Columella: DE RE RUSTICA LIBRI XII

I. Superioribus libris, quos ad te de constituendis colendisque vineis, Silvine, scripseram, nonnulla defuisse dixisti, quae agrestium operum studiosi desiderarent; neque ego infitior aliqua me praeteriisse, quamvis inquirentem sedulo, quae nostri saeculi cultores quaeque veteres litterarum monumentis prodiderunt; sed cum sim professus rusticae rei praecepta, nisi fallor, asseveraveram, quae vastitas eius scientiae contineret, non cuncta me dicturum, sed plurima. Nam illud in unius hominis prudentiam cadere non poterat.

1. In the prior books, which I had written to you about establishing and cultivating vineyards, Silvinus, you said that certain things were lacking which devotees of rustic works would desire; nor do I deny that I passed over some things, although I was inquiring diligently into what the cultivators of our age and what the ancients have transmitted in the monuments of letters; but since I have professed the precepts of the rustic art, unless I am mistaken, I had asserted that, given the vastness which that science contains, I would not say everything, but very many things. For that could not fall within the prudence of a single man.

[2] Neque enim est ulla disciplina aut ars, quae singulari consummata sit ingenio. Quapropter ut in magna silva boni venatoris est indagantem feras quam plurimas capere, nec cuiquam culpae fuit non omnes cepisse; ita nobis abunde est, tam diffusae materiae, quam suscepimus, maximam partem tradidisse, quippe cum ea velut omissa desiderentur, quae non sunt propria nostrae professionis; ut proxime, cum de commetiendis agris rationem M. Trebellius noster requireret a me, vicinum adeo atque coniunctum esse censebat demonstranti, quemadmodum agrum pastinemus, praecipere etiam pastinatum quemadmodum metiri debeamus.

[2] For there is no discipline nor art that has been consummated by a single genius. Wherefore, as in a great forest it is the part of a good venator, while tracking beasts, to take as many as possible, nor has it been anyone’s fault not to have taken all; so for us it is enough, in so diffuse a material as we have undertaken, to have handed down the greatest part—especially since things are missed, as though omitted, which are not proper to our profession; as lately, when on the measuring-out of fields our M. Trebellius asked an account from me, he judged it so near and conjoined to what I was showing, that when we set forth how we should trench a field, we ought also to prescribe how the trenched ground ought to be measured.

[3] Quod ego non agricolae sed mensoris officium esse dicebam; cum praesertim ne architecti quidem, quibus necesse est mansurarum nosse rationem, dignentur consummatorum aedificiorum, quae ipsi disposuerint, modum comprehendere, sed aliud existiment professioni suae convenire, aliud eorum, qui iam exstructa metiuntur, et imposito calculo perfecti operis rationem computant. Quo magis veniam tribuendam esse nostrae disciplinae censeo, si eatenus progreditur, ut dicat, qua quidque ratione faciendum, non quantum id sit quod effecerit.

[3] Which I was saying is the duty not of the farmer but of the surveyor; especially since not even the architects, who must know the plan of structures that are to endure, deign to grasp the measure of completed buildings which they themselves have laid out, but think that one thing suits their profession, another that of those who measure what has already been built and, with the counting-stone set in place, compute the account of the finished work. Wherefore I judge that the more indulgence ought to be granted to our discipline, if it advances only so far as to say by what method each thing is to be done, not how much that is which it has effected.

[4] Verum quoniam familiariter a nobis tu quoque, Silvine, praecepta mensurarum desideras, obsequar voluntati tuae, cum eo, ne dubites id opus geometrarum magis esse quam rusticorum, desque veniam, si quid in eo fuerit erratum, cuius scientiam mihi non vindico. Sed ut ad rem redeam, modus omnis areae pedali mensura comprehenditur, qui digitorum est XVI. Pes multiplicatus in passus et actus et climata et iugera et stadia centuriasque, mox etiam in maiora spatia procedit.

[4] But since you too, Silvinus, familiarly desire from us precepts of measurements, I will comply with your will, with this understood, that you not doubt this task to be the work of geometers rather than of rustics, and that you grant pardon if anything in it has been mistaken, the knowledge of which I do not claim for myself. But to return to the matter, the measure of every area is comprehended by the pedal measure, which is of 16 digits. The foot, when multiplied, proceeds into paces, and actus, and climata, and iugera, and stadia, and centuriae, and soon also advances into greater spaces.

Passus pedes habet V.

A pace has 5 feet.

[5] Actus minimus (ut ait M. Varro) latitudinis pedes quattuor, longitudinis habet pedes CXX. Clima quoquo versus pedum est LX. Actus quadratus undique finitur pedibus CXX. Hoc duplicatum facit iugerum, et ab eo, quod erat iunctum, nomen iugeri usurpavit.

[5] The least actus (as M. Varro says) has a width of four feet, and a length of 120 feet. A clima in every direction is 60 feet. A square actus is bounded on all sides by 120 feet. This doubled makes a iugerum, and from this, because it was yoked (joined), it has assumed the name of iugerum.

Sed hunc actum provinciae Baeticae rustici acnuam vocant;

But this actus the rustics of the province Baetica call acnuam;

[6] iidemque triginta pedum latitudinem et CLXXX longitudinem porcam dicunt. At Galli candetum appellant in areis urbanis spatium centum pedum, in agrestibus autem pedum CL. [Quod aratores candetum nominant] semiiugerum quoque arepennem vocant. Ergo, ut dixi, duo actus iugerum efficiunt longitudine pedum CCXL, latitudine pedum CXX.

[6] and these same people call a porca a breadth of 30 feet and a length of 180 feet. But the Gauls call a candetum, in urban areas, a space of 100 feet, and in rural ones, of 150 feet. [Which the ploughmen call candetum] they also call a semi-iugerum an arepennis (arpent). Therefore, as I said, two actus make a iugerum, with a length of 240 feet and a width of 120 feet.

Quae utraeque summae in se multiplicatae quadratorum faciunt pedum viginti octo milia et octingentos. Stadium deinde habet passus CXXV, id est pedes DCXXV, quae mensura octies multiplicata efficit mille passus; sic veniunt quinque milia pedum.

Both of which sums, multiplied by themselves, make squares of twenty-eight thousand eight hundred feet. Then a stadium has 125 paces, that is 625 feet, which measure, multiplied eight times, makes 1,000 paces; thus there come 5,000 feet.

[7] Centuriam nunc dicimus (ut idem Varro ait) ducentorum iugerum modum. Olim autem ab centum iugeribus vocabatur centuria, sed mox duplicata nomen retinuit; sicuti tribus dictae primum a partibus populi tripartito divisi, quae tamen nunc multiplicatae pristinum nomen possident.

[7] We now call a century (as the same Varro says) a measure of 200 iugera. Formerly, however, from 100 iugera it was called a century, but soon, when doubled, it retained the name; just as the tribes, first named from the parts of the people divided into three parts, nevertheless now, though multiplied, possess the pristine name.

[8] Haec non aliena, nec procul a ratiocinio, quod tradituri sumus, breviter praefari oportuit. Nunc veniamus ad propositum. Iugeri partes non omnes posuimus, sed eas, quae cadunt in aestimationem facti operis.

[8] It was fitting to preface briefly these matters, not alien nor far from the ratiocination which we are about to hand down. Now let us come to the purpose. We have not set down all the parts of the iugerum, but those which fall into the valuation of the work performed.

Nam minores persequi supervacuum fuit, pro quibus nulla merces dependitur. Igitur, ut diximus, iugerum habet quadratorum pedum viginti octo milia et octingentos; qui pedes efficiunt scripula CCLXXXVIII.

For it was superfluous to pursue the smaller parts, for which no fee is paid. Therefore, as we said, the iugerum has 28,800 square feet; which feet amount to 288 scripula.

[9] Ut autem a minima parte, id est ab dimidio scripulo incipiam, pars quingentesima septuagesima sexta pedes efficit quinquaginta; id est iugeri dimidium scripulum. Pars ducentesima octogesima octava pedes centum; hoc est scripulum. Pars CXLIIII pedes CC, hoc est, scripula duo.

[9] And so, in order that I may begin from the smallest part, that is, from a half‑scripulum, the five‑hundred‑seventy‑sixth part makes fifty feet; that is, a half‑scripulum of the iugerum. The two‑hundred‑eighty‑eighth part makes one hundred feet; that is, a scripulum. The 144th part makes 200 feet; that is, two scripula.

Pars septuagesima et secunda pedes CCCC, hoc est sextula, in qua sunt scripula quattuor. Pars quadragesima octava pedes DC, hoc est sicilicus, in quo sunt scripula sex.

The seventy-second part makes 400 feet, that is, a sextula, in which there are four scruples. The forty-eighth part makes 600 feet, that is, a sicilicus, in which there are six scruples.

[10] Pars vigesima quarta pedes mille ducentos, hoc est semiuncia, in qua scripula XII. Pars duodecima duo milia et quadringentos, hoc est uncia, ini qua sunt scripula XXIIII. Pars sexta pedes quattuor milia et octingentos, hoc est sextans, in quo sunt scripula XLVIII.

[10] The twenty-fourth part is 1200 feet, that is the semuncia (half-ounce), in which there are 12 scripula. The twelfth part is 2400 feet, that is the uncia (ounce), in which there are 24 scripula. The sixth part is 4800 feet, that is the sextans, in which there are 48 scripula.

Pars quarta pedes septem milia et ducentos, hoc est quadrans, in quo sunt scripula LXXII. Pars tertia pedes novem milia et sescentos, hoc est triens, in quo sunt scripula XCVI.

The fourth part is 7,200 feet, that is the quadrans, in which there are 72 scruples. The third part is 9,600 feet, that is the triens, in which there are 96 scruples.

[11] Pars tertia et una duodecima pedes duodecim milia, hoc est quincunx, in quo sunt scripula CXX. Pars dimidia pedes quattuordecim milia et quadringentos, hoc est semis, in quo sunt scripula CXLIIII. Pars dimidia et una duodecima, pedes sexdecim milia et octingentos, hoc est septunx, in quo sunt scripula CLVIII.

[11] The third part and one twelfth: 12,000 feet, that is, a quincunx, in which there are 120 scripula. The half: 14,400 feet, that is, a semis, in which there are 144 scripula. The half and one twelfth, 16,800 feet, that is, a septunx, in which there are 158 scripula.

Partes duae tertiae pedes decem novem milia et ducentos, hoc est bes, in quo sunt scripula CXCII. Partes tres quartae pedes unum et viginti milia et sescentos, hoc est dodrans, in quo sunt scripula CCXVI.

Two-thirds parts, 19,200 feet, that is a bes, in which there are 192 scruples. Three-fourths parts, 21,600 feet, that is a dodrans, in which there are 216 scruples.

[12] Pars dimidia et tertia pedes viginti quattuor milia, hoc est dextans, in quo sunt scripula CCXL. Partes duae tertiae et una quarta pedes viginti sex milia et quadringentos, hoc est deunx, in quo sunt scripula CCLXIIII. Iugerum pedes viginti octo milia et octingentos, hoc est as, in quo sunt scripula CCLXXXVIII.

[12] A half and a third, 24,000 feet, that is the dextans, in which there are 240 scripula. Two thirds and one fourth, 26,400 feet, that is the deunx, in which there are 264 scripula. The iugerum, 28,800 feet, that is the as, in which there are 288 scripula.

[13] Iugeri autem modus si semper quadraret, et in agendis mensuris in longitudinem haberet pedes CCXL, in latitudinem pedes CXX, expeditissimum esset eius ratiocinium. Sed quoniam diversae agrorum formae veniunt in disputationem, cuiusque generis species subiciemus, quibus quasi formulis utemur.

[13] Moreover, if the measure of the iugerum were always square, and, in conducting measurements, it had 240 feet in length and 120 feet in breadth, its reckoning would be most straightforward. But since diverse forms of fields come into discussion, we shall subjoin the species of each genus, which we shall use as quasi formulas.

II. Omnis ager aut quadratus, aut longus, aut cuneatus, aut triquetrus, aut rotundus, aut etiam semicirculi, vel arcus, nonnumquam etiam plurimum angulorum formam exhibet. Quadrati mensura facillima est. Nam cum sit undique pedum totidem, multiplicantur in se duo latera, et quae summa ex multiplicatione effecta est, eam dicemus esse quadratorum pedum.

2. Every field either is square, or long, or cuneate (wedge‑shaped), or triquetrous (three‑cornered), or rotund, or even of a semicircle, or an arc; sometimes it also exhibits a form of very many angles. The measurement of a square is easiest. For since on every side it is of the same number of feet, the two sides are multiplied by each other, and the total produced from the multiplication, we shall say, is the number of square feet.

Tamquam est locus quoquo versus C pedum: ducimus centies centenos, fiunt decem milia.

As when there is a place 100 feet on every side: we multiply a hundred by a hundred, there result 10,000.

[2] Dicemus igitur eum locum habere decem milia pedum quadratorum, quae efficiunt iugeri trientem et sextulam, pro qua portione operis effecti numerationem facere oportebit.

[2] Therefore we shall say that that place has ten thousand square feet, which make a third and a sextula of a iugerum, for which portion of the work accomplished the reckoning ought to be made.

[3] At si longior fuerit quam latior, ut exempli causa iugeri forma pedes habeat longitudinis CCXL, latitudinis pedes CXX, ita ut paulo ante dixi; latitudinis pedes cum longitudinis pedibus sic multiplicabis. Centies vicies duceni quadrageni fiunt viginti octo milia et octingenti. Dicemus iugerum agri tot pedes quadratos habere.

[3] But if it is longer than it is wider, for example let the form of a iugerum have 240 feet of length, 120 feet of breadth, just as I said a little before; you will multiply the feet of breadth by the feet of length thus. 120 by 240 make 28,800. We will say that a iugerum of land has so many square feet.

[4] Similiterque fiet de omnibus agris, quorum longitudo maior sit latitudine. Sin autem cuneatus ager fuerit, ut puta longus pedes centum, latus ex una parte pedes XX, et ex altera pedes X; tunc duas latitudines componemus, fiet utraque summa pedes XXX. Huius pars dimidia est quindecim, quam cum longitudine multiplicando efficiemus pedes mille et quingentos.

[4] And similarly it will be done for all fields whose length is greater than the width. But if the field should be cuneate (wedge-shaped), for instance 100 feet long, the width on one side 20 feet, and on the other 10; then we will combine the two widths, the sum of both will be 30 feet. Half of this is fifteen, which, by multiplying with the length, we will produce 1,500 square feet.

Hos igitur in eo cuneo quadratos pedes esse dicemus, quae pars erit iugeri semuncia et scripula tria.

These, therefore, in that wedge we shall say are square feet, which portion will be a semuncia and three scripula of a iugerum.

[5] At si tribus paribus lateribus triquetrum metiri debueris, hanc formam sequeris. Esto ager triangulus pedum quoquo versus trecentorum. Hunc numerum in se multiplicato, fiunt pedum nonaginta milia.

