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lition. But as soon as the fire was extinct, the towerappeared still unhurt; and Caesar, wondering at thecause of it, ordered it to he blockaded out of arrow’sflight, and thus carried the town, which was deliveredup to him by its trembling inhabitants. They werethen asked where they obtained this sort of wood, whichwould not burn. They shewed him the trees, which arein great abundance in those parts. Thus, as the fortresswas called Larignum, so the wood, whereof the towerwas built, is called larigna (larch). It is brought downthe Po to Ravenna, for the use of the municipalities ofFano, Pesaro, Ancona, and the other cities in that dis-trict. If there were a possibility of transporting it toRome, it would be very useful in the buildings there ; ifnot generally, at least it would be excellent for the platesunder the eaves of those houses in Rome which are in-sulated, as they would be thus secured from catchingfire, since they would neither ignite nor consume, norburn into charcoal. The leaves of these trees are similarto those of the pine-tree ; the fibres of them straight,and not harder to work in joinery than the pine-tree.The wood contains a liquid resin, of the colour of Attichoney, which is a good remedy in cases of phthisis. Ihave now treated of the different sorts of timber, andof their natural properties, as well as of the proportionof the elements in each. It only remains to enquire,why that species of fir, which is known in Rome by thename of Supernas, is not so good as that which is calledInfernas, whose durability in buildings is so great. Ishall therefore explain how their good and bad qualitiesarise from the situations in which they grow, that theymay be clearly understood.

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