456 
Pliny's natuhal histobt. 
[Book XVII. 
Padus, are such admirers of ashes^^ for this purpose, that they 
even prefer it as a manure to the dung of beasts of burden ; 
indeed, they are in the habit of burning dung for this pur- 
pose, on account of its superior lightness. They do not, how- 
ever, use them indiscriminately upon the same soil, nor do 
they employ ashes for promoting the growth of shrubs, nor, in 
fact, of some of the cereals, as we shall have occasion to 
mention hereafter. There are some persons who are of opinion 
also that dust^^ imparts nutriment to grapes, and cover them 
with it while they are growing, taking care to throw it also 
upon the roots of the vines and other trees. It is well 
known that this is done in the province of Gallia I^arbonensis, 
and it is a fact even better ascertained that the grape ripens 
all the sooner for it ; indeed, the dust there contributes more 
to its ripeness than the heat of the sun. 
CHAP. 6. MANUKE. 
There are various kinds of manure, the use of which is of 
very ancient date. In the times of Homer even, the aged 
king is represented as thus enriching the land by the labour of 
his own hands. Tradition reports that King Augeas was the 
first in Greece to make use of it, and that Hercules introduced 
the practice into Italy ; which country has, however, immor- 
talized the name of its king, Stercutus,^^ the son of Eaunus, 
as claiming the honour of this invention. M. Yarro^^ assigns 
the first rank for excellence to the dung of thrushes kept in 
aviaries, and lauds it as being not only good for land, but 
excellent food for oxen and swine as well ; indeed, he goes so 
far as to assert that there is no food that they will grow fat upon 
more speedily. We really have some reason to augur well of 
the manners of the present day, if it is true that in the days 
of our ancestors there were aviaries of such vast extent as to 
be able to furnish manure for the fields. 
89 Though ashes fertilize the ground, more particularly when of an ar- 
gillaceous nature, they are not so extensively used now as in ancient times. 
Pliny alludes here more particularly to wood and dunghill ashes. 
9^ This, however, he omits to do. 
9^ He alludes, probably, to Theophrastus, De Causis, B. iii. c. 22. 
^2 Odyssey xxiv. 225. 
93 From " stercus," " dung.'* A fabulous personage, most probably. 
9* De Ee Rust. i. 38. 
