Delphi Complete Works of Varro

by Marcus Terentius Varro

  VII.

  Stolo, Quod ad hanc formam naturalem pertinet, de eo non incommode Cato videtur dicere, cum scribit optimum agrum esse, qui sub radice montis situs sit et spectet ad meridianam caeli partem. Subicit Scrofa, De formae cultura hoc dico, quae specie fiant venustiora, sequi ut maiore quoque fructu sint, ut qui habent arbusta, si sata sunt in quincuncem, propter ordines atque intervalla modica. Itaque maiores nostri ex arvo aeque magno male consito et minus multum et minus bonum faciebant vinum et frumentum, quod quae suo quicque loco sunt posita, ea minus loci occupant, et minus officit aliud alii ab sole ac luna et vento. Hoc licet coniectura videre ex aliquot rebus, ut nuces integras quas uno modio comprendere possis, quod putamina suo loco quaeque habet natura composita, cum easdem, si fregeris, vix sesquimodio concipere possis. Praeterea quae arbores in ordinem satae sunt, eas aequabiliter ex omnibus partibus sol ac luna coquunt. Quo fit ut uvae et oleae plures nascantur et ut celerius coquantur. Quas res duas sequuntur altera illa duo, ut plus reddant musti et olei et preti pluris.

  Sequitur secundum illud, quali terra solum sit fundi, a qua parte vel maxime bonus aut non bonus appellatur. Refert enim, quae res in eo seri nascique et cuius modi possint: non enim eadem omnia in eodem agro recte possunt. Nam ut alius est ad vitem appositus, alius ad frumentum, sic de ceteris alius ad aliam rem. Itaque Cretae ad Cortyniam dicitur platanus esse, quae folia hieme non amittat, itemque in Cypro, ut Theophrastus ait, una, item Subari, qui nunc Thurii dicuntur, quercus simili esse natura, quae est in oppidi conspectu: item contra atque apud nos fieri ad Elephantinen, ut neque ficus neque vites amittant folia. Propter eandem causam multa sunt bifera, ut vitis apud mare Zmyrnae, malus in agro Consentino. Idem ostendit, quod in locis feris plura ferunt, in iis quae sunt culta meliora. Eadem de causa sunt quae non possunt vivere nisi in loco aquoso aut etiam aqua, et id discriminatim alia in lacubus, ut [h]arundines in Reatino, alia in fluminibus, ut in Epiro arbores alni, alia in mari, ut scribit Theophrastus palmas et squillas. In Gallia transalpina intus, ad Rhenum cum exercitum ducerem, aliquot regiones accessi, ubi nec vitis nec olea nec poma nascerentur, ubi agros stercorarent candida fossicia creta, ubi salem nec fossicium nec maritimum haberent, sed ex quibusdam lignis combustis carbonibus salsis pro eo uterentur. Stolo, Cato quidem, inquit, gradatim praeponens alium alio agrum meliorem dicit esse in novem discriminibus, quod sit primus ubi vineae possint esse bono vino et multo, secundus ubi hortus inriguus, tertius ubi salicta, quartus ubi oliveta, quintus ubi pratum, sextus ubi campus frumentarius, septimus ubi caedua silva, octavus ubi arbustum, nonus ubi glandaria silva. Scrofa, Scio, inquit, scribere illum; sed de hoc non consentiunt omnes, quod alii dant primatum bonis pratis, ut ego, a quoantiqui prata parata appellarunt. Caesar Vopiscus, aedilicius causam cum ageret apud censores, campos Roseae Italiae dixit esse sumen, in quo relicta pertica postridie non appareret propter herbam.

