Chap. 65.] WORK FOR WINTER. 85 



ever it may happen to be, on which the west winds begin to 

 prevail (for it is not always on the seventh before the ides of 

 i'ebruary"^ that they do begin), whether, in fact, they begin 

 to blow before the usual time, as is the case with an early 

 spring, or whether after, which generally happens when the 

 winter is prolonged — there are subjects innumerable to engage 

 the attention of the agriculturist, and those, of course, should 

 be the first attended to, which will admit of no delay. Three 

 month wheat must now be sown, the vine pruned in the way 

 we have already'* described, the olive carefully attended to, 

 fruit -trees put in and grafted, vineyards cleaned and hoed, 

 seedlings laid out, and replaced in the nursery by others, the 

 I'eed, the willow, and the broom planted and lopped, and the 

 Dim, the poplar, and the plane planted in manner already men- 

 tioned. At til is period, also, the crops of corn ought to be 

 weeded,"* and the winter kinds, spelt more particularly, well 

 hoed. In doing this, there is a certain rule to be observed, the 

 proper moment being when four blades have made their appear- 

 mce, and with the bean this should never be done until three 

 leaves have appeared above ground ; even then, however, it is a 

 better plan to clean them only with a slight hoeing, in preference 

 to digging up the ground — but in no case should they ever be 

 touched the first fifteen days of their blossom. Barley must 

 never be hoed except when it is quite dry : take care, too, to 

 have all the pruning done by the vernal equinox. Eour men 

 will be sufficient for pruning a jugemm of vineyard, and each 

 :iand will be able to train fifteen vines to their trees. •" 



At this period, too, attention should be paid to the gardens 

 and rose- beds, subjects which will be separately treated of in 

 succeeding Books; due care should be given to ornamental 

 gardening as well. It is now, too, the very best time for 

 Tiaking ditches. The ground should now be opened for future 

 purposes, as we find recommended by Yirgil"'^ in particular, 

 n order that the sun may thoroughly warm the clods. It is a 

 )iece of even more sound advice, which recommends us to 

 )lough no lands in the middle of spring but those of mid- 

 iling quality ; for if this is done with a rich soil, w^eeds will be 

 ure to spring up in the furrows immediately ; and if, on the 



■- Seventh of February. 73 In B. xvii. c. 35. 



'^ Fee approves of this method of weeding before the corn is in ear. 



■^ In a day, probably. 'Je Georg. i. 63. 



