Delphi Complete Works of Pliny the Elder

by Pliny the Elder

  In Italy, those of Picenum and of Sidicina are considered the best for table. These are kept apart from the others and steeped in salt, after which, like other olives, they are put in amurca, or else boiled wine; indeed, some of them are left to float solely in their own oil, without any adventitious mode of preparation, and are then known as colymbades: sometimes the berry is crushed, and then seasoned with green herbs to flavour it. Even in an unripe state the olive is rendered fit for eating by being sprinkled with boiling water; it is quite surprising, too, how readily it will imbibe sweet juices, and retain an adventitious flavour from foreign substances. With this fruit, as with the grape, there are purple varieties, and the posia is of a complexion approaching to black. Besides those already mentioned, there are the superba and a remarkably luscious kind, which dries of itself, and is even sweeter than the raisin: this last variety is extremely rare, and is to be found in Africa and in the vicinity of Emerita in Lusi- tania. The oil of the olive is prevented from getting thick and rancid by the admixture of salt. By making an incision in the bark of the tree, an aromatic odour may be imparted to the oil. Any other mode of seasoning, such, for instance, as those used with reference to wine, is not at all gratifying to the palate; nor do we find so many varieties in oil as there are in the produce of the grape, there being, in general, but three different degrees of goodness. In fine oil the odour is more penetrating, but even in the very best it is but short- lived.

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  CHAP. 5. (4.)

  THE NATURE OF OLIVE OIL.

  It is one of the properties of oil to impart warmth to the body, and to protect it against the action of cold; while at the same time it promotes coolness in the head when heated. The Greeks, those parents of all vices, have abused it by mak- ing it minister to luxury, and employing it commonly in the gymnasium: indeed, it is a well-known fact that the gover- nors of those establishments have sold the scrapings of the oil used there for a sum of eighty thousand sesterces. The majesty of the Roman sway has conferred high honour upon the olive: crowned with it, the troops of the Equestrian order are wont to defile upon the ides of July; it is used, too, by the victor in the minor triumphs of the ovation. At Athens, also, they are in the habit of crowning the conqueror with olive; and at Olympia, the Greeks employ the wild olive for a similar purpose.

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  CHAP. 6. (5.)

  THE CULTURE OF THE OLIVE: ITS MODE OF PRESERVATION. THE METHOD OF MAKING OLIVE OIL.

  We will now proceed to mention the precepts given by Cato in relation to this subject. Upon a warm, rich soil, he recommends us to sow the greater radius, the Salentina, the orehites, the posia, the Sergian, the Cominian, and the albicera; but with a remarkable degree of prudence he adds, that those varieties ought to be planted in preference which are considered to thrive best in the neighbouring localities. In a cold and meagre soil he says that the Licinian olive should be planted; and he informs us that a rich or hot soil has the effect, in this last variety, of spoiling the oil, while the tree becomes exhausted by its own fertility, and is liable to be attacked by a sort of red moss. He states it as his opinion that the olive grounds ought to have a western aspect, and, indeed, he approves of no other.

  (6.) According to him, the best method of preserving olives is to put the orchites and the posia, while green, in a strong brine, or else to bruise them first, and preserve them in mastich oil. The more bitter the olive, he says, the better the oil; but they should be gathered from the ground the very moment they fall, and washed if they are dirty. He says that three days will be quite sufficient for drying them, and that if it is frosty weather, they should be pressed on the fourth, care being taken to sprinkle them with salt. Olives, he informs us, lose oil by being kept in a boarded store-room, and deteriorate in quality; the same being the case, too, if the oil is left with the amurca and the pulp, or, in other words, the flesh of the olive that forms the residue and becomes the dregs. For this reason, he recommends that the oil should be poured off several times in the day, and then put into vessels or caul- drons of lead, for copper vessels will spoil it, he says. All these operations, however, should be carried on with presses heated and tightly closed, and exposed to the air as little as possible — for which reason he recommends that wood should never be cut there, the most convenient fuel for the fires being the stones of the berries. From the cauldron the oil should be poured into vats, in order that the pulp and the amurca may be disengaged in a solidified form: to effect which object the vessels should be changed as often as convenient, while at the same time the osier baskets should be carefully cleaned with a sponge, that the oil may run out in as clean and pure a state as possible. In later times, the plan has been adopted of invariably crushing the olives in boiling water, and at once putting them whole in the press — a method of effectually extracting the amurca — and then, after crushing them in the oil-press, sub- jecting them to pressure once more. It is recommended, that not more than one hundred modii should be pressed at one time: the name given to this quantity is “factus,” while the oil that flows out at the first pressure is called the “flos.” Four men, working at two presses day and night, ought to be able to press out three factuses of olives.

