BOOK II. IX-. i8-x. 2 



weeding to make them free of weeds. When they 

 have formed their heads, before the seeds crack open 

 with the heat, they are gathered by hand, hung in 

 the sun, and stored away after they have dried ; and 

 when stored in this fashion they keep longer than 

 other grains. Bread is made of millet, and it may 19 

 be eaten without distaste before it cools. Panic, 

 Avhen ground and freed from bran, and millet as well, 

 makes a porridge which, especially with milk, is not to 

 be despised even in time of plenty. 



X. Inasmuch as we have given sufficient instruc- 

 tions about grains, we shall next discuss the legumes. 

 First consideration belongs to the lupine, as it requires 

 the least labour, costs least, and of all crops that are 

 sown is most beneficial to the land. For it affords 

 an excellent fertilizer for worn-out vineyards and 

 ploughlands ; it flourishes even in exhausted soil ; 

 and it endures age when laid away in the granary. 

 When softened by boiling it is good fodder for cattle 

 during the winter; in the case of humans, too, it 

 serves to ward off famine if years of crop failures 

 come upon them. It is broadcast direct from the 2 

 threshing-floor, and it is the only one of all the 

 legumes which does not require a rest in the bin, 

 whether you sow it in unbroken fallow in the month 

 of September before the equinox or immediately 

 after the Calends of October ; and whatever way you 

 cover it, it withstands the carelessness of the farmer. 

 Still it needs the mild temperature of autumn to 

 become quickly established, for if it has not taken 



* sic S, Lundslrom : disseramus AR, et vulgo. 

 ' iam 07)1. SA. ^^ in horreo om. SA. 



157 