[5] But if you must measure a three-angled (triangular) field with three equal sides, you will follow this formula. Let the field be triangular, of 300 feet on every side. Multiplying this number by itself, there result 90,000 square feet.

Huius summae partem tertiam sumito, id est triginta milia. Item sumito decumam, id est novem milia. Utramque summam componito.

Take a third part of this sum, that is, 30,000. Likewise take the tenth, that is, 9,000. Put together both sums.

Fiunt pedes triginta novem milia. Dicemus hanc summam pedum quadratorum esse in eo triquetro, quae mensura efficit iugerum et trientem et sicilicum. Sed si triangulus disparibus fuerit lateribus ager, tamquam in subiecta forma, quae habet rectum angulum, aliter ratiocinium ordinabitur.

There result thirty-nine thousand feet. We will say that this sum is of square feet in that triangle, a measure which makes a iugerum and a trient and a sicilicus. But if the triangular field should have unequal sides, as in the form set beneath, which has a right angle, the reckoning will be arranged otherwise.

[6] Esto unius lateris linea, quae facit angulum rectum, pedum quinquaginta, et alterius pedum centum. Has duas summas in se multiplicato, quinquagies centeni fiunt quinque milia. Horum pars dimidia duo milia quingeni, quae pars iugeri unciam et scripulum efficit.

[6] Let the line of one side, which makes a right angle, be fifty feet, and that of the other one hundred feet. Multiply these two sums by each other: fifty times a hundred make five thousand. Half of this is two thousand five hundred, which portion of a iugerum constitutes an uncia and a scripulum.

Si rotundus ager erit, ut circuli speciem habeat, sic pedes sumito. Esto area rotunda, cuius diametros habeat pedes LXX.

If the field shall be round, so that it has the appearance of a circle, thus take the feet. Let the area be round, whose diameter is 70 feet.

[7] Hoc in se multiplicato, septuagies septuageni fiunt quattuor milia et nongenti. Hanc summam undecies multiplicato, fiunt pedes quinquaginta tria milia nongenti. Huius summae quartam decimam subduco, scilicet pedes tria milia octingenti et quinquaginta.

[7] Multiplying this by itself, seventy times seventy make four thousand nine hundred. Multiplying this sum eleven times, there result feet fifty-three thousand nine hundred. From this sum I subtract the fourteenth part, namely feet three thousand eight hundred and fifty.

Hos esse quadratos in eo circulo dico, quae summa efficit iugeri sescunciam, scripula duo et dimidium.

I say that these are square feet in that circle, whose sum makes a sescuncia (one-eighth) of a iugerum, two and a half scripula.

[8] Si semicirculus fuerit ager, cuius basis habeat pedes CXL, curvaturae autem latitudo pedes LXX, oportebit multiplicare latitudinem cum basi. Septuagies centeni quadrageni fiunt novem milia et octingenti. Haec undecies multiplicata fiunt centum septem milia et octingenti.

[8] If the field is a semicircle, whose base has 140 feet, and the width of the curvature 70 feet, it will be necessary to multiply the width with the base. Seventy times one hundred forty come to 9,800. This, multiplied eleven times, comes to 107,800.

Huius summae quarta decima est septem milia et septingenti. Hos pedes esse dicemus in semicirculo, qui efficiunt iugeri quadrantem scripula quinque.

The fourteenth of this sum is 7,700. We will say these feet are in the semicircle, which make a quadrant of a iugerum and five scripula.

[9] Si autem minus quam semicirculus erit, arcum sic metiemur. Esto arcus, cuius basis habeat pedes XVI, latitudo autem pedes IIII. Latitudinem cum basi pono.

[9] If, however, it will be less than a semicircle, we shall measure the arc thus. Let there be an arc, whose base has 16 feet, and the latitude 4 feet. I set the latitude with the base.

Fit utrumque pedes XX. Hoc duco quater. Fiunt LXXX. Horum pars dimidia est XL. Item sedecim pedum, qui sunt basis, pars dimidia VIII.

Both together come to 20 feet. I multiply this by four. They come to 80. The half part of these is 40. Likewise, of the sixteen feet, which are the base, the half part is 8.

Hi VIII in se multiplicati, fiunt LXIIII. Quartam decimam partem duco, ea efficit pedes IIII paulo amplius. Hoc adicies ad quadraginta.

These 8, multiplied by themselves, come to 64. I take the fourteenth part; this makes 4 feet, a little more. Add this to forty.

Fit utraque summa pedes XLIIII. Hos in arcu quadratos esse dico, qui faciunt iugeri dimidiam scripulum, quinta et vicesima parte minus.

Both sums come to 44 feet. I say that these are square feet in the arch, which make half a scripulum of a iugerum, less by a twenty-fifth part.

[10] Si fuerit sex angulorum, in quadratos pedes sic redigitur. Esto hexagonum quoquo versus lineis pedum XXX. Latus unum in se multiplico.

[10] If it is six-angled, it is thus reduced into square feet. Let the hexagon be, on every side, with lines of 30 feet. I multiply one side by itself.

Tricies triceni fiunt DCCCC. Huius summae tertiam partem statuo CCC. Eiusdem partem decimam XC. Fiunt CCCXC.

Thirty times thirty come to 900. Of this sum I set the third part, 300. The tenth part of the same, 90. They come to 390.

Hoc sexies ducendum est, quoniam sex latera sunt, quae consummata efficiunt duo milia trecenteni et quadraginta. Tot igitur pedes quadratos esse dicemus. Itaque erit iugeri uncia dimidio scripulo et decima parte scripuli minus.

This is to be multiplied six times, since there are six sides, which, when completed, make 2,340. Therefore we shall say there are that many square feet. Accordingly it will be an uncia of a iugerum, less by half a scripulum and by the tenth part of a scripulum.

III.

[1] His igitur velut primordiis talis ratiocinii perceptis non difficiliter mensuras inibimus agrorum, quorum nunc omnes persequi species et longum et arduum est. Duas etiam nunc formulas praepositis adiciam, quibus frequenter utuntur agricolae in disponendis seminibus. Esto ager longus pedes mille ducentos, latus pedes CXX.

[1] Therefore, with these, as it were, the primordia of such ratiocination having been perceived, we shall not with difficulty enter upon the measurements of fields, all the species of which to pursue now is both long and arduous. I will also now add to what has been set before two formulae, which farmers frequently use in disposing the seeds. Let the field be long 1,200 feet, [and] broad 120 feet.

In eo vites disponendae sunt ita, ut quini pedes inter ordines relinquantur. Quaero quot seminibus opus sit, cum quinum pedum spatia inter semina desiderantur.

In it the vines are to be arranged thus, that five feet be left between the rows. I ask how many plants are needed, since intervals of five feet are required between the plants.

[2] Duco quintam partem longitudinis, fiunt CCXL. Et quintam partem latitudinis, hoc est XXIIII. His utrisque summis semper singulos asses adicio, qui efficiunt extremos ordines, quos vocant angulares.

[2] I take the fifth part of the length; there result 240. And the fifth part of the width, that is 24. To both these sums I always add a single unit apiece, which produce the outermost rows, which they call angular.

Fit ergo altera summa ducentorum quadraginta unius, altera viginti quinque. Has summas sic multiplicato. Quinquies et vicies duceni quadrageni singuli fiunt sex milia et viginti quinque.

Therefore the one sum comes to 241, the other to 25. Multiply these sums thus. Five-and-twenty times two hundred and forty-one make 6,025.

[3] Totidem dices opus esse seminibus. Similiter inter senos pedes si voles ponere, duces sextam partem longitudinis mille ducentorum, fiunt CC. Et sextam latitudinis CXX, id est XX. His summis singulos asses adicies quos dixi angulares esse. Fiunt CCI, et XXI.

[3] You will say the same number of seeds is needed. Similarly, if you wish to place them at intervals of six feet, you will take the sixth part of the length, 1200, which comes to 200. And the sixth of the width, 120—that is, 20. To these totals you will add single asses, which I said are the angular ones. They become 201 and 21.

Has summas inter se multiplicabis, vicies et semel ducentos et unum, atque ita efficies quattuor milia ducentos et viginti unum.

You will multiply these sums with each other, twenty-one times 201, and thus you will produce 4,221.

[4] Totidem seminibus opus esse dices. Similiter si inter septenos pedes ponere voles, septimam partem longitudinis et latitudinis duces, et adicies asses angulares, eodem modo eodemque ordine consummabis numerum seminum.

[4] You will say there is need of just as many seeds. Similarly, if you wish to place them at intervals of seven feet, you will take the seventh part of the length and of the width, and you will add the corner asses; in the same way and in the same order you will consummate the number of seeds.

[5] Denique quotcumque pedum spatia facienda censueris, totam partem longitudinis et latitudinis duces, et praedictos asses adicies. Haec cum ita sint, sequitur ut iugerum agri, qui habet pedes CCXL longitudinis, et latitudinis pedes CXX, recipiat inter pedes ternos (hoc enim spatium minimum esse placet vitibus ponendis) per longitudinem semina LXXXI, per latitudinem inter quinos pedes semina duo milia et viginti quinque.

[5] Finally, whatever spaces of feet you judge must be made, you will take the whole part of the length and of the width, and you will add the aforesaid asses (units). Since these things are so, it follows that a iugerum of land, which has 240 feet of length and 120 feet of width, receives at intervals of three feet (for this space is deemed the minimum for setting vines) along the length 81 plantings, along the width at intervals of five feet 2,025 plantings.

[6] Vel si quoquo versus inter quaternos pedes vinea erit disposita, longitudinis ordo habebit semina LXI, latitudinis XXXI, qui numeri efficiunt in iugero vites mille octingentas et nonaginta unam. Vel si in longitudinem per quaternos pedes fuerit disposita, ordo longitudinis habebit semina LXI, latitudinis XXV.

[6] Or if in whichever direction the vineyard will be laid out at intervals of four feet, the row of the length will have 61 plantings, of the width 31, which numbers yield in a iugerum 1,891 vines. Or if along the length it will have been laid out at four-foot intervals, the order of the length will have 61 plantings, of the width 25.

[7] Quod si inter quinos pedes consitio fuerit, per longitudinem ordinis habebit semina XLIX, et rursus per latitudinem semina XXV. Qui numeri duo inter se multiplicati efficiunt mille ducentum et viginti quinque. At si per senos pedes eundem vitibus locum placuerit ordinare, nihil dubium est quin longitudini dandae sint XLI vites, latitudini autem viginti una.

[7] But if the planting is at intervals of five feet, along the length the row will have 49 plantings, and again across the breadth 25 plantings. These two numbers, multiplied together, make 1,225. But if it should please to arrange the same place for vines at six-foot intervals, there is no doubt that to the length 41 vines are to be assigned, and to the breadth 21.

Quae inter se multiplicatae efficiunt numerum DCCCLXI.

Which, multiplied among themselves, produce the number 861.

[8] Sin autem inter septenos pedes vinea fuerit constituenda, ordo per longitudinem recipiet capita triginta quinque, per latitudinem XVIII. Qui numeri inter se multiplicati efficiunt DCXXX. Totidem dicemus semina praeparanda.

[8] But if, however, a vineyard is to be constituted at seven-foot intervals, the row along the length will receive 35 heads, across the width 18. These numbers, multiplied with each other, effect 630. We shall say that the same number of seedlings are to be prepared.

At si inter octonos pedes vinea conseretur, ordo per longitudinem recipiet semina XXXI, per latitudinem autem XVI. Qui numeri inter se multiplicati efficiunt CCCCXCVI.

But if the vineyard is planted at eight-foot intervals, the row along the length will receive 31 seedlings, but along the breadth 16. These numbers, multiplied among themselves, make 496.

[9] At si inter novenos pedes, ordo in longitudinem recipiet semina viginti septem, et in latitudinem quattuordecim. Hi numeri inter se multiplicati faciunt CCCLXXVIII. At si inter denos pedes, ordo longitudinis recipiet semina XXV, latitudinis XIII.

[9] But if at nine-foot intervals, a row in length will take 27 plantings, and in breadth 14. These numbers multiplied together make 378. But if at ten-foot intervals, the row of length will take 25 plantings, of breadth 13.

Hi numeri inter se multiplicati faciunt CCCXXV. Et ne in infinitum procedat disputatio nostra, eadem portione, ut cuique placuerint laxiora spatia, semina faciemus. Ac de mensuris agrorum numerisque seminum dixisse abunde sit.

These numbers, multiplied among themselves, make 325. And lest our disputation proceed into infinity, in the same proportion, as broader intervals may have pleased each person, we will make the plantings. And let it be enough to have spoken about the measures of fields and the numbers of plantings.

Nunc ad ordinem redeo.

Now I return to the order.

IV. Vinearum provincialium plura genera esse comperi. Sed ex iis, quas ipse cognovi, maxime probantur velut arbusculae brevi crure sine adminiculo per se stantes; deinde quae pedaminibus adnixae singulis iugis imponuntur; eas rustici canteriatas appellant. Mox quae defixis arundinibus circummunitae per statumina calamorum materiis ligatis in orbiculos gyrosque flectuntur; eas nonnulli characatas vocant.

4. I have found that there are several kinds of provincial vineyards. But among those which I myself have known, the most approved are, as it were, little trees with a short shank, standing by themselves without support; next, those which, leaning on foot-supports, are set upon single yokes—rustics call these “canteriatas.” Then those which, with reeds fixed in the ground and enclosed round about, are bent into little circles and gyres by means of uprights of canes with the materials tied together—some call these “characatas.”

[2] Ultima est conditio stratarum vitium, quae ab enata stirpe confestim velut proiectae per humum porriguntur. Omnium autem stationis fere eadem est conditio. Nam vel scrobe vel sulco semina deponuntur. Quoniam pastinationis expertus sunt exterarum gentium agricolae; quae tamen ipsa paene supervacua est iis locis, quibus solum putre et per se resolutum est;

[2] The last kind is the condition of the prostrate vines, which from the enate stock immediately, as if cast forth, are stretched along the ground. But the condition of the station is nearly the same for all. For either in a pit or in a furrow the seeds/plantings are set down. Since the farmers of foreign nations are unacquainted with pastination (deep-trenching); which, however, is itself almost superfluous in those places where the soil is friable and loosened of itself;

namque hoc imitamur arando,

for indeed we imitate this by plowing,

ut ait Virgilius, id est etiam pastinando.

as Virgil says, that is, also by pastination.

[3] Itaque Campania, cum vicinum ex nobis capere possit exemplum, non utitur hac molitione terrae, quia facilitas eius soli minorem operam desiderat. Sicubi autem densior ager provincialis rustici maiorem poscit impensam, quod nos pastinando efficimus, ille sulco facto consequitur, ut laxius subacto solo deponat semina.