  [7.1] “So far as concerns the natural situation,” said Stolo, “it seems to me that Cato was quite right when he said that the best farm was one that was situated at the foot of a mountain, facing south.” [2] Scrofa continued: “With regard to the conformation due to cultivation, I maintain that the more regard is had for appearances the greater will be the profits: as, for instance, if those who have orchards plant them in quincunxes, with regular rows and at moderate intervals. Thus our ancestors, on the same amount of land but not so well laid out, made less wine and grain than we do, and of a poorer quality; for plants which are placed exactly where each should be take up less ground and screen each other less from the sun, the moon, and the air. [3] You may prove this by one of several experiments; for instance, a quantity of nuts which you can hold in a modius measure with their shells whole, because the shells naturally keep them compacted, you can scarcely pack into a modius and a half when they are cracked. [4] As to the second point, trees which are planted in a row are warmed by the sun and the moon equally on all sides, with the result that more grapes and olives form, and that they ripen earlier; which double result has the double consequence that they yield more must and oil, and of greater value.

  [5] “We come now to the second division of the subject, the type of soil of which the farm is composed. It is in respect of this chiefly that a farm is considered good or bad; for it determines what crops, and of what variety, can be planted and raised on it, as not all crops can be raised with equal success on the same land. As one type is suited to the vine and another to grain, so of others — one is suited to one crop, another to another. [6] Thus near Cortynia, in Crete, there is said to be a plane tree which does not shed its leaves in winter, and another in Cyprus, according to Theophrastus. Likewise at Sybaris, which is now called Thurii, there is said to be an oak tree of like character, in sight of the town; and that near Elephantine neither the fig nor the vine sheds its leaves — which is quite the opposite of what happens with us. For the same reason there are many trees which bear two crops a year, such as the vine on the coast near Smyrna, and the apple in the district of Consentia. [7] The fact that trees produce more fruit in uncultivated spots, and better fruit under cultivation, proves the same thing. For the same reason there are plants which cannot live except in marshy ground, or actually in the water and not in every kind of water. Some grow in ponds, as the reeds near Reate, others in streams, as the alder trees in Epirus, and still others in the sea, as the palms and squills of which Theophrastus writes. [8] When I was in command of the army in the interior of Transalpine Gaul near the Rhine, I visited a number of spots where neither vines nor olives nor fruit trees grew; where they fertilized the land with a white chalk which they dug; where they had no salt, either mineral or marine, but instead of it used salty coals obtained by burning certain kinds of wood.” [9] “Cato, you know,” interjected Stolo, “in arranging plots according to the degree of existence, formed nine categories: first, land on which vines can bear a large quantity of wine of good quality; second, land suited for a watered garden; third, for an osier bed; fourth, for olives; fifth, for meadows; sixth, for a grain field; seventh, for a wood lot: eighth, for an orchard; ninth, for a mast grove.” [10] “I know he wrote that,” replied Scrofa, “but all authorities do not agree with him on this point. There are some who assign the first place to good meadows, and I am one of them. Hence our ancestors gave the name prata to meadow-land as being ready (parata). Caesar Vopiscus, once an aedile, in pleading a case before the censors, spoke of the plains of Rosea as the nursing-ground of Italy, such that if a rod were left there overnight, it would be lost the next morning on account of the growth of the grass.

  VIII.

