greenest yet withall it doth participat the colour of azur in which regard it may properly be called Verd d'azur In times past a pound of it was held at 300 Sesterces but since there was found in Spain a kind of sand that would take the like tincture and do as well the price hath bin well abated and is come downe to six deniers All the difference between this colour and azur is this for that it stands more vpon the white which causeth this colour to be lighter and weaker The only vse that it hath in physick is to nourish hairs especially those of the eie lids Ouer and besides all these colours aboue named there be two more newly come vp and those beare but a very low price to wit the green called Appianum oft times it is taken for Borras or Verd d'terre as if there were not other things enough that did counterfeit and resemble it Made it is of a certain greene chalky earth is worth but one Sesterce a pound The second new colour is a white called Anulare being that which in womens pictures giues a lightsom carnation white this also is made of a kind of chalk certain glassy gems or bugles which the common sort vse to weare in rings thereupon is called Anulare CHAP. VII ¶ What Colours refuse to be layd vpon some grounds with what colours they painted in old time and when the fight of Sword-fencers was first proposed to be seen at Rome OF all colours Roset Indico Azur Tripoli or Melinum Orpiment white lead or Cerusse loue not to be laid vpon plaister-work or any ground while it is moist yet wax wil take any of these colours abouesaid to be imploied in those kind of works which are wrought by sire so it be not vpon plastre parget wals for that is impossible whether they be inameld or damaskd yea and in their painting of ships at sea as well hulks hoies of burden as gallies and ships of war for now wee are come forsooth to inamel and paint those things that are in danger to perish be cast away euery houre so as we need not maruel any longer that the coffin going with a dead corps to a funerall fire is richly painted and we take a delight when wee mind to fight at sea to sail with our fleet gallantly dight inriched with colours which must cary vs into dangers either to our own death or to the carnage of others And when I consider so many colours those so variable as be now adaies in vse I must needs admire those artificers of old time and namely of Apelles Echion Melanthius and Nicomachus most excellent painters and whose tables were sold for as much apiece as a good town was worth and yet none of these vsed aboue foure colours in all those rich and durable workes And what might those be Of all whites they had the white Tripoli of Melos for yellow ochres they took that of Athens for reds they sought no farther than to the red ochre or Sinopie ruddle in Pontus their black was no other than ordinarie vitriol or shoomakers black And now adaies when we haue such plenty of purple that the very walls of our houses be painted all ouer therwith when there commeth from India store enough not only of Indico which the mud of their riuers do yeeld but also of Cinnambre which is the mixed bloud of their fel dragons and mighty elephants yet among all our modern pictures we cannot shew one faire piece of worke insomuch as wee may conclude All things were done better then notwithstanding the scarsitie that was of stuffe and matter But to say a truth the reason is Giuen wee are now as I haue oftentimes said to esteem of things that be rich and costly neuer regarding the art that is imployed about them And here I thinke it not amisse to set down the outragious excesse of this age as touching pictures Nero the emperor commanded that the portraict of himselfe should be painted in linnen cloth after the maner of a gyant-like colosse 120 foot high a thing that neuer had been heard or seen before But see what became of it when this monstrous picture which was drawne and made in the garden of Marius was don and finished the lightning and fire from heauen caught it and not only consumed it but also burnt withall the best part of the building about the garden A slaue of his infranchising as it is wel known when he was to exhibit at Antium certain solemnities and namely a spectacle of sword-fencers fighting at sharp caused all the scaffolds publique galleries and walking places of that city to be hung tapissed with painted cloths wherein were represented the liuely pictures of the sword-players themselues with all the wifflers and seruitors to them belonging But to conclude the best and most magnanimous men that for many a hundred yeares our country hath bred haue taken delight I must needs say in this art and set their minds vpon good pictures But to portray in imagery tables and painted cloth the publick shews of fencers sword-plaiers and to set them vp to be seen in open place to the view of the world began by C. Terentius a Lucan for this man to honour his grandfather who had made him his
the race of these both father grandsire sons nephewes wrought only in white marble digged out of the â—…and Paros and this stone men began to call Lychnites that is to say the candle marble not for the lightsome white colour which it caried for many quarries were found afterwarde of whiter and brighter marble and namely of late daies in those about Luna in Tuscane but as Varro mine Author saith for that the pioners vndermined the ground for that stone and laboured in hewing it continually by candle light But here commeth to my remembrance a strange thing that is recorded of the quarries in the Island Paros namely That in one quarter thereof there was a vein of marble found which when it was clouen in twain with wedges shewed naturally within the true image and perfect portraiture of a Silenus imprinted in it Neither must I foâ—… to note That this art of grauing images in stone is of greater antiquitie by farre thâ—…â—…er painters craft or founderie and casting statues for both painters and also imagâ—… in mettal began with Phidias about the 83 Olympias which falleth out to be 332 yeâ—…s after Malas the first grauer in stone of name This Phidias though otherwise a paintâ—…â—…t the beginning and a caruer in Ivorie was himselfe also a grauer in marble and the image of Venus which now stands among the stately buildings of Octavia was as they say oâ—… his cutting a braue piece of worke and in beauty surpassing This is knowne for certaine That Alcamenes the Athenian a most excellent grauer in stone learned his skill vnder him of whose workmanship there be a number of statues to be seene at Athens within the sacred temples Besides one image there is of Venus most exquisitly wrought standing without the wall of the city and is knowne by the name of Aphrodite 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. Venus in the gardens and as it is said Phidias with his own hands finished this Venus who also had another prentise vnder him named Agoracritus of Paros whom he loued also for his sweetly youth in regard of which affection it is said that many braue pieces of his own handiwork he was content should passe vnder his name which hee dedicated to the immortal memorie of