BOOK X\'III. Lxxii. 297-300 



there is a shortage ofhay, they require chafFfor Utter. 

 Straw of Italian millet is not used for thatch ; 

 common millet stalks are usually burnt on thc ground ; 

 barley stalks are kept as extremcly acceptable to 

 oxen. The GaUic provinces gather both niillets ear 

 bv ear, with a comb held in the hand. 



The ear itself when reaped in some places is beaten Threshing 

 out with threshing-sledges " on a threshing-floor, in qlenureat- 

 others bv being trodden on by mares, and in other '""'^- 

 places it is thraslied out with flails. Wheat is found 

 to give a larger yield the hiter it is reaped, but to 

 be of tiner quahty and stronger the earlier it is reaped. 

 The most obvious rule is to reap it ' beforc the grain 

 hardens and when it has begmi to gain colour ', but 

 there is an oracular utterance, ' Better to do your 

 reaping two da^s too soon than two days too late.' 

 Common and bare wheats require the samc method on 

 the threshing-floor and in the granary. Elmmer being 

 difficult to thresh is best stored with its chaff, and 

 onlv has the straw and the beard removcd. The 

 majority of countries use chafl" for hay ; the thinner 

 and finer it is and the nearer to dust, the better, and 

 consequently the best chaff is obtained from millet, 

 the next best from barley, and the worst from wheat, 

 except for beasts that are being worked hard. In 

 rocky places they leave straw to dry and then break 

 it up with a flail, to use it as Utter for cattle, but if 

 there is a shortage of chaff the straw also is ground 

 for fodder. The method is as foUows : it is cut rather 

 early, and sprinkled with strong brine and then dried 

 and roUed up into trusscs, and so fcd to oxen 

 instead of hav. Some people also set fire to the 

 stubble in the field, a process advertised by the high 

 authority of Virgil ; their chief reason however for aeorg. i. 85. 



377 



