Page:The Periplus of the Erythræan Sea.djvu/167

 boil. The tint that inclines to red is looked upon as inferior to that which is of a blackish hue.

"The wool that is left to lie in soak for five hours, and then, after carding it, it is thrown in again, until it has fully imbibed the color. The proper proportions for mixing are, for fifty pounds of wool, two hundred pounds of juice of the buccinum and one hundred and eleven of the juice of the pelagiae. From this combination is produced the admirable tint known as amethyst color. To produce the Tyrian hue the wool is soaked in the juice of the pelagiae while the mixture is in an uncooked and raw state; after which its tint is changed by being dipped in the juice of the buccinum It is considered of the best quality when it has exactly the color of clotted blood, and is of a blackish hue to the sight, but of a shining appearance when held up to the light; hence it is that we find Homer speaking of purple blood. (Iliad, E. 83; P, 360.)

"Cornelius Nepos, who died in the reign of the late emperor Augustus, has left the following remarks: 'In the days of my youth the violet purple was in favor, a pound of which used to sell at 100 denarii; and not long after the Tartentine red was all the fashion. This last was succeeded by the Tyrian dibapha (double dyed) which could not be bough for even 1000 denarii per pound. Nowadays who is there who does not have purple hangings and coverings to his banqueting couches, even?"

36. Wine.—This was probably date wine. Its destination, according to §49, was India.

Sir B. Frere (Amoen. Exot., 750, quoted in Yule's Marco Polo, Cordier's edition, I, 115) says "a spirit is still distilled from dates. It is mentioned by Strabo and Dioscorides, according to Kämpfer, who says it was in his time made under the name of a medicinal stomachic; the rich added radix Chinae (rhubarb root), ambergris, and aromatic spices; the poor, licorice and Persian absinth."

This may, however, have included grape wine also, the mountain valleys of Oman having been the region originally producing the muscatel grape.

36. Dates.—Phoenix dactylifera, Linn., order Palmeae. According to De Candolle (L'Origine des Plantes Cultivées, 240), it has existed from prehistoric times in the warm, dry zone which extends from Senegal to the Indus basin, principally between the parallels 15° and 20°. It was an important article of cultivation in Egypt, Arabia, Mesopotamia, and the Indus valley, for its wood, fiber, juice, and fruit.