BOOK III. III. 4-7 



to let them gain strength and shoot out before they 

 wither ; and if they do happen to grow, they are care- 

 less in the matter of cultivation. Even at the verv' 5 

 start they think that it makes no difference what 

 kind of ground they plant ; or rather they pick out 

 the very worst section of their lands, as though 

 such ground alone were particularly fit for this 

 plant because incapable of producing anvthing else. 

 Either they do not understand even the method of 

 setting them or else they fail to put it into prac- 

 tice when they do imderstand it. Then too, they 

 seldom have the dowry ° — that is, the equipment — 

 in readiness for their vineyards ; though this, if neg- 

 lected, uses up many days of toil and puts a constant 

 drain on the coffers of the proprietor. Most people, 6 

 in fact, strive for the richest possible yield at the 

 earliest moment ; they make no provision for the time 

 to come, but, as if living merely from day to day, 

 they put such demands upon their vines and load 

 them so heavily with young shoots as to show no 

 regard for succeeding generations. After commit- 

 ting all these acts, or at any rate most of them, 

 they would rather do anvthing at all than admit 

 their o\vn guilt ; and they complain that their vine- 

 yards do not yield them a return — vineyards which 

 they themselves have ruined through greed, or 

 ignorance, or neglect. But any who combine 7 

 painstaking care with scientific knowledge receive, 

 not forty, or at least thirty according to my reckon- 

 ing, but, as Graecinus says, though setting the 

 lowest estimate, twenty amphorae from every iugertctn, 



' An expression borrowed from the marriage custom of 

 providing a portion for the bride; for the vine was 

 proverbially " wedded " to its supporting tree. 



257 