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  CHAP. 7. (7.)

  FORTY-EIGHT VARIETIES OF ARTIFICIAL OILS. THE CICUS-TREE OR CROTON, OR SILI, OR SESAMUM.

  In those times artificial oils had not been introduced, and hence it is, I suppose, that we find no mention made of them by Cato; at the present day the varieties are very numerous. We will first speak of those which are produced from trees, and among them more particularly the wild olive. This olive is small, and much more bitter than the cultivated one, and hence its oil is only used in medicinal preparations: the oil that bears the closest resemblance to it is that extracted from the chamelæa, a shrub which grows among the rocks, and not more than a palm in height; the leaves and berries being similar to those of the wild olive. A third oil is that made of the fruit of the cicus, a tree which grows in Egypt in great abundance; by some it is known as croton, by others as sili, and by others, again, as wild sesamumn: it is not so very long since this tree was first introduced here. In Spain, too, it shoots up with great rapidity to the size of the olive-tree, having a stem like that of the ferula, the leaf of the vine, and a seed that bears a resemblance to a small pale grape. Our people are in the habit of calling it “ricinus,” from the resemblance of the seed to that insect. It is boiled in water, and the oil that swims on the surface is then skimmed off: but in Egypt, where it grows in a greater abundance, the oil is extracted without employing either fire or water for the purpose, the seed being first sprinkled with salt, and then subjected to pressure: eaten with food this oil is repulsive, but it is very useful for burning in lamps.

  Amygdalinum, by some persons known as “metopium,” is made of bitter almonds dried and beaten into a cake, after which they are steeped in water, and then beaten again. An oil is extracted from the laurel also, with the aid of olive oil. Some persons use the berries only for this purpose, while others, again, employ the leaves and the outer skin of the berries: some add storax also, and other odoriferous substances. The best kind for this purpose is the broad-leaved or wild laurel, with a black berry. The oil, too, of the black myrtle is of a similar nature; that with the broad leaf is reckoned also the best. The berries are first sprinkled with warm water, and then beaten, after which they are boiled: some persons take the more tender leaves, and boil them in olive oil, and then subject them to pressure, while others, again, steep them in oil, and leave the mixture to ripen in the sun. The same method is also adopted with the cultivated myrtle, but the wild variety with small berries is generally preferred; by some it is known as the oxymyrsine, by others as the chamæmyrsine, and by others, again, as the acoron, from its strong resemblance to that plant, it being short and branching.

  An oil is made, too, from the citrus, and from the cypress; also, from the walnut, and known
by the name of “caryinon,” and from the fruit of the cedar, being generally known as “pisselæon.” Oil is extracted from the grain of Cnidos, the seed being first thoroughly cleaned, and then pounded; and from mastich also. As to the oil called “cyprinum,” and that extracted from the Egyptian berry, we have already mentioned the mode in which they are prepared as perfumes. The Indians, too, are said to extract oils from the chesnut, sesamum, and rice, and the Ichthyophagi from fish. Scarcity of oil for the supply of lamps sometimes compels us to make it from the berries of the planetree, which are first steeped in salt and water.

