BOOK II. IX. 8-10 



in fact the same seed will do better when planted in 

 the autumn. There are, nevertheless, certain seeds 

 that do better than others in enduring the heat of 

 spring, such as white wheat (siligoi), Galatian barley, 

 the three-months emmer," and the grain of the 

 Marsian bean; for the other hardy grains should 

 always be sown before winter in temperate localities. 

 Further, the earth has a way, at times, of emitting 

 a brackish and bitter ooze which bUghts even full- 

 grown crops -with its poisonous seepage and in warm 

 localities leaves patches without even a single stalk 

 from the seed. It is best that such bare spots be 9 

 indicated by the use of markers, so that we may take 

 measures against faults of this kind in due season ; 

 for in a place where oozy ground or some other 

 plague kills out the crop it is best that pigeon dung 

 or, failing that, cypress foliage be scattered and 

 ploughed in. But the very first thing to do is to 

 draw off all free water by running a furrow ; otherwise 

 the aforesaid remedies will be useless. Some people 

 wrap a three-7noc?/M* sowing measure in the skin of 

 a hyena and broadcast the seed from it after it has 

 remained there a while, not doubting that seed sown 

 in this way \\ill do well.'' Certain underground pests 10 

 also kill out mature crops by cutting off their roots. 

 As a remedy against this they use the juice of a 

 plant which country' people call sedum," mixed with 

 water ; for the seeds are sown after they have been 

 soaked in this solution for one night. Some take the 

 juice squeezed from the wild cucumber and the 



' Compare with this paragraph Palladius, X. 3, and especi- 

 ally sec. 2, Si modium, quo seretur, hyaenae pelle vesiieris, et ibi 

 aliquamdiu quod serendum est, esse patiaris, sata bene provenire 

 ftruntur. 



' The house-leek. 



149 