Agoracritus Now these two apprentises of his stroue a-vie whether of them could make the statue of Venus better and so it fell out that Alcamenes won the victorie not in regard of finer and more cunning workmanship but for that the city of Athens in fauor of their own countryman gaue sentence on his side against Agoracritus a stranger and Parian borne who tooke this repulse and disgrace in such displeasure and indignation that by report when he sold the said Venus of his owne making he would by no meanes passe it away but with this condition That it should neuer stand in the city of Athens and withall he named it Nemesis i. Vengeance and therefore set vp it was at Rhamnus a village so called within the territorie of Attica Which image of Venus M. Varro preferred before all other statues whatsoeuer Within the foresaid city of Athens and in the chappell dedicated to the honor of Cybele the great mother of the gods there was another mostexcellent statue or image wrought by the hands of Agoracritus As touching Phidias no man doubteth but he was the most excellent grauer that euer was as all nations will confesse who euer haue heard of that statue of Iupiter Olympius which his own hands wrought but that all others also may know who neuer saw his work nor the statues that he made that he wel deserued the name which went of him I wil lay abroad some smal pieces as arguments of his handiwork and those only that may testifie his fine head rare inuention neither wil I alledge for proofe hereof either the beautifull image of Iupiter Olympius which hee made at Olympia noâ—… the stately statue of Minerva that he wrought at Athens which carâ—…ied in height 26 cubits and was all made of Iuory and gold but I will take the shield or targuet that the said goddesse is portraied with in the embossed and swelling compasse whereof he ingraued the battell wherin the Amasons were defeated by Theseus within the hollow part and concauitie he inâ—…hased the conflict between the gods and the gyants vpon the shoos or pantofles that she weâ—…reth he portraied the fight betwixt the Lapithae and the Centaurs so ful compact of art wâ—… euery thing about her and so curiously and artificially contriued Now in the base or pied â—…all vnder the statue the work that was cut he called the Genealogie of Pandora A man mighâ—… there see the natiuity of the gods to the number of 30 among them the goddesse Victory oâ—… admirable workmanship Moreouer artificers that are seen skilful in these matters do greaâ—…ly admire the fel serpent as also the monster Sphinx made in brasse vnder the very spear that Mâ—…nerua holdeth in her hand This may serue by the way in a word or two touching that famous most renowned Artist Phidias whom no man is able to commend sufficiently that it may be known likewise that the sufficiencie of his workmanship was the same stil euen in small matters as well as great To come now to Praxiteles what time hee liued I haue declared already in my catalogue of Founders and Imageurs in brasse who albeit he was singular in that kind yet in marble he went beyond himselfe his workes are to be seen at Athens in that conspicuous street called Ceraunicum but of all the images that euer were made I say not by Praxiteles onely but by all the workmen that were in the world his Venus passeth that hee made for them of Gnidos and in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 exquisit and singular it was that many a man hath embarked taken sea and sailed to Gnidos 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 other busines but onely to see and behold it Hee made two of them and sould them both togetâ—… the one with a vaile and arraied decently in apparell which in that regard the men of Cos boughâ—… for being put to their choice they like honest men preferred it before the other which was naked â—…otwithstanding Praxiteles tendred them both at one and the same price in the good mind that they carried and hauing respect and regard vnto their grauity and modest carriage of themselues that which they refused and reiected the Gnidians bargained for and indeed to speak of workmanship it was infinitely better and there was no comparison betweene them by the generall fame and opinion of all men and verily King Nicomedes would afterwards gladly haue bought it againe of the Gnidians and offered them enough for he promised in consideration thereof to discharge al debts that their city was ingaged in which were very great summes but they would not giue eare or hearken vnto him content they were rather to liue in debt and danger still yea and to abide and endure
in the Capitoll hil is at this day built I am not able to say for certaine for as yet I do not reade or find by any sign that Italy knew how to slit marble into leaues But surely whosoeuer deuised that inuention to â—…aw marble stone and to slit it into leaues for to serue the turne of riotous and wastful persons had a perillous head of his own and a shrewd But would you know the cast of slitting marble It is done with a kind of sand and yet a man would think that it were the saw alone that doth the deed for when there is an entry once made by a very smal line or trace they strew the said sand aloft al the length ther of then they set the saw to it and by drawing it to and fro the sand vnder the teeth thereof maketh way downwards still so the stone as hard as it is they cut through in a trice now for this purpose the Aethyopian sand hath no fellow and to this passe forsooth we are come that we cannot haue marble to serue our turns vnlesse we send as far as into Ethyopiaâ—…ay we must bee prouided of sand to slit our marble with out of India from whence in times past during the antient discipline of Rome it was thought too much and a shamefull thing to fetch rich pearles And yet this Indian sand is commended in a second degree but the Aethyopian is the softer and better simply for that sand cutteth smooth and cleane as it goeth and leaues no race at all in the work the Indian maketh not so euen and neat plates howbeit they that polish marble fit themselues with this sand when it is burnt and calcined for if they rub their leaues and plates therewith it wil make them slick fair for otherwise if it be not calcined to a fine pouder of it self it is churlish and rugged which is the fault likewise of the sand that commeth from Naxos and Coptis which commonly is called the Aegyptian sand for these sands verily were vsed in old time to the cutting of marbles Afterwards they met with a sand as good as the best and went no farther than to a certain bay or creek in the Adriatick sea or Venice gulfe which being left bare when the tide is gone they may at a low water easily discerne to haue bin cast vp by the floud And now adaies our sawyers of marble make no more ado but take the first sand they come by it makes no matter out of what riuer it be this serues their turne well enough and thus they abuse and deceiue the world although few chapmen there bee that know what losse there is by their marble leaues sawne in that sort howbeit such grosse sand as that first makes a wider slit in the main stone and by consequence