Delphi Complete Works of Varro

by Marcus Terentius Varro

  [9.1] “The nature of the soil, I say, makes a great difference, in determining to what it is or is not adapted. The word terra is used in three senses, the general, the specific, and the mixed. It is used in the general sense when we speak of the orbis terrae, or of the terra of Italy or any other country; for in that designation are included rock, and sand, and other such things. The word is used specifically in the second sense when it is employed without the addition of a qualifying word or epithet. [2] It is used in the third or mixed sense, of the element in which seed can be planted and germinate — such as clay soil, rocky soil, etc. In this last sense of the word there are as many varieties of earth as when it is used in the general sense, on account of the different combinations of substances. For there are many substances in the soil, varying in consistency and strength, such as rock, marble, rubble, sand, loam, clay, red ochre, dust, chalk, ash, carbuncle (that is, when the ground becomes so hot from the sun that it chars the roots of plants); [3] and soil, using the word in its specific sense, is called chalky or . . . according as one of these elements predominates — and so of other types of soil. The classes of these vary in such a way that there are, besides other subdivisions, at least three for each type: rocky soil, for instance, may be very rocky, or moderately rocky, or almost free of rocks, and in the case of other varieties of mixed soil the same three grades are distinguished. [4] And further, each of these three grades contains three grades: one may be very wet, one very dry, one intermediate. And these distinctions are not without the greatest importance for the crops; thus the intelligent farmer plants spelt rather than wheat on wet land, and on the other hand barley rather than spelt on dry land, while he plants either on the intermediate. [5] Furthermore, even finer distinctions are made in all these classes, as, for instance, in loamy soil it makes a difference whether the loam be white or red, as the whitish loam is not suited to nurseries, while the reddish is well adapted. Thus there are three chief distinctions in soil, according as it is poor, rich, or medium; the rich being able to produce many kinds of vegetation, and the poor quite the opposite. In thin soil, as, for instance, in Pupinia, you see no sturdy trees, nor vigorous vines, nor stout straw, nor mariscan figs, and most of the trees are covered with moss, as are the parched meadows. [6] On the other hand, in rich soil, like that in Etruria, you can see rich crops, land that can be worked steadily, sturdy trees, and no moss anywhere. In the case of medium soil, however, such as that near Tibur, the nearer it comes to not being thin than to being sterile, the more it is suited to all kinds of growth than if it inclined to the poorer type.” [7] “Diophanes of Bithynia makes a good point,” remarked Stolo, “when he writes that you can judge whether land is fit for cultivation or not, either from the soil itself or from the vegetation growing on it: from the soil according as it is white or black, light and crumbling easily when it is dug, of a consistency not ashy and not excessively heavy; from the wild vegetation growing on it if it is luxuriant and bearing abundantly its natural products. But proceed to your third topic, that of measurement.”

  [10.1] Scrofa resumed: “Each country has its own method of measuring land. Thus in farther Spain the unit of measure is the iugum, in Campania the versus, with us here in the district of Rome and in Latium the iugerum. The iugum is the amount of land which a yoke of oxen can plough in a day; the versus is an area 100 feet square; [2] the iugerum an area containing two square actus. The square actus, which is an area 120 feet in each direction, is called in Latin acnua. The smallest section of the iugerum, an area ten feet square, is called a scripulum; and hence surveyors sometimes speak of the odd fractions of land above the iugerum as an uncia or a sextans, or the like; for the iugerum contains 288 scripula, which was the weight of the old pound before the Punic War. Two iugera form a haeredium, from the fact that this amount was said to have been first allotted to each citizen by Romulus, as the amount that could be transmitted by will. Later on 100 haeredia were called a centuria; this is a square area, each side being 2400 feet long. Further, four such centuriae, united in such a way that there are two on each side, are called a saltus in the distribution of public lands.

  [11.1] “Many errors result from the failure to observe the measurement of the farm, some building a steading smaller and some larger than the dimensions demand — each of which is prejudicial to the estate and its revenue. For buildings which are too large cost us too much for construction and require too great a sum for upkeep; and if they are smaller than the farm requires the products are usually ruined. [2] There is no doubt, for instance, that a larger wine cellar should be built on an estate where there is a vineyard, and larger granaries if it is a grain farm.

  “The steading should be so built that it will have water, if possible, within the enclosure, or at least very near by. The best arrangement is to have a spring on the place, or, failing this, a perennial stream. If no running water is available, cisterns should be built under cover and a reservoir in the open, the one for the use of people and the other for cattle.

