Delphi Complete Works of Varro

by Marcus Terentius Varro

  [11] “It remains to speak of the science of animal husbandry, and our friend, Scrofa, to whom this generation presents the palm in all agricultural matters, and who is therefore better fitted, will discuss it.” When the eyes of all were turned on him Scrofa began:— “Well, there is a science of assembling and feeding cattle in such fashion as to secure the greatest returns from them; the very word for money is derived from them, for cattle are the basis of all wealth. [12] The science embraces nine divisions under three topics of three divisions each: the topic of the smaller animals, with its three divisions, sheep, goats, swine; the second topic, that of the larger animals, with likewise its three classes naturally separate, oxen, asses, horses. The third topic comprises animals which are kept not for the profit derived from them, but for the purpose of the above groups, or as a result of them, mules, dogs, and herdsmen. Each one of these divisions includes at least nine general subdivisions; and of these four are necessarily involved in assembling and an equal number in feeding; while one is common to both. There are, then, at the lowest 81 subdivisions, all of them important and not one insignificant. [13] First: in order to assemble a sound flock one must know one item — at what age it is profitable to get and keep each several kind. Thus, in the matter of cattle, they can be purchased at a lower price below the age of one year and beyond that of ten years, for they begin to yield a profit after the age of two or three, and do not continue to do so much beyond the age of ten years — [14] the earliest youth and extreme age of all animals being barren. The second of the first four heads is a knowledge of the proper characteristics of each species of animal, as this has a very important bearing on the profit. Thus, one buys an ox with dark rather than with white horns, a full-bodied she-goat rather than a thin one, and swine with long bodies provided the head is small. The third point of inquiry is as to the breed; it is for this reason that in Greece the asses of Arcadia are noted, and in Italy those of Reate — so much so that within my recollection an ass fetched 60,000 sesterces, and one team of four at Rome sold for 400,000. [15] The fourth topic is the law of purchase — the proper legal form to be followed in the purchase of each separate species. In order that the property of another may become mine an intermediate step is necessary, and not in all purchases is an agreement or the payment of money sufficient to effect a change of ownership; and in a purchase it is sometimes to be stipulated that the animal is sound, sometimes that it is from a sound flock, while at other times neither stipulation is made.

  [16] “After the purchase has been made we come to the second group of four points which are to be observed: they are those concerned with pasturage, breeding, feeding, and health. Of pasturage, which is the first point, there are three divisions: the preferable locality for the pasturage of the several species, the time, and the manner; thus, it is better to pasture goats on a bushy hillside than on a grassy plain, while the opposite is true of mares. Again, the same localities are not equally suited in summer and winter to the pasturing of all species. Hence, flocks of sheep are driven all the way from Apulia into Samnium for summering, and are reported to the tax-collectors, for fear of offending against the censorial regulation forbidding the pasturing of unregistered flocks; [17] and mules are driven in summer from the level Rosea into the high mountains of Burbur. One must also consider the preferable method of pasturing each species — by which I do not mean merely that a horse or an ox is content with hay, but that barley and beans should be fed at intervals to some of them, and that lupines should be fed to oxen, and alfalfa and clover to milch cows; and besides that for thirty days before mating more food should be given rams and bulls to increase their vigour, and food should be lessened for the females, because it is claimed that they conceive more readily when they are thin. [18] The second topic is that of breeding — by which I mean the process from conception to birth, these being the limits of pregnancy. The first point to be observed, therefore, is that of mating — the time at which opportunity for coition should be allowed each species; thus, the period from the beginning of the west wind to the vernal equinox is deemed best suited to swine, while that from the setting of Arcturus to the setting of Aquila is considered best for sheep. Consideration should also be given to the proper period before breeding begins, during which the males should be kept away from the females — a period which both stockmen and shepherds usually fix at two months for all animals. [19] The second division comprises the points to be watched in breeding, arising from the difference among species in the period of gestation; thus, the mare carries her young twelve months, the cow ten, the sheep and the goat five, the sow four. (Speaking of breeding, there is a story from Spain which, though incredible, is quite authentic, that on the shore of the ocean in Lusitania, in the district in which is situated the town of Olisipo, certain mares on Mount Taurus, at a particular time of year, are impregnated by the wind; just as in this country frequently occurs in the case of those hens the eggs of which are called hypenemia. But the foals of these mares do not live beyond three years.) Care must be taken that the young which have gone the full time or longer have a clean, soft place to stand in, and that they be not trampled. Lambs which are born after the full period are called cordi, the name being derived from the fact that they have remained in those deep-lying folds which are called chorion. [20] There is a third item — the practice to be observed in the matter of feeding, including the number of days on which the young may have the teat, at what times, and where; and if the mother is deficient in milk, that the young be allowed to suckle the udder of another mother. Such animals are called subrumi, ‘under the udder,’ the udder being called rumis, as I suppose, in old Latin. As a rule, lambs are not weaned under four months, kids under three, and pigs under two. Those of the last named which are pure for sacrifice and may be offered up, used to be called sacres; Plautus uses the term in his sentence: ‘What’s the price of sacred pigs?’ Similarly, oxen, fattened for public offerings, are called opimi, fatlings. [21] The fourth division is that of health — a complicated but extremely important matter, inasmuch as a sickly herd is a losing investment, and men frequently come to grief because it is not strong. There are two divisions of such knowledge, as there are in the treatment of human beings: in the one case the physician should be called in, while in the other even an attentive herdsman is competent to give the treatment. The topic has three heads: we must observe the cause of the several diseases, the symptoms displayed by such causes, and the proper method of treatment to be followed for each disease. [22] In general, sickness is caused by the fact that the animals are suffering from heat or from cold, or else from excessive work, or, on the other hand, from lack of exercise; or in case food or drink has been given them immediately after working, without a period of rest. The symptoms are that those which have fever from overwork keep the mouth open, pant fast with moist breath, and have hot bodies. The following is the treatment in such cases: [23] The animal is drenched with water, rubbed down with oil and warm wine, and, further, is sustained with food, and a covering is thrown over it to prevent a chill; in case of thirst tepid water is administered. If improvement is not obtained by such treatment, blood is let, usually from the head. Other diseases have other causes and other symptoms, and the man in charge of the herd should keep them all in written form.

