Part 11

The Latins gave a favourable reception to the apple tree, and cultivated it with care. Eminent citizens of Rome did not disdain to give their names and patronage to different kinds procured by themselves, or which they had improved in their orchards. The Manlian apples were so called after Manlius; the Claudian after Claudius, their patron; the Appian owed their name to Appius. Some others preserved that of their native country: such were the Sidonians, the Greeks, and the Epirotes.

After the conquest of Gaul, the Romans introduced all these fruits;[XIII-24] and as the climate was more favourable to apple trees than that of Italy, they soon multiplied to a surprising extent. France ought to be grateful to those proud warriors for a present that enriched that province of the empire, and which perhaps still contributes to its prosperity.

LEMON TREE.

Among the richest productions of Media, Virgil mentions a tree, to whose fruit he attributes the greatest virtues against all poisons. The description he gives of it seems to belong to the lemon tree.[XIII-25] However this may be, its origin, and even its identity, have given rise to the most animated disputations.

Many have asserted that Juba, King of Mauritania (50 years B.C.), spoke of the lemon tree, and that he looked upon it as being very ancient. They add, that the Lybians gave to its fruit the name of “Hesperide apples,” that Hercules stole, and which, on account of their colour, were called “golden apples” by the Greeks, who were indebted to that hero for their introduction.[XIII-26]

Others maintain that no one has spoken of them before Theophrastus,[XIII-27] who called them “Median apples,” after the place of their origin; and that consequently those persons were wrong who confounded them with the apples taken from the garden of the Hesperides.[XIII-28]

These difficulties will probably disappear, if we remember that the ancients have given to the lemon tree various names[XIII-29] which belong to other trees. The truth is, that the Athenians received it from the Persians, who were neighbours of the Medes, and from Attica it spread all over Greece.[XIII-30]

Lemons were only known to the Romans at a very late period, and at first were used only to keep the moths from their garments. The acidity of this fruit was unpleasant to them, and Apicius makes no use of it: those who wish to satisfy their curiosity on the subject may read the remarks of Lister, the celebrated physician of Queen Anne, and editor of the works of this famous _gourmet_.[XIII-31]

In the time of Pliny, the lemon was hardly known otherwise than as an excellent counter-poison.[XIII-32]

Fifty years after that, Palladius reared the plants which he had received from Media,[XIII-33] and at last this tree was slowly naturalized in the south of Europe.

A considerable number of anecdotes have been told of the anti-venomous properties of the lemon. Athenæus speaks of two men who did not feel pain from the bite of dangerous serpents, because they had previously eaten of this fruit.[XIII-34] Either this story is false, or men and things have strangely altered.

Apicius preserves lemons by putting each of them into a separate vessel, which is hermetically sealed with plaster, and afterwards suspended from the ceiling.[XIII-35]

In another place we shall speak of the tables and beds made of the lemon tree, so fashionable amongst the Romans, and for which they spent prodigious sums.

One thing remains to be noticed; and that is, that preserved lemon peel was considered as one of the best digestives, and that doctors recommend it to weak and delicate persons.[XIII-36]

ORANGE TREE.

If confidence is to be placed in some authors, the native land of the orange tree would appear to be the gardens of the Hesperides, so remarkable in mythologic ages, and it was found also in Western Africa, Mauritania, and the Fortunate Islands; to which they add those mountains of Atlas so little known in a botanical point of view, notwithstanding the daring excursions of several learned men.

According to other observers, it originally came from the southern countries of China,[XIII-37] from the islands of the Indian Archipelago, or even from that portion of the globe called Oceania.

One incontestable fact is, that writers of antiquity were completely ignorant of the existence of this superb tree. Had they known it, its majestic height, the dark green of its foliage, the suavity of its flowers, its fruit, so fine, bright, and so flattering to the taste, could not have failed to inspire them with brilliant pages. Theophrastus, and the Latin geoponics, never would have neglected to speak of the luxury and fecundity it displays, even in the season of hoary frost. Besides, the name of _Portughan_, which is given to the orange by the Arabs--a name foreign to their language, but which is again heard among the Italians, Spaniards, and even in the southern provinces of France--is it not an indication that the introduction of this tree has some connection with the Portuguese voyages to India, particularly those of Juan de Castro in the year 1520?