  Contra vineam sunt qui putent sumptu fructum devorare. Refert, inquam, quod genus vineae sit, quod sunt multae species eius. Aliae enim humiles ac sine ridicis, ut in Hispania, aliae sublimes, quae appellantur iugatae, ut pleraeque in Italia. Cuius generis nomina duo, pedamenta et iuga. Quibus stat rectis vinea, dicuntur pedamenta; quae transversa iunguntur, iuga: ab eo quoque vineae iugatae. Iugorum genera fere quattuor, pertica, harundo, restes, vites: pertica, ut in Falerno, harundo, ut in Arpano, restes, ut in Brundisino, vites, ut in Mediolanensi. iugationis species duae, una derecta, ut in agro Canusino, altera conpluviata in longitudinem et latitudinem iugata, ut in Italia pleraeque. Haec ubi domo nascuntur, vinea non metuit sumptum; ubi multa e propinqua villa, non valde. Primum genus quod dixi maxime quaerit salicta, secundum harundineta, tertium iunceta aut eius generis rem aliquam, quartum arbusta, ubi traduces possint fieri vitium, ut Mediolanenses faciunt in arboribus, quas vocant opulos, Canusini in hardulatione in ficis. Pedamentum item fere quattuor generum: unum robustum, quod optimum solet afferri in vineam e querco ac iunipiro et vocatur ridica; alterum palus e pertica, meliore dura, quo diuturnior; quem cum infimum terra solvit, puter evertitur et fit solum summum: tertium, quod horum inopiae subsidio misit harundinetum. Inde enim aliquot colligatas libris demittunt in tubulos fictiles cum fundo pertuso, quas cuspides appellant, qua umor adventicius transire possit. Quartum est pedamentum nativum eius generis, ubi ex arboribus in arbores traductis vitibus vinea
fit, quos traduces quidam rumpos appellant. Vineae altitudinis modus longitudo hominis, intervalla pedamentorum, qua boves iuncti arare possint. Ea minus sumptuosa vinea, quae sine iugo ministrat acratophoro vinum. Huius genera duo: unum, in quo terra cubilia praebet uvis, ut in Asia multis locis, quae saepe vulpibus et hominibus fit communis. Nec non si parit humus mures, minor fit vindemia, nisi totas vineas oppleris muscipulis, quod in insula Pandateria faciunt. Alterum genus vineti, ubi ea modo removetur a terra vitis, quae ostendit se adferre uvam. Sub eam, ubi nascitur uva, subiciuntur circiter bipedales e surculis furcillae, ne vindemia facta denique discat pendere in palma aut funiculo aut vinctu, quod antiqui vocabant cestum. Ibi dominus simul ac vidit occipitium vindemiatoris, furcillas reducit hibernatum in tecta, ut sine sumptu harum opera altero anno uti possit. Hac consuetudine in Italia utuntur Reatini. Haec ideo varietas maxime, quod terra cuius modi sit refert. Ubi enim natura umida, ibi altius vitis tollenda, quod in partu et alimonio vinum non ut in calice quaerit aquam, sed solem. Itaque ideo, ut arbitror, primum e vinea in arbores escendit vitis.

  [8.1] “As an argument against the vineyard, there are those who claim that the cost of upkeep swallows up the profits. In my opinion, it depends on the kind of vineyard, for there are several: for some are low-growing and without props, as in Spain; others tall, which are called ‘yoked,’ as generally in Italy. For this latter class there are two names, pedamenta and iuga: those on which the vine runs vertically are called pedamenta (stakes), and those on which it runs transversely are called iuga (yokes); and from this comes the name ‘yoked vines.’ [2] Four kinds of ‘yokes’ are usually employed, made respectively of poles, of reeds, of cords, and of vines: the first of these, for example, around Falernum, the second around Arpi, the third around Brundisium, the fourth around Mediolanum. There are two forms of this trellising: in straight lines, as in the district of Canusium, or yoked lengthways and sideways in the form of the compluvium, as is the practice generally in Italy. If the material grows on the place the vineyard does not mind the expense; and it is not burdensome if much of it can be obtained in the neighbourhood. [3] The first class I have named requires chiefly a willow thicket, the second a reed thicket, the third a rush bed or some material of the kind. For the fourth you must have an arbustum, where trellises can be made of the vines, as the people of Mediolanum do on the trees which they call opuli (maples), and the Canusians on lattice-work in fig trees. [4] Likewise, there are, as a rule, four types of props. The best for common use in the vineyard is a stout post, called ridica, made of oak or juniper. The second best is a stake made from a branch, and preferably from a tough one, so that it will last longer; when one end has rotted in the ground the stake is reversed, what had been the top becoming the bottom. The third, which is used only as a substitute when the others are lacking, is formed of reeds; bundles of these, tied together with bark, are planted in what they call cuspides, earthenware pipes with open bottoms so that the casual water can run out. The fourth is the natural prop, where the vineyard is formed of vines growing across from tree to tree; such traverses are called by some rumpi. [5] The limit to the height of the vineyard is the height of a man, and the intervals between the props should be sufficient to allow a yoke of oxen to plough between. The most economical type of vineyard is that which furnishes wine to beaker without the aid of trellises. There are two kinds of these: one in which the ground serves as a bed for the grapes, as in many parts of Asia. The foxes often share the harvest with man in such vineyards, and if the land breeds mice the yield is cut short unless you fill the whole vineyard with traps, as they do in the island Pandateria. [6] In the other type only those branches are raised from the ground which give promise of producing fruit. These are propped on forked sticks about two feet long, at the time when the grapes form, so that they may not wait until the harvest is over to learn to hang in a bunch by means of a string or the fastening which our fathers called a cestus. In such a vineyard, as soon as the master sees the back of the vintager he takes his forks back to hibernate under cover so that he may be able to enjoy their assistance without cost the next year. In Italy the people of Reate practise this custom. [7] This variation in culture is caused chiefly by the fact that the nature of the soil makes a great difference; where this is naturally humid the vine must be trained higher, because while the wine is forming and ripening it does not need water, as it does in the cup, but sun. And that is the chief reason, I think, that the vines climb up trees.

