BOOK I. 11. 2-5 



what is to be done thereon but listens to his overseer." 

 Therefore, let it be the chief concern of one who owns 

 a farm inherited from his ancestors, or of one who 

 intends to buy a place, to know what kind of ground 

 is most approved, so that he may either be rid of 

 one that is unprofitable or purchase one that is to 

 be commended. But if fortune attends our praver, 

 we shall have a farm in a healthful climate, with 

 fertile soil, partly level, partly hills with a gentle 

 eastern or southern slope ; with some parts of the 

 land cultivated, and other parts wooded and rough ; 

 not far from the sea or a navigable stream, by which 

 its products may be earned off and supplies brought 

 in. The level ground, divided into meadows, arable 

 land, willow groves, and reed thickets, should be 

 adjacent to the steading. Let some of the hills 

 be bare of trees, to serve for grain crops only ; still 

 these crops thrive better in moderately drv^ and 

 fertile plains than in steep places, and for that 

 reason even the higher grainfields should have some 

 level sections and should be of as gentle a slope as 

 possible and veiy much like flat land. Again, other 

 hills should be clad ^\'ith olive groves and vineyards, 

 and vnth copses to supply props for the latter ; they 

 should be able to furnish wood and stone, if the need 

 of building so requires, as well as grazing ground for 

 herds ; and then they should send down coursing 

 rivulets into meadows, gardens, and ^villow planta- 

 tions, and running water for the villa. And let 

 there be no lack of herds of cattle and of other four- 

 footed kind to graze over the tilled land and the 



that the overseer should possess an intelligence nearly equal 

 to that of his master, though he should not himself be 

 conscious of it. 



41 



