BOOK IV. viii. 1-3 



coming of cold weather, the vine must be abla- 

 queated." This operation lays bare the summer 

 rootlets, and the wise husbandman cuts these off 

 with a knife. For if he allows them to grow strong, 

 the lower roots waste away ; and the result is that the 

 vine puts out its roots at the ver}^ surface of the earth, 

 to be injured by the cold and burned to a greater 

 degree by the heat, and to force a \-iolent thirst upon 

 the mother vine at the rising of the Dog Star. For 2 

 this reason, when you ablaqueate the vine, anything 

 that has sprouted out of it within a foot and a half 

 must be cut off. But the method of this root-pruning 

 is not the same as that proposed for the upper part of 

 the vine. For the wound is not to be smoothed off, 

 and by no means is the knife to be apphed to the 

 mother herself; because, if you cut away a root close 

 to the stock, either more roots will spring from the 

 scar, or the rains of winter which stand in hollows in the 

 loosened soil will gall the fresh wounds by freezing in 

 midwinter and will penetrate to the very pith.* That 

 this may not happen, it will be proper to keep a dis- 

 tance of about one finger's breadth from the stock 

 itself, and so to trim off the small roots ; when they 

 are removed in this manner, they sprout out no more 

 and protect the stem from fm'ther injury. When this 3 

 work is finished, the vine should be left exposed if the 

 winter is mild in that region ; but if a more severe 



« Cf. IV. 4. 2, note, » Cf. De Arb. 5. 3. 



1" recidere Aac, edd- ante Gesn. : reciderere 21. 



11 ita om. SAcJil. 



1* hoc M : hie SAac : id edd. 



373 