spendeth and consumeth more of the marble again there is more work and labour about the polishing thereof the saw and sand beforesaid leaueth the faces of the stone so rugged and vneuen and by this meanes the plates become sleight and thin before they can be imploied To conclude the sand from Thebais in high Egypt is very good to polish withall like as the grit that commeth of grauelly stones or pumish ground serueth very well for the said purpose CHAP. VII ¶ Of Whetstones and Grindstones comming out of Naxos and Armenia Of diuers kindes of Marble FOr polishing of statues and images made of Marble for cutting filing and trimming of precious stones Naxium serued a long time and was commended before any other stone for by this word Naxium I vnderstand the whet-stones and grinde-stones that come out of the Island Cyprus but afterwards those which were brought from Armenia woon the name from them and were esteemed better As for the sundry sorts of Marble and their colours to discourse of them in generall were needlesse they are so well and easily knowne and to reckon them all in particular were endlesse they be in number so many and infinit for what corner of the world is there where you shal not find one marble or other different from the rest And yet in my Cosmography I haue already written of the best and most excellent kinds of marble as I had occasion to speak of the nations and countries where they be found Howbeit this would be noted that all sorts of marble bee not found in quarries and rocks that stand vpon veines thereof for much you shall meet with lying ebbe in the ground and the same scattering by pieces here and there But the green marble that commeth from Lacedaemon is esteemed most precious and to be more gay and pleasant than all other As touching the marbles called Augustum and Tiberium they were found in Aegypt first after that sort lying loose and scattered during the time that Augustus and Tiberius were Emperors of Rome of whom they took their name And albeit these marbles bee flecked and spotted yet they differ from the Serpentine marble called Ophites for that the speckles in Ophites do resemble those in a serpents skin whereupon it took that name whereas the other two be distinguished with spots after a diuers sort for Augustum hath veines curled after the manner of waues running round as it were like whirle pooles and Tiberium spreadeth rather abroad in strakes winding yet and turning after the order of whitish haire Neither be there any pillars found of the foresaid Serpentine marble vnlesse they be very small And of this marble there be two kinds the white which is gentle and soft the blacke which is churlish and hard Both of them are said to ease the head-ache and to cure the sting of serpents if they be but carried about one in pieces either hanging at the neck or otherwise tied to any part Some there be who prescribe the whiter kind to be applied accordingly for the phrensie and lethargy howbeit against serpents there be who commend especially aboue the rest that which of the colour of ashes they commonly cal * Tephria As touching the marble of Memphis or great Caire in Aegypt named thereupon Memphites it is of the nature of these precious stones rather than of quarries The vse herof is to be ground into pouder with vineger to be reduced into a liniment for to be applied to those parts that are to be cauterized or cut for it so astonieth and benummeth the member that it feeleth no pain either by the searing iâ—…on or the Chyrurgians lancet The Porphyrite marble which also comes out of Aegypt is of a red colour of which kinde look which hath white spots or streaks running among is called thereupon Leucostictos And quarries there be in Egypt standing wholly vpon this marble which yeeld so sufficient cut and hew therout as big and as huge pieces as you will Triarius Pollio Procurator general vnder Claudius Caesar in the prouince of Egypt brought for the Emperor certain statues of this Porphyry out of Aegypt which
their paine The Amiant stone is like Alume being put into the fire loseth nothing of the substance a singular propertie it hath to resist all inchantments and sorceries such especially as Magitians do practise As for Gaeodes the Greeks haue giuen it this significant name because it containeth inclosed within the belly a certaine earth a medicine soueraigne for the eies as also for the infirmities incident as well to womens paps as mens genitoirs The stone Melitites hath that name because if it be bruised or braied it yeeldeth from it a certaine sweet juice in manner of honey the same being incorporat in wax is good to cure the flegmatick wheales and other pushes or specks of the body it healeth likewise the exulceration of the throat applied with wool it takes away the chilblanes or angry bloudifalls called Epinyctides also the griefe of the matrice it easeth in the same manner The Gete which otherwise we call Gagates carrieth the name of a towne and riuer both in Lycia called Gages it is said also that the sea casteth it vp at a full tide or high water into the Island of Leucola where it is gathered within the space of twelue stadia and no where els black it is plaine and euen of an hollow substance in manner of a pumish stone not much differing from the nature of wood light brittle and if it be rubbed or bruised of a strong sauor Looke what letters are imprinted in it into any vessel of earth they will neuer be got out again whiles it burneth it yeelds a smel of brimstone but a wonderful thing it is of this jeat stone that water will soone make it to flame and oile will quench it againe in burning the perfume thereof chaseth away serpents and recouers women lying in a trance by the suffocation or rising of the mother the said smoke discouereth the falling sicknesse and bewraieth whether a yong damsell be a maid or no being boiled in wine it helpeth the tooth-ache and tempered with wax it cures the swelling glandules called the Kings euil They say that Physitians vse this â—…et stone much in their sorceries practised by the means of red hot axes which they call Axinomantia for they affirme that being cast thereupon it will burn and consume if what we desire and wish shall happen accordingly As for Spunges I mean by them in this place certain stones found in Spunges and the same also do ingender naturally within them Some there be who cal them Tecolithos because they are good for the bladder in this respect that they breake the stone being drunk in wine As concerning the Phrygian stone it beareth the name of the country where it is ordinarily found and it groweth in hollow lumps in manner of a pumish stone the order is to steep it well in wine before it be calcined and in the burning to maintain the fire with blast of bellows vntil it wax red then to quench it again in red wine continuing this course three times being thus prepared it is good only to scoure cloth and make it ready for the Dier to take a colour CHAP. XX. ¶ Of the red Bloud-stone Hoematites and the fiue sorts thereof also of the blacke sanguine stone called Schistos THe bloud-stone Schistos and Hoematites both haue great affinitie