158 VARRO ON FARMING [bk 



lus^ there are wild she-goats that will leap more tha: 

 sixty feet from a rock." I quote this because jus 

 as domestic sheep are sprung from wild ones, so th 

 goats which we feed are sprung from the wild kinc 

 From them the island of Caprasia," near Italy, take 

 its name. 



4 Since among she-goats such as bear twins are th 

 best breed, it is customary to choose for breedin 

 purposes the males sprung from these. Som 

 people, too, take care to have she-goats from th 

 island of Melia,' as it is thought that there the bi^ 

 gest and handsomest kids are born. 



5 As to buying, I do not* give the same formula £•, 



^ Fiscello. Varro (li, i, 5) speaks of the wild goats ne; 

 Mount Fiscellus. Here the river Nar (now Nera) had its sour 

 — a river whose waters are still white and still vitiattcs odo 

 sulfure (Claudian i, 256). Reate (Rieti), Varro's birthplace, 

 on this river. 



^ Caprasia. Now Cabrera (goat island), a little south 

 Minorca. 



^ Melia. Probably (Scaliger) the island of Melos, in 1 

 Cretan Sea. I have searched the geographers but can find r 

 where any connection between Melos and goats mentione 

 But the mountainous nature of the country is well suited 

 them. 



* Aliter dico atque fit. Atticus had before (ii, 2, 6) mention 

 the ** ancient formula" used in buying sheep. In this tl 

 were guaranteed to be healthy and from a healthy flock, i 

 this chapter, § 3, Cossinius says that he agrees with Attic? 

 about the breed of goats ; and here that the formula quoted / 

 Atticus for buying sheep will not serve for buying goats al 

 is in point of fact not used. 



This sense, which seems clear, has apparently escaped all i-3 