  Œnanthinum, again, is made from the œnanthe, as we have already stated when speaking of perfumes. In making gleucinum, must is boiled with olive-oil at a slow heat; some persons, however, do not employ fire in making it, but leave a vessel, filled with oil and must, surrounded with grape husks, for two and twenty days, taking care to stir it twice a day: by the end of that period the whole of the must is imbibed by the oil. Some persons mix with this not only sampsuchum, but perfumes of still greater price: that, too, which is used in the gymnasia is scented with perfumes as well, but those of the very lowest quality. Oils are made, too, from aspalathus, from calamus, balsamum, cardamum, melilot, Gallic nard, panax, sampsuchum, helenium, and root of cinnamomum, the plants being first left to steep in oil, and then pressed. In a similar manner, too, rhodinum is made from roses, and juncinum from the sweet rush, bearing a remarkable resemblance to rose-oil: other oils, again, are extracted from henbane, lupines, and narcissus. Great quantities of oil are made in Egypt, too, of radish seed, or else of a common grass known there as chortinon. Sesamum also yields an oil, and so does the nettle, its oil being known as “enidinum.” In other countries, too, an oil is extracted from lilies left to steep in the open air, and subjected to the influence of the sun, moon, and frosts. On the borders of Cappadocia and Galatia, they make an oil from the herbs of the country, known as “Selgicum,” remarkably useful for strengthening the tendons, similar, in fact, to that of Iguvium in Italy. From pitch an oil is extracted, that is known as pissinum;” it is made by boiling the pitch, and spreading fleeces over the vessels to catch the steam, and then wringing them out: the most approved kind is that which comes from Bruttium, the pitch of that country being remarkably rich and resinous: the colour of this oil is yellow.

  There is an oil that grows spontaneously in the maritime parts of Syria, known to us as “elæomeli;” it is an unctuous substance which distils from certain trees, of a thicker consistency than honey, but somewhat thinner than resin; it has a sweet flavour, and is employed for medicinal purposes. Old olive oil is of use for some kinds of maladies; it is thought to be particularly useful, too, in the preservation of ivory from decay: at all events, the statue of Saturn, at Rome, is filled with oil in the interior.

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  CHAP. 8. (8.)

  AMURCA.

  But it is upon the praises of amurca more particularly, that Cato has enlarged. He recommends that vats and casks for keeping oil should be first seasoned with it, to prevent them from soaking up the oil; and he tells us that threshing-floors should be well rubbed with it, to keep away ants, and to prevent any chinks or crannies from being left. The mortar, too, of walls, he says, ought to be seasoned with it, as well as the roofs and floors of granaries; and he recommends that wardrobes should be sprinkled with amurca as a preservative against wood-worms and other noxious insects. He says, too, that all grain of the cereals should be steeped in it, and speaks of it as efficacious for the cure of maladies in cattle as well as trees, and as useful even for ulcerations in the inside and upon the face of man. We learn from him, also, that thongs, all articles made of leather, sandals, and axletrees used to be anointed with boiled amurca; which was employed also to preserve copper vessels against verdigrease, and to give them a better colour; as also for the seasoning of all utensils made of wood, as well as the earthen jars in which dried figs were kept, or of sprigs of myrtle with the leaves and berries on, or any other articles of a similar nature: in addition to which, he asserts that wood which has been steeped in amurca will burn without producing a stifling smoke.

  According to M. Varro, an olive-tree which has been licked by the tongue of the she-goat, or upon which she has browsed when it was first budding, is sure to be barren. Thus much in reference to the olive and the oils.

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  CHAP. 9. (9.)

  THE VARIOUS KINDS OF FRUIT-TREES AND THEIR NATURES. FOUR VARIETIES OF PINE-NUTS.

  The other fruits found on trees can hardly be enumerated, from their diversity in shape and figure, without reference to their different flavours and juices, which have again been modified by repeated combinations and graftings.

  (10.) The largest fruit, and, indeed, the one that hangs at the greatest height, is the pine-nut. It contains within a number of small kernels, enclosed in arched beds, and covered with a coat of their own of rusty iron-colour; Nature thus manifesting a marvellous degree of care in providing its seeds with a soft receptacle. Another variety of this nut is the terentina, the shell of which may be broken with the fingers; and hence it becomes a prey to the birds while still on the tree. A third, again, is known as the “sappinia,” being the produce of the cultivated pitch-tree: the kernels are enclosed in a skin more than a shell, which is so remarkably soft that it is eaten together with the fruit. A fourth variety is that known as the “pityis;” it is the produce of the pinaster, and is remarkable as a good specific for coughs. The kernels are sometimes boiled in honey among the Taurini, who then call them “aquiceli.” The conquerors at the Isthmian games are crowned with a wreath of pine-leaves.