one with another As for the bloud-stone Hoematites a meere mineral it is and found in mines of mettal being burnt it comes to the colour of Vermilion the manner of calcining it is much after that of the Phrygian stone but wine serueth not to quench it Many sophisticate it with Schistos and obtrude the one for the other but the difference is soon known for that the right Hoematites hath red veins in it and besides is by nature fraile and easie to crumble of wonderful operation it is to help bloud-shotten eies the same giuen to women to drink staieth the immoderat flux that followes them they also that vse to cast vp bloud at the mouth find helpe by drinking it with the juice of a pomgranat in the diseases likewise of the blader it is very effectual and being taken in wine it is souerain against the sting of serpents In all these cases the bloud-stone Schistos is effectual but weaker only it is in operation and yet among these sanguine or bloud-stones those are taken for the best and most helpfull which in colour resemble saffron such haue a peculiar resplendant lustre by themselues This stone being applied to weeping and watery eies with womans milk doth them much good and is soueraign also to restrain and keep them in if they be ready to start out of the head And this I write according to the mind and opinion of our modern writers But Sotacus a very antient writer hath deliuered vnto vs fiue kinds of bloud-stones besides that Hoematites called Magnes or the Load-stone among which he giues the chiefe prize and principall praise to the Aethiopian for that it is so souerain to be put into medicines appropriat to the eies as also into those which for their excellent operation be called Panchresta A second sort he saith is called Androdamas black of colour and for weight and hardnesse surpassing all the rest whereupon it took that name and of this kind there are found great store in Barbary He affirmeth moreouer That it hath a qualitie to draw vnto it siluer brasse and iron and for triall whether it be good or no it ought to be ground vpon the touch called Basanitis for it will yeeld a bloudy juice the which is a right soueraign remedie for the diseases of the liuer The third kind of bloud-stone he maketh Arabick for that it is brought out of Arabia as hard it is as the other for hardly will there any juice come from it though it be put to the grindstone and the same otherwhile is of a Saffron colour The fourth sort he saith is called Elatites so long as it is crude but being once calcined it is named Miltites a very excellent thing for burns and scaldings and in all cases much better than any ruddle whatsoeuer In the fift place he reckons that which is called Schistos this is held to be singular for repressing the flux of bloud from the hemorrhoid veins But generally of all these bloud stones he concludes thus That if they be puluerised and taken in oile vpon a fasting stomack to the weight of 3 drams they be right soueraign for all fluxes of bloud The same author writes of another Schistos which is none of these Hoematites and this they call Anthracites and by his saying found there is of it in Africk black of colour which if it be ground vpon a whetstone or grindstone with water yeelds toward the nether end or side thereof that lay next the ground a certaine blacke juice but on the other side of a saffron colour and he is of opinion that the said juice is singular for those medicines appropriat to the eies
them behinde for the hunters seeing themselues in danger of death for them In the Opall there be obserued also diuers blemishes and imperfections as wel as in other stones namely if the colour resemble the floure of that herb which is called Heliotropium i. Turnsole also if it look like crystal or haile likewise if there be a spot comming between in maner of a grain or kernel of salt if it be rough in handling or if there be certain small pricks or spots represented to the eies neither is there any pretious stone that the Indians can counterfeit so well by the meanes of glasse as this insomuch as hardly a man shall discerne the naturall Opal from the false when they haue done withall But the only triall is by the Sun for if a man hold an Opall betwixt his thumbe and finger against the beams of the Sun if it be a counterfeit he shall find those diuers colours which shewed therein to run all into one and the same transparent colour and so to rest in the body of the stone whereas the brightnesse of the true Opal eftsoons changeth and sends forth the lustre to and fro more and lesse yea and the glittering of the light shineth also vpon the fingers This gem for the rare and incomparable beauty and grace that is in it most Writers haue called Paederos There is also another kind of Opalos apart by it self according to the opinion of some who say it is called by the Indians Sangenon It is said that that there be Opals in Egypt and in Arabia like as in the kingdom also of Pontus but such of all other beare the lowest price In Galatia likewise and in the Isles Thrasos and Cyprus for albeit they haue the louely beautie of the Opalus yet their lustre is nothing so liuely and lightsome and seldome shal you meet with any of them that is not rugged their chief colours stand much vpon brasse and purple the fresh verdure of the green Emeraud is away which the true Opal doth participate This is generally held that they are more commendable which be shadowed as it were with the colour of wine than delaied with the clearnesse of water Thus far forth haue I written of gemmes and pretious stones which be esteemed principall and most rich according to the decree generally set downe and pronounced by our nice and costly dames for we may conclude vpon this point more certainely going by their sentence than grounding vpon the iudgement of men for men kings especially and great men make the price of each gem according to their seuerall fancies Claudius Caesar the Emperour made no reckoning of any but the Emeraud and the Sardonyx and these ordinarily he wore vpon his fingers but Scipio Africanus as saith Demostratus tooke a liking to the Sardonyx before him and was the first Roman that vsed it and euer since this gem hath bin in great request at Rome in regard of which credit I will raunge it next to the Opall In old time the Sardonyx as may appeare by the very name was taken for the pretious stone which seemed to be a Cornalline vpon white that is to say as if the ground vnder a mans naile were flesh and both together transparent and cleare and in very truth the Sardonyx of India is such according to Ismentas Demostratus Zenathemis and Sotacus As for these two last named they verily doe name all the rest that are not cleare and shew not through them Blind Sardonyches such as the Arabian be and these haue carried away the name of Onyx without any mention or apparence at all of the Sarda or Cornalline and these stones haue begun of late to be knowne and distinguished by their sundry colours for some of them haue their ground blacke or much vpon azure and the naile of a mans hand for it hath bin generally thought and beleeued that such hath a tincture of