SOILS MANURING, &c. 209 



furnish those materials required for the formation of its 

 seed. The crop, though magnificent while growing, is gene- 

 rally deficient in the barn. In all cases, whether the soil 

 be strong, medium, or light, it is most important that it 

 be in good condition we need never be afraid of giving 

 too much manure to our bean land. The Roman farmers 

 were well aware of this, and they recommended either 

 that the land should be weh 1 dunged Columella 1 speaks of 

 24 loads to the jugerum, equal to about 36 loads per acre, 

 or if that were not convenient, that the land should be 

 fallowed the year previous to the bean crop, in order that 

 it might have plenty of food. Virgil, who evidently was 

 an excellent practical farmer, recommends that the seed 

 before sowing be steeped in a solution of nitre, and 

 amurca, (the lees of the oil press) " so that the fruit may 

 grow larger in the deceitful pods." 2 The advantage of this 

 practice is strongly advocated by Columella, who says 

 " that he found the fruit of seed thus prepared less subject 

 to be hurt by the weevil." This practice of preparing 

 seed previous to sowing, appears to have been very gene- 

 ral in Roman agriculture. As has been already observed 

 (p. 24), we cannot admit its manurial value beyond the 

 amount of actual fertilizing matter it attached to the 

 seed ; or its value as a preservative against disease or the 

 attacks of insects beyond its power of freeing the seeds 

 from the spores of the one or the eggs of the other that 

 might adhere to them. In this case, the insect named the 

 weevil attacks the grain only when in the store, and there- 

 fore could not be influenced by any preparation of the seed 

 used, though the seed might be to a small extent assisted 

 by it in the earlier stage of its growth. 



Farmyard dung is the manure usually applied to the 



1 Columella, lib. ii. c. x. 



2 " Semina vidi multos medicare serentes, 



Et nitro prius, et nigro perfundere amurc&, 



Grandior ut foetus siliquia fallacibus esset." Geor. i. 193. 