It is the Portuguese who have planted the orange tree in the Canaries, at Madeira, where it was supposed to be indigenous on account of the vigorous vegetation it there displays: it is the Portuguese who have introduced this tree into all countries washed by the Mediterranean: and it is still the Portuguese who have furnished the parent suckers, whence the Spaniards have been enabled to form their immense groves in Andalusia and Algarvia.[XIII-38]

From the foregoing recital we may conclude that the grand poliphagic triumvirate of antiquity--Archestratus, Vitellius, and Apicius--never tasted this fruit, which Heaven reserved for the appreciation of modern times. Blessed shades! if, attracted sometimes by the exquisite vapours of our stoves, you should wander again round those succulent dishes which a more experienced chemistry enables us to elaborate: if fruitless gastronomic reminiscences should lead you into the delightful retreat of some one of your disciples, who by his enlightened skill is there preparing the treasures of the dessert: oh! turn away your eyes from those enticing fruits which display their golden rays, and rise in pyramids upon a porcelain pedestal. Here are oranges, the nectar and ambrosia of the Olympian ages, which you doubtless regret, and we have again discovered. These wonders of sweetness existed perhaps in China, but you knew it not, for China did not become a Roman province. But console yourselves, giants of cookery! we have not yet attained the high pinnacle of your art; your wild boar _à la Troyenne_, your peacocks’ brains, and your phenicopters’ tongues, secure for you a triumph which posterity will dispute in vain!

The orange known under the name of “Portugal orange” comes from China. Not more than two centuries ago the Portuguese brought thence the first scion, which has multiplied so prodigiously that we now see entire forests of orange trees in Portugal.[XIII-39]

It appears to have been the custom formerly, in England, to make new-year’s presents of oranges stuck full with cloves. We read in one of Ben Jonson’s pieces, the “Christmas Masque,” “He has an orange and rosemary, but not a clove to stick in it.”[XIII-40]

At the present day we can dispense with this embellishment.

The first orange tree cultivated in the centre of France was to be seen a few years ago at Fontainebleau. It was called _Le Connétable_ (the Constable), because it had belonged to the Connétable de Bourbon, and had been confiscated, together with all property belonging to that prince, after his revolt against his sovereign.[XIII-41]

FIG TREE.

Antiquity, sacred and profane, has not left us, on any other tree, facts so clear and certain as upon the fig tree; it is the only tree of Eden of which the sacred books have preserved to us any mention.[XIII-42] In the East there were immense plantations of it; Egypt had some also;[XIII-43] and the land of Canaan produced figs, which enabled Moses to judge of its fertility.[XIII-44]

The Scriptures, in order to give us an idea of the happiness and tranquillity the Jews enjoyed under the reign of Solomon, tell us that, “in Judea and in Israel all dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree.”[XIII-45]

And the fruit of this tree was no doubt very dear to the Hebrews, since Rubshakeh, the general of the Assyrian army, thought to seduce them from their obedience to Hezekiah, King of Judea, by saying to them: “Come out to me, and then eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig tree.”[XIII-46]

Thus the trade carried on with figs in Jerusalem had become so considerable and active, that Esdras was obliged to interdict it on the Sabbath day. It appears that figs were arranged in small masses, to which they give the form of loaves or cakes, either round or square, which were sold nearly in the same way as at the present day.[XIII-47]

From the East the fig tree passed into Greece, then into Italy, Gaul, Spain, and throughout Europe.

The Athenians pretended that this tree was a native of their soil, and this people never wanted mythologic facts to support their assertions; they imagined, and would have others believe, that the grateful Ceres rewarded the Athenian, Phytalus, for his hospitality by giving him a fig tree, which served for all the plantations of Attica.[XIII-48]

Whatever may be the way it came to them, they received it with transports of joy; it was planted with great pomp in the centre of the public square at Athens: from that time this spot was sacred to them.[XIII-49]

Ere long the fame of the figs of Attica spread far and wide: they were the best in Greece; and the magistrates strictly prohibited their exportation.[XIII-50] This law was afterwards modified, that is, the exportation of figs was allowed on payment of a very heavy duty.

