ANCIENT AGRICULTURAL LITERATURE. 173 



Either oak leaves should be intermixed, or an oaken stake 

 driven into the heap to prevent serpents from breeding 

 there. Columella delicately observes that the treasure 

 should not be piled up in front of the parlour (praetorii) 

 windows. Cato and Varro say that manure, heaped, turned, 

 and rotted down, is stronger than when green. From this 

 opinion Columella and Palladius dissent, holding that the 

 benefit of the turning and fermentation consists in their 

 destroying the seeds of weeds, but that they weaken the 

 manure; and they therefore prescribe that it should be ap- 

 plied quite fresh to grass land, where the weeds cannot so 

 easily get root. Palladius thinks it necessary to wash sea- 

 weed in fresh water before it is used as manure. Manure 

 was principally applied in spring and autumn. A little and 

 often was considered to be the best practice. Wet land 

 required more than dry. Dickson ascertains that 800 

 Winchester bushels of well-prepared manure to a statute 

 acre was an average Roman dose. Pliny says that some 

 persons think that land is best manured (optime stercorari) 

 by having sheep, perhaps cattle (pecora), folded on it. 



Theophrastus says, that mixing earths, " ponderoso leve, 

 levi ponderosum, macro pingue et contra," will often stand 

 in the place of manure. Columella also records that his 

 uncle, who was a most scientific and industrious farmer, 

 improved his land by applying chalk to his sandy, and 

 sand to his chalky and clay soils. Pliny, giving vent to 

 the contempt for Columella which he is so little careful to 

 conceal, says, " that is the practice of a madman. What 

 can a man hope for who cultivates in this manner?" 



Though lime was used agriculturally by the Romans 

 only in their vineyards and orchards, we cannot wholly 

 pass by the curious information which Dickson 's chapter 

 on the subject contains. Cato recommends its application 

 to olives, and Pliny to vines, but more particularly to 

 cherries. He says that cherries were unknown in Italy 

 till Lucullus introduced them after his victory over Mithri- 

 dates, A.U.C. 680, and that, within 120 years of their intro- 



