The Natural History Volume 3

by PLINY THE ELDER (23 - 79)

23 - Book 15, Chapters 1 - 8: <i>The olive; the nature of the olive and of the new olive oil; olive oil: the countries in which it is produced and its various qualities; fifteen varieties of olives; the nature of olive oil; the culture of the olive: its mode of preservation; the method of making olive oil; forty-eight varieties of artificial oils; amurca</i>

The Natural History Volume 3

Naturalis Historia (Latin for "Natural History") is an encyclopedia published circa AD 77-79 by Pliny the Elder. It is one of the largest single works to have survived from the Roman empire to the modern day and purports to cover the entire field of ancient knowledge, based on the best authorities available to Pliny. The work became a model for all later encyclopedias in terms of the breadth of subject matter examined, the need to reference original authors, and a comprehensive index list of the contents. The scheme of his great work is vast and comprehensive, being nothing short of an encyclopedia of learning and of art so far as they are connected with nature or draw their materials from nature. The work divides neatly into the organic world of plants and animals, and the realm of inorganic matter, although there are frequent digressions in each section. He is especially interested in not just describing the occurrence of plants, animals and insects, but also their exploitation (or abuse) by man, especially Romans. The description of metals and minerals is particularly detailed, and valuable for the history of science as being the most extensive compilation still available from the ancient world. (Summary from Wikipedia)This third volume includes books eleven to fifteen, covering the following subjects:Book 11 - The various kinds of insectsBook 12 - The natural history of treesBook 13 - The natural history of exotic trees and an account of unguentsBook 14 - The natural history of the fruit treesBook 15 - The natural history of the fruit trees


Listen next episodes of The Natural History Volume 3:
24 - Book 15, Chapters 9 - 18: <i>The various kinds of fruit-trees and their natures; four varieties of pine nuts; the quince; six varieties of the peach; twelve kinds of plums; the peach; thirty different kinds of pomes; the fruits that have been most recently introduced; forty-one varieties of the pear; the mode of keeping various fruits and grapes</i> , 25 - Book 15, Chapters 19 - 26: <i> Twenty-nine varieties of the fig; historical anecdotes connected with the fig; caprification; three varieties of the medlar; four varieties of the sorb; nine varieties of the nut; eighteen varieties of the chestnut; the carob</i> , 26 - Book 15, Chapters 27 - 40: <i>The fleshy fruits; the mulberry; the fruit of the arbutus; the relative natures of berry fruits; nine varieties of the cherry; the cornel, the lentisk; thirteen different flavours of juices; the various natures of fruit; the myrtle; eleven varieties of the myrtle; the myrtle used at home in ovations; the laurel; thirteen varieties of it;authors quoted</i>