They then appointed inspectors, whose duty it was to discover contraventions, and report them: thence arose the name of Sycophant,[XIII-51] taken by those informers--a vile and dispised set of men, whose denunciations were often false, and with whom the infamous authors of a base calumny were eventually assimilated.[XIII-52]

In Greece every one feasted on figs: it was a sort of regular gastronomic _furore_, which knew no bounds, and the wise Plato himself ceased to be a philosopher when presented with a basket of that fruit. As an aliment it was considered so wholesome and strengthening, that on the first introduction of them they constituted the food of the athletæ, whose patron, Hercules, had also fed on them in his youth.

The superiority of the Greek figs was so generally acknowledged that the kings of Persia even had a predilection for them: dried ones were served on the tables of these ostentatious princes.[XIII-53]

The Romans believed, according to an antique tradition, that their first princes, Romulus and Remus, were found under a fig tree on the shore of the Tiber; they therefore rendered signal honours to this tree when it was brought into Italy: they planted it in the Forum; and it was under its shade that a sacrifice was offered every year to the shepherdess who had suckled their founder.[XIII-54]

It may, nevertheless, be affirmed, that no one before Cato had noticed the fig tree,[XIII-55] which probably appeared in Rome at the same period as the peach, apricot, and other trees of Asia. Sixty years afterwards Varro speaks of it as a novelty from beyond sea, and points out to us that its various species have retained the names of the countries whence they came.[XIII-56]

Those varieties were so numerous, that Pliny counts no less than twenty-nine of them,[XIII-57] and the designation of the greater part recalled to mind the illustrious families who had taken them under their patronage.

The people of the north, especially the moderns, cannot well explain the extraordinary infatuation of the ancient southern nations for the fruit of the fig tree. Perhaps we ought to look for the reason in the nourishing, fresh, and sweet qualities of its pulp, and in the numerous plantations of those trees, which sometimes furnished an agreeable food to entire armies, when other provisions failed.[XIII-58] That of Philip of Macedon owed its preservation to the figs brought to it by the Magnesians.[XIII-59] A long time before, David received with joy, from the hands of Abigail, two hundred baskets of dried figs, for himself and his exhausted men.[XIII-60]

More than once the far-famed reputation of some beautiful plantations of fig trees brought long and disastrous wars on an entire country, as steel attracts lightning. Xerxes left Persia, and rushed on Attica, to take possession of those delicious figs, whose renown only had crossed his territory:[XIII-61] and it was partly to eat the figs of Rome that the Gauls waged war against Italy:[XIII-62] thank Heaven we have now more respect for our neighbours’ fig trees.

The best things in the world have had their detractors, and the fig is not an exception. Philotimus and Diphilus looked upon it as bad food;[XIII-63] Galen was unwell after partaking of figs, and he recommends us to mix almonds with them;[XIII-64] Hippocrates himself thought them indigestible, and advised to drink plentifully after eating them.[XIII-65]

All these great men may have been right, but the Greeks, their contemporaries, acted as if they were wrong: happily we are not called upon to decide between them.

Figs were commonly served on aristocratic tables with salt, pepper, vinegar, and some aromatics; they were eaten fresh, or dried in the oven, or on hurdles in the sun.

RASPBERRY TREE.

The ancients hardly mention the raspberry tree, which they placed on a level with the bramble. The Latins called it “_Bramble of Ida_,” because it was common on that mountain.[XIII-66] There can be no doubt, however, that the Romans knew how to appreciate the raspberry tree, so much esteemed in our days.

CURRANT TREE.

The moderns have attempted to ennoble our two kinds of currants by decorating them with Latin names, which recall their antiquity.[XIII-67] Vain effort! To all appearance the Greeks and people of Italy were not acquainted with the currant tree,[XIII-68] although they well deserved to possess this delicious fruit.

