134 VARRO ON FARMING [bk. 



which nature has divided also into three classes — 

 oxen, asses, horses. The third part of the science 

 has to do with those animals which in stock-raising 

 are not acquired for the sake of direct profit, but 

 which are either aids to stock-raising, or result from 

 it, as mules, dogs, shepherds. Again, each one of 

 these parts contains in it at least nine sub-sections 

 of general application ; four of which are needed in 

 the buying of cattle, other four in their feeding, and 

 there is one besides which concerns both. This 

 makes in all eighty-one parts at the least, which 

 are moreover indispensable and of the greatest 

 importance. 



13 In the first place, to get a good flock or herd, you 

 must know the best age at which to buy each kind 

 of animal, and how long to keep it. For example, 

 in the case of a herd of cows, a yearling and a 

 cow above ten years old cost less to buy, as a cow 

 begins to bear at two or three years old, and does 

 not continue much longer than the tenth year. 

 For in the first and last years of life every beast is 

 sterile. 



14 The second of the four sections consists in the 

 knowledge of the '' points" of each kind of animal 

 (its shape,^ colour, etc.), as these are of great im- 

 portance where profit is the end in view. For ex- 

 ample, a man would rather buy a cow with black 



1 Forma. Not of course "shape" alone, but all the other 

 qualities also which constitute the ideal type — the Aristotelian 

 HloQ. Cicero frequently uses the word as a translation of the 

 Platonic iZ'ta, 



