CHAP. 65.—REEDS USED FOR ARROWS, AND FOR THE PURPOSE
OF WRITING.
It is by the aid of the reed
1 that the nations of the East
decide their wars; fixing in it a barbed point, they inflict a
wound from which the arrow cannot be withdrawn. By the
addition of feathers they accelerate the flight of this instrument of death, and the weapon, if it breaks in the wound,
furnishes the combatants with a weapon afresh. With these
missiles the warriors darken the very rays of the sun.
2 It is
for this reason more particularly that they desire a clear and
serene sky, and hold in abhorrence all windy and rainy weather,
which has the effect of compelling them, in spite of themselves, to be at peace with one another.
If a person were carefully to enumerate the peoples of
Æthiopia, Egypt, Arabia, India, Scythia, Bactria, and Sarmatia,
together with all the numerous peoples of the East, and the
vast realms of the Parthians, he would find that fully one-half
of mankind throughout the whole world live under a dominion
imposed by the agency of the arrow. It was their surpassing
excellence in this arm that so ennobled the warriors of Crete,
though in this respect, as well as in all others, Italy has
gained the mastery; there being no reed in existence better
adapted for making arrows than that found in the Rhenus, a
river of the territory of Bononia: filled with a greater quantity of pith than any of the others, it is light, and easily
cleaves the air, while at the same time it has sufficient weight
to resist the action of the wind; an advantage that is not
possessed in an equal degree by those employed among the
Belgæ. These advantages, however, are possessed by the
most approved kinds that are found in Crete, although those
of India are preferred; in the opinion of some persons, however, these last are of a totally different nature, for by adding a
point to them, the natives are able to use them as lances even.
Indeed, we find that in India the reed grows to the thickness
of a tree, a fact which is proved by the specimens which are
everywhere to be seen in our temples. The Indians assure
us that in this plant, too, there is the distinction of male and
female; the body of the male being more compact, and that
of the female of a larger size. In addition to this, if we can
credit the fact, a single compartment between the joints is
sufficiently large to answer the purposes of a boat.
3 These
reeds are found more particularly on the banks of the river
Acesines.
In every variety of the reed a single root gives birth to
numerous stems, and if cut down, they will shoot again with
increased fecundity. The root, which is naturally tenacious
of life, is also jointed as well as the stem. The reeds of India
are the only ones in which the leaves are short; but in all the
varieties these leaves take their rise at the joints, and surround
the stem with a fine tissue about half way upwards to the
next joint, and then leave the stem and droop downwards.
The reed, as well as the calamus, although rounded, has two
sides, which throw out leaves alternately from above the joints,
in such a way that when one springs from the right side, the
next issues from the joint above it on the left, and so in
turns. Branches, too, shoot occasionally from the stem, being
themselves reeds of diminutive growth.