BOOK XVII. IV. 48 VI. 50 



sort of marl is ixsed it will injure the soil by its novelty, 

 as even with dung it does not promote fertility in 

 the first year. It also makes a difference what sort of 

 soil the marl is required for, as the dry kind is better 

 for a damp soil and the greasy kind for a dry soil, 

 while either sort suits land of medium quality, either 

 chalk-marl or dove-marl. 



V. Farmers north of the Po are so fond of employ- other 

 ing ash that they prefer it to dung, and they burn """'"'"" 

 stable dung, which is the Hghtest kind, in order to 



get the ash. Nevertheless they do not use both 

 kinds of manure indifferently in the same field, and 

 do not use ashes in plantations of shrubs, nor for 

 some kinds of crops, as we shall explain later. Some 

 are of the opinion that dust helps the growth of grapes, 

 and they sprinkle it on the fruit when it is forming and 

 scatter it on the roots of the vines and the trees." 

 It is certainly the case that in the Province of Nar- 

 bonne a wind from west-north-west ripens vintage 

 grapes, and in that district dust contributes more 

 than sunshine. 



VI. There are several varieties of dung, and its Dung. 

 actual employment dates a long way back ; as far 

 back as Homer,'' an aged king in the poem is found 

 thus enriching his land with his own hands. The 

 invention of this procedure is traditionally ascribed to 

 King Augeas in Greece, and its introduction in Italy 



to Hercules,though Italy has immortalized Stercutus * 

 son of Faunus on account of this invention. Marcus 

 Varro ^ gives the first rank to thrushes' droppings 

 from aviaries, which he also extols for fodder of cattle 

 and swine, declaring that no other fodder fattens them 

 more quickly. If our ancestors had such large 

 aviaries that they supplied manure for the fields, it is 



35 



