Delphi Complete Works of Varro

by Marcus Terentius Varro

  [8.1] While we were thus speaking a freedman comes from Menates to tell us that the cakes had been offered and the sacrifice was made ready; if the gentlemen wished they might come there and perform their sacrifices for themselves. “But,” I said, “I shan’t let you go until you have played out the third act — on mules, dogs, and herdsmen.” “It will take only a short time to discuss them,” said Murrius; “for mules and hinnies are hybrids and grafts, not from roots after their own kind; for the mule is the offspring of a mare and an ass, while the hinny is the offspring of a horse and a jenny; [2] each is useful work, but neither brings any return from young. When an ass colt is newly born it is placed under a mare and becomes fatter on her milk, as they claim that such nourishment is more nutritious than the ass’s milk. They are reared, in addition, on straw, hay, or barley. Special care is also taken of the foster-mother, so the mare may furnish the colt with an abundant supply of milk. A jack so reared may be used for breeding after three years, and because it is accustomed to horses it will not refuse to mate. [3] If you use him at an early age, he himself tires sooner, and his offspring will be of poorer quality. Those who do not have such a jack, reared on mare’s milk, but want a breeding jack, pick one as heavy and handsome as they can find and of good breed — of the Arcadian breed, our ancestors used to say, but of Reatine breed, as we have found by experience; in that district several breeding asses have sold for three hundred and even four hundred thousand sesterces. In purchasing we observe the same rules as in the case of horses, and make the same stipulations in the matter of purchase and acceptance as were named in the case of horses. [4] We feed these chiefly on hay and barley and increase the amount before breeding, so that we may furnish strength from the food for begetting; and we mate them at the same season in which we mate horses, and we are careful also to have them cover the mares with the help of a groom. When a mare drops a horse-mule or a mare-mule we rear it at the teat. [5] If these are born in swampy or damp ground they have soft hoofs; but if they are driven into the mountains in summer, as is done in the district of Reate, their hoofs grow quite hard. In assembling a herd of mules both age and build must be watched — the former that they may be strong enough to bear the labour of hauling, and the latter that they may please the eyes with the appearance; for it is by pairs of these animals that all vehicles are drawn on the roads. [6] You would take my word for this as being an expert from Reate,” he remarked to me, “if you did not keep herds of mares at home yourself, and had not sold herds of mules. The so-called hinny is the offspring of a horse and a jenny; smaller than the mule, usually rather redder, with ears like a horse’s, but with mane and tail like those of the ass. These are reared and fed just as young horses are, and their age is determined by the teeth.”

  IX.

  Relinquitur, inquit Atticus, de quadripedibus quod ad canes attinet, quod pertinet maxime ad nos, qui pecus pascimus lanare. Canes enim ita custos pecoris eius quod eo comite indiget ad se defendendum. In quo genere sunt maxime oves, deinde caprae. Has enim lupus captare solet, cui opponimus canes defensores. In suillo pecore tamen sunt quae se vindicent, verres, maiales, scrofae. Prope enim haec apris, qui in silvis saepe dentibus canes occiderunt. Quid dicam de pecore maiore? Cum sciam mulorum gregem, cum pasceretur et eo venisset lupus, ultro mulos circumfluxisse et ungulis caedendo eum occidisse, et tauros solere diversos adsistere clunibus continuatos et cornibus facile propulsare lupos. Quare de canibus quoniam genera duo, unum venaticum et pertinet ad feras bestias silvestres, alterum quod custodiae causa paratur et pertinet ad pastorem, dicam de eo ad formam artis expositam in novem partes.

