The Natural History of Pliny, Volume 4 (of 6)

Chapter 486: CHAP. 36.—WHITE OLIVES: FOUR REMEDIES. BLACK OLIVES: THREE REMEDIES.

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The text compiles practical and encyclopedic guidance on crop cultivation and plant uses, beginning with cereals and farm management — types of grain, sowing and harvesting schedules, ploughing, seed selection, storage, and maladies — plus weather and stellar prognostics for agricultural timing. It proceeds to flax and garden plants, detailing varieties, planting and processing methods, garden layout, and pest and disease remedies. The final section assembles medicinal preparations and numerous remedies derived from vegetables and herbs, listing applications and recipes for treating ailments using garden-grown plants.

CHAP. 36.—WHITE OLIVES: FOUR REMEDIES. BLACK OLIVES: THREE REMEDIES.

White olives are wholesome for the upper regions of the stomach, but not so good for the bowels. Eaten by themselves, habitually as a diet, quite fresh and before they are preserved, they are remarkably serviceable, having the effect of curing gravel,2985 and of strengthening the teeth when worn or loosened by the use of meat.

Black olives, on the other hand, are not so wholesome for the upper regions of the stomach, but are better for the bowels; they are not good, however, for the head or for the eyes. Both kinds, pounded and applied topically, are good for the cure of burns, but the black olive is sometimes chewed first, and instantly applied to the sore, for the purpose of preventing blisters from forming. Colymbades 2986 act as a detergent for foul ulcers, but they are bad for persons suffering from strangury.