STRAWBERRY PLANT.

Among the Greeks the name of the strawberry indicated its tenuity, this fruit forming hardly a mouthful. With the Latins the name reminded one of the delicious perfume of this plant. Both nations were equally fond of it, and applied the same care to its cultivation. Virgil appears to place it in the same rank with flowers,[XIII-69] and Ovid gives it a tender epithet,[XIII-70] which delicate palates would not disavow. Neither does this luxurious poet forget the wild strawberry,[XIII-71] which disappears beneath its modest foliage, but whose presence the scented air reveals. Transported to the tables of the Luculli, by the side of its more brilliant and more beautiful sister, a flattering murmur often bore testimony to its merit, and nature triumphed in the midst of ingenious guests, soliciting of art what they repudiated in nature.

MULBERRY TREE.

The ancient mulberry tree was considered the wisest and most prudent of trees, because it took care, they said, not to let the smallest of its buds come to light before the cold had entirely disappeared, not to return. Then, however, it hastened to repair lost time, and a single night was sufficient to see it display its beautiful flowers, which the next morning brightly opened at the rising of Aurora.[XIII-72]

The voluptuous Romans, reposing late on their soft couches the day after the fatigues of a banquet worthy of Vitellius, did not trouble themselves much about this interesting phenomenon, which occurred, if Pliny does not mistake, in the gardens of their villas. But they knew that mulberries agree with the stomach, that they afford hardly any nourishment, and easily digest:[XIII-73] therefore, no sooner had they opened their heavy eyelids than an Egyptian boy--attentive living bell--at a sign disappeared, and quickly returned, bearing a small crystal vase, filled with mulberry juice and wine reduced by boiling. This beneficent fruit preserved in this mixture all its sweet flavour,[XIII-74] and enabled the rich patrician to await until evening the hour for new excesses.

It is quite evident that this luscious fruit was a native of Canaan, for the high road by which the tribes of Israel went up to the feasts at Jerusalem lay through the valley of _Baka_, or Mulberry Tree;[XIII-75] and the whole tract of country from Ekron to Gaza abounded in these trees.

XIV.

SHELL FRUIT.

ALMOND TREE.

This tree, whose fruit was called at one time “Greek Nut,” and, at another, “Thasian Nut,”[XIV-1] is a native of Paphlagonia, according to Hermippus.[XIV-2] The nations of the east thought much of almonds, and Jacob found them worthy of appearing among the presents he designed for Joseph.[XIV-3] The almond tree of Naxos supplied the markets of Athens.[XIV-4] The Romans, in their turn, sought them, and believed, like the physician spoken of by Plutarch, that it was only necessary to eat five or six almonds to acquire the ability of drinking astonishingly.[XIV-5]

Besides, this fruit had not always so mean a destination: the disciples of Apicius made of it one of the most delicate of dishes. Here it is, as taught to them by their master:--

Take almonds that have been pounded in a mortar, and mix them with honey, pepper, garum, milk, eggs, and a little oil; submit the whole to the action of a slow fire.[XIV-6]

The ancients were acquainted with the oil of almonds,[XIV-7] of which they made nearly the same use as we do ourselves; but they possessed, in addition, an infallible means of augmenting the fertility of the almond tree. It was very simple:--A hole was made in the tree, a stone was introduced into it,[XIV-8] and, thanks to the virtue of this new manure, the branches soon bent under the weight of almonds.

The good almonds come from Barbary and the south of France. When young, they are preserved like green apricots. They are eaten at table, fresh or dry; in comfits, pastry, &c.: they are also used to make orgeat and refreshing emulsions. The oil extracted from almonds, even bitter ones, is very sweet; it is best extracted cold, by pressure. The pulp is employed, under the name of almond paste, for several purposes, one of which is to render the skin soft and flexible.[XIV-9]

WALNUT TREE.