  IX.

  Terra, inquam, cuius modi sit refert et ad quam rem bona aut non bona sit. Ea tribus modis dicitur, communi et proprio et mixto. Communi, ut cum dicimus orbem terrae et terram Italiam aut quam aliam. In ea enim et lapis et harena et cetera eius generis sunt in nominando comprensa. Altero modo dicitur terra proprio nomine, quae nullo alio vocabulo neque cognomine adiecto appellatur. Tertio modo dicitur terra, quae est mixta, in qua seri potest quid et nasci, ut argillosa aut lapidosa, sic aliae, cum in hac species non minus sint multae quam in illa communi propter admixtiones. In illa enim cum sint dissimili vi ac potestate partes permultae, in quis lapis, marmor, rudus, harena, sabulo, argilla, rubrica, pulvis, creta, cinis, carbunculus, id est quae sole perferve ita fit, ut radices satorum comburat, ab iis quae proprio nomine dicitur terra, cum est admixta ex iis generibus aliqua re, dicitur aut cretosa * * * sic ab aliis generum discriminibus mixta. Horum varietatis ita genera haec, ut praeterea subtiliora sint alia, minimum in singula facie terna, quod alia terra est valde lapidosa, alia mediocriter, alia prope pura. Sic de aliis generibus reliquis admixtae terrae tres gradus ascendunt eosdem. Praeterea hae ipsae ternae species ternas in se habent alias, quod partim sunt umidiores, partim aridiores, partim mediocres. Neque non haec discrimina pertinent ad fructus vehementer. Itaque periti in loco umidiore far adoreum potius serunt quam triticum, contra in aridiore hordeum potius quam far, in mediocri utrumque. Praeterea etiam discrimina omnium horum generum subtiliora alia, ut in sabulosa terra, quod ibi refert sabulo albus sit an rubicundus, quod subalbus ad serendos surculos alienus, contra rubicundior appositus. Sic magna tria discrimina terrae, quod refert utrum sit macra an pinguis an mediocris, quod ad culturam pinguis fecundior ad multa, macra contra. Itaque in tenui, ut in Pupinia, neque arbores prolixae neque vites feraces, neque stramenta videre crassa possis neque ficum mariscam et arbores plerasque ac prata retorrida muscosa. Contra in agro pingui, ut in Etruria, licet videre et segetes fructuosas ac restibilis et arbores prolixas et omnia sine musco. In mediocri autem terra, ut in Tiburti, quo propius accedit ut non sit macra, quam ut sit ieiuna, eo ad omnes res commodior, quam si inclinabit ad illud quod deterius. Stolo, Non male, inquit, quae sit idonea terra ad colendum aut non, Diophanes Bithynos scribit signa sumi posse aut ex ipsa aut quae nascuntur ex iis: ex ipsa, si sit terra alba, si nigra, si levis, quae cum fodiatur, facile frietur, natura quae non sit cineracia neve vehementer densa: ex iis autem quae enata sunt fera, si sunt prolixa atque quae ex iis nasci debent earum rerum feracia. Sed quod sequitur, tertium illut de modis dic.

  [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 speci
fic 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.”