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  CHAP. 10. (11.)

  THE QUINCE. FOUR KINDS OF CYDONIA, AND FOUR VARIETIES OF THE STRUTHEA.

  Next in size after these are the fruit called by us “cotonea,” by the Greeks “Cydonia,” and first introduced from the island of Crete. These fruit bend the branches with their weight, and so tend to impede the growth of the parent tree. The varieties are numerous. The chrysomelum is marked with indentations down it, and has a colour inclining to gold; the one that is known as the “Italian” quince, is of a paler complexion, and has a most exquisite smell: the quinces of Neapolis, too, are held in high esteem. The smaller varieties of the quince which are known as the “struthea,” have a more pungent smell, but ripen later than the others; that called the “musteum,” ripens the soonest of all. The cotoneum engrafted on the strutheum, has produced a peculiar variety, known as the “Mulvianum,” the only one of them all that is eaten raw. At the present day all these varieties are kept shut up in the antechambers of great men, where they receive the visits of their courtiers; they are hung, too, upon the statues that pass the night with us in our chambers.

  There is a small wild quince also, the smell of which, next to that of the strutheum, is the most powerful; it grows in the hedges.

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  CHAP. 11.

  SIX VARIETIES OF THE PEACH.

  Under the head of apples, we include a variety of fruits, although of an entirely different nature, such as the Persian apple, for instance, and the pomegranate, of which, when speaking of the tree, we have already enumerated nine varieties. The pomegranate has a seed within, enclosed in a skin; the peach has a stone inside. Some among the pears, also, known as “libralia,” show, by their name, what a remarkable weight they attain.

  (12.) Among the peaches the palm must be awarded to the duracinus: the Gallic and the Asiatic peach are distinguished respectively by the names of the countries of their origin. They ripen at the end of autumn, though some of the early. kinds are ripe in the summer. It is only within the last thirty years that these last have been introduced; originally they were sold at the price of a denarius a piece. Those known as the “supernatia” come from the country of the Sabines, but the “popularia” grow everywhere. This is a very harmless fruit, and a particular favourite with invalids:
some, in fact, have sold before this as high as thirty sesterces apiece, a price that has never been exceeded by any other fruit. This, too, is the more to be wondered at, as there is none that is a worse keeper: for, when it is once plucked, the longest time that it will keep is a couple of days; and so sold it must be, fetch what it may.

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  CHAP. 12. (13).

  TWELVE KINDS OF PLUMS.

  Next comes a vast number of varieties of the plum, the parti-coloured, the black, the white, the barley plum — so called, because it is ripe at barley-harvest — and another of the same colour as the last, but which ripens later, and is of a larger size, generally known as the “asinina,” from the little esteem in which it is held. There are the onychina, too, the cerina, — more esteemed, and the purple plum: the Armenian, also an exotic from foreign parts, the only one among the plums that recommends itself by its smell. The plum-tree grafted on the nut exhibits what we may call a piece of impudence quite its own, for it produces a fruit that has all the appearance of the parent stock, together with the juice of the adopted fruit: in consequence of its being thus compounded of both, it is known by the name of “nuci-pruna.” Nut-prunes, as well as the peach, the wild plum, and the cerina, are often put in casks, and so kept till the crop comes of the following year. All the other varieties ripen with the greatest rapidity, and pass off just as quickly. More recently, in Bætica, they have begun to introduce what they call “malina,” or the fruit of the plum engrafted on the apple-tree, and “amygdalina,” the fruit of the plum engrafted on the almond-tree, the kernel found in the stone of these last being that of the almond; indeed, there is no specimen in which two fruits have been more ingeniously combined in one.