  [12.1] “Especial care should be taken, in locating the steading, to place it at the foot of a wooded hill, where there are broad pastures, and so as to be exposed to the most healthful winds that blow in the region. A steading facing the east has the best situation, as it has the shade in summer and the sun in winter. If you are forced to build on the bank of a river, be careful not to let the steading face the river, as it will be extremely cold in winter, and unwholesome in summer. [2] Precautions must also be taken in the neighbourhood of swamps, both for the reasons given, and because there are bred certain minute creatures which cannot be seen by the eyes, which float in the air and enter the body through the mouth and nose and there cause serious diseases.” “What can I do,” asked Fundanius, “to prevent disease if I should inherit a farm of that kind?” “Even I can answer that question,” replied Agrius; “sell it for the highest cash price; or if you can’t sell it, abandon it.” [3] Scrofa, however, replied: “See that the steading does not face in the direction from which the infected wind usually comes, and do not build in a hollow, but rather on elevated ground, as a well-ventilated place is more easily cleared if anything obnoxious is brought in. Furthermore, being exposed to the sun during the whole day, it is more wholesome, as any animalculae which are bred near by and brought in are either blown away or quickly die from the lack of humidity. [4] Sudden rains and swollen streams are dangerous to those who have their buildings in low-lying depressions, as are also the sudden raids of robber bands, who can more easily take advantage of those who are off their guard. Against both these dangers the more elevated situations are safer.

  [13.1] “In laying out the steading, you should arrange the stables so that the cow-stalls will be at the place which will be warmest in winter. Such liquid products as wine and oil should be set away in store-rooms on level ground, and jars for oil and wine should be provided; while dry products, such as beans and hay, should be stored in a floored space. A place should be provided for the hands to stay in when they are tired from work or from cold or heat, where they can recover in comfort. [2] The overseer’s room should be next to the entrance, where he can know who comes in or goes out at night and what he takes; and especially if there is no porter. Especially should care be taken that the kitchen be conveniently placed, because there in winter there is a great deal going on before daylight, in the preparation and eating of food. Sheds of sufficient size should also be provided in the barnyard for the carts and all other implements which are injured by rain; for if these are kept in an enclosure inside the walls, but in the open, they will not have to fear thieves, yet they will be exposed to injurious weather. [3] On a large farm it is better to have two farm-yards: one, containing an outdoor reservoir — a pond with running water, which, surrounded by columns, if you like, will form a sort of fish-pond; for here the cattle will drink, and here they will bathe themselves when brought in from ploughing in the summer, not to mention the geese and hogs and pigs when they come from pasture; and in the outer
yard there should be a pond for the soaking of lupines and other products which are rendered more fit for use by being immersed in water. [4] As the outer yard is often covered with chaff and straw trampled by the cattle, it becomes the handmaid of the farm because of what is cleaned off it. Hard by the steading there should be two manure pits, or one pit divided into two parts; into one part should be cast the fresh manure and from the other the rotted manure should be hauled into the field; for manure is not so good when it is put in fresh as when it is well rotted. The best type of manure pit is that in which the top and sides are protected from the sun by branches and leaves; for the sun ought not to dry out the essence which the land needs. It is for this reason that experienced farmers arrange it, when possible, so that water will collect there, for in this way the strength is best retained; and some people place the privies for the servants on it. [5] You should build a shed large enough to store the whole yield of the farm under cover. This shed, which is sometimes called a nubilarium, should be built hard by the floor on which you are to thresh the grain; it should be of a size proportioned to that of the farm, and open only on one side, that next to the threshing floor, so that you can easily throw out the grain for threshing, and quickly throw it back again, if it begins to ‘get cloudy.’ You should have windows on the side from which it can be ventilated most easily.” [6] “A farm is undoubtedly more profitable, so far as the buildings are concerned,” said Fundanius, “if you construct them more according to the thrift of the ancients than the luxury of the moderns; for the former built to suit the size of their crops, while the latter build to suit their unbridled luxury. Hence their farms cost more than their dwelling-houses, while now the opposite is usually the case. In those days a steading was praised if it had a good kitchen, roomy stables, and cellars for wine and oil in proportion to the size of the farm, with a floor sloping to a reservoir, because often, after the new wine is laid by, not only the butts which they use in Spain but also the jars which are used in Italy are burst by the fermentation of the must. [7] In like manner they took care that the steading should have everything else that was required for agriculture; while in these times, on the other hand, the effort is to have as large and handsome a dwelling-house as possible; and they vie with the ‘farm houses’ of Metellus and Lucullus, which they have built to the great damage of the state. What men of our day aim at is to have their summer dining-rooms face the cool east and their winter dining-rooms face the west, rather than, as the ancients did, to see on what side the wine and oil cellars have their windows; for in a cellar wine requires cooler air on the jars, while oil requires warmer. Likewise you should see that, if there be a hill, the house, unless something prevents, should be placed there by preference.”

