ANCIENT AGRICtJLTUKAL LITERATURE. 167 



in any regular course of culture.* Legum or legumen did 

 not imply a class of plants; but all crops which were 

 pulled up by the rootf instead of being cut by sickle or 

 scythe. Hence, beans, peas, flax, hemp, &c., are spoken 

 of as legum as well as turnip, rape, and radish. On turnips 

 the later authors are diffuse, but we must be concise. 

 Pliny declares that no crop is so valuable except grapes 

 and corn; that they are most wholesome food for man, 

 and excellent, dressed in a variety of ways ; that they keep 

 through the year, either pitted, or when mixed with 

 mustard ; that they are most valuable in ornamental cookery, 

 as capable of receiving six colours besides their own, one 

 of the colours being purple a quality possessed by no 

 other kind of food ; that when boiled they will feed fowls, 

 and that the leaves are good for cattle ; and finally, that 

 he has seen one 40 Ibs. weight. Columella says that in 

 Gaul the bulbs are used as winter food for cattle and sheep. 

 As to culture, the Romans sowed the best sort of turnip 

 after five ploughings on dry and free land, in rows well 

 manured ; thinned then to eight inches asunder ; and, like 

 us, were very much plagued by the fly (culex), which they 

 combated with soot, steeped seed, and other remedies 

 similar to our own, and probably about as effectual. 



Many passages occur in the writers, which, taken singly, 

 appear to indicate a strong opinion on their part, that 

 whereas some crops exhausted, others improved the land. 

 Probably, however, the majority of these passages have 

 reference to a practice which was very prevalent in their 

 agriculture, namely, sowing vetches, beans, and more es- 

 pecially lupines, for the purpose of ploughing them in 



* Flax is universally condemned by the writers as an exhausting 

 crop. Pliny, however, enters largely not only into its cultivation, but 

 into the mode of steeping and dressing it, and into its manufacture into 

 fine linen, sail-cloth, candle-wicks, fish-nets, and snares for wild boars. 

 He says that each thread in a then extant breast-plate of Amasis, king 

 of Egypt, consisted of 365 ply. 



f Dickson, not adverting to this meaning, is surprised that Colu- 

 mella should reckon turnips among the pulse legumina. 