  [24] “There remains the ninth point I have mentioned, common to both divisions — the proper number. For the man who is feeding a herd must decide on the size, determining how many herds and how large he is going to graze, so that his pasturage will not run short, and so that he will not have idle pasturage and hence lose his profit. He must also decide how many females to have in the flock for breeding, how many males, how many young of each sex, and how many culls are to be cut out. In the matter of feeding, if too many young are born you should follow the practice of some breeders, and wean some of them; the result usually being that the rest grow better.”

  [25] “Don’t get confused,” said Atticus, “and let your ninefold division get away from
the matter of smaller and larger animals. How will you get a ninefold division in the case of mules and herdsmen, where there is neither breeding nor bearing? [26] I see how you can use it in the case of dogs. I grant you also that even in the case of the humans the ninefold division can be retained, as they keep women in their huts in the winter ranches, and some have them even in the summer, thinking that this is worth while in order the more easily to keep the herdsmen with their herds; and by the natural increase they enlarge their slave gangs and make the cattle-raising more profitable.” “The number,” I remark, “is not to be taken as precisely accurate, just as we do not mean to be taken exactly when we say that a thousand ships set forth against Troy, or speak of the centumviral court at Rome. So, if you wish, subtract two of the topics, coition and foaling, when you speak of mules.” [27] “Foaling?” asked Vaccius; “why, don’t you know that it has several times been asserted that a mule has borne a colt at Rome?” To back up his statement, I add that both Mago and Dionysius remark that the mule and the mare bring forth in the twelfth month after conception. Hence we must not expect all lands to agree, even if it is considered a portent when a mule bears young here in Italy. Swallows and storks, for instance, which bear in Italy, do not bear in all lands. Surely you are aware that the date-palms of Syria bear fruit in Judea but cannot in Italy. [28] Scrofa, however, remarked: “If you insist on having 81 sub-heads, omitting the breeding and feeding of mules, you may easily fill that double gap; two very important sources of revenue fall outside the enumeration. There is the shearing — the clipping or pulling of wool and goat hair — and another, which is even more important, the matter of milk and cheese. The Greek authorities treat this as a separate topic, calling it tyropoiia (cheese-making), and have had a great deal to say about it.

