Chap. 5.] 
EMPLOYMENT OP ASHES. 
455 
their language the name of eglecopala it is taken up in 
solid blocks like stone, after which it is so loosened by the 
action of the sun and frost, as to split into laminae of extreme 
thinness ; this kind is equally beneficial for grass and grain. 
The sandy ^® marl is employed if there is no other at hand, and 
on moist slimy soils, even when other kinds can be procured. 
The TJbii are the only people that we know of, who, having 
an extremely fertile soil to cultivate, employ methods of en- 
riching it ; wherever the land may happen to be, they dig to 
a depth of three feet, and, taking up the earth, cover the soil 
with it in other places a foot in thickness ; this method, how- 
ever, to be beneficial, requires to be renewed at the end of 
every ten years. The JEdui and the Pictones have rendered 
their lands remarkably fertile by the aid of limestone, which 
is also found to be particularly beneficial to the olive and the 
vine.^^ Every marl, however, requires to be laid on the land 
immediately after ploughing, in order that the soil may at 
once imbibe its properties ; while at the same time, it requires 
a little manure as well, as it is apt, at first, to be of too acrid 
a nature, at least where it is not pasture land that it is laid 
upon ; in addition to which, by its very freshness it may pos- 
sibly injure the soil, whatever the nature of it may be ; so 
much so, indeed, that the land is never fertile the first year 
after it has been employed. It is a matter of consideration 
also for what kind of soil the marl is required ; if the soil is 
moist, a dry marl is best suited for it ; and if dry, a rich 
unctuous marl. If, on the other hand, the land is of a medium 
quality, chalk or columbine marl is the best suited for it. 
CHAP. 5. (9.) THE EMPLOYMENT OF ASHES. 
The agriculturists of the parts of Italy beyond the river 
This would rather seem to be a name borrowed from the Greek, 
6iy\i]tiq, *' shining," and TreXidg, "white." Notwithstanding the resem- 
blance, however, it is just possihle that it may have been derived from 
the Gallic. Fee queries whether this is the schistoid calcareous marl, or 
the schistoid argillaceous marl, the laminse of which divide with great fa- 
cility, and the varieties of which display many colours. 
A variety of the terreous marl. 
It has the effect of augmenting their fruitfulness, and ameliorating 
the quality of the fruit. Lime is still considered an excellent improver for 
strong, humid soils. 
From this passage, Fee thinks that the Columbine marl must have 
been of the white, slightly sparkling kind. 
