CHAP. 15. (10.)—SHINGLES.
The best shingles are those made of the wood of the robur;
the next best being those furnished by the other glandiferous
trees and the beech. Those most easily made are cut from
the wood of the resinous trees, but they do not last, [Note]
with the exception of those made of pine. Cornelius
Nepos informs us, that Rome was roofed solely with shingles
down to the time of the war with Pyrrhus, a period of four
hundred and seventy years. It is well known that it was
remarkable for the fine forests in its vicinity. Even at the
present day, the name of Jupiter Fagutalus points out in
what locality there stood a grove of beeches; [Note] the Querquetulan Gate shows where the quercus once stood, and the Viminal Hill is the spot where the "vimen" [Note] was sought in
ancient times. In many other parts, too, there were groves
to be found, and sometimes as many as two. Q. Hortensius,
the Dictator, on the secession of the plebeians to the Janiculum, passed a law in the Æsculetum, [Note] that what the plebeians had enacted should be binding upon every Roman
citizen. [Note]