white and yet not without a shew of purple as if the said white enclined to a vermillion or Amethyst Zenathemis writeth that these stones were not set by among the Indians notwithstanding otherwise they were so large and bigg as thereof they made ordinarily sword handles and dagger hafts and no maruaile for certaine it is that in those parts land flouds comming downe with a streame from the hils haue discouered such and brought them to light He saith also that they were at the beginning highly accepted of in those parts for that there is not in maner a stone engrauen that will imprint the seale vpon wax cleanly without plucking the wax away but it and through our persuasions the Indians also grew into a good conceit of them and tooke pleasure in wearing the same and verily the common people of India make holes through them and so weare them enfiled as carkans and collars about their neckes only And hereupon it commeth that those are taken to be Indian Sardonyches or Cornallines which be thus bored through As for the Arabicke excellent they are thought to be which are environed with a white circle and the same very bright and most slender neither doth this circle shine in the concauitie or in the fall of the gem but glittereth onely in the very bosses and besides the very ground thereof is most blacke True it is that the ground of these Sardoins is found in the Indian stones to resemble wax or horne yea within the white circle in so much as there is a resemblace in some some sort of a rainbow by means of certain cloudie vapors seeming to proceed from them and verily the superficiall face of this stone is redder than the shels of Lobsters As touching those that be in colour like to hony or lees for this is taken to be an imperfection and fault in Cornallies they be all rejected likewise if the white circle that girdeth it about spread and do not gather round and compact together semblably it is counted a great blemish in this gem if it haue a veine of any other colour but that which is naturall growing out of square for the nature of this stone is such like as of al things els not to abide any strange thing to disturbe the seat therof There be also Armeniacke Cornallines which in all respects else are to be liked but for the pale circle that claspeth them By occasion of this stone Sardonyx I am put in mind for the names sake to write of the gem Onyx also for notwithstanding there be a stone so called in Carmania which is the Cassidoin yet there goeth also a gem vnder that name Sudines saith that the pretious stone Onyx hath a white in it resembling the naile of a mans finger it hath likewise quoth hee the colour of a Chrysolith otherwise called a Topase of a Cornalline also and a Iasper Zenathemis affirmeth that the Indian Onyx is of diuers and sundry colours to wit of a fiery red a blacke a horne grey hauing also otherwhiles certaine white
and dreams in the night all that hee is desirous to know euen as well as an oracle As for Eumetres the Assyrians call it the stone or gem of Belus the most sacred god among them whom they honor with greatest deuotion as green it is as a leeke and serueth very much in their superstitious inuocations sacrifices and exorcisms Eupetalos hath foure colors to wit of azur fire vermilion and an apple Eureos is like the stone of an oliue chamfered in manner of winkle shels but very white it is not Eurotias seemeth to haue a certain mouldines that couers the black vnderneath Eusebes seemeth to be that kind of stone whereof by report was made the feat in Hercules temple at Tyros where the gods were wont to appear and shew themselues Mereouer any precious stone is called Epimelas when being of it selfe white it is ouercast with a blacke colour aloft The gem Galaxias some call Galactites like vnto those last before-named but that it hath certain veins either white or of a bloud color running between As for Galactites indeed it is as white as milk and therupon it took that name Many there be who call the same stone Leucas Leucographias Synnephites which if it be bruised yeeldeth a liquor resembling milk both in color and tast in truth it is said that it breeds store of milke in nources that giue suck also that if it be hung about the necks of infants it causeth saliuation but being held in the mouth it melteth presently Moreouer they say that it hurteth memory and causeth obliuion this stone commeth from the riuer Achelous Some there be who call that Emeraud Galactires which seemeth as it were to be bound about with white veins Galaicos is much like to Argyrodamus but that it is somewhat souler commonly they are found by two or three together As for Gasidanes we haue it from the Medians in colour it resembleth blades of corne and seemes beset here and there with floures it groweth also about Arbelae this gem is said likewise to be conceiued with young and by shaking to bewray and confesse a child within the wombe and it doth conceiue euery three moneths Glossi-petra resembleth a mans tongue and groweth not vpon the ground but in the eclipse of the Moone falleth from heauen and is thought by the magitians to be very necessary for pandors and those that court faire women but we haue no reason to beleeue it considering what vaine promises they haue made otherwaies of it for they beare vs in hand that it doth appease winds Gorgonia is nothing els but Coral the name Gorgonia groweth vpon this occasion That it turneth to be as hard as a stone it assuageth the trouble of the sea and maketh it calme the magitians also affirme that it preserueth from lightning and terrible whirlewinds As vaine they be also in warranting so much of the hearbe Guniane namely that it will worke reuenge and punishment vpon our enemies The pretious stone Heliotropium is found in Aethiopia Affricke and Cyprus the ground thereof is a deepe green in maner of a leeke but the same is garnished with veins of bloud the reason of the name Heliotropium is this For that if it be throwne into a pale of water it changeth the raies of the Sun by way of reuerberation into a bloudie colour especially that which commeth out of Aethiopia the same being without the water doth represent the body of the Sun like vnto a mirroir and if there be an eclipse of the Sun a man may perceiue easily in this stone how the moone goeth vnder it and obscureth the light but most impudent and palpable is the vanity of magitians in their reports of this stone for they let not to say that if a man carrie it about him together with the herbe Heliotropium and besides mumble certaine charmes or prayers he shall goe inuisible Semblably Hephaestites is of the nature of a looking-glasse for although it be reddish or of an orenge colour yet it sheweth ones face in it the meanes to know this stone whether it be right or no is this in case being but into scalding water it presently cooleth it or if in the Sun it wil set on fire any dry wood or such like fewel this stone is found growing vpon the hill Corycus Horminodes is a stone so called in regard of the greene colour that it hath resembling the herbe Clarie for otherwhiles it is white and sometime againe blacke yea and pale now