Pliny, Natural History, Evaluation

Pliny examines the assortment of ailments affecting trees as well as their treatments. He examines the soil’s role in providing natural treatments for tree illnesses and notes that some of these treatments are universal to all tree diseases, such as loosening the soil, banking it up, and allowing air to reach the roots. He also accepts various therapeutic approaches, such as releasing the sap in a manner similar to a surgical blood loss, which then enables vein spraying and vein stretching. According to the author, some trees are naturally exposed to this kind of treatment more than others he claims for example that cypress tree is mote exposed to this kind of treatment more than pother kind of trees like fig tree (Pliny,1989).

In cypress tree for example there is the ultimately hates the pruning and the irrigation that may done around its roots but the activities that hated by the cypress are really liked by the vines and the pomegranates. In the case of the fig tree the irrigation not only makes the fruit decay but also nourishes the tree itself.. Some other trees like he almond tree eventually looses their blossom upon exposure to cleaning around them through digging. Some other trees however want the burdensome growth around them reduced eventually pruned away since they cannot have the burdensome and excessive superfluous growth of trees around them for so long. Old trees in this series prefer to be cut down but with immediate effect are able to spring up from the suckers but it is a fact that not all of them can do this but only the ones that have been exposed to natural abilities to spring up immediately after being cut down.

In the second subtopic, pliny analyses the importance of irrigation to trees and concepts the ability of the trees to survive evidently during the days when there is a lot of heat. He analyses the reasons why the winter is sometimes bad for the trees. The dogs star in particular takes advantage of the need for the irrigation for its evident rise since the roots are hurt when exposed to the point of intoxication. He then relates the age of the tree to the due amount of water that each of them is able through take at a given point in time. Young trees, he states, are not as thirsty as the trees that are already old enough are. However, he points out that the trees that need a lot of water are those that are already exposed to a lot of water and they cannot do without it.

Some other trees however do not need to be watered at all. Herbaceous plants in parts of Italy are killed by irrigation whereas the same irrigation flourishes so much the corn and it grows immediately with strength and health. The medical treatment of trees according to the author to some extent may represent that of human beings to certain standards especially in consideration to the fact that the bones of the trees are also treated using perforation of the of the bones. Fruit trees that are able to make buds are seen to be able to undergo treatment through making of clefts in the root and through the insertion of a stone in it, which makes tem bear. The same result according to the author may also be seen when almonds are exposed to the same effect.

Finally, Fliny exposes the gall insect’s process and its relation to the unripe figs and the giving birth to the gnats in their flying away and their absence of the seeds in the fruits when they fly away because the fruits are already turned to be gnats and therefore they cannot be called fruits again. There is a kind of gnat called sting fly, which resemble the drone bees both in their sloth and malice and also in the comparison to the killing of the genuine and serviceable insects for the sting flies. The moths, which are also insects, attack the gnats and the only remedy they sometimes could have is the burying of the figs in the mastic when they are upside down. In order to make the fig trees bear large crops is simply to understand the dilution of the red earth with the lees from the olive press that is then mixed with dung and exposed to the natural heat from the sun. This is then poured to the mixture of the roots of the trees when they are just about to start to make leaves. The ;largest number of grans that are contained by the wild figs especially those that are grow in the rocky places and the black ones make them become more become highly spoken of more than other trees(Pliny,2003). He concludes after the analysis of the tree types need for water that the best times that for the actual process of the transference of the gall insect from the actual gall insect especially from the wild fig tree is exactly after the rain has just fallen.

Pliny a natural historian live in Italy between the 17th century and was mainly interested in the study of history of natural life of plants and animals and their geographical considerations. He established ancient relationship between his researches on different kinds of natural history in comparison to the recent new research done by other natural historians. The books were usually covered in the Royal numerical and were used to include the sentiments of other natural historians in the sane sensed that Pliny also did the same. Pliny fits the work in this series with a short but articulate analysis and mention of several natural plants and animal relationship like the one he does in most of his works.

Through the examination of the topic in which he discusses the need for plants for irrigation and the different abilities of the plants to absorb water he naturally exposes his work in the outermost intensive manner in relation to his basic study of the natural history like he does in most of his works. The work of Fliny presented here shows the author present a short analysis of his natural history and compared to his norm. It is perfectly the intent of the author to actively engage the mind of the reader in a short and exclusive essay that allows the reader the chance to think creatively over short sentences with a lot of information at the same time. This style used by Pliny is the normal transcendent that he has exposed in most of his works before and is used to engage the active mind of the reader or the student.

The accuracy of Plinys work is acceptable and cannot be argued. The scientific information resented by Pliny in his analysis is a great show of research done from scientific bibliographies and are actively meant to analyze the need of plants in relation to water and the natural feeding habits. Since Pliny was basing his arguments on observations and conclusions that were based on observations from the plants he articulates his natural setting of the plants and gives them definite characteristics according to the actual setting of the environment both geographically and according to the climate setting (Bryskog, 2003).

The author is evidently advancing on the topic according to the comparisons that he is giving depending on the actual analysis of the plants that he analyses and puts forth. Though he does little comparisons with earlier works, it is plain that the author uses comparison from other past studies done by himself to give certain definite conclusions to some aspects of the study that seem important and directs them with a lot of evidence. Therefore, it is true to say that the author is clearly advancing on his knowledge on natural history of plants according to his studies. The subject expose that interdependence between plants and other plants and the interdependence between the same plants and the climatic conditions where they live in. According to the study plants are in need of water at different levels depending on the past and use of water. In the same way, some plants will depend on other climatic conditions like heat to expand their growth more than other water.

ReferencesTop of Form

Byrskog, S. (2002). Story as history--history as story: The gospel tradition in the context of ancient oral history. Boston: Brill Academic PublishersBottom of Form

Pliny, ., & Merrill, E. T. (1989). Selected letters of Pliny the Younger. London, U.K: Macmillan.

Pliny, ., Riley, H. T., & Bostock, J. (2003). Natural history of Pliny. London and: D.L. Bell and Sons.