  Primum aetate idonea parandi, quod catuli et vetuli neque sibi neque ovibus sunt praesidio et feris bestiis non numquam praedae. Facie debent esse formosi, magnitudine ampla, oculis nigrantibus aut ravis, naribus congruentibus, labris subnigris aut rubicundis neque resimis superioribus nec pendulis subtus, mento suppresso et ex eo enatis duobus dentibus dextra et sinistra paulo eminulis, superioribus directis potius quam brocchis, acutos quos habeant labro tectos, capitibus et auriculis magnis ac flaccis, crassis cervicibus ac collo, internodiis articulorum longis, cruribus rectis et potius varis quam vatiis, pedibus magnis et latis, qui ingredienti ei displodantur, digitis discretis, unguibus duris ac curvis, solo ne ut corneo ne nimium duro, sed ut fermentato ac molli; a feminibus summis corpore suppresso, spina neque eminula neque curva, cauda crassa; latrato gravi, hiatu magno, colore potissimum albo, quod in tenebris facilius agnoscuntur, specie leonina. Praeterea feminas volunt esse mammosas aequalibus papillis. Item videndum ut boni seminii sint; itaque et a regionibus appellantur Lacones, Epirotici, Sallentini. Videndum ne a venatoribus aut laniis canes emas; alteri quod ad pecus sequendum inertes, alteri, si viderint leporem aut cervum, quod eum potius quam oves sequentur. Quare a pastoribus empta melior, quae oves sequi consuevit, aut sine ulla consuetudine quae fuerit. Canis enim facilius quid adsuescit, eaque consuetudo firmior, quae fit ad pastores, quam quae ad pecudes. Publius Aufidius Pontianus Amiterninus cum greges ovium emisset in Umbria ultima, quibus gregibus sine pastoribus canes accessissent, pastores ut deducerent in Metapontinos saltus et Heracleae emporium, inde cum domum redissent qui ad locum deduxerant, e desiderio hominum diebus paucis postea canes sua sponte, cum dierum multorum via interesset, sibi ex agris cibaria praebuerunt atque in Umbriam ad pastores redierunt. Neque eorum quisquam fecerat, quod in agri cultura Saserna praecepit: qui vellet se a cane sectari, ut ranam obiciat coctam. Magni interest ex semine esse canes eodem, quod cognati maxime inter se sunt praesidio. Sequitur quartum de emptione: fit alterius, cum a priore domino secundo traditus est. De sanitate et noxa stipulationes fiunt eaedem, quae in pecore, nisi quod hic utiliter exceptum est: alii pretium faciunt in singula capita canum, alii ut catuli sequantur matrem, alii ut bini catuli unius canis numerum obtineant, ut solent bini agni ovis, plerique ut accedant canes, qui consuerunt esse una.

  Cibatus canis propior hominis quam ovis. Pascitur enim eduliis et ossibus, non herbis aut fronde. Diligenter ut habeat cibaria providendum. Fames enim hos ad quaerendum cibum ducet, si non praebebitur, et a pecore abducet; nisi si, ut quidam putant, etiam illuc pervenerint, proverbium ut tollant anticum vel etiam ut mython aperiant de Actaeone atque in dominum adferant dentes. Nec non ita panem hordeaceum dandum, ut non potius eum in lacte des intritum, quod eo consueti cibo uti a pecore non cito desciscunt. Morticinae ovis non patiuntur vesci carne, ne ducti sapore minus se abstineant. Dant etiam ius ex ossibus et ea ipsa ossa contusa. Dentes enim facit firmiores et os magis patulum, propterea quod vehementius diducuntur malae, acrioresque fiunt propter medullarum saporem. Cibum capere consuescunt interdiu, ubi pascuntur, vesperi, ubi stabulantur. Feturae principium admittendi faciunt veris principio; tum enim dicuntur catulire, id est ostendere velle se maritari. Quae tum admissae, pariunt circiter solstitium; praegnantes enim solent esse ternos menses. In fetura dandum potius hordeaceos quam triticeos panes; magis enim eo aluntur et lactis praebent maiorem facultatem. In nutricatu secundum partum, si plures sunt, statim eligere oportet quos habere velis, reliquos abicere. Quam paucissimos reliqueris, tam optimi in alendo fiunt propter copiam lactis. Substernitur eis acus aut quid item aliud, quod molliore cubili facilius educentur. Catuli diebus XX videre incipiunt. Duobus mensibus primis a partu non diiunguntur a matre, sed minutatim desuefiunt. Educunt eos plures in unum locum et inritant ad pugnandum, quo fiunt acriores, neque defatigari patiuntur, quo fiunt segniores. Consue quoque faciunt ut alligari possint primum levibus vinclis; quae si abrodere conantur, ne id consuescant facere, verberibus eos deterrere solent. Pluviis diebus cubilia substernenda fronde aut pabulo duabus de causis: ut ne oblinantur aut perfrigescant. Quidam eos castrant, quod eo minus putant relinquere gregem; quidam non faciunt, quod eos credunt minus acres fieri. Quidam nucibus Graecis in aqua tritis perungunt aures et inter digitos, quod muscae et ricini et pulices soleant, si hoc unguine non sis usus, ea exulcerare. Ne vulnerentur a bestiis, imponuntur his collaria, quae vocantur melium, id est cingulum circum collum ex corio firmo cum cl
avulis capitatis, quae intra capita insuitur pellis mollis, ne noceat collo duritia ferri; quod, si lupus aliusve quis his vulneratus est, reliquas quoque canes facit, quae id non habent, ut sint in tuto. Numerus canum pro pecoris multitudine solet parari; fere modicum esse putant, ut singuli sequantur singulos opiliones. De quo numero alius alium modum constituit, quod, si sunt regiones, ubi bestiae sint multae, debent esse plures, quod accidit his qui per calles silvestres longinquos solent comitari in aestiva et hiberna. Villatico vero gregi in fundum satis esse duo, et id marem et feminam. Ita enim sunt adsiduiores, quod cum altero item alter fit acrior, et si alteruter aeger est, ne sine cane grex sit.