and then howbeit hooped about it is with a circle of golden colour Hexecontalithos for bignesse is but small and yet for the number of colours that it hath it got this name found it is in the region of the Troglodytes Hieracites changeth colour all whole alternatiuely by turns it seemeth to be blackish among kites feathers Hamnites resembleth the spawne of fishes and yet some of them be found as it were composed of nitre and otherwise it is exceeding hard The pretious stone called Hammons-horne is reckoned among the most sacred gems of Aethyopia of a gold colour it is and sheweth the forme of a rams horne the magicians promise that by the vertue of this stone there will appeare dreames in the night which represent things to come Hormesion is thought to be one of the loueliest gems that a man can see for a certaine fiery colour it hath and the same spreadeth forth beams of gold and alwaies carrieth with it in the edges a white and pleasant light Hyenia tooke the name of the Hyens eie sound they are in them when they be assailed and killed and if we may giue credit to Magitians words if these stones be put vnder a mans tongue hee shall presently prophesie of things to come The bloud-stone Haematites is found in Aethiopia principally those be simply the best of al others howbeit there are of them likewise in Arabia and Affrick in colour it is like vnto bloud and so called a stone that I must not ouerpasse in silence in regard of my promise that I made to reproue the vanities and illusions of these impudent barbarous magicians who deceiue the world with their impostures for Zachalias the Babylonian in those books which he wrote to king Mithridates attributeth vnto gems all the destinies and fortunes that be incident vnto man and particularly touching these bloud-stones not contented to haue graced them with medicinable vertues respectiue to the eies and the liuer he ordained it to be giuen vnto those for to haue about them who carry any Petition to a king or great prince for it would speed and further the suit also in case of law matters it giueth good issue and sentence on their side yea and in wars victory ouer enemies There is another of that kinde called by the Indians Henui but the Greekes name it Xanthos of a whitish colour it is vpon a ground of a yellow tawnie The stones called Idaei Dactyli be found in Candy
Fistulaes how to be kept open 191. c Fistulous sores in the secret parts how healed 136. k. See Priuities Fistula betweene the angle of the eye and the nose how it is to bee cured 125. e. 146. m. 286. g. it is called Aegilops 235. a Fistulaes how they are bred in any part of the bodie 262. h Fits cold and shaking in an ague how to be put by 57. d 61. b. 143. a. 162. h. 260. â— 313. a. 314. i. 316. l. Fits otherwise of chill cold how to be cased 57. f. 61. a. 67. d See more in cold Fiue-finger or fiue-leaued grasse See Cinquefoile F L Flags what hearbe See Xiphion Flancke diseased how to be cured 37. e. 40. k. 54. i. 275. e Flatuositie See Ventositie Cn. Flauius for what demerit he was created Aedile curule and Tribune of the Commons 457. a. b Flax the wonderfull power thereof 1. d. e. f the plant thriueth apace 2. h. the seed how it is sowne how it commeth vp and groweth 2. i Flax of Spaine 3. a. b Flax of Zoela 3. c Flax of Cumes ibid. Flax of Italy 3. d spinning of Flax what manner of worke 4. k Flax how to be dressed hetchelled spun beaten wouen c. 4 k. l Fleawort the hearbe descriBed 233. c. the diuerse names it hath ibid. the nature and vertues ibid. Fleas how to be killed 60. l. 63. c. 120. l. 124 m. 186. h against the breeding of Fleas 387. f Fleagme viscous sticking in the chest and throat how to be cut and dissolued 46. g. h. 64. l. 73. c. 74. g 107. d. 121. e 122. h. 130. i. 167. d. 173. e. 183. c. 198. i. 200. i. 206. i 246. g. i. 257 a. 277. b. 329. b. Fleagme and fleagmaticke humors how to be purged downward 72. h. 75. c. 140. h. 150. h. 170. g. 172. h. 182. h 185. c. 186. g. 198 l. 218. i. 250. l. m. 251. a. b. 252. h. l 281. b. 288. g 291. b. Flemmings vsed Flax and made linnen in old time 2. l Flesh ranke and proud in vlcers how to be repressed 50. m 61. b. See more in Vlcers and Excrescence Flesh meat how it may be kept fresh and sweet all Summer long 71. a how it is preserued from maggot and corruption 342. i Flexumines at Rome who they were 461. a Flint stone where it is cut with the saw 588. i Flory of Painters what it is 531. b Flos-Salis i. Sperma Ceti 416. k Flos or floure of Antimonie what it is 474. g Floures that bring tidings of the spring 92. g Floure-de-Lis root medicinable 87. d Floure-de-Lis where the best groweth ibid. d. e Floure-de-Lis of Illyricum of two sorts ibid. e Floure-de-Lis called Rhaphantis and why so ibid. why it is named Rhizotomus ibid. the ceremonious manner of taking vp the root 87. e. f Floure gentle surpasseth all floures for pleasant colour 89. a. the description and nature thereof ibid. why it is called Amaranthus ibid. b Spring Floures 92. g Summer Floures ibid. k Autumne Floures 92. l Floures of hearbes different 19. f Floures and their varietie 79. e. f Floures differ in smell colour and iuice i. tast 86. l Floures in Aegipt why they sent not well 87. b what Floures be employed in guirlands 89. e Flux of the stomacke or laske called Caeliaca passio how to be staied 39. e. 43. d. 49. d. 55. c 59. d 66. h. k. 68. h. 73. d 76. g. i. 106. l. 108 g. 111. a. 122. g. 124. k. 128. l. 139 f 144. i. 147. b. 148. h. i. 163. e. 164. g. l. 151. f. 153. c. f 156. g. 158. g. i. 165. b. e. 167. f. 168. g. 172. l. 174. k 177. c. f. 178. k. 188. l. 192. h. 195. e. 196. g. m. 197. e 216. h. 249. a. 250. g. 285. d. 289. c. 219. d. 307. c 318. l. 332. g. 331. b. c. d. e. f. 352. h. i. 353. b. c. 382. l m 422. l. if it be inueterat and of long continuance 418. k. Flux called Lieuterie how staied 165. e. See Laske Flies where they are not at all 95. b. how to be killed 220 g. Flies witlesse creatures 364. k. they flie like clouds out of the territorie of Olympia at a certaine time ibid. vpon what occasion ibid. their heads bloud ashes c. yeeld medicines ibid. F O Foemur Bubulum what hearbe 282. g Fole-foot the hearbe why called in Greeke Asarum 86. g Fole-foot another herbe called in Greeke Chamaeleuce aâ—d in Latine Farfugium 199. a. the description ibid. the vertues that it hath ibid. b why called Bechion and Tussilago 246 i. two kindes of it ibid. wild Fole foot a direction to find water 246 i. the description thereof ibid. the second Fole-foot called Saluia described ibid k Fome of a Dog and Horses mouth how they were liuely painted by chance and fortune 542. l Fome of water medicinable 414. h Food of light digestion 141. b Forke fish See Sea-Pussin Formacei what walls they be 555. b Fortune or Chance accounted a goddesse 270. l Fortuna huiusce diei 497 d. a temple for her at Rome ibid. Forum of Rome spread with caltraps 5. e. and why ibid. paued with fine workes in colours ibid. Forum of Augustus Caesar at Rome a sumptuous building 581. f. what Caesar paid for the plot of ground where this Forum stood 582. g Founderie i. the feat of casting images and workes of mettall so excellent