Forestry Literature. 17 



Times by Theophrastus (390-386 B. C), a pupil of 

 Aristotle and Plato. 



Among the Eomans, besides a number of historians^ 

 at least three writers before Christ discussed in detail 

 agriculture and, in connection with it, tree culture; 

 namely, Cato (234-149 B. C.) who wrote an excellent 

 work De re rnstica, in 162 chapters; Varro (116-26 

 B. C); also De re rustica, in three books; and Yergilius 

 Maro (70-19 B. C), who in his Georgica records in six 

 books the state of knowledge at that time. Of the 

 many writers on these subjects after Christ there are 

 also three to be mentioned, namely, Cajus Plinius Major 

 (33-79 A. D.), who in his Ristoria naturalis, in 37 

 books, discusses also the technique of silviculture; 

 Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (about 50 A. D.), 

 with 12 books, De re rustica, and one book De arhoribus, 

 the former being the best work of the ancients on the 

 subject; and Palladius, writing about 350 A. D., 13 

 books, De re rustica, which in the original and in trans- 

 lations was read until past the middle ages. 



Only a few references which exhibit the state of 

 knowledge on arboricultural subjects among the Eomans 

 may be cited, and some of this knowledge was also de- 

 veloped in Greece and found application, more or less, 

 through the Roman empire from India to Spain. 



Nursery practice was already well known to Cato, 

 while Varro knew, besides sowing and planting, the art 

 of grafting and layering, and Columella discusses in 

 addition pruning and pollarding (which latter was prac- 

 ticed for securing fuelwood), and the propriety of leav- 



