The Life of the Weevil 
Nothing is clearer than the teaching of 
the poet, who was wonderfully well-informed 
on agricultural matters: we must begin to 
sow the phaselus when the constellation 
Bootes disappears at sunset, that is to say, 
at the end of October, and continue doing so 
until the middle of the winter. 
These conditions put the haricot out of the 
question: it is a chilly plant, which would not 
withstand the slightest frost. The winter 
would be fatal to it, even in the climate of the 
south of Italy. On the other hand, the pea, 
the broad bean, the everlasting pea and 
others, better able to resist the cold because 
of their country of origin, have nothing to 
fear from an autumn sowing and thrive dur- 
ing the winter, provided that the climate be 
fairly mild. 
What then does the phaselus of the 
Georgics stand for, that problematical bean 
which has handed down its name to. the 
haricot in the Latin languages? Remember- 
ing the contemptuous epithet vilis with which 
the poet stigmatizes it, I feel inclined to look 
upon it as the chickling vetch, the coarse 
square pea, the jaisso despised by the Proven- 
cal peasant. 
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