Page:The Natural History of Pliny.djvu/169

 Cliap. 106.] WO>"DEES OF FOUNTAINS AND EITEES. 135 springs, which increase and decrease at the same time with the tides of the sea In the territory of Pitinum, on the other side of the Apennines, the river Novamis, Avhich during the solstice is quite a torrent, is dry in the winter-. In Faliscum, all the water which the oxen di'ink turns them white; in Boeotia, the river Melas turns the sheep black ; the Cephissus, which flows out of a lake of the same name, turns them white^ ; again, the Peneus turns them black, and the Xanthus, near Ilium, makes them red, whence the river derives its name'*. In Pontus, the river Astaces waters certain plains, where the mares give black milk, which the people use in diet. In E-eate there is a spring called ISTeminia, which rises up sometimes in one place and sometimes in another, and in this way indicates a change in the produce of the earth^. There is a spring in the Harbour of Brundisiuui tliat yields water which never becomes putrid at sea. The water of the Lyncestis, which is said to be acidulous, intoxi- cates like wine^ ; this is the case also in Paphlagonia' and in the territory of Calenum^. In the island of Andi^os, at the temple of Father Bacchus, we are assured by Mucianus, who was thrice consul, that there is a spring, which, on the nones of January, always has the flavour of wine ; it is called ' Hardouin informs us, that these warm springs are called " i bagni di Monte Falcone," or " di S. Antonio." They are situate so very near the sea, that we may suppose some communication to exist, which may pro- duce the alleged effect. Lemaire. ' 2 According to Hardouin this is the modem Torre di Pitino ; he con- ceives that the river here mentioned niust be the Vomanus. The effect here described is, to a certain extent, always the case with rivers which proceed from mountains that are covered with snow. Lemaire, i. 445. 3 Seneca, Nat. Quaest. iii. 25, makes the same remark : the fact would Beem to be, that in certain districts the cattle are found to be for the most part white, and in other places black ; but we have no reason to suppose that their colour has any connexion with the water which they emjiloy. 4 This is asserted by Aristotle, Hist. Anim. iii. 12. We have a similar statement made by ^han respecting the Scamander ; viii. 21. ° " Annonse mutationem significans." ^ The peculiar natvu-e of the water of the Lyncestis is rcfeiTcd to by many of the ancients : we may suppose that it was strongly impregnated with carbonic acid gas. See Ovid, Met. xv. 329-331 ; also Arittotle, Meteor, ii. 3, and Seneca, Nat. Quast. iii. 20. 7 Vitruvius and Athena^us. 8 Calenum was a towTi in Campania ; this peculiar property of its ■srater is refei-red to by Yal. Maxim us, i. 8, 18.