[3] And so Campania, since it can take from us a neighboring example, does not use this working of the earth, because the ease of its soil demands less labor. But wherever a denser field demands a greater outlay from the provincial rustic, what we effect by pastining, he attains by making a furrow, so that he may lay down the seeds more loosely in the subjugated soil.

V. Sed ut singula earum quae proposui vinearum genera persequar, praedictum ordinem repetam. Vitis quae sine adminiculo suis viribus consistit, solutiore terra, scrobe, densiore, sulco ponenda est. [Sed et] scrobes et sulci plurimum prosunt, si in locis temperatis, in quibus aestas non est praefervida, ante annum fiant, quam vineta conserantur.

5. But that I may pursue individually the kinds of vineyards which I have proposed, I will take up again the aforesaid order. The vine which, without a support, stands by its own forces is to be planted in looser soil, in a pit; in denser, in a furrow. [But also] pits and furrows are very beneficial, if in temperate places, in which the summer is not over-fervid, they are made a year before the vineyards are planted.

Soli tamen ante bonitas exploranda est. Nam si ieiuno atque exili agro semina deponentur, sub ipsum tempus sationis scrobis aut sulcus faciendus est.

The goodness of the soil, however, must first be explored. For if seeds are deposited in a jejune and meager field, at the very time of sowing a pit or a furrow must be made.

[2] Si ante annum fiant, quam vinea conseratur, scrobis in longitudinem altitudinemque defossus tripedaneus abunde est; latitudine tamen bipedanea; vel si quaterna pedum spatia inter ordines relicturi sumus, commodius habetur eandem quoquo versus dare mensuram scrobibus, non amplius tamen quam in tres pedes altitudinis depressis. Ceterum quattuor angulis semina applicabuntur subiecta minuta terra, et ita scrobes adobruentur.

[2] If they are made a year before the vineyard is planted, a pit dug to a length and depth of three feet is amply sufficient; with a width, however, of two feet; or, if we are going to leave spaces of four feet between the rows, it is held more commodious to give the same measure to the pits every way, yet not sunk to more than three feet in depth. Furthermore, at the four corners the cuttings will be placed, with fine earth laid beneath, and thus the pits will be covered in.

[3] Sed de spatiis ordinum eatenus praecipiendum habemus, ut intelligant agricolae, sive aratro vineas culturi sint, laxiora interordinia relinquenda, sive bidentibus, angustiora; sed neque spatiosiora quam decem pedum, neque contractiora quam quattuor. Multi tamen ordines ita disponunt, ut per rectam lineam binos pedes, aut [ut] plurimum ternos inter semina relinquant; transversa rursus laxiora spatia faciant, per quae vel fossor vel arator incedat.

[3] But concerning the spaces of the rows we have to prescribe thus far, so that the farmers may understand: whether they are going to cultivate the vineyards with the plow, wider inter-rows must be left; or with bidents (two-pronged hoes), narrower ones; yet neither more spacious than 10 feet nor more constricted than 4. Many, however, arrange the rows in such a way that, along a straight line, they leave 2 feet, or [that] at the most 3, between the plants; crosswise, in turn, they make wider spaces, through which either the digger (fossor) or the plowman (arator) may go.

[4] Sationis autem cura non alia debet esse, quam quae tradita est a me tertio volumine. Unum tamen huic consitioni Mago Carthaginiensis adicit, semina ita deponantur, ne protinus totus scrobis terra compleatur, sed dimidia fere pars eius sequente biennio paulatim adaequetur. Sic enim putat vitem cogi deorsum agere radices.

[4] Moreover, the care of sowing ought not to be other than that which has been handed down by me in the 3rd volume. One thing, however, Mago the Carthaginian adds to this planting: that the seeds be deposited in such a way that the whole pit not be filled with earth at once, but that about half of it, in the ensuing two-year period, be gradually brought level. For thus he thinks the vine is compelled to drive its roots downward.

Hoc ego siccis locis fieri utiliter non negaverim; sed ubi aut uliginosa regio est, aut caeli status imbrifer, minime faciundum censeo. Nam consistens in semiplenis scrobibus nimius humor, antequam convalescant, semina necat.

This I would not deny to be done usefully in dry places; but where either the region is marshy, or the state of the sky is rain-bearing, I judge it by no means to be done. For excessive moisture, settling in half-filled pits, kills the seeds before they gain strength.

[5] Quare utilius existimo repleri quidem scrobes stirpe deposita, sed cum semina comprehenderint, statim post aequinoctium autumnale debere diligenter atque alte ablaqueari, et recisis radiculis, si quas in summo solo citaverint, post paucos dies adobrui. Sic enim utrumque incommodum vitabitur, ut nec radices in superiorem partem evocentur, neque immodicis pluviis parum valida vexentur semina.

[5] Wherefore I consider it more useful that the pits indeed be refilled, the stock having been set down; but when the cuttings have taken hold, immediately after the autumnal equinox they ought to be carefully and deeply ablaqueated, and, the radicles cut back, if they have put forth any in the topsoil, after a few days to be earthed over. Thus each inconvenience will be avoided, so that neither are the roots drawn into the upper part, nor are the not-very-strong cuttings vexed by immoderate rains.

[6] Ubi vero iam corroborata fuerint, nihil dubium est, quin caelestibus aquis plurimum iuventur. Itaque locis, quibus clementia hiemis permittit, adapertas vites relinquere et tota hieme ablaqueatas habere eas conveniet. De qualitate autem seminum inter auctores non convenit.

[6] But when they have now been corroborated, there is no doubt that they are greatly helped by celestial waters. And so, in places where the clemency of winter permits, it will be suitable to leave the vines laid open and to have them ablaqueated throughout the whole winter. But about the quality of the seeds there is no agreement among the authors.

Alii malleolo protinus conseri vineam melius existimant, alii viviradice; de qua re quid sentiam, iam superioribus voluminibus professus sum.

Some esteem it better that a vineyard be planted at once with a malleolus, others with a live-root; concerning which matter what I think, I have already professed in the preceding volumes.

[7] Et nunc tamen hoc adicio, esse quosdam agros in quibus non aeque bene translata semina quam immota respondeant, sed istud rarissime accidere. Notandum item diligenter, explorandum esse

[7] And now nevertheless I add this: that there are certain fields in which transplanted seeds do not respond as well as those unmoved, but that this very rarely occurs. It must also be carefully noted, that it must be explored

Quid quaeque ferat regio, quid quaeque recuset.

What each region bears, what each refuses.

Depositam ergo stirpem, id est malleolum vel viviradicem, formare sic convenit, ut vitis sine pedamine consistat. Hoc autem protinus effici non potest.

Therefore, it is fitting to shape the stock once set down, that is, the malleolus or the viviradix, in such a way that the vine may stand without a prop. However, this cannot be effected immediately.

[8] Nam nisi adminiculum tenerae [viti] atque infirmae contribueris, prorepens pampinus terrae se applicabit. Itaque posito semini arundo adnectitur, quae velut infantiam eius tueatur atque educet, producatque in tantam staturam, quantam permittit agricola. Ea porro non debet esse sublimis; nam usque in sesquipedem coercenda est.

[8] For unless you contribute a prop to the tender and feeble [vine], the creeping vine-shoot will apply itself to the earth. And so, once the planting has been set, it is tied to a reed-stake, which may, as it were, protect and rear its infancy, and lead it forth into so great a stature as the farmer permits. This, moreover, ought not to be lofty; for it must be restrained to a foot and a half.

[9] Cum deinde robur accipit, et iam sine adiumento consistere valet, aut capitis aut brachiorum incrementis adolescit. Nam duae species huius quoque culturae sunt. Alii capitatas vineas, alii brachiatas magis probant.

[9] Then, when it receives strength, and now is able to stand without aid, it grows up by the increments of either the head or the arms. For there are two species of this cultivation as well. Some approve capitate vines, others more approve brachiated ones.

Quibus cordi est in brachia vitem componere, convenit a summa parte, qua decisa novella vitis est, quidquid iuxta cicatricem citaverit, conservari, et in quattuor brachia pedalis mensurae dividere, ita ut omnem partem caeli singula aspiciant.

For those whose heart is to arrange the vine into arms, it is proper that, from the top part where the young vine has been cut, whatever has sprung up next to the cicatrix be preserved, and that it be divided into four arms of a foot’s measure, so that each one looks toward a part of the sky.

[10] Sed haec brachia non statim primo anno tam procera submittuntur,ne oneretur exilitas vitis; sed compluribus putationibus in praedictam mensuram educuntur. Deinde ex brachis quasi quaedam cornua prominentia relinqui oportet, atque ita totam vitem omni parte in orbem diffundi.

[10] But these arms are not at once in the first year allowed to be so tall, lest the exility of the vine be burdened; rather by several prunings they are brought out to the aforesaid measure. Then from the arms, as it were certain projecting horns, it is proper to be left, and thus the whole vine to be spread in a circle on every side.

[11] Putationibus autem ratio eadem est, quae in iugatis vitibus; uno tamen differt, quod pro materiis longioribus pollices quaternum aut quinum gemmarum relinquuntur; pro custodibus autem bigemmes reseces fiunt. In ea deinde vinea quam capitatam diximus, iuxta ipsam matrem usque ad corpus sarmentum detrahitur, una aut altera tantummodo gemma relicta, quae ipsi trunco adhaeret.

[11] As for prunings, moreover, the method is the same as in yoked/trellised vines; it differs in one respect, that in place of longer canes, “thumbs” of four or five buds are left; but for “guards,” two-budded cut-backs are made. Then, in that vineyard which we have called “headed,” right next to the mother itself the cane is drawn down as far as the body, with only one or at most a second bud left, which adheres to the trunk itself.

[12] Hoc autem riguis aut pinguissimis locis fieri tuto potest,cum vires terrae et fructum et materias valent praebere. Maxime autem aratris excolunt, qui sic formatas vineas habent, et eam rationem sequuntur detrahendi vitibus brachia, quod ipsa capita sine ulla exstantia neque aratro neque bubus obnoxia sunt. Nam in brachiatis plerumque fit, ut aut crure aut cornibus boum ramuli vitium defringantur; saepe etiam stiva, dum sedulus arator vomere perstringere ordinem, et quam proximam partem vitium excolere studet.

[12] This, however, can safely be done in irrigated or very fat places,when the powers of the soil are strong to supply both fruit and materials. And they chiefly cultivate with ploughs, who have vines formed thus, and they follow this method of removing the arms from the vines, because the heads themselves, without any projection, are exposed neither to the plough nor to the oxen. For in arm-bearing vines it very often happens that either by the leg or by the horns of the oxen the little branches of the vines are broken off; often also by the stilt (plough-handle), while the assiduous ploughman strives with the share to skim the row, and to cultivate that part of the vines which is as near as possible.

[13] Atque haec quidem cultura vel brachiatis vel capitatis [vitibus,] antequam gemment, adhibetur. Cum deinde gemmaverint, fossor insequitur, ac bidentibus eas partes subigit, quas bubulcus non potuit pertingere. Mox ubi materias vitis exigit, insequitur pampinator, et supervacuos deterget, fructuososque palmites submittit, qui cum induruerunt, velut in coronam religantur.

[13] And indeed this cultivation is applied either to brachiated or to headed [vines,] before they bud. When then they have budded, the ditcher follows, and with two-pronged hoes he works those parts which the plowman could not reach. Soon, when the vine puts forth its materials, the leaf-stripping vinedresser follows, and wipes off the superfluous ones, and trains down the fruitful shoots, which, when they have hardened, are bound again as if into a crown.

Hoc duabus ex causis fit: una, ne libero excursu in luxuria properent omniaque alimenta pampini absumant; altera, ut religata vitis rursus aditum bubulco fossorique in excolenda se praebeat.

This is done for two reasons: first, lest with a free course they hasten into luxuriance and the leaf-shoots consume all the nourishments; second, so that the vine, when bound, may again offer access to the ox-driver and the digger for cultivating it.

[14] Pampinandi autem modus is erit, ut opacis locis humidisque et frigidis aestate vitis nudetur, foliaque palmitibus detrahantur, ut maturitatem fructus capere possit, et ne situ putrescat; locis autem siccis calidisque et apricis e contrario palmitibus uvae contegantur; et si parum pampinosa vitis est, advectis frondibus et interdum stramentis fructus muniatur.

[14] But the method of deleafing (pampination) will be this: that in shady places, humid and cold, in summer the vine be stripped bare, and the leaves be drawn off from the shoots, so that the fruit may be able to take maturity, and lest it putrefy with mustiness; but in dry, warm, and sunny places, conversely, let the grapes be covered by the shoots; and if the vine is not sufficiently leafy, let the fruit be protected with leaves brought in and sometimes with straw.

[15] M. Quidem Columella patruus meus, vir illustribus disciplinis eruditus ac diligentissimus agricola Baeticae provinciae, sub ortu caniculae palmeis tegetibus vineas adumbrabat, quoniam plerumque dicti sideris tempore quaedam partes eius regionis sic infestantur Euro, quem incolae Vulturnum appellant, ut nisi teguminibus vites opacentur, velut halitu flammeo fructus uratur. Atque haec capitatae brachiataeque vitis cultura est. Nam illa, quae uni iugo superponitur, aut quae materiis submissis arundinum statuminibus per orbem connectitur, fere eandem curam exigit, quam iugata.

[15] Indeed my uncle M. Columella, a man erudite in illustrious disciplines and a most diligent agriculturist of the province of Baetica, under the rising of the Canicula (Dog-star) used to shade the vineyards with palm coverings, since for the most part at the time of the aforesaid star certain parts of that region are so infested by the Eurus, which the inhabitants call the Vulturnus, that unless the vines are shaded with coverings, the fruit is scorched as if by a fiery breath. And this is the cultivation of the capitate and brachiate vine. For that which is set upon a single yoke, or which is connected all around by timbers let down upon reed uprights, demands almost the same care as the yoked vine.

[16] Nonnullos tamen in vineis characatis animadverti, et maxime elvenaci generis, prolixos palmites quasi propagines summo solo adobruere, deinde rursus ad arundines erigere, et in fructum submittere, quos nostri agricolae mergos, Galli candosoccos vocant, eosque adobruunt simplici ex causa, quod existiment plus alimenti terram praebere fructuariis flagellis. Itaque post vindemiam velut inutilia sarmenta decidunt, et a stirpe submovent. Nos autem praecipimus easdem virgas, cum a matre fuerint praecisae, sicubi demortuis vitibus ordines vacent, aut si novellam quis vineam instituere velit, pro viviradice ponere.

[16] Nevertheless, I have noticed some people in staked vineyards (characatae), and most of all of the Elvenacian kind, earthing over long shoots as if propagines (layers) just beneath the topsoil, then raising them again to the reed-stakes and letting them down into fruit; our farmers call these mergi, the Gauls candosoccos, and they earth them over for the simple reason that they suppose the soil supplies more nourishment to the fruit-bearing flagella (canes). And so, after the vintage, they cut them off like useless prunings (sarmenta) and remove them from the stock. We, however, instruct that these same rods, when they have been cut from the mother, wherever the rows lie vacant because vines have died, or if someone wishes to establish a new young vineyard, be planted in place as a live rootstock (pro viviradice).

