As to the other kinds of poppies which spring up spontaneously, we shall have occasion to speak of them when treating of the medicinal plants.[1206] That the poppy has always been held in esteem among the Romans, we have a proof in the story related of Tarquinius[1207] Superbus, who, by striking down the tallest poppies in his garden, surreptitiously conveyed, unknown to them, his sanguinary message through the envoys who had been sent by his son. CHAP. 54.—OTHER PLANTS WHICH REQUIRE TO BE SOWN AT THE AUTUMNAL EQUINOX. There are some other plants, again, which require to be sown together at the time of the autumnal equinox; coriander, for instance, anise, orage, mallows, lapathum, chervil, known to the Greeks as “pæderos,”[1208] and mustard,[1209] which has so pungent a flavour, that it burns like fire, though at the same time it is remarkably wholesome for the body. This last, though it will grow without cultivation, is considerably improved by being transplanted; though, on the other hand, it is extremely difficult to rid the soil of it when once sown there, the seed when it falls germinating immediately. This seed, when cooked in the saucepan,[1210] is employed even for making ragouts, its pungency being rendered imperceptible by boiling; the leaves, too, are boiled just the same way as those of other vegetables. There are three different kinds of mustard,[1211] the first of a thin, slender form, the second, with a leaf like that of the rape, and the third, with that of rocket: the best seed comes from Egypt. The Athenians have given mustard the name of “napy,”[1212] others, “thapsi,”[1213] and others, again, “saurion.”[1214] CHAP. 55.—WILD THYME; SISYMBRIUM. Most mountains abound with wild thyme and sisymbrium, those of Thrace, for example, where[1215] branches of these wild plants are torn up and brought away for planting. So, too, the people of Sicyon seek for wild thyme on their mountains, and the Athenians on the slopes of Hymettus. Sisymbrium, too, is planted in a similar manner; it grows to the greatest perfection upon the walls of wells, and around fish preserves and ponds.[1216] CHAP. 56. (9.)—FOUR KINDS OF FERULACEOUS PLANTS. HEMP. The other garden plants are of the ferulaceous kind, such as fennel, for instance, very grateful to serpents, as already stated,[1217] and used for numerous seasonings when dried; thapsia, too, which bears a close resemblance to fennel, and already mentioned by us when speaking[1218] of the exotic shrubs. Then, too, there is hemp,[1219] a plant remarkably useful for making ropes, and usually sown after the west winds have begun to prevail: the more thickly it is sown, the thinner are the stalks. The seed is gathered when ripe, just after the autumnal equinox, and is dried by the agency of the sun, the wind, or smoke.[1220] The hemp itself is plucked just after vintage-time, and is peeled and cleaned by the labourers at night.