  [9.1] “There is left,” said Atticus, “of the discussion of quadrupeds only the topic of dogs; but it is of great interest to those of us who keep fleece-bearing flocks, the dog being the guardian of the flock, which needs such a champion to defend it. Under this head come especially sheep but also goats, as these are the common prey of the wolf, and we use dogs to protect them. In a herd of swine, however, there are some members which can defend themselves, namely, boars, barrows, and sows; for they are very much like wild boars, which have often killed dogs in the forest with their tusks. [2] And why speak about the larger animals? For I know that while a herd of mules was feeding and a wolf came upon them, the animals actually whirled about and kicked him to death; that bulls often stand facing different ways, with their hind-quarters touching, and easily drive off wolves with their horns. As there are, then, two sorts of dogs — the hunting-dog suited to chase the beasts of the forest, and the other which is procured as a watch-dog and is of importance to the shepherd — I shall speak of the latter under nine divisions, according to the scientific division which has been set forth.

  [3] “In the first place, they should be procured of the proper age, as puppies and dogs over age are of no value for guarding either themselves or sheep, and sometimes fall a prey to wild beasts. They should be comely of face, of good size, with eyes either darkish or yellowish, symmetrical nostrils, lips blackish or reddish, the upper lip neither raised too high nor drooping low, stubby jaw with two fangs projecting somewhat from it on the right and left, the upper straight rather than curved, [4] their sharp teeth covered by the lip, large head, large and drooping ears, thick shoulders and neck, the thighs and shanks long, legs straight and rather bowed in than out, large, wide paws which spread as he walks, the toes separated, the claws hard and curving, the sole of the foot not horny or too hard, but rather spongy, as it were, and soft; with the body tapering at the top of the thigh, the backbone neither projecting nor swayed, tail thick; with a deep bark, wide gape, preferably white in colour, so that they may the more readily be distinguished in the dark; and of a leonine appearance. [5] Bitches, in addition, should have well formed dugs with teats of equal size. Care should also be taken that they be of good breed; accordingly they receive their names from the districts from which they come: Spartans, Epirotes, Sallentines. You should be careful not to buy dogs from huntsmen or butchers — in the latter case because they are too sluggish to follow the flock, and in the other because if they see a hare or a stag they will follow it rather than the sheep. It is better, therefore, to buy from a shepherd a bitch which has been trained to follow sheep, or one that has had no training at all; for a dog forms a habit for anything very easily, and the attachment he forms for shepherds is more lasting than that he forms for sheep. [6] Publius Aufidius Pontianus, of Amiternum, had bought some herds of sheep in furthest Umbria, the purchase including the dogs but not the shepherds, but providing that the shepherds should take them to the pastures of Metapontum and to market at Heraclea. When the men who had taken them there had returned home, the dogs, without direction and simply from their longing for their masters, returned to the shepherds in Umbria a few days later, though it was a journey of many days, having lived off the country. And yet not one of those shepherds had done what Saserna, in his book on agriculture, directed: that a man who wanted a dog to follow him should throw him a boiled frog! It is very important that the dogs be all of the same family, as those which are related are the greatest protection to one another. [7] The fourth point is that of purchase: possession passes when the dog is delivered by the former owner to the next. With regard to health and liability to damage, the same precautions are taken as in the case of sheep, except that it is advisable to make the following stipulation: some people fix the price of dogs per head, others stipulate that pups go with their mother, others that two pups count as one dog just as usually two lambs count as one sheep, and many that dogs be included which have become accustomed to being together.