Quoniam quidem partes sarmentorum, quae fuerant obrutae, satis multas habent radices, quae depositae scrobibus confestim comprehendant.

Since indeed the parts of the cuttings which had been earthed over have quite many roots, which, when deposited in pits, immediately take hold.

[17] Superest reliqua illa cultura prostratae vineae, quae nisi violentissimo caeli statu suscipi non debet. Nam et difficilem laborem colonis exhibet, nec umquam generosi saporis vinum praebet. Atque ubi regionis condicio solam eam culturam recipit, bipedaneis scrobibus malleolus deponitur, qui cum egerminavit, ad unam materiam revocatur; eaque primo anno compescitur in duas gemmas; sequente deinde, cum palmites profudit, unus submittitur, ceteri decutiuntur.

[17] There remains that further cultivation of the prostrate vine, which ought not to be undertaken unless under the most violent condition of the climate. For it imposes difficult labor on the colonists (tenant-farmers), and never offers wine of a noble savor. And where the condition of the region admits only that cultivation, a malleolus (a small cutting) is set down in two‑foot pits; which, when it has sprouted, is brought back to a single cane; and this in the first year is restrained to two buds; then in the following year, when it has poured forth shoots, one is put in for fruit, the others are knocked off.

At ille qui submissus est, cum fructum edidit, in eam longitudinem deputatur, uti iacens non excedat interordinii spatium.

But that one which has been allowed to grow, when it has produced fruit, is pruned to such a length that, lying down, it does not exceed the inter-row space.

[18] Nec magna est putationis differentia cubantis et stantis rectae vineae, nisi quod iacenti viti breviores materiae submitti debent, reseces quoque angustius in modum furunculorum relinqui. Sed post putationem, quam utique autumno in eiusmodi vinea fieri oportet, vitis tota deflectitur in alterum interordinium; atque ita pars ea quae fuerat occupata, vel foditur vel aratur, et cum exculta est, eandem vitem recipit, ut altera quoque pars excoli possit.

[18] Nor is the difference of pruning between a reclining vine and a standing upright vine great, except that for the vine which lies, shorter canes ought to be trained, and the cut-back stubs also should be left more narrowly, in the manner of little knobs. But after the pruning, which in any case in a vine of this sort ought to be done in autumn, the whole vine is bent down into the other inter-row; and so the part that had been occupied is either dug or ploughed, and when it has been tilled, it receives the same vine, so that the other part also can be cultivated.

[19] De pampinatione talis vineae parum inter auctores convenit. Alii negant esse nudandam vitem, quo melius contra iniuriam ventorum ferarumque fructum abscondant; aliis placet parcius pampinari, ut et vitis non in totum supervacuis frondibus oneretur, et tamen fructum vestire aut protegere possit; quae ratio mihi quoque commodior videtur.

[19] Concerning the pampination of such a vine there is little agreement among the authors. Some deny that the vine ought to be laid bare, so that they may better conceal the fruit against the injury of winds and of wild beasts; to others it is pleasing to pampinate more sparingly, so that both the vine may not be altogether burdened with superfluous foliage, and yet may be able to clothe or protect the fruit; which method also seems more commodious to me.

VI. Sed iam de vineis satis diximus. Nunc de arboribus praecipiendum est. Qui volet frequens et dispositum arbustum paribus spatiis fructuosumque habere, operam dabit, ne emortuis arboribus rarescat, ac primam quamque senio aut tempestate afflictam submoveat, et in vicem novellam subolem substituat.

6. But now we have said enough about vineyards. Now instructions must be given about trees. Whoever wishes to have a tree-plantation crowded and disposed at equal spaces and fruitful will give diligence that it not grow sparse through trees that have died, and will remove any that, first of all, are afflicted by old age or by tempest, and in their stead will substitute young stock.

Id autem facile consequi poterit, si ulmorum seminarium paratum habuerit; quod quomodo et qualis generis faciendum sit, non pigebit deinceps praecipere.

However, he will be able to achieve this easily, if he has a prepared elm nursery; as to how it should be made and of what kind, I shall not be reluctant to prescribe hereafter.

[2] Ulmorum duo esse genera convenit, Gallicum et vernaculum; illud Atinia, hoc nostras dicitur. Atiniam ulmum Tremellius Scrofa non ferre sameram, quod est semen eius arboris, falso est opinatus. Nam rariorem sine dubio creat, et idcirco plerisque et sterilis videtur, seminibus inter frondem, quam prima germinatione edit, latentibus.

[2] It is agreed that there are two kinds of elms, the Gallic and the vernacular; the former is called the Atinian, the latter our native. Tremellius Scrofa has falsely supposed that the Atinian elm does not bear the samara, which is the seed of that tree. For it produces it more rarely, without doubt, and therefore to very many it even seems sterile, the seeds lying hidden among the foliage which it puts forth at the first germination.

Itaque nemo iam serit ex samera, sed ex sobolibus.

Accordingly, no one now plants from the samera, but from offshoots.

[3] Est autem ulmus longe laetior et procerior, quam nostras, frondemque iucundiorem bubus praebet; qua cum assidue pecus paveris, et postea generis alterius frondem dare institueris, fastidium bubus affert.

[3] Moreover, the elm is by far more luxuriant and more tall than our native one, and it provides more agreeable leafage to oxen; which leafage, when you have continually fed the herd on it, and afterwards have begun to give leafage of another kind, brings distaste to the oxen.

[4] Itaque si fieri poterit, totum agrum genere uno Atiniae ulmi conseremus; si minus, dabimus operam ut in ordinibus disponendis pari numero vernaculas et Atinias alternemus. Ita semper mista fronde utemur, et quasi hoc condimento illectae pecudes fortius iusta cibariorum conficient. Sed vitem maxime populus videtur alere, deinde ulmus, post etiam fraxinus.

[4] Therefore, if it can be done, we shall plant the whole field with a single kind, the Atinian elm; if not, we shall give our effort to alternate, in arranging the rows, the native and the Atinian in equal number. Thus we shall always use mixed leafage, and the herd-beasts, allured as it were by this condiment, will more vigorously finish off their proper ration of fodder. But the poplar seems to nourish the vine most, then the elm, and after that also the ash.

[5] Populus, quia raram neque idoneam frondem pecori praebet, a plerisque repudiata est. Fraxinus, quia capris et ovibus gratissima est, nec inutilis bubus, locis asperis et montosis, quibus munus laetatur ulmus, recte seritur. Ulmus, quod et vitem commodissime patitur et iucundissimum pabulum bubus affert, variisque generibus soli provenit, a plerisque praefertur.

[5] The poplar, because it provides sparse and not suitable foliage for cattle, has been repudiated by most. The ash, because it is most pleasing to goats and sheep, and not useless for oxen, is rightly planted in rough and mountainous places, in which function the elm rejoices. The elm, because it both most conveniently supports the vine and brings a most pleasant fodder to oxen, and thrives in various kinds of soil, is preferred by most.

Itaque cui arbustum novum instituere cordi est, seminaria ulmorum vel fraxinorum parentur ea ratione, quam deinceps subscripsimus. Nam populi melius cacuminibus in arbusto protinus deponuntur.

Therefore, for whoever has it at heart to institute a new arbustum, let nurseries of elms or of ash-trees be prepared in the method which we have set down hereafter. For poplars are better planted forthwith in the arbustum by means of top-cuttings.

[6] Igitur pingui solo et modice humido bipalio terram pastinabimus, ac diligenter occatam et resolutam verno tempore in areas componemus. Sameram deinde, quae iam rubicundi coloris erit, et compluribus diebus insolata iacuerit, ut aliquem tamen succum et lentorem habeat, iniciemus areis, et eas totas seminibus spisse contegemus, atque ita cribro putrem terram duos alte digitos incernemus, et modice rigabimus, stramentisque areas cooperiemus, ne prodeuntia cacumina seminum ab avibus praerodantur.

[6] Therefore, in rich soil and moderately moist, with the two‑spade we will pastinate the ground, and, having carefully harrowed and loosened it, in springtime we will set it up into beds. Then the samara, which will already be of a reddish color, and will have lain insolated for several days, so that nevertheless it may have some sap and stickiness, we will cast onto the beds, and we will thickly cover them all over with seed; and thus with a sieve we will sift friable earth two fingers deep over it, and we will water moderately, and with straw we will cover the beds, lest the emerging tips of the seeds be pre‑gnawn by birds.

[7] Ubi deinde prorepserint plantae, stramenta colligemus, et manibus herbas carpemus; idque leviter et curiose faciendum est, ne adhuc tenerae brevesque radiculae ulmorum convellantur. Atque ipsas quidem areas ita anguste compositas habebimus, ut qui runcaturi sunt, medias partes earum facile manu contingant; nam si latiores fuerint, ipsa semina proculcata noxam capient.

[7] When then the seedlings have crept forth, we will gather up the straw, and with our hands we will pluck the herbs (weeds); and this must be done lightly and carefully, lest the as-yet tender and short little roots of the elms be torn up. And we will keep the beds themselves arranged so narrowly that those who are to weed can easily touch their middle parts with the hand; for if they are broader, the seeds, being trampled, will take harm.

[8] Aestate deinde prius quam sol oriatur, aut ad vesperum, seminaria conspergi saepius quam rigari debent; et cum ternum pedum plantae fuerint, in aliud seminarium transferri, ac ne radices altius agant (quae res postmodum in eximendo magnum laborem affert, cum plantas in aliud seminarium transferre volumus) oportebit non maximos scrobiculos sesquipede inter se distantes fodere; deinde radices in nodum, si breves, vel in orbem coronae similem, si longiores erunt, inflecti, et oblitas fimo bubulo scrobiculis deponi, ac diligenter circumcalcari.

[8] In summer then, before the sun arises, or toward evening, the seedbeds ought to be sprinkled more often than irrigated; and when the plants have reached 3 feet, they should be transferred into another seedbed, and, lest the roots drive deeper (which thing afterward in extraction brings great labor, when we wish to transfer the plants into another seedbed), it will be proper to dig not very large little pits spaced a foot and a half apart from each other; then the roots should be bent into a knot, if short, or into a circle like a crown, if they are longer, and, coated with bovine dung, be set down into the little pits, and carefully tamped around by treading.

[9] Possunt etiam collectae cum stirpibus plantae eadem ratione disponi; quod in Atinia ulmo fieri necesse est, quae non seritur e samera. Sed haec ulmus autumni tempore melius quam vere disponitur; paulatimque ramuli eius manu detorquentur, quoniam primo biennio ferri reformidat ictum. Tertio demum anno acuta falce abraditur, atque ubi translationi iam idonea est, ex eo tempore autumni, quo terra imbribus permaduerit, usque in vernum tempus, ante quam radix ulmi in eximendo delibretur, recte seritur.

[9] Plants gathered with their stocks can also be disposed in the same manner; which in the Atinian elm must be done, since it is not sown from the samara. But this elm is set out better in the season of autumn than in spring; and little by little its twigs are twisted by hand, because in the first biennium it shrinks from the stroke of iron. In the third year at last it is pared with a sharp sickle, and when it is now fit for transplantation, from that time of autumn when the earth has been thoroughly moistened by rains, up to the vernal time, before the elm’s root is laid bare in the lifting, it is rightly planted.

[10] Igitur in resoluta terra ternum pedum quoquo versus faciendi scrobes. At in densa, sulci eiusdem altitudinis et latitudinis, qui arbores recipiant, praeparandi. Sed deinde in solo roscido et nebuloso conserendae sunt ulmi, ut earum rami ad orientem et [in] occidentem dirigantur, quo plus solis mediae arbores, quibus vitis applicata et religata innititur, accipiant.

[10] Therefore, in loosened earth pits three feet in every direction are to be made; but in dense soil, furrows of the same depth and width, to receive the trees, must be prepared. Then the elms are to be planted in dewy and misty ground, so that their branches be directed toward the east and toward the west, in order that the middle trees, upon which the vine, applied and re-ligated (bound), leans, may receive more of the sun.

[11] Quod si etiam frumentis consulemus, uberi solo inter quadraginta pedes, exili, ubi nihil seritur, inter viginti, arbores disponantur. Cum deinde adolescere incipient, falce formandae, et tabulata instituenda sunt. Hoc etiam nomine usurpant agricolae ramos truncosque prominentes, eosque vel propius ferro compescunt, vel longius promittunt, ut vites laxius diffundantur; hoc in solo pingui melius, illud in gracili.

[11] But if we also consult for the grain-crops, in fertile soil let the trees be arranged at intervals of forty feet; in meager soil, where nothing is sown, at intervals of twenty. Then, when they begin to grow up, they must be shaped with the pruning-knife, and tiers must be instituted. For this very purpose farmers also make use of branches and projecting trunks, and they either restrain them nearer with the iron, or let them extend farther, so that the vines may spread more loosely; the former is better in rich soil, the latter in lean.

[12] Tabulata inter se ne minus ternis pedibus absint, atque ita formentur, ne superior ramus in eadem linea sit, qua inferior. Nam demissum ex eo palmitem germinantem inferior atteret, et fructum decutiet. Sed quamcumque arborem severis, eam biennio proximo putare non oportet.

[12] Let the tabulata be distant from each other not less than three feet, and be formed in such a way that the upper branch is not in the same line as the lower. For the lower will rub away the sprouting shoot let down from it, and will shake off the fruit. But whatever tree you plant, it ought not to be pruned in the next biennium.

Post deinde si ulmus exiguum incrementum recipit, verno tempore, antequam librum demittat, decacuminanda est iuxta ramulum, qui videbitur esse nitidissimus, ita tamen, uti supra eum trunco stirpem dodrantalem relinquas ad quam ductus et applicatus ramus alligetur, et correctus cacumen arbori praebeat.

Then afterward, if the elm takes on scant increment, in the vernal season, before it lets the bark slip, it must be de-toppered next to the ramule that will seem most trim; yet in such a way that above it on the trunk you leave a dodrantal shoot (nine inches), to which the branch, drawn over and laid against it, may be bound, and, being corrected, may offer a crown-tip to the tree.

[13] Deinde stirpem post annum praecidi et allevari oportet. Quod si nullum ramulum arbor idoneum habuerit, sat erit novem pedes a terra relinqui, et superiorem partem detruncari, ut novae virgae, quas emiserit, ab iniuria pecoris tutae sint. Sed si fieri poterit, uno ictu arborem praecidi; si minus, serra desecari et plagam falce allevari oportebit, eamque plagam luto paleato contegi, ne sole aut pluviis infestetur.

[13] Then the stock, after a year, ought to be cut back and dressed. But if the tree has no suitable little branch, it will be enough to leave nine feet from the ground, and to have the upper part detruncated, so that the new rods which it sends out may be safe from the injury of livestock. But if it can be done, the tree should be cut with one stroke; if not, it should be cut down with a saw; and the wound ought to be dressed with a pruning-hook, and that wound to be covered with chaff-tempered clay, lest it be troubled by the sun or by rains.

