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farming and gardening. He appears to have lived about the 

 same time as Seneca and Celsus, and to have resided at 

 Kome, though by birth a Spaniard. He treats upon every 

 subject connected with rural economy, and is the first to 

 recognise the importance of science to agriculture. I could 

 wish that some of our modern agriculturists knew more 

 of what had been done, and thought, and said in ancient 

 times on agriculture. We, who now profit by the experience 

 of near 2,000 years, have no cause to boast, if we excel in 

 certain modern inventions. The Romans seem to have 

 derived their first knowledge of scientific agriculture from 

 the Carthaginians, having caused the writings of Mago, a 

 Carthaginian, to be translated into Latin, and abridged. 

 This treatise, even in the abridgement, filled six volumes, 

 and seems to have been the text book for Roman study. 

 It was saved at the sack of Carthage, and translated in Rome 

 at the public expense. 



The Carthaginians laid down a maxim which we hear 

 reiterated continually at the present day, viz., that capital 

 must be a primary consideration in letting or taking a farm, 

 and your farm must not be larger than you have capital to 

 stock and cultivate, — " imbecilliorem agrum, quam agricolam 

 esse debex'e." Virgil also well describes the attention that 

 must be paid to soil and climate in the mode of cultivation: — 



" Ventos et proprium coeli praedicere morem 

 Cura sit, ac patrios cultusque habitusque locorum, 

 Et quid quseque ferat regio, et quid quoeque recuset " 



Also, " great importance was attached to the position of the 

 country house, as well as to its size, with reference to the 

 extent of the property — not too large, so as to involve useless 

 expense ; nor yet too small, so as to be deficient in room for 

 storing away the produce of the farm." It was to be built 

 also with an eye to elegance and comfort, as well as utility. 