  [14.1] “Now I shall speak of the enclosures which are constructed for the protection of the farm as a whole, or its divisions. There are four types of such defences: the natural, the rustic, the military, and the masonry type; and each of these types has several varieties. The first type, the natural, is a hedge, usually planted with brush or thorn, having roots and being alive, and so with nothing to fear from the flaming torch of a mischievous passer-by. [2] The second type, the rustic, is made of wood, but is not alive. It is built either of stakes planted close and intertwined with brush; or of thick posts with holes bored through, having rails, usually two or three to the panel, thrust into the openings; or of trimmed trees placed end to end, with the branches driven into the ground. The third, or military type, is a trench and bank of earth; but the trench is adequate only if it can hold all the rain water, or has a slope sufficient to enable it to drain the water off the land. [3] The bank is serviceable which is close to the ditch on the inside, or so steep that it is not easy to climb. This type of enclosure is usually built along public roads and along streams. At several points along the Via Salaria, in the district of Crustumeria, one may see banks combined with trenches to prevent the river from injuring the fields. Banks built without trenches, such as occur in the district of Reate, are sometimes called walls. [4] The fourth and last type of fence, that of masonry, is a wall, and there are usually four varieties: that which is built of stone, such as occurs in the district of Tusculum; that of burned brick, such as occurs in the Ager Gallicus; that of sun-dried brick, such as occurs in the Sabine country; and that formed of earth and gravel in mounds, such as occurs in Spain and the district of Tarentum.

  [15.1] “Furthermore, if there are no enclosures, the boundaries of the estate are made more secure by the planting of trees, which prevent the servants from quarrelling with the neighbours, and make it unnecessary to fix the boundaries by lawsuits. Some plant pines around the edges, as my wife has done on her Sabine farms; others plant cypresses, as I did on my place on Vesuvius; and still others plant elms, as many have done near Crustumeria. Where that is possible, as it is there because it is a plain, there is no tree better for planting; it is extremely profitable, as it often supports and gathers many a basket of grapes, yields a most agreeable foliage for sheep and cattle, and furnishes rails for fencing, and wood for hearth and furnace.

  “These points, then, which I have discussed,” continued Scrofa, “are the four which are to be observed by the farmer: the topography of the land, the nature of the soil, the size of the plot, and the protection of the boundaries.

  [16.1] “It remains to discuss the second topic, the conditions surrounding the farm, for they too vitally concern agriculture because of their relation to it. These considerations are the same in number: whether the neighbourhood is unsafe; whether it is such that it is not profitable to transport our products to it, or to bring back from it what we need; third, whether roads or streams for transportation are either wanting or inadequate; and fourth, whether conditions on the neighbouring farms are such as to benefit or injure our land. [2] Taking up the first of the four: the safety or lack of safety of the neighbourhood is important; for there are many excellent farms which it is not advisable to cultivate because of the brigandage in the neighbourhood, as in Sardinia certain farms near . . . . , and in Spain on the borders of Lusitania. Farms which have near by suitable means of transporting their products to market and convenient means of transporting thence those things needed on the farm, are for that reason profitable. For many have among their holdings some into which grain or wine or the like which they lack must be brought, and on the other hand not a few have those from which a surplus must be sent away. [3] And so it is profitable near a city to have gardens on a large scale; for instance, of violets and roses and many other products for which there is a demand in the city; while it would not be profitable to raise the same products on a distant farm where there is no market to which its products can be carried. Again, if there are towns or villages in the neighbourhood, or even well-furnished lands and farmsteads of rich owners, from which you can purchase at a reasonable price what you need for the farm, and to which you can sell your surplus, such as props, or poles, or reeds, the farm will be more profitable than if they must be fetched from a distance; sometimes, in fact, more so than if you can supply them yourself by raising them on your own place. [4] For this reason farmers in such circumstances prefer to have in their neighbourhood men whose services they can call upon under a yearly contract — physicians, fullers, and other artisans — rather than to have such men of their own on the farm; for sometimes the death of one artisan wipes out the profit of a farm. This department of a great estate rich owners are wont to entrust to their own people; for if towns or villages are too far away from the estate, they supply themselves with smiths and other necessary artisans to keep on the place, so that their farm hands may not leave their work and lounge around holiday-making on working days, rather than make the farm more profitable by attending to their duties. [5] It is for this reason, therefore, that Saserna’s book lays down the rule that no person shall leave the farm except the overseer, the butler, and one person whom the overseer may designate; if one leaves against this rule he shall not go unpunished, and if he does, the
overseer shall be punished. The rule should rather be stated thus: that no one shall leave the farm without the direction of the overseer, nor the overseer without the direction of the master, on an errand which will prevent his return this day, and that no oftener than is necessary for the farm business. [6] A farm is rendered more profitable by convenience of transportation: if there are roads on which carts can easily be driven, or navigable rivers near by. We know that transportation to and from many farms is carried on by both these methods. The manner in which your neighbour keeps the land on the boundary planted is also of importance to your profits. For instance, if he has an oak grove near the boundary, you cannot well plant olives along such a forest; for it is so hostile in its nature that your trees will not only be less productive, but will actually bend so far away as to lean inward toward the ground, as the vine is wont to do when planted near the cabbage. As the oak, so large numbers of large walnut trees close by render the border of the farm sterile.