[14] Post annum aut biennium, cum enati ramuli recte convaluerint, supervacuos deputari, idoneos in ordinem submitti conveniet. Quae ulmus a positione bene provenerit, eius summae virgae falce debent enodari. At si robusti ramuli erunt, ita ferro amputentur, ut exiguum stirpem prominentem trunco relinquas.

[14] After a year or a biennium, when the shoots that have sprung up have rightly recovered strength, it will be proper that the superfluous be pruned, and the suitable ones be trained in order. Whatever elm shall have thriven well from its planting, its topmost rods ought to be cleared of knots with a sickle. But if the twigs are robust, let them be cut off with iron in such a way that you leave a small stock projecting from the trunk.

Cum deinde arbor convaluerit, quicquid falce contingi poterit, exputandum est, allevandumque eatenus, ne plaga corpori matris applicetur.

When thereafter the tree has convalesced, whatever can be reached by the sickle must be pruned out, and it must be lightened only so far, lest the wound be applied to the body of the mother.

[15] Ulmum autem novellam formare sic conveniet. Loco pingui octo pedes a terra sine ramo relinquendi, vel in arvo gracili septem pedes; supra quod spatium deinde per circuitum in tres partes arbor dividenda est, ac tribus lateribus singuli ramuli submittendi primo tabulato assignentur.

[15] But it will be fitting thus to form the young elm. In rich ground it is to be left without a branch for eight feet from the earth, or in a slender field for seven feet; above which space, then, all around in a circuit the tree is to be divided into three parts, and on the three sides single little branches are to be trained, assigned to the first tier.

[16] Mox de ternis pedibus superpositis alii rami submittendi sunt, ita ne iisdem lineis, quibus in inferiore positi sint. Eademque ratione usque in cacumen ordinanda erit arbor, atque in frondatione cavendum, ne aut prolixiores pollices fiant, qui ex amputatis virgis relinquuntur, aut rursus ita alleventur, ut ipse truncus laedatur, aut delibretur; nam parum gaudet ulmus, quae in corpus nudatur. Vitandumque ne de duabus plagis una fiat, cum talem cicatricem non facile cortex comprehendat.

[16] Soon, at three-foot intervals above, other branches must be trained in, in such a way that they are not in the same lines as those set on the lower tier. And by the same method the tree will have to be arranged up to the summit; and in the frondation (leaf-pruning) care must be taken lest either overly long “thumbs” be made, which are left from amputated shoots, or, on the other hand, it be so lightened that the trunk itself is injured or barked; for the elm takes little pleasure when it is laid bare to the body. And it must be avoided, too, that from two wounds one be made, since the bark does not readily encompass such a scar.

[17] Arboris autem perpetua cultura est, non solum diligenter eandem disponere, sed etiam truncum circumfodere, et quicquid frondis enatum fuerit, alternis annis aut ferro amputare aut astringere, ne nimia umbra viti noceat. Cum deinde arbor vetustatem fuerit adepta, propter terram vulnerabitur ita, ut excavetur usque in medullam, deturque exitus humori, quem ex superiore parte conceperit. Vitem quoque, antequam ex toto arbor praevalescat, conserere convenit.

[17] The perpetual cultivation of the tree is this: not only to dispose the same carefully, but also to dig around the trunk, and whatever leafage shall have sprung, in alternate years either to amputate with iron or to bind, lest excessive shade harm the vine. Then, when the tree shall have attained vetusty, it will be wounded near the ground in such wise that it be hollowed out to the pith, and an outlet be given to the moisture which it has conceived from the upper part. It is also fitting to plant the vine before the tree altogether prevails.

[18] At si teneram ulmum maritaveris, onus iam non sufferet; si vetustae vitem applicueris, coniugem necabit. Ita suppares esse aetate et viribus arbores vitesque convenit. Sed arboris maritandae causa scrobis viviradici fieri debet latus pedum duorum, altus levi terra totidem pedum; gravi, dupondio et dodrante; longus pedum sex aut minimum quinque.

[18] But if you marry a vine to a tender elm, it will not bear the load; if you attach a vine to an aged one, it will kill its spouse. Thus it is fitting that the trees and the vines be equal in age and in strength. But for the sake of marrying the tree, a pit for the living root ought to be made: 2 feet in width; in light soil, just as many feet in depth; in heavy soil, 2 and three-quarters; in length 6 feet, or at a minimum 5.

Absit autem hic ab arbore ne minus sesquipedali spatio. Nam si radicibus ulmi iunxeris, male vitis comprehendet, et cum tenuerit, incremento arboris opprimetur.

But let this be at a distance from the tree by no less than a foot-and-a-half of space. For if you join it to the roots of the elm, the vine will take hold badly, and when it has taken hold, it will be oppressed by the increment (growth) of the tree.

[19] Hunc scrobem, si res permittit, autumno facito, ut pluviis et gelicidiis maceretur. Circa vernum deinde aequinoctium binae vites, quo celerius ulmum vestiant, pedem inter se distantes scrobibus deponendae; cavendumque ne aut septentrionalibus ventis aut rorulentae sed siccae serantur.

[19] Make this trench, if the matter permits, in autumn, so that it may be macerated by rains and gelicidia (freezings/frosts). Around the vernal equinox, then, two vines—so that they may more quickly vest the elm—are to be set down in the pits, a foot distant from each other; and care must be taken that they be not planted either in septentrional winds or when dewy, but when dry.

[20] Hanc observationem non solum in vitium positione, sed in ulmorum ceterarumque arborum praecipio; et uti cum de seminario eximuntur, rubrica notetur una pars, quae nos admoneat, ne aliter arbores constituamus, quam quemadmodum in seminario steterint. Plurimum enim refert, ut eam partem caeli spectent, cui ab tenero consueverunt. Melius autem locis apricis, ubi caeli status neque praegelidus neque nimium pluvius est, autumni tempore et arbores et vites post aequinoctium deponuntur.

[20] This observation I prescribe not only in the positioning of the vine, but for elms and the other trees; and that, when they are taken out from the nursery, one side be marked with red ochre, to admonish us not to set the trees otherwise than just as they stood in the nursery. For it matters very much that they face that part of the sky to which they have been accustomed from tender age. Moreover, in sunny places, where the state of the sky is neither over-cold nor excessively rainy, in the season of autumn both trees and vines are planted after the equinox.

[21] Sed eae ita conserendae sunt, ut summam terram, quae aratro subacta sit, semipedem alte substernamus, radicesque omnes explicemus, et depositas stercorata, ut ego existimo, si minus, certe subacta operiamus, et circumcalcemus ipsum seminis codicem. Vites in ultimo scrobe deponi oportet, materiasque earum per scrobem porrigi, deinde ad arborem erigi; atque ab iniuria pecoris caveis emuniri.

[21] But they must be planted in such a way that we lay beneath, as bedding, half a foot deep the topsoil which has been worked by the plow, and that we spread out all the roots, and, once set down, we cover them with manured earth—as I judge; if not, at least with worked soil—and we heel in around the very stock of the seedling. The vines ought to be placed at the far end of the trench, and their canes to be extended along the trench, then to be raised to the tree; and they should be fortified against the injury of cattle by cages or enclosures.

[22] Locis autem praefervidis semina septentrionali parte arbori applicanda sunt; locis frigidis a meridie, temperato statu caeli, aut ab oriente aut ab occidente, ne toto die solem vel umbram patiantur. Proxima deinde putatione melius existimat Celsus ferro abstineri, ipsosque coles in modum coronae contortos arbori circumdari, ut flexura materias profundat, quarum validissimam sequente anno caput vitis faciamus.

[22] But in very hot places the plantings are to be fastened to the tree on the septentrional (northern) side; in cold places on the south; in a temperate state of sky, either on the east or on the west, lest they endure sun or shade for the whole day. At the next pruning thereafter, Celsus judges it better to refrain from iron, and that the shoots themselves, twisted in the manner of a corona, be wound around the tree, so that the bending may pour forth canes, of which the strongest we may make the head of the vine in the following year.

[23] Me autem longus docuit usus, multo utilius esse primo quoque tempore falcem vitibus admovere, nec supervacuis sarmentis pati silvescere. Sed eam quoque, quae primo submittetur, materiam ferro coercendam censeo usque in alteram vel tertiam gemmam, quo robustiores palmites agat: qui cum primum tabulatum apprehenderint, proxima putatione disponentur omnibusque annis aliquis in superius tabulatum excitabitur, relicta semper una materia, quae applicata trunco cacumen arboris spectet.

[23] But long experience has taught me that it is much more useful to apply the sickle to the vines at the very first opportunity, and not to allow them to grow wild with superfluous shoots. But I also judge that the material which is first put forth must be restrained by iron up to the second or third bud, so that it may put forth more robust shoots; which, when they have first taken hold of the first story, will be arranged at the next pruning, and every year some will be raised to the upper story, always leaving one material which, fastened to the trunk, looks toward the summit of the tree.

[24] Iamque viti constitutae certa lex ab agricolis imponitur; plerique ima tabulata materiis frequentant, uberiorem fructum et magis facilem cultum sequentes. At qui bonitati vini student, in summas arbores vitem promovent; ut quaeque materia sedebit, ita in celsissimum quemque ramum extendunt sic, ut summa vitis summam arborem sequatur, id est, ut duo palmites extremi trunco arboris applicentur, qui cacumen eius spectent, et prout quisque ramus convaluit, vitem accipiat.

[24] And now, for the vine once established, a fixed law is imposed by the farmers; the majority fill the lowest tiers with canes, following a more abundant fruit and an easier cultivation. But those who are devoted to the goodness of the wine promote the vine into the highest trees; as each cane will be set, so they extend it onto each most lofty branch, thus, that the summit of the vine may follow the summit of the tree, that is, that the two outermost shoots be applied to the trunk of the tree, which look toward its top, and, as each branch has grown strong, let it receive the vine.

[25] Plenioribus ramis plures palmites alius ab alio separati imponantur, gracilioribus pauciores; vitisque novella tribus toris ad arborem religetur, uno, qui est in crure arboris a terra quattuor pedibus distans; altero, qui summa parte vitem capit; tertio, qui mediam vitem complectitur. Torum imum imponi non oportet, quoniam vires vitis adimit. Interdum tamen necessarius habetur, cum aut arbor sine ramis truncata est, aut vitis praevalens in luxuriam evagatur.

[25] On fuller branches let more shoots, separated one from another, be placed, on more gracile ones fewer; and let the young vine be bound to the tree with three bands, one, which is on the trunk of the tree four feet from the ground; another, which takes the vine at the top part; a third, which embraces the middle of the vine. The lowest band ought not to be applied, since it takes away the strength of the vine. Sometimes, however, it is considered necessary, when either the tree is truncated without branches, or the vine, prevailing, wanders into luxuriance.

[26] Cetera putationis ratio talis est, ut veteres palmites, quibus proximi anni fructus pependit, omnes recidantur; novi, circumcisis undique capreolis et nepotibus, qui ex his nati sunt, amputatis, submittantur; et si laeta vitis est, ultimi potius palmites per cacumina ramorum praecipitentur; si gracilis, trunco proximi, si mediocris, medii. Quoniam ultimus palmes plurimum fructum affert, proximus minimum vitem exhaurit atque attenuat.

[26] The rest of the method of pruning is such, that the old shoots, on which the fruit of the previous year hung, are all to be cut back; the new ones, with the tendrils on every side trimmed and the “grandsons” (lateral shoots) that have sprung from them amputated, are to be trained; and if the vine is luxuriant, let the terminal shoots rather be pitched down over the summits of the branches; if slender, let the shoots nearest the trunk be used; if moderate, the middle ones. Since the outermost shoot brings the most fruit, the nearest brings the least, and it drains and attenuates the vine.

[27] Maxime autem prodest vitibus, omnibus annis resolvi. Nam et commodius enodantur, et refrigerantur, cum alio loco alligatae sunt, minusque laeduntur, ac melius convalescunt. Atque ipsos palmites ita tabulatis superponi convenit, ut a tertia gemma vel quarta religati dependeant, eosque non constringi, ne sarmentum vimine praecidatur.

[27] But it is most beneficial for the vines to be loosened every year. For they are both more conveniently disentangled, and cooled, when they are tied in another place; and they are less injured, and convalesce better. And it is fitting that the shoots themselves be set upon laths in such a way that, tied at the third or fourth bud, they hang down, and that they not be constricted, lest the cane be cut by the withy.

[28] Quod si ita longe tabulatum est, uti materia parum commode in id perduci possit, palmitem ipsum viti alligatum supra tertiam gemmam religabimus. Hoc ideo fieri praecipimus, quia quae pars palmitis praecipitata est, ea fructu induitur; at quae vinculo adnexa sursum tendit, ea materias sequenti anno praebet.

[28] But if the planking is so far away that the wood cannot conveniently be led to it, we shall bind again the shoot itself, tied to the vine, above the third bud. We prescribe that this be done for this reason: because the part of the shoot that is cast downward is clothed with fruit; but the part which, fastened by the binding, tends upward, provides the wood for the following year.

[29] Sed ipsorum palmitum duo genera sunt: alterum, quod ex duro provenit, quod quia primo anno plerumque frondem sine fructu affert, pampinarium vocant; alterum, quod ex anniculo palmite procreatur; quod quia protinus creat, fructuarium appellant. Cuius ut semper habeamus copiam [in vinea] palmitum partes ad tres gemmas religandae sunt, ut quicquid intra vinculum est, materias exigat.

[29] But there are two genera of the shoots themselves: one, which comes forth from the hard wood, which, because in the first year it generally brings forth foliage without fruit, they call the leaf-shoot (pampinarium); the other, which is generated from a one-year-old shoot; which, because it at once bears, they call the fruit-shoot (fructuarium). Of the latter, so that we may always have an abundance [in the vineyard], the parts of the shoots are to be tied at three buds, so that whatever is within the binding may put out cane-wood.

[30] Cum deinde annis et robore vitis convaluit, traduces in proximam quamque arborem mittendae, easque post biennium amputare [simul] atque alias teneriores transmittere convenit. Nam vetustate vitem fatigant. Nonnumquam etiam cum arborem totam vitis comprehendere nequit, ex usu fuit partem aliquam eius deflexam terrae immergere et rursus ad eandem arborem duas vel tres propagines excitare, quo pluribus vitibus circumventa celerius vestiatur.

[30] Then, when through years and strength the vine has grown vigorous, the runners are to be sent to each nearest tree, and after a biennium it is proper to amputate them and at the same time to transmit others more tender. For with age they fatigue the vine. Sometimes also, when the vine cannot comprehend the whole tree, it has been of use to deflect some part of it and immerse it in the earth, and again at the same tree to raise two or three propagations, so that, encompassed by more vines, it may be clothed more quickly.

