28 BOOKBINDING IN THE TIMES OF
Philodemus , which had about sixty columns, eachcolumn having twenty lines, of the third of a pahnlong. He also says there were Latin manuscripts,some of which were so voluminous, that, unrolled,they would take up a hundred palms. e A long in-terval took place between the publication of this trea-tise and any subsequent fragments, and even up tothe present time little further progress has beenmade/
In addition to the care and attention bestowed onthe preparation and execution of these rolls by theancients, they were not less mindful of their preser-vation. They employed a species of oil extractedfrom the cedar tree, to prevent their destruction frommoths, worms, and other liable injuries. 5 Pliny saysthat the books of Numa were preserved under groundfor five hundred and thirty-five years, from havingbeen rubbed with cedrium, and enclosed in boxesformed of cedar/ The testimony of Ovid, Catullus ,and others, has been before adduced as to its appli-cation for this purpose.
In addition to the coverings of the rolls, the an-cients were accustomed to further protect them from-injury by placing the most valuable in cases or chestsof cedar wood, with the titles or labels at top in thefollowing manner.