Sed truncis oleæ melius, propagine vites Sed truncis, &c.] Here the poet speaks of the several ways of cultivating trees by human industry; and gives us a no less just than beautiful description of the manner of inoculating and ingrafting. Truncus is properly a stock of a tree, divested of its head: hence these taleæ, or branches, with their heads cut off, are called trunci. The French derive their word troncon from truncus; and hence comes our word truncheon. The winters in England are generally too severe, to suffer olivetrees to be planted in the open ground. The way of propagating them here is by laying down their tender branches, and taking them from the motherplant in about two years. This method is so tedious, that most people choose to have them from Italy in the spring. They are usually planted in pots or cases, and removed into the green-house at the approach of winter. Propagine vites respondent.] Virgil here recommends the propagation of vines by layers: which is still practised. 65 70 tus.] The myrtles are called Paphian from Paphos a city of the island Cyprus, where Venus was worshipped. The myrtle was sacred to that goddess: see the note on ver. 28. of the first book. By solido de robore he seems to mean planting by sets. Plantis.] By plantis the poet means suckers; which is a me. thod still in common practice : though it is now found to be a better way to propagate them by layers. Herculeæque arbos umbrosa corona.] The tree of Hercules was the poplar. Casus abies visura marinos.] The abies is our yew-leaved firtree. The wood of this tree was much used by the ancients in their shipping. Steriles platani malos gessere valentes.] The platanus is our oriental plane-tree, without all question. Dionysius, the geographer, compares the form of the Morea, or ancient Peloponnesus, to the leaves of this tree, making the footstalk to be the isthmus, by which it is joined to Greece. Solido Paphie de robore myr Castanea fagos.] The commentators have been induced to Flore pyri, glandemque sues fregere sub ulmis. alter the text, on a supposition, Ornusque incanuit albo flore pyri.] What the Romans called ornus seems to be the sorbus aucuparia or quicken-tree, which grows in mountainous places; not only in Italy, but in many parts, especially the northern counties of England, where it is commonly called the mountain ash. I have sometimes suspected that the ornus may be that sort of ash, from which the 75 manna is said to be gathered in Calabria. Inserere, atque oculos imponere.] Here the poet shews the difference between grafting and inoculating. Inoculation, or budding, is performed by making a slit in the bark of one tree, and inserting the bud of another into it. There are several ways of grafting now in use, but the only one which Virgil describes, is what we call cleft-grafting, which is performed by cleaving the head of the stock, and placing a cion from another tree in the cleft. Trunci.] We call the body of a tree the trunk: but truncus is not used for the body, unless the head be cut off. The body of a tree when it is adorned with its branches, is called caudex or codex. To conclude the notes on this passage about ingrafting and inoculating it seems impossible not to observe the beautiful manner in which our poet has described them. The variety of expression which he has used in speaking of the different sorts of ingrafted trees, and the various epithets he bestows on them, render this passage exceedingly delightful. The arbute is distinguished by its ruggedness; the plane by its Finditur in solidum cuneis via; deinde feraces Plantæ immittuntur: nec longum tempus, et ingens 80 Miraturque novas frondes, et non sua poma. barren shade; and the pear by its snowy blossoms. It would have become a prose writer, simply to have said that any cion may be ingrafted on any stock but a poet must add beauty to his instructions, and convey the plainest precepts in the most agreeable manner. Thus Virgil, after he had said that walnuts are ingrafted on arbutes, apples on planes, and beeches on chesnuts, adorns the wild ash with the fine blossoms of the pear and instead of barely telling us that oaks may be ingrafted on elms, he represents the swine crunching acorns under elms, than which nothing can be more poetical. At the close of this passage, he gives life and sense to his ingrafted trees; making them wonder at the unknown leaves and fruits with which they are loaded. Loto.] There is a tree, and also an herb, called lotus by the ancients. But it is the tree which Virgil here speaks of. Idris cyparissis.] He calls 85 the cypress Idean, from Ida, a mountain of Crete. Nec pingues unam in faciem nascuntur olive.] There are many sorts or varieties of olives: though they are not so numerous as apples, pears, and plums. Cato mentions eight sorts. Radii.] The radius is a long olive, so called from its similitude to a weaver's shuttle. Amara pausia bacca.] The poet mentions the bitter berry of this sort of olive, because it is to be gathered before it is quite ripe; for then it has a bitter or austere taste. Alcinoi sylva.] The gardens of Alcinous, in which were groves of fruit trees, are celebrated in the seventh Odyssey. Crustumiis, Syriisque pyris gravibusque volemis.] The crustumia, or, as others call them, crustumina, were reckoned the best sort of pears. The volemi are so called, quia volam manus impleant, because they fill the palm of the hand. Quam Methymnæo carpit de palmite Lesbos. Methymnæo.] Methymna is a city of Lesbos, an island of the Ægean sea, famous for good wine. Thasia vites.] Thasus is another island of the same sea. The Thasian wine is mentioned by Pliny, as being in high esteem. Mareotides alba.] It is disputed whether these vines are so called from Mareia, or Mareotis, a lake near Alexandria ; from Mareotis, a part of Africa, called also Marmarica, and now Barca; or from Mareotis, a part of Epirus. Passo Psythia utilior.] Passum is a wine made from raisins, or dried grapes. Tenuis lageos.] The lageos is so called, on account of its colour. This was not an Italian, but a foreign wine, as we are informed by Pliny. Some think that tenuis signifies weak, and therefore that the poet uses olim, to signify that it will be long before it affects the head. I 90 95 100 take tenuis in this place to signify what we call a light wine. Quo te carmine dicam, Rhatica?] Rhætia is a country bordering upon Italy. It has been questioned whether this expression of Virgil is intended to praise the Rhætian wines or not. Nec cellis ideo contende Falernis.] Falernus is the name of a mountain of Campania, famous for the best wine Tmolius adsurgit quibus, et rex ipse Phanæus.] Phanæ or Phanæa is the name of a mountain of Chios, now called Scio. The Chian wines are abundantly celebrated by the Greek and Roman writers. Argitis.] This is thought to be so called from Argos, a city, and kingdom in the Morea, or ancient Peloponnesus. Dis, et mensis.] The first course was of flesh, and the second, or dessert, of fruit; at which they poured out wine to the gods, which was called liba |