[31] Viti novellae pampinarium immitti non oportet, nisi necessario loco natus est, ut viduum ramum maritet. Veteribus vitibus loco nati palmites pampinarii utiles sunt, et plerique ad tertiam gemmam resecti optime submittuntur. Nam insequenti anno materia fundunt.

[31] A pampinarium ought not to be introduced into a young vine, unless it has sprung up in the necessary place, so as to marry a widowed branch. For old vines, pampinarium shoots born in place are useful, and most, resected to the third bud, are very well set in. For in the ensuing year they pour forth wood.

[32] Quisquis autem pampinus loco natus in exputando vel alligando fractus est, modo ut aliquam gemma habuerit, ex toto tolli non oportet: quoniam proximo anno vel validiorem materiam ex una creabit.

[32] But any shoot that has sprung in place and has been broken in pruning or in tying—provided it has some bud—ought not to be removed altogether: since in the next year it will create even stronger wood from a single bud.

[33] Praecipites palmites dicuntur, qui de hornotinis virgis enati in duro alligantur. Hi plurimum fructus afferunt, sed plurimum matri nocent. Itaque nisi extremis ramis, aut si vitis arboris cacumen superaverit, praecipitari palmitem non oportet.

[33] “Precipitate” shoots are so called, which, sprung from this-year canes, are bound tight. These bring very much fruit, but they harm the mother very much. Therefore, unless on the outermost branches, or if the vine has surpassed the tree’s top, a shoot ought not to be precipitated.

[34] Quod si tamen id genus colis propter fructum submittere quis velit, palmitem intorqueat. Deinde ita alliget et praecipitet. Nam et post eum locum quem intorseris, laetam materiam citabit, et praecipitata minus virium in se trahet, quamvis fructu exuberet.

[34] But if, nevertheless, anyone should wish, for the sake of fruit, to submit that kind which you cultivate, let him in‑twist the shoot. Then thus let him bind it fast and cast it down. For both beyond that point which you have in‑twisted, it will call forth luxuriant material, and the cast‑down one will draw less strength into itself, although it may exuberate in fruit.

[35] Praecipitem vero plus anno pati non oportet. Alterum est genus palmitis, quod de novello nascitur, et in tenero alligatum dependet; materiam vocamus; ea et fructum et nova flagella procreat; et iam si ex uno capite duae virgae submittantur, tamen utraque materia dicitur; nam pampinarius quam vim habeat, supra docui. Focaneus est qui inter duo brachia velut ini furca de medio nascitur.

[35] As for the precipitated shoot, one ought not to allow it for more than a year. There is a second kind of shoot, which is born from the new growth, and, fastened while tender, hangs down; we call it “material”; this both produces fruit and begets new whips; and even if from one head two rods are trained, nevertheless each is called “material”; for what force the pampinarius has, I have taught above. The Focaneus is that which is born between two arms, as if in a fork, from the middle.

Eum colem deterrimum esse comperi, quod neque fructum ferat, et utraque brachia, inter quae natus est, attenuet. Itaque tollendus est.

I have discovered that shoot to be the worst, because it bears no fruit and attenuates both the arms between which it was born. Therefore it must be removed.

[36] Plerique vitem validam et luxuriosam falso crediderunt feraciorem fieri, si multis palmitibus submissis oneretur. Nam et pluribus virgis plures pampinos creat, et cum se multa fronde cooperit, peius defloret, nebulasque et rores diutius continet, omnemque uvam perdit. Validam ergo vitem in ramos diducere censeo et traducibus dispergere atque disrarare, certosque vinearios coles praecipitare, et si minus luxuriabitur, solutas materias relinquere; ea ratio vitem feraciorem faciet.

[36] Many have falsely believed that a strong and luxuriant vine becomes more fertile if it is burdened by many shoots let down. For with more shoots it produces more vine‑leaves, and when it covers itself with much foliage, it flowers and sets fruit worse, retains mists and dews longer, and loses all the grape. Therefore I advise that the vigorous vine be drawn out into branches and, by traverse‑poles, be spread and thinned, and that certain viticultural shoots be cut down sharply; and, if it will be less luxuriant, that the canes be left unbound: this method will make the vine more fertile.

[37] Sed ut densum arbustum commendabile fructu et decore est, sic ubi vetustate rarescit, pariter inutile et invenustum est. Quod ne fiat, diligentis patrisfamilias est, primam quamque arborem senio defectam tollere et in eius locum novellam restituere, [vitem queat] nec eam viviradice frequentare, ea etsi sit facultas, sed, quod est longe melius, ex proximo propagare. Cuius utriusque ratio consimilis est ei quam tradidimus.

[37] But just as a dense arbustum is commendable for fruit and for decor, so, when by age it grows thin, it is equally useless and uncomely. Lest this happen, it is the task of a diligent householder to remove each tree that has first failed through old age and to restore a young one in its place, [so that the vine can], and not to stock it with a live-root plant, even if there is the means, but—what is far better—to propagate from what is close by. The method of each of these is similar to that which we have handed down.

Atque haec de Italico arbusto satis praecepimus.

And we have given sufficient precepts concerning the Italian arbustum.

VII. Est et alterum genus arbusti Gallici, quod vocatur rumpotinum. Id desiderat arborem humilem nec frondosam. Cui rei maxime videtur esse idonea opulus.

7. There is also another kind of Gallic arbustum, which is called rumpotinum. It requires a low tree and not frondose. For this purpose the opulus seems most suitable.

Ea est arbor corno similis. Quin etiam cornus et carpinus et ornus nonnumquam, et salix a plerisque in hoc ipsum disponitur. Sed salix nisi in aquosis locis, ubi aliae arbores difficiliter comprehendunt, ponenda non est, quia vini saporem infestat.

It is a tree similar to the cornel. Nay even the cornel and the hornbeam and the manna-ash sometimes, and the willow, are by most people set for this very purpose. But the willow, unless in watery places, where other trees take hold with difficulty, ought not to be planted, because it taints the savor of the wine.

Potest etiam ulmus sic disponi, ut adhuc tenera decacuminetur, ne altitudinem quindecim pedum excedat.

The elm also can be so disposed that, while still tender, it be topped, lest it exceed a height of fifteen feet.

[2] Nam fere ita constitutum rumpotinetum animadverti, ut ad octo pedes locis siccis et clivosis, ad duodecim locis planis et uliginosis tabulata disponantur. Plerumque autem ea arbor in tres ramos dividitur, quibus singulis ab utraque parte complura brachia submittuntur, tum omnes paene virgae, ne umbrent, eo tempore quo vitis putatur, abraduntur.

[2] For I have generally observed the rumpotinetum to be established thus: that the tiers are arranged at 8 feet in dry and sloping places, and at 12 in level and marshy places. For the most part, moreover, that tree is divided into three branches, to each of which on either side several arms are trained beneath; then almost all the twigs, lest they cast shade, are scraped off at the time when the vine is pruned.

[3] Arboribus rumpotinis, si frumentum non inseritur, in utramque partem viginti pedum spatia interveniunt; at si segetibus indulgetur, in alteram partem quadraginta pedes, in alteram viginti relinquuntur. Cetera simili ratione atque in arbusto Italico administrantur, ut vites longis scrobibus deponantur, ut eadem diligentia curentur, atque in ramos diducantur, ut novi traduces omnibus annis inter se ex arboribus proximis connectantur, et veteres decidantur.

[3] For the rumpotine trees, if grain is not inserted, spaces of twenty feet intervene in both directions; but if indulgence is shown to the crops, forty feet are left in one direction and twenty in the other. The rest are administered in a similar manner as in the Italian arbustum: that the vines be laid down in long trenches, that they be cared for with the same diligence and drawn out onto the branches, that new layers every year be connected among themselves from the nearest trees, and that the old ones be cut off.

[4] Si tradux traducem non contingit, media virga inter eas deligetur. Cum deinde fructus pondere urgebit, subiectis adminiculis sustineatur. Hoc autem genus arbusti cetereque omnes arbores quanto altius arantur et circumfodiuntur, maiore fructu exuberant; quod an expediat patrifamilias facere, reditus docet.

[4] If a layer does not touch the other layer, let a rod be tied between them in the middle. Then, when the fruit presses with its weight, let it be sustained by supports set beneath. But this kind of arbustum and all other trees, the more deeply they are plowed and dug around, the more they abound in fruit; whether it is expedient for the paterfamilias to do this, the returns teach.

VIII. Omnis tamen arboris cultus simplicior quam vinearum est, longeque ex omnibus stirpibus minorem impensam desiderat olea, quae prima omnium arborum est.

VIII. Nevertheless, the cultivation of every tree is simpler than that of vineyards, and by far, among all stocks, the olive, which is the foremost of all trees, requires the least expense.

[2] Nam quamvis non continuis annis, sed fere altero quoque fructum afferat, eximia tamen eius ratio est, quod levi cultu sustinetur, et cum se non induit, vix ullam impensam poscit. Sed et si quam recipit, subinde fructus multiplicat; neglecta compluribus annis non ut vinea deficit, eoque ipso tempore aliquid etiam interim patrifamilias praestat, et cum adhibita cultura est, uno anno emendatur.

[2] For although it does not bear fruit in continuous years, but almost every other, yet its advantage is exceptional, because it is sustained by light cultivation, and when it does not clothe itself, it scarcely demands any expense. But even if it does receive some, thereafter it multiplies its fruits; neglected for several years it does not, like the vine, fail, and in that very time it even renders something meanwhile to the paterfamilias, and when cultivation is applied, in one year it is set right.

[3] Quare etiam nos in hoc genere arboris diligenter praecipere censuimus. Olearum, sicut vitium, plura genera esse arbitror, sed in meam notitiam decem omnino pervenerunt: Pausia, Algiana, Liciniana, Sergia, Naevia, Culminia, Orchis, Regia, Cercitis, Murtea.

[3] Wherefore we too have judged to give careful instruction in this kind of tree. Of olive-trees, as of vines, I think there are several kinds; but into my knowledge ten in all have come: Pausia, Algiana, Liciniana, Sergia, Naevia, Culminia, Orchis, Regia, Cercitis, Murtea.

[4] Ex quibus bacca iucundissima est Pausiae, speciosissima Regiae, sed utraque potius escae, quam oleo est idonea. Pausiae tamen oleum saporis egregii dum viride est, vetustate corrumpitur. Orchis quoque et Radius melius ad escam quam in liquorem stringitur.

[4] Among these, the berry of the Pausian is most pleasant, that of the Royal most showy, but both are rather suited for the table than for oil. Yet the oil of the Pausian is of excellent savor while it is green; with age it is corrupted. The Orchis too and the Radius are better for table-use than for being pressed into liquor.

Oleum optimum Liciniana dat, plurimum Sergia; omnisque olea maior fere ad escam, minor oleo est aptior.

The Liciniana yields the best oil, the Sergia the most; and every olive, the larger is generally for food, the smaller is more apt for oil.

[5] Nulla ex his generibus aut praefervidum aut gelidum statum caeli patitur. Itaque aestuosis locis septentrionali colle, frigidis meridiano gaudet. Sed neque depressa loca neque ardua, magisque modicos clivos amat, quales in Italia Sabinorum vel tota provincia Baetica videmus.

[5] None of these genera endures either a fervid or a gelid state of the sky. Therefore, in sultry places it delights in a northern slope, in cold ones in a southern. But it likes neither low-lying places nor steep ones, and rather loves moderate slopes, such as we see in Italy among the Sabines, or in the whole province of Baetica.

Hanc arborem plerique existimant ultra miliarium sexagesimum a mari aut non vivere aut non esse feracem. Sed in quibusdam locis recte valet.

Most reckon that this tree, beyond the 60th milestone from the sea, either does not live or is not fertile. Yet in certain places it does well.

[6] Optime vapores sustinet Pausia, frigus Sergia. Aptissimum genus terrae est oleis, cui glarea subest, si superposita creta sabulo admista est. Non minus probabile est solum, ubi pinguis sabulo est.

[6] Pausia most excellently withstands vapors; Sergia, cold. The most apt kind of earth for olives is that under which gravel lies, if the superposed chalk is admixed with sand. No less probable is the soil where rich earth is with sand.

Sed et densior terra, si uvida et laeta est, commode recipit hanc arborem. Creta ex toto repudianda est, magis etiam scaturiginosa et in qua semper uligo consistit. Inimicus est etiam ager sabulo macer et nuda glarea.

But even denser earth, if it is moist and luxuriant, suitably receives this tree. Chalk is to be rejected entirely—more so land that is scaturiginous and in which marshiness always stands. A field lean with sand and with naked gravel is also an enemy.

[7] Nam etsi non emoritur in eiusmodi solo, numquam tamen convalescit. Potest tamen in agro frumentario seri, vel ubi arbutus aut ilex steterant. Nam quercus etiam excisa radices noxias oliveto relinquit, quarum virus enecat oleam.

[7] For although it does not die off in soil of such a kind, yet it never recovers. Nevertheless, it can be planted in a grain-field, or where an arbutus or an ilex had stood. For the oak, even when cut down, leaves noxious roots to the olive-grove, whose virus kills the olive.

Haec in universum de toto genere huius arboris habui dicere. Hunc per partes culturam eius exsequar.

These things in universal about the whole genus of this tree I have had to say. Its cultivation I will set forth, by parts.

IX. Seminarium oliveto praeparetur caelo libero, terreno modice valido, sed succoso, neque denso neque soluto solo, potius tamen resoluto. Id genus fere terrae niger est. Quam cum in tres pedes pastinaveris, et alta fossa circumdederis, ne aditus pecori detur, fermentari sinito.

9. Let a nursery be prepared for the olive-grove under the open sky, in ground moderately firm but sappy, in soil neither dense nor loose, but rather loosened. That kind of earth is generally black. Which, when you have trenched to three feet, and have surrounded with a deep ditch, lest access be given to cattle, allow to ferment.

[2] Tum ramos novellos proceros et nitidos, quos comprehensos manus possit circumvenire, hoc est manubrii crassitudine, feracissimis arboribus adimito, et [ex his] quam recentissimas taleas recidito, ita ut ne corticem aut ullam aliam partem, quam qua serra praeciderit, laedas. Hoc autem facile contingit, si prius varam feceris et eam partem, supra quam ramum secaturus es, foeno aut stramentis texeris, ut molliter et sine noxa corticis taleae superpositae secentur.

[2] Then take young, tall, and glossy branches, which, when grasped, the hand can encircle—that is, of handle-thickness—from the most feracious trees, and [from these] cut back the freshest possible cuttings, in such a way that you do not injure the bark or any other part, except that which the saw will cut away. This, moreover, is easily attained, if first you bend it and cover that part above which you are going to cut the branch with hay or straw, so that the cuttings placed above may be cut softly and without harm to the bark.

