Chap. 5.] EMPLOYMENT OF ASHES. 455 



their language the name of eglecopala ; 65 it is taken up in 

 solid blocks like stone, after which it is so loosened by the 

 action of the sun and frost, as to split into laminae of extreme 

 thinness ; this kind is equally beneficial for grass and grain. 

 The sandy 80 marl is employed if there is no other at hand, and 

 on moist slimy soils, even when other kinds can be procured. 



The Ubii are the only people that we know of, who, having 

 an extremely fertile soil to cultivate, employ methods of en- 

 riching it ; wherever the land may happen to be, they dig to 

 a depth of three feet, and, taking up the earth, cover the soil 

 with it in other places a foot in thickness ; this method, how- 

 ever, to be beneficial, requires to be renewed at the end of 

 every ten years. The iEdui and the Pictones have rendered 

 their lands remarkably fertile by the aid of limestone, which 

 is also found to be particularly beneficial to the olive and the 

 vine. 87 Every marl, however, requires to be laid on the land 

 immediately after ploughing, in order that the soil may at 

 once imbibe its properties ; while at the same time, it requires 

 a little manure as well, as it is apt, at first, to be of too acrid 

 a nature, at least where it is not pasture land that it is laid 

 upon ; in addition to which, by its very freshness it may pos- 

 sibly injure the soil, whatever the nature of it may be; so 

 much so, indeed, that the land is never fertile the first year 

 after it has been employed. It is a matter of consideration 

 also for what kind of soil the marl is required ; if the soil is 

 moist, a dry marl is best suited for it ; and if dry, a rich 

 unctuous marl. If, on the other hand, the land is of a medium 

 quality, chalk or columbine s8 marl is the best suited for it. 



CHAP. 5. (9.) THE EMPLOYMENT OF ASHES. • 



The agriculturists of the parts of Italy beyond the river 



85 This would rather seem to be a name borrowed from the Greek, 

 aiyXrjtig, "shining," and ireXtdg, "white." Notwithstanding the resem- 

 blance,' however, it is just possible that it may have been derived from 

 the Gallic. Fee queries whether this is the schistoid calcareous marl, or 

 the schistoid argillaceous marl, the laminae of which divide with great fa- 

 cility, and the varieties of which display many colours. 



86 A variety of the terreous marl. 



87 It has the effect of augmenting their fruitfulness, and ameliorating 

 the quality of the fruit. Lime is still considered an excellent improver for 

 strong, humid soils. 



B8 From this passage, Fee thinks that the Columbine marl must have 

 been of the white, slightly sparkling kind. 



