ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, V. VII. 1–3
speaking, useful for ship-building; for triremes and long ships are made of silver-fir, because of its lightness, and merchant ships of fir, because it does not decay; while some make triremes of it also because they are ill provided with silver-fir. The people of Syria and Phoenicia use Syrian cedar, since they cannot obtain much fir either; while the people of Cyprus use Aleppo pine, since their island provides this and it seems to be superior to their fir. Most parts are made of these woods; but the keel for a trireme[1] is made of oak, that it may stand the hauling; and for merchantmen it is made of fir. However they put an oaken keel under this when they are hauling, or for smaller vessels a keel of beech;[2] and the sheathing[3] is made entirely of this wood.
[4](However oak-wood does not join well with glue on to fir or silver-fir; for the one is of close, the other of open grain, the one is uniform, the other not so; whereas things which are to be made into one piece should be of similar character, and not of opposite character, like wood and stone.)
The work of bentwood[5] for vessels is made of mulberry manna-ash elm or plane; for it must be tough and strong. That made of plane-wood is the worst, since it soon decays. For triremes some make such parts of Aleppo pine because of its lightness. The cutwater,[6] to which the sheathing is attached,[7] and the catheads are made of manna-ash mulberry
- ↑ τριήρει conj. W.; τριήρη U; τριήρης MV; τριήρεσι Ald.
- ↑ ταῖς δ᾿ ἐλάττοσιν ὀξυίνην conj. W. (τοῖς Sch.); τοῖς μὲν ἐλάττοσιν ὀξύη Ald. cf. Plin. 16. 226.
- ↑ χέλυσμα, a temporary covering for the bottom: so Poll. and Hesych. explain.
- ↑ This sentence is out of place; its right place is perhaps at the end of § 4.
- ↑ τορνεία; but the word is perhaps corrupt: one would expect the name of some part of the vessel.
- ↑ στερέωμα: apparently the fore part of the keel; = στεῖρα
- ↑ πρὸρ ᾧ τὸ χέλυσμα conj. W. after Scal,; πρόσω· τὸ σχέλυσμα Ald. (σχέλομα M, χέλυσμα U) πρόσω· τὸ δὲ χέλυσμα m Bas.
