herodotus

produced, I think that I perceive. In the preceding year, when theNile goes down, the fish first lay eggs in the mud and then retirewith the last of the retreating waters; and when the time comes roundagain, and the water once more comes over the land, from these eggsforthwith are produced the fishes of which I speak.94. Thus it is as regards the fish. And for anointing those of theEgyptians who dwell in the fens use oil from the castor-berry,[80]which oil the Egyptians call /kiki/, and thus they do:--they sow alongthe banks of the rivers and pools these plants, which in a wild formgrow of themselves in the land of the Hellenes; these are sown inEgypt and produce berries in great quantity but of an evil smell; andwhen they have gathered these, some cut them up and press the oil fromthem, others again roast them first and then boil them down andcollect that which runs away from them. The oil is fat and not lesssuitable for burning than olive-oil, but it gives forth a disagreeablesmell. 95. Against the gnats, which are very abundant, they havecontrived as follows:--those who dwell above the fen-land are helpedby the towers, to which they ascend when they go to rest; for thegnats by reason of the winds are not able to fly up high: but thosewho dwell in the fen-land have contrived another way instead of thetowers, and this is it:--every man of them has got a casting net, withwhich by day he catches fish, but in the night he uses it for thispurpose, that is to say he puts the casting-net round about the bed inwhich he sleeps, and then creeps in under it and goes to sleep: andthe gnats, if he sleeps rolled up in a garment or a linen sheet, bitethrough these, but through the net they do not even attempt to bite.96. Their boats with which they carry cargoes are made of the thornyacacia, of which the form is very like that of the Kyrenian lotos, andthat which exudes from it is gum. From this tree they cut pieces ofwood about two cubits in length and arrange them like bricks,fastening the boat together by running a great number of long boltsthrough the two-cubit pieces; and when they have thus fastened theboat together, they lay cross-pieces[81] over the top, using no ribsfor the sides; and within they caulk the seams with papyrus. They makeone steering-oar for it, which is passed through the bottom of theboat; and they have a mast of acacia and sails of papyrus. These boatscannot sail up the river unless there be a very fresh wind blowing,but are towed from the shore: down-stream however they travel asfollows:--they have a door-shaped crate made of tamarisk wood and reedmats sewn together, and also a stone of about two talents weight boredwith a hole; and of these the boatman lets the crate float on in frontof the boat, fastened with a rope, and the stone drag behind byanother rope. The crate then, as the force of the stream presses uponit, goes on swiftly and draws on the /baris/ (for so these boats are