[3] Taleae deinde sesquipedales serra praecidantur, atque earum plagae utraque parte falce leventur et rubrica notentur, ut sic quemadmodum in arbore steterat ramus, ita parte ima terram et cacumine caelum spectans deponatur. Nam si inversa mergatur, difficulter comprehendet, et cum validius convaluerit, sterilis in perpetuum erit. Sed oportebit talearum capita et imas partes misto fimo cum cinere oblinire, et ita totas eas immergere, ut putris terra digitis quattuor alte superveniat.

[3] Then cut the cuttings foot-and-a-half long with a saw, and let the cuts on both sides be smoothed with a sickle and marked with rubric (red ochre), so that just as the branch had stood on the tree, it may be set down with its lowest part facing the earth and its top (crown) facing the sky. For if it is plunged in reversed, it will take with difficulty, and even when it has grown stronger, it will be sterile in perpetuity. But it will be proper to smear the heads and the lowest parts of the cuttings with dung mixed with ash, and thus to immerse them entire, so that putrid (well-rotted) earth may come over them four fingers deep.

[4] Sed binis indicibus ex utraque parte muniantur: hi sunt de qualibet arbore brevi spatio iuxta eas positi, et [in summa parte] inter se vinculo connexi, ne facile singulo deiciantur. Hoc facile utile est propter fossorum ignorantiam, ut cum bidentibus aut sarculis seminarium colere institueris, depositae taleae non laedantur.

[4] But let them be guarded by twin markers on either side: these are stakes from any kind of tree, placed at a short distance next to them, and [at the top] fastened to each other with a bond, lest a single one be easily cast down. This is readily useful on account of the ignorance of the diggers, so that when you set about to cultivate the nursery with two‑pronged hoes or small hoes, the deposited cuttings are not harmed.

[5] Quidam melius existimant radicum oculis silvestrium olearum hortulos excolere, et simili ratione disponere; sed utrumque debet post vernum aequinoctium seri, et quam frequentissime seminarium primo anno sarriri; postero et sequentibus, cum iam radiculae seminum convaluerint, rastris excoli. Sed biennio a putatione abstineri, tertio anno singulis seminibus binos ramulos relinqui, et frequenter sarriri seminarium convenit.

[5] Some think it better to cultivate garden-beds with the eyes of the roots of wild olives, and to arrange them in a similar manner; but both should be sown after the vernal equinox, and the nursery should be hoed as very frequently as possible in the first year; in the next and in the following years, when the little roots of the seedlings have grown strong, it should be worked with rakes. But it is proper to abstain from pruning for a biennium; in the third year two little branches should be left to each seedling, and the nursery should be frequently hoed.

[6] Quarto anno ex duobus ramis infirmior amputandus est. Sed excultae quinquennio arbusculae habiles translationi sunt. Plantae autem in oliveto disponuntur optime siccis minimeque uliginosis agris per autumnum, laetis et humidis verno tempore, paulo ante, quam germinent.

[6] In the fourth year the weaker of the two branches must be amputated. But saplings, well-cultivated by the fifth year, are fit for transplantation. The plantings, moreover, in the olive-grove are best disposed in dry and least uliginous fields in autumn, in fertile and humid ones at springtime, a little before they germinate.

[7] Atque ipsis scrobes quaternum pedum praeparantur anno ante; vel si tempus non largitur, prius quam deponantur arbores, stramentis atque virgis iniectus incendantur scrobes, ut eos ignis putres faciat, quos sol et pruina facere debuerat. Spatium inter ordines minimum esse debet pingui et frumentario solo sexagenum pedum in alteram partem, atque in alteram quadragenum; macro nec idoneo segetibus quinum et vicenum pedum. Sed in Favonium dirigi ordines convenit, ut aestivo perflatu refrigerentur.

[7] And for them the pits of four feet are prepared a year beforehand; or, if time does not grant it, before the trees are set down, the pits, with straw and twigs cast in, should be set on fire, so that the fire may make them rotten, which the sun and frost ought to have done. The space between the rows ought to be at the minimum, in fat and grain-bearing soil, 60 feet in one direction and 40 in the other; in lean and not suitable-for-crops soil, 25 feet. But it is proper that the rows be oriented toward the Favonius, so that they may be cooled by the summer breeze.

[8] Ipsae autem arbusculae hoc modo possunt transferri: antequam explantes arbusculam, rubrica notato partem eius, quae meridiem spectat, ut eodem modo, quo in seminario erat, disponatur. Deinde ut arbusculae spatium pedale in circuitu relinquatur, atque ita cum suo caespite planta eruatur. Qui caespes in eximendo ne resolvatur, modicos surculos virgarum inter se conexos facere oportet, eosque pala, qua eximitur, applicare, et viminibus ita innectere, ut constricta terra velut inclusa teneatur.

[8] But the saplings themselves can be transplanted in this way: before you take out a sapling, mark with red chalk the part of it which faces the south, so that it may be set in the same way as it was in the nursery (seminary). Then leave a space of a foot around the sapling in circumference, and thus let the plant be lifted with its own sod. Lest that sod come apart in the taking out, one ought to make small slips of twigs bound together, and apply them to the spade with which it is taken out, and bind them with withies, so that the compressed earth may be held as if enclosed.

[9] Tum subruta parte ima leviter pala commovere, et suppositis virgis alligare, atque plantam transferre. Quae antequam deponatur, oportebit solum scrobis imum fodere bidentibus; deinde terram aratro subactam, si tamen erit summa humus, immittere, et ita ordei semina substernere, et si consistet in scrobibus aqua, ea omnis haurienda est, antequam demittantur arbores. Deinde ingerendi minuti lapides vel glarea mista pingui solo, depositisque seminibus latera scrobis circumcidenda, et aliquid stercoris interponendum.

[9] Then, with the lowest part undermined, move it slightly with the spade, and, rods put underneath, bind it, and transfer the plant. Before it is set down, it will be proper to dig the bottom soil of the pit with two-pronged hoes; then to put in earth worked by the plow, if indeed it is topsoil, and thus to under-strew barley seed; and if water stands in the pits, all of it must be drawn off before the trees are let down. Then small stones are to be thrown in, or gravel mixed with rich soil; and the seeds having been laid down, the sides of the pit are to be cut around, and some manure interposed.

[10] Quod si cum sua terra planta non convenit, tum optimum est omni fronde privare truncum, atque levatis plagis, fimoque et cinere oblitis, in scrobem vel sulcum deponere. Truncus autem aptior translationi est, qui brachii crassitudinem habet. Poterit etiam longe maioris incrementi et robustioris transferri.

[10] But if the plant does not come with its own soil, then the best course is to deprive the trunk of all foliage, and, the wounds having been lightened and smeared with dung and ash, to deposit it in a pit or furrow. Moreover, the trunk is more apt for transplantation which has the thickness of an arm. One of far greater growth and greater sturdiness can also be transferred.

Quem ita convenit poni, ut si non periculum a pecore habeat, exiguum admodum supra scrobem emineat; laetius enim frondet. Si tamen incursus pecoris aliter vitari non poterit, celsior truncus constituetur, ut sit innoxius ab iniuria pecorum.

It is fitting to set it thus, that, if it will not have danger from cattle, it should project very little above the pit; for it will leaf out more luxuriantly. If, however, the incursions of cattle cannot otherwise be avoided, a higher trunk will be set, so that it may be safe from the injury of the cattle.

[11] Atque etiam rigandae sunt plantae, cum siccitates incesserunt, nec nisi post biennium ferro tangendae. Ac primo surculari debent, ita ut simplex stilus altitudinem maximi bovis excedat; deinde arando ne coxam bos, aliamve partem corporis offendat, optimum est etiam constitutas plantas circummunire caveis. Deinde constitutum iam et maturum olivetum in duas partes dividere, quae alternis annis fructu induantur.

[11] And the plantings must also be irrigated when droughts have set in, and are not to be touched with iron until after two years. And at first they ought to be pruned of shoots, in such a way that a single stake exceeds the height of the largest ox; then, in plowing, lest the ox strike its hip or some other part of its body, it is best also to fortify the established plantings all around with enclosures. Then the olive-grove, already established and mature, should be divided into two parts, which are clothed with fruit in alternate years.

Neque enim olea continuo biennio uberat.

For the olive does not bear abundantly in two consecutive years.

[12] Cum subiectus ager consitus non est, arbor coliculum agit; cum seminibus repletur, fructum affert; ita sic divisum olivetum omnibus annis aequalem reditum adfert. Sed id minime bis anno arari debet; et bidentibus alte circumfodiri. Nam post solstitium cum terra aestibus hiat, curandum est, ne per rimas sol ad radices arborum penetret.

[12] When the ground lying beneath is not sown, the tree puts forth a little shoot; when it is filled with seeds, it brings forth fruit; thus an olive-grove divided in this way brings an equal return in all years. But it ought by no means to be ploughed twice in the year; and it should be dug deeply around with two-toothed hoes. For after the solstice, when the earth gapes from the heats, care must be taken that the sun does not penetrate through the cracks to the roots of the trees.

Post aequinoctium autumnale ita sunt arbores ablaqueandae, ut a superiore parte, si olea in clivo sit, incilia excitentur, quae limosam aquam ad codicem deducant.

After the autumnal equinox the trees are to be ablaqueated in such a way that, from the upper side, if the olive is on a slope, runnels are opened up to conduct the muddy water to the trunk.

[13] Omnis deinde suboles, quae ex imo stirpe nata est, quotannis exstirpanda est, ac tertio quoque fimo pabulandae sunt oleae. Atque eadem ratione stercorabitur olivetum, quam in secundo libro proposui, si tamen segetibus prospicietur.

[13] Then every offspring-shoot which has been born from the lowest stock is to be extirpated annually, and the olive-trees are to be fed with dung every third year. And the olive-grove will be manured in the same manner which I proposed in the second book, if, however, provision is made for the crops.

[14] At si ipsis tantummodo arboribus, satis facient singulis stercoris caprini sex librae, stercoris sicci modii singuli, vel amurcae insulsae congius. Stercus autumno debet inici, ut permistum hieme radices oleae calefaciat. Amurca minus valentibus infundenda est.

[14] But if it is only the trees themselves to be provided for, for each there will suffice six pounds of goat dung, or one modius each of dry dung, or a congius of unsalted amurca. The manure ought to be cast in in autumn, so that, being mixed through the winter, it may warm the roots of the olive. Amurca is to be poured in for those less vigorous.

Nam per hiemem, si vermes atque alia suberunt animalia, hoc medicamento necantur.

For during winter, if worms and other animals are present, they are killed by this medicament.

[15] Plerumque etiam locis siccis et humidis arbores musco infestantur. Quem nisi ferramento raseris nec fructum nec laetam frondem olea induet. Quin etiam compluribus interpositis annis olivetum putandum est; nam veteris proverbii meminisse convenit, eum qui aret olivetum, rogare fructum, qui stercoret, exorare, qui caedat, cogere.

[15] Very often too, in dry as well as in wet places, trees are infested with moss. Unless you shave it off with an iron implement, the olive will put on neither fruit nor a lush foliage. Moreover, with several years interposed, the olive-grove must be pruned; for it is fitting to remember an old proverb: he who ploughs the olive-grove asks for fruit, he who manures it entreats it, he who cuts it compels it.

Quod tamen satis erit octavo anno fecisse, ne fructuarii rami subinde amputentur.

However, it will be enough to have done this in the eighth year, so that the fruit-bearing branches are not cut off repeatedly.

[16] Solent etiam quamvis laetae arbores fructum non afferre. Eas terebrari gallica terebra convenit, atque ita in foramen viridem taleam oleastri arcte immitti. Sic velut inita arbor fecundo semine fertilior exstat.

[16] Even trees, however luxuriant, are often wont not to bear fruit. It is fitting that they be bored with a Gallic auger, and thus into the hole a green cutting of the wild olive be inserted tightly. Thus, the tree, as if mated by a fecund seed, stands forth more fertile.

Sed sic haec ablaqueatione adiuvanda est infusa amurca insulsa cum suilla vel nostra urina vetere, cuius utriusque modus servatur. Nam maximae arbori, ut tantumdem aquae misceatur, urna abunde erit. Solent etiam vitio soli fructum oleae negare.

Sic it is to be aided by ablaqueation, with unsalted amurca infused together with swine’s urine or our own old urine, the measure of each being observed. For a very large tree, an urn will be ample, so that just as much water is mixed in. Olives also are wont, by a vice of the soil, to refuse fruit.

[17] Cui rei sic medebimur. Altis gyris ablaqueabimus eas, deinde calcis pro magnitudine arboris plus minusve circumdabimus; sed minima arbor modium postulat. Hoc remedio si nihil fuerit effectum, ad praesidium insitionis confugiendum erit.

[17] We shall treat this matter thus. We will ablaqueate them in deep rings, then surround them with lime, more or less in proportion to the size of the tree; but a very small tree requires one modius. If nothing is effected by this remedy, it will be necessary to resort to the aid of grafting.

Quemadmodum autem olea inserenda sit, postmodo dicemus. Nonnumquam etiam in olea unus ramus ceteris aliquanto est laetior. Quem nisi recideris, tota arbor contristabitur.

How, however, the olive is to be inserted (grafted), we will say afterward. Sometimes too in an olive one branch is considerably more luxuriant than the others. Unless you cut this back, the whole tree will be saddened.

Ac de olivetis hactenus dixisse satis est. Superest ratio pomiferarum arborum, cui rei deinceps praecepta dabimus.

And concerning olive-groves, to have said thus far is enough. The method of fruit-bearing trees remains, for which matter we will next give precepts.

X. Modum pomarii, priusquam semina seras, circummunire maceriis oportet vel saepe vel fossa praecipiti, ut non solum pecori, sed et homini transitum negare valeat, quoniam si saepius cacumina manu praefracta aut a pecoribus praerosa sunt, in perpetuum semina incrementum capere nequeunt.

10. The boundary of the orchard, before you sow the seeds, ought to be surrounded-fortified with rubble-walls or with a hedge or with a precipitous ditch, so that it may be able to deny transit not only to livestock but also to a man, since if the tops are more often broken off by hand or gnawed away by cattle, the seedlings can never take on increment.

[2] Generatim autem disponere arbores utile est, maxime ne etiam imbecilla a valentiore prematur, quia nec viribus nec magnitudine par est, imparique spatio temporis adolescit. Terra, quae vitibus apta est, etiam arboribus est utilis. Ante annum, quam seminare voles, scrobem fodito.

[2] But it is useful to dispose the trees by kinds, chiefly lest the feebler also be pressed by the stronger, because it is equal neither in forces nor in magnitude, and it matures in an unequal span of time. Soil which is apt for vines is also useful for trees. A year before you will wish to plant, dig the pit.

Ita sole pluviisque macerabitur, et quod positum est, cito comprehendet.

Thus it will be macerated by sun and rains, and what has been placed will quickly take hold.