that it was ascribed to some of the gods 487. c. an ancient art in Italy 493. e a Fountaine purging and clensing of it selfe euerie ninth yeare 411. b Fountaines which be naturally hot doe engender salt 414. m. Fountaines yeelding diuerse sorts of water some hot some cold others both 401. c Fountaines yeelding water not potable for beasts but medicinable onely for men ibid. d Fountaines giuing names to gods goddesses and cities ibid. Fountaines standing vpon diuerse minerals ibid. Fountaines of hot waters able to seeth meats ibid. e. Licinian Fountaines hot rising out of the sea ibid. red fountaines in Aethyopia 402. m. the vertues of them ibid. a Fountaine yeelding water resembling wine 403. e a Fountaine casting vp an vnctuous water seruing in stead of oyle to maintaine lampes ibid. f a Fountaine seething vp with water of a sweet smell 407. b the reason thereof ibid. number of Foure forbidden in some cases 305. f Fox greace gall and dung effectuall in Physicke 324. h Fox pizzle medicinable ibid. k Fox tongue medicinable 325. d Fox taile described 99. b Foxes how they may be kept from Geese Hens and Pullaine 342. k F R Fractures or bones broken how to be knit and soudered 58. k. 119. d. 183. a. 200. l. 233. b. 275. f. 335. e. 394. k. l 412. k. Freckles how to be scoured out of the face 140. m. 161. b. e 168. k. 173. c. 174. l. 175. b. 308. g. 314. k. See more in Face and Visage Fresh water at sea how Saylers may haue at all times 413. f. 414
Herberie in old time yeelded a reuenue to the state of Rome 12. g. how we come to the knowledge of Herbs 211. e Herbarists their maliciousnesse 105. e. f Herbs written of after diuerse sorts 210. h Herbs are of mightie operation and yet the opinion of them is greater 211. c Pythagoras wrote of Herbs and attributed their inuention to the Gods 211. a Herbs growing vpon statues 205. b. of what effects such are ibid. Herbs some will continue longer than others 291. e Herbs haue eternised the names of the inuentors 208. m 213. a. M Cato the first Roman who wrote of Herbs 209. b C. Valgius wrote of Herbs and dedicated his book to Augustus Caesar. 209 c Pompeius Lenaeus wrote of Herbs ibid. Herbs pourtraied in colours giue no great light to the readers 210. g. h Herculaneae certaine pismires medicinable to scoure the skin 377. d Herculaneus a riueret about Rome 408. h Hercules the patron of the Carthaginians why his image standeth at Rome vpon the bare ground without a Piedstail 570. g Hercules Triumphalis an image at Rome why so called 493. f. Hercules Oeteus of brasse in what habit and countenance pourtiaied 504. m. 505. a three titles thereupon 505. a. vnknowne who was the workeman thereof 504. m Hercules his statue of yron and steele wherefore 414. g Hermerotes what images 569. b Hermesias what composition 204. h the wonderfull operation thereof ibid. Hermippus a writer 372. h. he commented vpon the Poeme of Zoroastres concerning magicke 372. l Hermodorus honored with a statue erected vpon a columne at Rome for translating the lawes of the twelue tables 491. c. Herophilus a singular Physician he cured altogether with simples 242. k. he first searched into the causes of diseases 243. b. his Apothegme as touching the operation of white Ellebore 219. b. he altered the course of the fosmer Physicke 344. i. he obserued the pulses ibid. Herpes a running cancerous sore called if some a Wolfe 394 h. Herpes a worme soueraigne for the sore of that name 394. g Hert fainting how to be relieued 37. d. 60. h. 238. m Hertlesse how to berecouered 136. g Hert trembling and beating how cured 312. i See more in trembling Hesperis the herb why so called 87. c H I Hiberis an hearb and deuised name by Seruilius Danocrates 224. k. the description ibid. the vertues in Physicke ib. how to be vsed ibid. l Hibiscum or Hibiscus what herb it is 40. h. the medicines that it doth affourd ibid. Hicesius a Physician and writer 41. b. 123. a Hieracia what hearb 45. d. why so called ibid. Hieracites a pretious stone 627. d. the description ibid. Hieracium a collyrie or composition 508. m. the vertues medicinable thereof 509. a Hierobotane an hearb See Veruaine High-taper See Lungwort Hicket or Hocquet See Yex Hickway a bird enuious to the gathering of Paeonie 214. i 282. l. Hills some admit raine and are greene with woods on the North side some one the South side onely and others all ouer 408. k Hinds not enuious to mankinde but doe shew vs medicinable hearbs 255. c they haue a stone in their excrements or wombe that is medicinable 339. c bones found in the heart and wombe of an Hind medicinable ibid. Hippace what it is 318. l Hippace another thing 331. c Hippiades certaine images resembling women 569. c Hippice what hearb 223. f Hippocrates the Physician 71. b. when and where hee flourished 343. f. the first Clinicke Physician 344 g he first reduced Physicke into an Art 242. i. he dealt onely with simples 242. i Hippocus a Magician 372. i Hippolytus raised from death by Aesculapius 343. e Hippomanes a venomous thing 326. l Hippomarathrum what kinde of Fennell 77. c Hipponax the Poet how he was abused by Anthermus and Bupalus 564. m. how he was reuenged of them ibid. Hippope an hearbe described 121. a. the reason of the name ibid. Hippophaeon See Epithymum Hippophaston 283. e. the description ibid. Hippophyes an hearbe described 120. m. the reason of the name 121. a Hippuris See Equisetum the Greeke writers varie much about the name of this hearbe 263. c. why it is called Anabasis ibid. H O Hogs greace how to be prepared and tried 320. i See Greace Holcus an hearbe 283. d the description ib. the vertues ib. why it is called Aristida ibid. Holland fine linnen made in old time 2. l Holme oke what vertues it affourdeth in Physicke 177. d the graine of Holme oke medicinable ibid. e Holcchrysos an hearbe the vertues 106. i Holoscâ—…os a kinde of rush 100. k Holosphyratun what kinde of Image 470. g Holosteon an hearbe 283. d. why so called ibid. the description ibid. Homer the Poet Prince of learning and father of antiquities 210. l Honey commended and compared with Laser 135. c Honey when and where it is venomous 94. g how to be discerned from that which is wholesome 94. h what symptomes happen to them that eat of this honey 94. i. the present remedies of this kind of poysonous hony 94. i. 362. k. 433. d. the singular properties that honey hath 135. d. the discommodities of honey 135. e Honey called Maenomenon and why 94. k Honey of Carina medicinable 95. b Honey-combes their vertues 137. b Honey-combs wholesome and hurtfull in one and the same hiue 94. l a glut or surfet of Honey how to be helped 433. e Honey wherein Bees haue been extinct ar stifled medicinable 362. k Hoplitides what pictures 536. g Horatius Cocles his statue erected vpon a columne at Rome for making good the bridge against king Porsena 491. c Horehound an herbe 74. m. the sundry names that it hath ibid. the iuice of Horehound of what vertue it is and how to be vsed 75. a Horehound to be taken warily for danger of exulceration of reins or bladder 75. c Horehound of two sorts ibid. stinking Horehound 272. g. the sundry names description and vertue 278. h Hormesion a louely pretious stone 627. e. the description ib. Horminodes a pretious stone 627. d. the reason of the name ibid. the description ibid. Horminum a kinde of graine or corne described 144. k. the vertues that it hath ibid. Hornets sting what remedies therefore 40. h. 56 m. 75. f 110. l. 153 b. 166. l. 173. a. 361. d. 418. m. Horsetaile an hearbe 263. b. the vertue that it hath in wasting the swelled spleene ibid. Horses haue agues and how to be cured 260. k Horse dung greene burnt into ashes medicinable 325. e Horse-flesh and horse-dung aduerse to serpents 322 k Horses how they shall neuer tire 341. c wild Horses are medicinable and more than tame 323. b Horses loden with fruit are soone wearie 176. h. what remedie ibid. riuer-Horse taught vs the feat of Phlebotomie or Bloud-letting 316. k. he yeeldeth many medicines ibid. his bloud Painters vse 316. l sea Horse Hippocampe medicinable 436. h. 437. f. 440. l haw in Horse eyes how to be cured 438. l. See Eyes Horses and mares pained
