(,8) 



Cum semelhceserunt arvis, aurasque tulerunt. 

 Ipsa satis tellus , cum dente recluditur unco , 



Sujficit humorem 



VIR. Geor. II. 



Not so the Olives : when their roots have found 

 The needful moisture from the nurturing ground, 

 And , firmly seated, can securely bear 

 The summit tempted by the sportive air, 

 No more the harrow nor the knife they ask 

 The plough completes , alone, the easy task. 



Columella, on the contrary, advises the 

 husbandman to bear in mind a judicious pro- 

 verb : Eum, qui aret olivetum, rogare f ruc- 

 tum ; qui stercoret, exorare; qui ccedat, co- 

 gere. It is true the Olive does not become 

 barren when totally abandoned; but, like 

 other vegetables, it repays the neglect of the 

 husbandman with a diminished produce, and 

 his care with larger and more abundant 

 fruit. 



In Provence it is customary to turn the 

 soil in the spring and in the fall. Besides the 

 tillage of the plough , the ground should be 

 carefully dressed with the spade about the 

 foot of each tree. More labour is required 

 by some soils than by others ; a compact. 



