I] THE THRESHING-FLOOR 103 



flow down out of the threshing-floor by the shortest 

 possible way, and in a circle a straight line from 

 the centre to the edge is always the shortest; it 

 should be of solid earth, well rammed down, especi- 

 ally if it is clay, lest the heat of summer crack ^ it, 

 and grains of corn get lost in the fissures, letting 

 in water and discovering holes for mice and ants. 

 To prevent this people frequently drench it with 

 amurca,^ as the latter is poison to weeds, ants, and 

 I 2 moles. Some people, in order to keep it solid, streng- 

 then the threshing-floor with stones or even pave it. 

 Others, such as the Bagiennae,^ even roof their 

 threshing-floors to protect them from storms, which 

 are frequent in their country at harvest time. When 



' Paeminosa. Nonius Marcellus quotes this passage thus : 

 Paeminosum, mali odoris: a paedore dictum. Varro de Re 

 Rustica, lib. i: Solida terra pavita^ maxime si est argilla^ ne 

 \\.\x paeminosa y in rimis eius grana oblitescanty where it is to 

 Wc noticed that Nonius gives to paeminosa the sense of " foul," 

 and has situ (by neglect) instead of aestu (which Victorius 

 found in his "most faithful and ancient manuscript"). 



Taking Nonius's reading the translation is "lest it become 

 foul through neglect," etc. 



Tlie word paeminosus is not found elsewhere. 



Keil's interpolation, si sit, seems unnecessary, ior paeminosa 

 (Ablative) with area understood is quite in Varro's distressing 

 manner. 



' Amurca {&fi6pyris)= the watery part of olives, distinct from 

 the oil. 



* In Bagiennis. These are probably Pliny's Ffl:^«wt(N. H., 

 iii, 20), a branch of the Celtic Caturiges settled in the moun- 

 tainous parts of Liguria, where sudden storms do still arise 

 in summer time. 



