Pliny the Elder, The Natural History, BOOK XIX. THE NATURE AND CULTIVATION OF FLAX, AND AN ACCOUNT OF VARIOUS GARDEN PLANTS., CHAP. 54.—OTHER PLANTS WHICH REQUIRE TO BE SOWN AT THE AUTUMNAL EQUINOX.

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CHAP. 54.—OTHER PLANTS WHICH REQUIRE TO BE SOWN AT THE AUTUMNAL EQUINOX.

There are some other plants, again, which require to be sown together at the time of the autumnal equinox; coriander, for instance, anise, orage, mallows, lapathum, chervil, known to the Greeks as "pæderos,"¹ and mustard,² which has so pun- gent a flavour, that it burns like fire, though at the same time it is remarkably wholesome for the body. This last, though it will grow without cultivation, is considerably improved by being transplanted; though, on the other hand, it is extremely difficult to rid the soil of it when once sown there, the seed when it falls germinating immediately. This seed, when cooked in the saucepan,³ is employed even for making ragouts, its pungency being rendered imperceptible by boiling; the leaves, too, are boiled just the same way as those of other vegetables.

There are three different kinds of mustard,⁴ the first of a thin, slender form, the second, with a leaf like that of the rape, and the third, with that of rocket: the best seed comes from Egypt. The Athenians have given mustard the name of "napy,"⁵ others, "thapsi,"⁶ and others, again, "saurion."⁷

1 "Lad's love."

2 Black mustard, Fée thinks.

3 He can hardly mean a pottage made of boiled mustard-seed alone, as Fée seems to think. If so, however, Fée no doubt is right in thinking that it would be intolerable to a modern palate.

4 See B. xx. c. 87.

5 Perhaps a corruption of its Greek name, σίνηπι.

6 Hardouin suggests "thlaspi."

7 Its bite being as sharp as the venom of the "saurus," or lizard.

The Natural History. Pliny the Elder. John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S. H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A. London. Taylor and Francis, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street. 1855.

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Pliny the Elder, The Natural History
John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S., H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A., Ed.

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CHAP. 54.—OTHER PLANTS WHICH REQUIRE TO BE SOWN AT THE AUTUMNAL EQUINOX.

Pliny the Elder, The Natural History John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S., H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A., Ed.

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CHAP. 54.—OTHER PLANTS WHICH REQUIRE TO BE SOWN AT THE AUTUMNAL EQUINOX.

Pliny the Elder, The Natural History
John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S., H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A., Ed.