BOOK XVIII. Lxvii. 254-258 



VVell then, a list of things to be done : to plant ■ippropriate 

 oUve-cuttings and rake over between thc olive trees "'"^" 

 thcmselves ; in the first days of the equinox to 

 irrigate the nieadows ; when the grass has grown to 

 a stalk, to shut off the water; to trim the vine (the 

 vine too has a rule of its own : it must be trimmed 

 when the shoots have made four inches in length — 

 one hand can trim an acre) ; to stir over the corn 

 crops again (hoeing takes 20 days). It is thought 

 that to start hoeing at the equinox injures both vines 

 and corn. This is also the time for washing sheep. 



After the rise of thc Pleiads the weather is indi- ConsteUa- 

 cated for Caesar by the morning setting of Arcturus ^lummer?^'^'''' 

 on the following day, the rise of the Lyre on May 13, 

 the setting of the She-goat, and in Attica of the Dog, 

 in the evening of May 21. On May 22, as obscrved 

 by Caesar, Orion's Sword begins to set ; in the 

 evening of June 2, according to Caesar, and for 

 Assyria also, the Eagle rises ; on the morning of 

 June 7 Arcturus scts for Italy, and on the evening 

 of June 10 the Dolphin rises. On Junc 15 Orion's 

 Sword rises, but in Egypt this takes place four 

 days later. Moreover on June 21 Orion's Sword, 

 as observed by Caesar, begins to set ; while on 

 June 24 the longest day and shortest night of the 

 whole vear make the summer solstice. In this -ippropriau 

 interval of time the vines are pruned, and care is 

 taken to give an okl vine one digging round and a 

 new one two ; sheep are sheai-cd, lupins are ploughed 

 in to manure the land, the ground is dug over, 

 vetches are cut for fodder, beans are gathered and 

 then threshed. 



Meadows are mown about June 1. The cultiva- 'Jfeadcws. 

 tion of these is extremely easy ftjr the farmcr and "' 



351 



