BOOK XVIII. VIII. 47-x. 50 



throu^h it and drain it ; and in clayey places to 

 leave the ditches open, but in looser soil to strengthen 

 theni with hedges or let them have their sides 

 sloping and on a slant ; and to block up some and 

 make them run into other larger and wider ones, 

 and, if opportunity offers, to pave them with flint 

 or gravel; and to stav their mouths with two stones, 

 one on each side, and roof them over with another 

 stone on top. — Democritus has put forward a method 

 of clearing away forest by soaking lupin-flower for 

 one dav in hemlock juice and sprinkling it on the 

 roots of the trees. 



IX. And now that the ground has been prepared, ciassesoj 

 we shall proceed to describe the nature of the various '^'^' *' 

 kinds of grain. There are two primar}^ varieties, 



the cereals, such as wheat and barley, and the 

 legumina, such as the bean and chick-pea. The 

 difference between thcm is too well known to need 

 description. 



X. 'Jhere are also two varieties of corn itself dis- (irain^ xts 

 tinguished by the different seasons at which they are l^^aw^'. "'"^ 

 sown : winter grains, which are sown about the set- 



ting of the Pleiads and gct their nourishment through 

 the winter from the earth, for instance wheat and 

 barley, and summer grains, which are sown in summer 

 before the rising of the Pleiads, for instance common 

 and Italian millet, sesame, clary and hedge mustard: 

 at all events this is the method of Italy. In Greece and 

 Asia however all grains are sown after the setting of 

 the Pleiads, wliile in Italy some are sown at both dates, 

 and some of these have a third sowing, in spring. 

 Some persons give the name of springgrain tocommon 

 millet, Italian millet, lentils, chick-pea and groats- 

 wheat, but term bread-wheat," barley, beans and 



