74 VARRO ON FARMING [bk. 



incapable of producing the vine-shoot, which is 

 called when comparatively small flagellus, and 

 when larger and already beginning to bear grapes 

 a palma. The first word flagelhis ^ is derived by 

 changing a single letter from flatus (the ^' blowing 

 of the wind "), thus flabellum becomes flagellum. 

 The latter, the palma, since it is a shoot destined 

 to bear {parere) grapes, seems first to have been 

 pronounced parilema, from the word parere, to 

 beget, then by a common change of letter began 



4 to be called palma. On the other side it bears a 

 tendril, which is a vine-twig twisted like a curl. 

 It is by these tendrils that the vine grips that along 

 which it crawls, in order to reach a place, from 

 which word (capere) it is called capreolus. 



All fodder must be cut, first ocinum., th^n farrago, 

 then vetches, and lastly hay. Ocinum is derived 

 from the Greek word oixewj, which means '' quickly." 

 The same etymology applies to the garden ocimum 

 {basil). It is further called ocinum, because it 

 speedily purges cattle, and is given to them for 



5 that purpose. It is cut green from a bean-crop 

 before it produces pods. On the other hand it may 

 be that when barley, vetch, and leguminous plants 

 were sown mixed together, they were c3\\Q,d.ferrago, 



^ Flagello. One of Varro's absurd etymologies. The word 

 is derived of course from flagrum, and means a "switch." 

 Servius must have had Varro's derivation in mind when 

 commenting on Vergil, Georg., ii, 299; he defines Jlagella as 

 "the highest parts of trees so called because they have to 

 stand many gusts {flatus) of wind." 