Waters brackish how to be made fresh and sweet 176. i drinke of Water how it nourisheth 152. g offence by vnwhole some waters how to be helped 60. l Waters running how to be diuided that the same may bee seene bare 316. h Water how to be laden out of pits where it commeth vpon the pioners 469. a good Waters from bad how trauailers may discerne and know 414. g Waters change their colour at certaine times 411. c Waters when heauiest ib. Water maintained and cherished by ploughing of the ground 410. l Water creatures are medicinable 400. l Waters some coldin the Spring others in the Dogge daies 409. e. f. Water a powerfull element 400. l. m. 401. a. b Water suspected how it may be altered and made good 407. e. of well VVaters or pit waters 407. c Waters where they be exceeding hot actually 404. h Waters deadly 405. a. b Water faire to sight yet hurtfull both to man and beast 405. b. Waters growing to a stonie substance 405. b. c. d Water cold what operation it hath 407. f Waters of a corrosiue and fretting qualitie 405. c Water how it may be made most cold actually 407 d e standing VVaters condemned 405. f a discourse what VVater is best 406. g Waters which are knowne to be cold ibid. m Waters which are to be reiected 406. g. 407. a Waters salt and brackish how they may be soone made potable 407. a Water ought to haue no tast at all ib. b Water best which commeth nearest to the nature of aire 407. b. Waters not to be tried by the ballance 407. c how the triall is to be taken ibid. Watery humors what medecines purge downeward out of the body 108 g. 110 m. 130 l. 149 b. 174 g. 181. c 182 g. 185 c e. 186 g. 190 g. 252 g. 253 a. 281 b c 284 i. 442 l. Wax how it is made 96. g Wax Punica therbest 96. h Wax of Pontica ib. Wax of Candic ibid. Wax of Corsica ibid. the white wax Punica how it is wrought ib. best for medicines ibid. i how wax may be made blacke ib how it may be coloured ibid. how wax may be brought to any colour ibid the vses of wax 96. k the properties of Wax 137. a b Wax contrary in nature to milke ib. i W E Wearie vpon trauell or otherwise how to be refreshed 64. m 66. l. 121. e. 160. k. 161. e. 173. d. e. 180. k. 187. c. 289. b 319. d. 400. g. 419. e. 422. i. 624. h. how to be be preuented 266. i Weazils armed with rue against they should fight with serpents 56. m Weazils how they are brought together from far 316. g Weazils of two kinds 533. e Weazils fetides their gall is both a poyson and also a countrepoison ibid. Weazils flesh medicinable ibid. Weazils wild be venomous 363. e what remedy therefore ibid. Wens called Ceria by what means cured 37 c. 167 a 168 k. Wins named Melicerides how to be cured 73 d. 107 a Wens Stratomata how cured 265. c Werts what meanes to take away and cause to fall off 55. d 58 h. 105 d. 108 g. 125 h l. 127 e. 142 m. 146 i 166 l. 168 h. 185 b. 198 m. 218 k. 266 h. 280 l 302 k. 307 b. 335 a. 370 k. 386 l m. 414 h. 448 h 470 k. Werts beginning to breed how repressed 418. m Wertwals what doth cure 75. c Wesand appropriat remedies therefore 167. c See Throat against the enuie of the Wesps sting 40. h. 56. m. 63. f. 71. c 106. k. 153. b. 166. l. 173. b. 361. d. 418. m. W H VVhales and such other fishes fat how emploied by merchants 427. c Wheales angry small pocks and such like eruptions how to be cured 46. k. 70 g. 140. i. l. 161. c. 173. f. 174. k 178. g. 183. b. 187. c. 219. f. 317. d. 320. h. 337. a. 421. e 443. b. 437. d. 558. i. 559 b. 589. b. Wheazing in the chest how helped 134. l. 154. g Whey of cows milke for what medicinable 318. i Whelpes or young puppies sucking were thought fine meat at Rome 355. b they serued there for an expiatory sacrifice ib. they made a dish of meat at their solemne feasts 355. c VVhet stones of sundry kinds 593. a which be vsed with water which with oyle 593. a. b Spanish VVhite See Ceruse burnt Spanish VVhite or Ceruse naturall 529. e VVhites in women how repressed 516. h. See more in VVomen VVhite flaws about the nailes how to be healed 75. c. 105. d 141. a. 147. b. 158. k. 160 g. 174. l. 177. f. 272. k. 300. l 516. h. VVhite stones 588. i W I VVild-fires and such like fretting humors how to be extinguished 72. g. 75. b. 106. i. 124. h. 146. k. 157. e. 265. d 287. b. 529. b. VVildings or crab apples and their nature 164. i Wild-vine called Ampelos Agria described 149. b. 276. h the vertues ibid. VVild-vine Labrusca 149. b VVild white vine Ampeloleuce 149. c the root hath many vertues 149. d herbe VVillow See Lisimachia Willow or Withie what medicinable vertues it hath 186. l VVillow yeeldeth a juice of three kinds 186 l VVine of Bacchus what 403. a VVines how they may be soone refined and made readie to draw 176. 〈◊〉 See more in VVyne for co cleanse and discharge the VVindpipes being stuffed appropriat remedies 133 e. 148 k. 194 g. 277 b. 329. e Windpipes enflamed and exulcerat how to be cured 140. l. 328. i. for all infirmities of the Windpipes conuenient remedies 122 g. 134 k. 138 m. 170 h. 289 e. how a horse will proue broken Winded 342. h. i broken Wind in horses how to helped 246. h holding of the Wind in what cases good 305. d shortnes of Wind by what medicines it may be helped 37. a 39 c. 44 g. 52 g. 56 h. 57 d. 58 h. 61 b. 65 c. 70 g. 73. a 104 h. 105 d. 107 e. 109 a. 127. c. 144 i. 150 g. 154. g 162 g. 164 g. 167 c. 173 b. 180 g k. 183 e. 192. l 193 a. 200 l. 201 f. 247 a b d. 248 h. 263 d. 274 g 289 d. 329 c. 359 c. 381 a. 422 k. 432 i. 442. h. 521. a 556 m. 557 d. what mooueth to breake Wind vpward 237. a. 253 e 277 b. 290 k. Winter-cherrie why called Versicaria 112. h the description thereof ibid. Wisards prophets and Phisicians put downe by Tiberius Caesar 374. g Wit helped by some water 403. e bereft of Wit how to be cured 52 l. 260 l. 306. k. l Withwind an herbe and the floure thereof described 84. l Withie See Willow Witchcraft condemned by Pliny 213. c Witchcraft and enchantments forbidden expressely by the lawes at Rome 296. h Witchcraft and sorcerie auaile not nor be of force where no regard is made thereof 296. g against the practise of Witches good preseruatiues 108. m 300 g. W O Woad an herb the properties medicinable that it hath 45. c bodies of men