CHAP. 18.—PARÆTONIUM.
Parætonium [Note] is so called from the place [Note] of that name in
Egypt. It is sea-foam, [Note] they say, solidified with slime, and
hence it is that minute shells are often found in it. It is prepared
also in the Isle of Crete, and at Cyrenæ. At Rome, it is
adulterated with Cimolian [Note] earth, boiled and thickened. The
price of that of the highest quality is fifty denarii per six
pounds. This is the most unctuous of all the white colours,
and the most tenacious as a coating for plaster, the result of
its smoothness.