  [2.1] “But since I have completed my task, and the subject of stock-raising has been sketched in outline, you gentlemen of Epirus should take up the tale in your turn and let us see what the shepherds from Pergamis and Maledos can tell us under each head.” [2] Then Atticus, who at the time bore the name Titus Pomponius, but is now called Quintus Cornelius though he retains the same cognomen, began: “I suppose I should start the discussion, as you all seem to be looking to me, and I shall speak of the earliest branch of animal husbandry, as you claim that sheep were the first of the wild animals to be caught and tamed by man. The first consideration is that these be in good condition when purchased; with respect to age that they be neither too old nor mere lambs, the latter being not yet, and the former no longer profitable — though the age which is followed by hope is better than the one which is followed by death. [3] As to form, sheep should be full-bodied, with abundant soft fleece, with fibres long and thick over the whole body, especially about the shoulders and neck, and should have a shaggy belly also. In fact, sheep which did not have this our ancestors called ‘bald’ (apicas), and would have none of them. The legs should be short; and observe that the tail should be long in Italy but short in Syria. The most important point to watch is to have a flock from good stock. [4] This can usually be judged by two points — the form and the progeny; by the form if the ram have a full coating of fleece on the forehead, have flat horns curving towards the muzzle, grey eyes, and ears overgrown with wool; if they are full-bodied, with wide chest, shoulders, and hind-quarters, and a wide, long tail. A black or spotted tongue is also to be avoided, for rams with such a tongue usually beget black or spotted lambs. The stock is determined by the progeny if they beget handsome lambs. [5] In purchasing we take advantage of the variation which the law allows, some making more and others fewer exceptions; thus, some purchasers, when the price is fixed by the head, stipulate that two late-born lambs count as one sheep, and in the case of those which have lost their teeth from age, that they also be reckoned two for one. With this exception, the ancient formula is generally employed: when the purchaser has said, ‘They are sold at such a price?’ and the seller has replied, ‘Yes,’ and the money has passed, the purchaser, using the old formula, says: [6] ‘You guarantee that the sheep in question are perfectly sound, up to the standard of a flock which is perfectly sound, excepting those blind of one eye, deaf, or minae (that is, with belly bare of wool), that they do not come from a diseased flock, and that title may legally pass — that all this may be properly done?’ Even after this has been agreed on, the flock does not change owners unless the money has been counted; and the purchaser still has the right to obtain a judgment against the vendor against the law of purchase and sale if he does not make delivery, even though no money has passed; just as the vendor may obtain a judgment against the purchaser under the same law if he does not make payment.

  [7] “I shall discuss next the remaining four points — pasturage, breeding, feeding, health. It is first to be arranged that they feed properly the year round, indoors and out. The fold should be placed in a suitable situation, protected from the wind, and facing the east rather than the south. The ground on which they are to stand should be clear of undergrowth and sloping, so that it can easily be swept and kept clean; for the moisture of the ground injures not only the fleece of the sheep but their hoofs as well, and causes them to become scabby. [8] When they have been standing for some days, fresh brush should be spread for them, to give them a softer bed and keep them cleaner; for this increases their appetite. Separate enclosures should also be built, so that you may take the pregnant ones away from the flock, and also those that are sick. These measures concern most the flocks which are folded at the steading. [9] On the other hand, in the case of those that feed on the ranges and are far from cover, hurdles or nets are carried with which to make enclosures in a desolate district, as well as other necessary things; for they usually graze far and wide in all sorts of places, so that frequently the winter grazing grounds are many miles away from the summer.” “I am well aware of that,” said I, “for I had flocks that wintered in Apulia and summered in the mountains around Reate, these two widely separated ranges being connected by public cattle-trails, as a pair of buckets by their yoke.” [10] “Such flocks, even when they feed in the same locality, are treated differently at different seasons; thus, in summer they begin feeding at daybreak, because at that time the grass, filled with dew, is superior to the grass of midday, which is drier. At sunrise they are driven to water, to make them more eager to graze when they come back. [11] During the midday heat they are driven under shady cliffs and wide-spreading trees to cool off until the day grows cooler; and they feed again in the evening until sunset. Sheep should be headed in grazing in such a way as to have the sun behind them, as the head of the sheep is its weakest part. A short time after sunset they are driven to water, and then again they graze until it becomes quite dark; for at this time the succulence comes again to the grass. This practice is usually kept up from the rising of the Pleiades until the autumnal equinox. [12] It is profitable to drive them into stubble fields for two reasons: they get their fill of the ears that have fallen, and make the crop better the next year by trampling the straw and by their dung. The feeding during the rest of the year, winter and spring, varies from this, in that when the frost has melted they are driven out to feed and range the whole day, and it is considered sufficient for them to be driven to water only once, at midday.

  [13] “With regard to pasturage the foregoing remarks will suffice; the following apply to breeding. The rams which are to be used for breeding are to be removed from the flock two months ahead, and fed more generously. If barley is fed them on their return to the pens from the pasture, they are strengthened for the work before them. The best time for mating is from the setting of Arcturus to the setting of Aquila; as lambs which are conceived after that time grow undersized and weak. [14] As the period of pregnancy of the sheep is 150 days, the birth thus occurs at the close of autumn, when the air is fairly temperate, and the grass which is called forth by the early rains is just growing. During the whole time of breeding they should drink the same water, as a change of water causes the wool to spot and is injurio
us to the womb. When all the ewes have conceived, the rams should again be removed, as they are troublesome in worrying the ewes which have now become pregnant. Ewes less than two years old should not be allowed to breed, for the offspring of these is not sturdy and the ewes themselves are injured; and no others are better than the three-year-olds for breeding. They may be protected from the male by binding behind them baskets made of rushes or other material; but they are protected more easily if they feed apart.