ROMAN AGRICULTURE. 389 



preferred by Cato and some other writers, is that of pasture, 

 meadow, and watered grass-lands, as yielding produce at the 

 least expense; and lands under vines and olives, as producing 

 the greatest profit according to the expense. The opinions of 

 the Roman agriculturists, however, seem to disagree on the 

 subject of meadows, apparently from confounding a profitable 

 way of management with a capacity of yielding great profit with 

 superior management, and none without. 



The servants employed in Roman agriculture were of two 

 sorts, freemen and slaves. When the proprietor, or farmer, lived 

 on the farm and directed its culture, these were directly under 

 his management. In the other cases, there was a bailiff or 

 overseer, to whom all the servants were subordinate. This was 

 the case as early as the time of Cato, who is very particular in 

 his directions respecting the case of a bailiff, who ought to take 

 care of the servants, the cattle, and the laboring utensils, and 

 in executing his master's orders. The bailiff was generally a 

 person who had received some education, and could write and 

 keep accounts ; and it was expected that he should be careful, 

 apt to learn, and capable of executing his master's orders, with 

 a proper attention to situations and circumstances. Columella, 

 however, says that " the bailiff may do his business very well 

 though he is illiterate." Cornelius Celsus says that " such a 

 bailiff will bring money to his master oftener than to his book, 

 because, being ignorant of letters, he is the less capable to con- 

 trive accounts, and is afraid to trust another, being conscious of 

 fraud." There are some things mentioned by this author with 

 respect to the bailiff, that are very proper, and show particularly 

 the attention of the Romans. " He ought not," he says, " to 

 trade on his own account, nor employ his master's money in 

 purchasing cattle or any other goods, for this trading takes off 

 his attention, and prevents him from keeping square accounts 

 with his master. But when he is required to settle them, he 

 shows his goods in the place of money. This, above all, he should 

 be careful of; not to think he knows anything he does not know, 

 and always to be ready to learn what he is ignorant of ; for as it 

 is a great advantage to do a thing well, so it is most hurtful to 

 have it done ill. This one thing holds true in all rustic work, 

 to do but once what the manner of culture requires ; because, 