  [8] “The food of dogs is more like that of man than that of sheep: they eat scraps of meat and bones, not grass and leaves. Great care must be taken for their supply of food; for hunger will drive them to hunt for food, if it is not provided, and take them away from the flock — [9] even if they do not, as some think, come to the point of disproving the ancient proverb, or even go so far as to enact the story of Actaeon, and sink their teeth in their master. [10] You should also feed them barley bread, but not without soaking it in milk; for when they have become accustomed to eating that kind of food they will not soon stray from the flock. They are not allowed to feed on the flesh of a dead sheep, for fear that the taste will make them less inclined to spare the flock. They are also fed on bone soup and even broken bones as well; for these make their teeth stronger and their mouths of wider stretch, because their jaws are spread with greater force, and the savour of the marrow makes them more keen. Their habit is to eat during the day when they are out with the flocks, and at evening when these are folded. [11] The beginning of breeding is fixed at the opening of spring, for at that time they are said to be ‘in heat,’ that is, to show their desire for mating. Those that conceive at that time have a litter about the time of the summer solstice, for they usually carry their young for three months. During the period of gestation they should be fed barley bread rather than wheat bread, for they are better nourished on the former and yield a larger supply of milk. [12] In the matter of rearing after birth, if the litter is large you should at once pick those that you wish to keep and dispose of the others. The fewer you leave the better they will grow, because of the abundance of milk. Chaff and other like stuff is spread under them, because they are more easily reared on a soft bedding. The pups open their eyes within twenty days; for the first two months after birth they are not taken from the mother, but are weaned by degrees. Several of them are driven into one place and teased to make them fight, so as to make them more keen; but they are not allowed to tire themselves out, as this makes them sluggish. [13] They are also accustomed to being tied, at first with slight leashes; and if they try to gnaw these they are whipped to keep them from forming the habit of doing this. On rainy days the kennels should be bedded with leaves or fodder, and this for two purposes: to keep them from being muddied, and to keep them from getting chilled. [14] Some people castrate them, because they think that by this means they are less likely to leave the flock; others do not, because they think this makes them less keen. Some people crush filberts in water and rub the mixture over their ears and between their toes, as the flies and worms and fleas make ulcers there if you do not use this ointment. [15] To protect them from being wounded by wild beasts, collars are placed on them — the so-called melium, that is, a belt around the neck made of stout leather with nails having heads; under the nail heads there is sewed a piece of soft leather, to prevent the hard iron from injuring the neck. The reason for this is that if a wolf or other beast has been wounded by these nails, this makes the other dogs also, which do not have the collar, safe. [16] The number of dogs is usually determined by the size of the flock; it is thought to be about right for one dog to follow each shepherd. But the number varies with the circumstances; thus in countries where wild beasts are plentiful there should be more, as is usually the case with those who escort the flocks to summer and winter pastures through distant woodland trails. On the other hand, f
or a flock feeding near the steading two dogs to the farm are sufficient. These should be a male and a female, for in this case they are more watchful, as one makes the other more keen, and if one of the two is sick that the flock may not be without a dog.”