BOOK 11. xvii. 5-xvni. i 



only in case the ground is rather heavy ; for in loose 

 soil it is not wise to let in too heavy a flow of water 

 before the ground is packed and bound together by 

 vegetation, because the force of the water washes 

 away the soil and, by exposing the roots, does not 

 allow the grass to gain a foothold. It is for this reason 6 

 that one should not even turn his herds into meadows 

 that are still soft and settling, but should cut the grass 

 with sickles whenever it shoots up ; for, as I have said 

 before, cattle plant their hoofs in the soft ground and, 

 cutting off" the grass roots, do not allow them to 

 spread and form a dense growth. In the second 

 year, however, we shall allow the smaller animals to 

 be turned in after the haymaking, if only dry weather 

 and the condition of the ground will permit it. Then 7 

 in the third year, when the meadow is quite solid 

 and firm, it will be in condition to receive even the 

 larger cattle. But, in general, care must be taken 

 that after the rising of Favonius " in February, about 

 the middle of the month, the poorer spots and es- 

 pecially the higher places be given a coating of 

 manure in which hayseed is mixed ; for the more 

 elevated slope supplies nourishment to the land that 

 lies below when a pouring rain or u hand-conducted 

 rivulet carries the liquid manure along with its own 

 waters to the part below. And it is for this reason 

 that wise farmers, even in ploughed land, manure a 

 hillside more heavily than a valley, because, as I have 

 stated, the rains are forever carrying all the richer 

 matter down to the lowland. 



XVIII. It is best, moreover, that hay be cut before 



" Favonius, also called Zephyrus, was the gentle west wind, 

 a harbinger of spring. Cf. VIII. 11. 7, cum Favonii spirare 

 coeperunt, id est ab Idibus Februariis ante Martium mensem. 