Asia, the cradle of most fruit trees, gave birth also to the walnut tree. It is believed to be a native of Persia,[XIV-10] and its pleasing foliage already adorned, in Biblical times, the orchards of the east. One of the most ancient of the sacred books informs us that it was known to the Jews,[XIV-11] and it may be inferred from a passage in the Song of Solomon that they possessed numerous plantations of this tree.[XIV-12]

Among the Persians, walnuts were not lavished on the first comer, as with us; the sovereign reserved them for his dessert, and the people were obliged to abstain from them. But perhaps it may be said that, however fond this prince may have been of walnuts, he could not eat all that were produced in his states. The objection is embarrassing, we own, and chroniclers are silent on this point. But let us suppose that this generous potentate distributed to his favourites the walnuts from which his satiated appetite was compelled to abstain; and, indeed, we find that a king of Persia sent some to the Greeks, who called them “Royal Persian nuts,”[XIV-13] in gratitude and remembrance of the august gift.

They did still better; the king of Olympus had a great liking for this fruit, so they hastened to consecrate it to him,[XIV-14] and the “nuts of Jupiter” were cultivated with honour in the whole of Greece.[XIV-15]

Italy received the walnut tree from Attica, and, by degrees, the conquerors of the world introduced it to the different countries of Europe.

The Romans, imitators of the piety of the Greeks, placed this tree also under the protection of the most powerful of their gods. One of their most whimsical customs, perhaps, owed its origin to this consecration, which will serve to explain it:--

After the wedding feast the bridegroom strewed in the nuptial chamber, at night, several baskets of walnuts, which children hastened to pick up.[XIV-16] This was, they said, a kind of offering to Jupiter, and thus he was entreated to grant his supreme patronage to the husband, and to adorn the wife with the virtues of Juno.[XIV-17] The god could not have failed to smile at this part of the request of blind mortals, and it is asserted that, at times, he condescended not to grant it.

Others have given a different interpretation. According to them, the walnut, being covered with a double envelope when fresh, became a presage of abundance and prosperity.[XIV-18]

It would be too tedious to relate all the singular opinions to which this ceremony gave rise. The most reasonable appears to be that adopted by certain commentators:--Walnuts, say they, served as playthings for children, and, by throwing them on the ground the day of his wedding, the bridegroom made it understood that he and his companion renounced the frivolities of youth, henceforth to devote themselves to the serious exigencies of a family.[XIV-19]

This fruit was considered astringent,[XIV-20] stomachic, and proper to facilitate digestion.[XIV-21] It was made into preserve, and eaten in small quantity, mixed with figs. In this manner paralysis of the tongue was avoided--an effect to which it was believed those who partook of them to excess were exposed.[XIV-22] Green walnuts were much esteemed; they were served at dessert,[XIV-23] notwithstanding the opinion of Heraclides, of Tarentum, who looked upon them as a stimulant to the appetite, and advised a trial of them at the beginning of a repast.[XIV-24]

When Pompey had made himself master of the palace of Mithridates, he had search made everywhere for the recipe of the famous antidote against poison used by that king. At length it was found; it was very simple: however, we offer it to the curious:--

Pound, with care, two walnuts, two dried figs, twenty leaves of rue, and a grain of salt.[XIV-25] Swallow this mixture--precipitate it by the assistance of a little wine, and you have nothing to fear from the most active poison for the space of twenty-four hours.

NUT TREE.

The Greeks gave hazel nuts the name of “Pontic Nuts,” and Theophrastus calls them “Nuts of Heraclea,” because the territory of that capital of the kingdom of Pontus produced the best.[XIV-26]

The Latins, at first, retained the same designation for this fruit, but afterwards, the environs of Præneste and Avellinum supplying them with a great quantity of excellent nuts, they gave them the name of those two cities.[XIV-27] They employed also a diminitive[XIV-28] to indicate those which came from the first of these localities. The French _Aveline_ (filbert), and _Noisette_ (hazel nuts), are evidently borrowed from the Roman vocabulary.

The inhabitants of Præneste raised the nut tree to a sort of religious worship. This tree had preserved them from famine during the time Hannibal besieged their city,[XIV-29] and since that memorable epoch it had enriched them, for the ancients preferred hazel nuts to all other shell fruit, as possessing most wholesome and nourishing qualities.[XIV-30]