[3] At si eodem anno et scrobem facere et arbores serere voles, minimum ante duos menses scrobes fodito, postea stramentis incensis calefacito; quos si latiores patentioresque feceris, laetiores uberioresque fructus percipies.

[3] But if in the same year you wish both to make the pits and to plant the trees, dig the pits at least two months beforehand; afterwards heat them with straw set on fire; if you make them wider and more open, you will receive more luxuriant and more abundant fruits.

[4] Sed scrobis clibano similis sit, imus summo patentior, ut laxius radices vagentur, ac minus frigoris hieme, minusque aestate vaporis per angustum os penetret, etiam ut clivosis locis terra, quae in eum congesta est, a pluviis non abluatur.

[4] But let the pit be like a clibanus (oven), wider at the bottom than at the top, so that the roots may wander more loosely, and that less cold in winter and less vapor/heat in summer may penetrate through the narrow mouth, and also so that on sloping places the earth which has been heaped into it may not be washed away by rains.

[5] Arbores raris intervallis serito, ut cum creverint, spatium habeant, quo ramos extendant. Nam si spisse posueris, nec infra serere quid poteris, nec ipsae fructuosae erunt, nisi intervulseris; itaque inter ordines quadragenos pedes minimumque tricenos relinquere convenit.

[5] Plant trees at rare intervals, so that, when they have grown, they may have space in which to extend their branches. For if you set them densely, you will be able to sow nothing beneath, nor will they themselves be fruitful, unless you thin them out; and so it is proper to leave between the rows 40 feet, and at the minimum 30.

[6] Semina lege crassa non minus quam manubrium bidentis, recta, levia, procera, sine ulceribus, integro libro. Ea bene et celeriter comprehendent. Si ex arboribus ramos sumes, de iis quae quotannis bonos et uberes fructus afferunt, eligito ab humeris qui sunt contra solem quae ramis aut plantis ponetur.

[6] Choose scions thick, no less than the handle of a bident, straight, smooth, long, without ulcers, with the liber (bark) intact. These will take well and quickly. If you take branches from trees, from those which every year bring forth good and abundant fruits, choose from the shoulders that are against the sun that which will be set as branches or plantings.

[7] Sed ante quam arbusculas transferas, nota quibus ventis antea fuerant constitutae, postea manus admoveto, ut de clivo et sicco in humidum agrum transferas. Trifurcam maxime ponito. Ea exstet minime tribus pedibus.

[7] But before you transfer the little trees, note to which winds they had previously been set; afterward apply your hand, so that you may transfer them from a slope and dry ground into a humid field. Set a three-forked prop especially. Let it stand out at least three feet.

Si eodem scrobes duas aut tres arbusculas voles constituere, curato ne inter sese contingant, quoniam mutuo contactu aut computrescunt aut vermibus interibunt.

If in the same pit you wish to set two or three little trees (saplings), take care that they do not touch one another, since by mutual contact they either rot or will perish from worms.

[8] Cum semina depones, dextera sinistraque usque in imum scrobem fasciculos sarmentorum brachii crassitudinis demittito, ita ut supra terram paulum exstent, per quos aestate parvo labore aquam radicibus subministrare possis. Arbores ac semina cum radicibus autumno serito, hoc est circa Kalendas et Idus Octobres.

[8] When you deposit the seeds, on the right and on the left let down into the very bottom of the pit fascicles of prunings of the thickness of an arm, so that they project a little above the ground, through which in summer you may supply water to the roots with little labor. Plant trees and seedlings with roots in autumn, that is, around the 1st and 15th of October.

[9] Primo vere antequam germinent arbores deponito; ac ne tinea molesta sit seminibus ficulneis, in imum scrobem lentisci taleam inverso cacumine demittito. Ficum frigoribus ne serito. Loca aprica, calculosa, glareosa, interdum et saxeta amat.

[9] In early spring, before the trees bud, plant them; and, so that the moth not be troublesome to the fig seedlings, let down into the bottom of the pit a cutting of mastic with the tip inverted. Do not plant the fig in cold spells. It loves sunny places, pebbly, gravelly, and sometimes even rocky.

Eiusmodi arbor cito convalescit si scrobes amplos patentesque feceris.

Such a tree quickly convalesces if you make the pits ample and open.

[10] Ficorum genera, etsi sapore atque habitu distant, uno modo, sed pro differentia agri seruntur. Locis frigidis et autumni temporibus aquosis praecoques ponito, ut ante pluviam fructum deligas; locis calidis hibernas serito. At si voles ficum quamvis non natura seram facere, tum grossulos prioremve fructum decutito, ita alterum edet, quem in hiemet differet.

[10] The kinds of figs, although they differ in savor and in habit, are planted in one manner, yet according to the difference of the field. In cold places and in autumnal times that are watery, plant early-ripening ones, so that you may gather the fruit before the rain; in hot places plant winter-ripening ones. But if you wish to make a fig late-bearing, although not so by nature, then knock off the grossuli or the earlier fruit; thus it will put forth the second crop, which it will defer into the winter.

Nonnumquam etiam, cum frondere coeperunt arbores, cacumina fici ferro summa prodest amputare; sic firmiores arbores et feraciores fiunt; ac semper conveniet, simul atque folia agere coeperit ficus, rubricam amurca diluere, et cum stercore humano ad radicem infundere.

Sometimes too, when the trees have begun to leaf, it is advantageous to amputate with iron the very topmost shoots of the fig; thus the trees become firmer and more feracious; and it will always be fitting, as soon as the fig has begun to put forth leaves, to dilute rubric (red ochre) with amurca, and pour it at the root together with human dung.

[11] Ea res efficit uberiorem fructum et fartum fici pleniorem ac meliorem. Serendae sunt autem praecipue Livianae, Africanae, Chalcidicae, sulcae, Lydiae, callistruthiae, topiae, Rhodiae, Libycae, hibernae, omnes etiam biferae et triferae flosculi.

[11] This practice makes the crop more abundant and the fig’s filling fuller and better. But to be planted especially are the Livian, African, Chalcidic, Sulcan, Lydian, Callistruthian, Topian, Rhodian, Libyan, winter varieties, and likewise all biferous and triferous varieties.

[12] Nucem Graecam serito circa Kal. Febr. quia prima gemmascit; agrum durum, calidum, siccum desiderat.

[12] Plant the Greek walnut around the Kalends of February, because it is the first to bud; it desires firm, warm, dry soil.

Nam in locis diversis nucem si deposueris, plerumque putrescit. Antequam nucem deponas, in aqua mulsa nec nimis dulci macerato. Ita iucundioris saporis fructum, cum adoleverit, praebebit, et interim melius atque celerius frondebit.

For if in diverse places you plant the walnut, it for the most part rots. Before you plant the walnut, macerate it in honeyed water not overly sweet. Thus it will provide fruit of more agreeable savor when it has come to maturity, and in the meantime it will leaf out better and more swiftly.

[13] Ternas nuces in trigonum statuito, ut nux a nuce minime palmo absit, et anceps ad Favonium spectet. Omnis autem nux unam radicem mittit, et simplici stilo prorepit. Cum ad scrobis solum radix pervenit, duritia humi coercita recurvatur, et ex se in modum ramorum alias radices emittit.

[13] Set three nuts in a triangle, so that nut from nut be distant by not more than a palm, and let the two-sided line face toward Favonius (the West wind). Moreover, every nut puts forth one root, and creeps forward with a simple shoot. When the root reaches the bottom of the pit, constrained by the hardness of the ground it bends back, and from itself, in the manner of branches, it sends out other roots.

[14] Nucem Graecam et Avellanam Tarentinam facere hoc modo poteris. In quo scrobe destinaveris nuces serere, in eo terram minutam pro modo semipedis ponito, ibique semen ferulae repangito. Cum ferula fuerit enata, eam findito, et in medulla eius sine putamine nucem Graecam aut Avellanam abscondito, et ita adobruito.

[14] You can make the Greek nut and the Tarentine hazel-nut in this way. In the pit where you have destined to plant nuts, put fine earth to the measure of half a foot, and there replant the seed of ferula. When the ferula has sprung up, split it, and in its pith, hide a Greek nut or a hazel-nut without the shell, and cover it up thus.

Hoc ante Kal. Martias facito, vel etiam inter Nonas et Idus Martias. Eodem tempore iuglandem et pineam et castaneam serere oportet.

Do this before March 1, or even between March 7 and 15. At the same time it is proper to plant the walnut, the pine, and the chestnut.

[15] Malum Punicum ab eodem tempore usque in Kal. Apriles recte seritur. Quod si acidum aut minus dulcem fructum feret, hoc modo emendabitur.

[15] The Punic apple (pomegranate) is rightly planted from the same time up to the Kalends of April. But if it bears fruit that is acid or less sweet, it will be corrected in this way.

Stercore suillo et humano urinaque vetere radices rigato. Ea res et fertilem arborem reddet, et primis annis fructum vinosum, [et] post quinquennium dulcem, et apyrenum facit. Nos exiguum admodum laseris vino diluimus, et ita cacumina arboris summa oblevimus.

Water the roots with swine dung and human dung, and with old urine. This thing will render the tree fertile, and in the first years will make the fruit vinous, [and] after five years sweet and apyrenous (seedless). We diluted a very small quantity of laser in wine, and thus we smeared the very tops of the tree.

Ea res emendavit acrorem malorum.

That procedure corrected the acridity of the apples.

[16] Mala Punica ne in arbore hient, remedio sunt lapides tres, si, cum seres arborem, ad radicem ipsam collocaveris. At si iam arborem satam habueris, scillam secundum radicem arboris serito. Alio modo, cum iam matura mala fuerint, antequam rumpantur, ramulos, quibus dependent, intorqueto.

[16] For Punic apples (pomegranates), so that they do not gape on the tree, the remedy is three stones, if, when you plant the tree, you place them right at the root. But if you already have the tree planted, plant a squill next to the tree’s root. In another way, when the fruits are already ripe, before they burst, twist the little twigs on which they hang.

Eodem modo servabuntur incorrupta etiam toto anno.

In the same manner they will be preserved incorrupt even for the whole year.

[17] Pirum autumno ante brumam serito, ita ut minime dies XXV ad brumam supersint. Quae ut sit ferax, cum adoleverit, alte eam ablaqueato, et iuxta ipsam radicem truncum findito, et in fissuram cuneum tedae pineae adigito, et ibi relinquito; deinde adobruta ablaqueatione cinerem supra terram inicito.

[17] Plant the pear in autumn before the winter solstice, such that at least 25 days remain until the solstice. That it may be fertile, when it has grown up, dig around it deeply, and near the very root split the trunk, and drive into the fissure a wedge of pine torch-wood, and leave it there; then, after the digging-around has been covered back, cast ash upon the ground above.

[18] Curandum est autem ut quam generosissimis piris pomaria conseramus. Ea sunt Crustumina, regia, Signina, Tarentina, quae Syria dicuntur, purpurea, superba, ordeacea, Aniciana, Naeviana, Favoniana, lateritana, Dolabelliana, Turraniana, volema, mulsa, praecocia, venerea et quaedam alia, quorum enumeratio nunc longa est.

[18] It must be cared for, moreover, that we plant our orchards with the most generous (well-bred) pears. These are the Crustumina, Regal, Signine, Tarentine—which are called Syrian—Purple, Superb, Barley-like, Anician, Naevian, Favonian, Lateritan, Dolabellian, Turranian, Volema, Honeyed, Precocious (early-ripening), Venereal, and certain others, the enumeration of which is now long.

[19] Praeterea malorum genera exquirenda maxime Scandiana, Matiana, orbiculata, Sextiana, Pelusiana, Amerina, Syrica, melimela, cydonia; quorum genera tria sunt: struthia, chrysomelina, mustea. Quae omnia non solum voluptatem, sed etiam salubritatem afferunt. Sorbi quoque et Armeniaci atque Persici non minima est gratia.

[19] Moreover the kinds of apples to be sought out especially are Scandian, Matian, orbicular, Sextian, Pelusian, Amerinan, Syrian, melimela, and Cydonian quinces; of which there are three varieties: struthia, chrysomelina, and mustea. All these bring not only pleasure but also healthfulness. The sorbs too, and the Armeniacs and Persics have no small favor.

Et mala, sorba, pruna, post mediam hiemem usque in Idus Febr. serito.

And plant apples, sorb-apples, and plums after midwinter, up to the Ides of Febr.

[20] Mororum ab Idibus Febr. usque ad aequinoctium vernum satio est. Siliquam Graecam, quam quidam keration vocant, et Persicum ante brumam per autumnum serito.

[20] The planting of mulberries is from the Ides of February up to the vernal equinox. Plant the Greek siliqua, which some call keration (carob), and the peach before the bruma (the winter solstice), throughout the autumn.

Amygdala, si parum ferax erit, forata arbore lapidem adigito, et ita librum arboris inolescere sinito. Omnium autem generum ramos circa Kal. Martias in hortis subacta et stercorata terra supra pulvinos arearum disponere convenit.

The almond, if it be too little fertile, bore the tree and drive a stone into it, and so allow the liber (inner bark) of the tree to grow in over it. Moreover, it is proper to arrange the branches of all kinds around the Kalends of March in gardens, upon worked and manured soil, above the bolsters (ridges) of the beds.

Danda est opera, ut dum teneros ramulos habent, veluti pampinentur, et ad unum stilum primo anno semina redigantur.

Effort must be given, so that, while they have tender little branches, they be, as it were, disbudded like vines, and that in the first year the seedlings be brought to a single stake.

[22] Et cum autumnus incesserit, antequam frigus cacumina adurat, omnia folia excerpere expedit, et ita crassis arundinibus, quae ab una parte nodos integros habeant, velut pileis induere, atque sic a frigore et gelicidiis teneras adhuc virgas tueri. Post viginti quattuor deinde menses sive transferre et disponere in ordinem voles, sive inserere, satis tuto utrumque facere poteris.

[22] And when autumn has set in, before the cold sears the tips, it is expedient to pluck off all the leaves, and then to clothe them, as with caps, with thick reeds that have intact nodes on one side; and thus to protect the as-yet tender rods from cold and ice-storms. After 24 months, then, whether you wish to transplant and set them in rows, or to graft, you can do either quite safely.

XI. Omnis surculus omni arbori inseri potest, si non est ei, cui inseritur, cortice dissimilis. Si vero etiam similem fructum et eodem tempore affert, sine scrupulo egregie inseritur. Tria genera porro insitionum antiqui tradiderunt.

11. Every shoot can be grafted onto any tree, if it is not dissimilar in bark to that onto which it is grafted. If indeed it also bears a similar fruit and at the same time, it is grafted excellently without scruple. Moreover, the ancients handed down three kinds of graftings.

Unum, quo resecta et fissa arbor resectos surculos accipit. Alterum, quo resecta inter librum et materiam semina admittit. Quae utraque genera verni temporis sunt.

One method, by which the tree, resected and split, receives resected scions. A second, by which, the stock being resected, it admits grafts between the liber (inner bark) and the wood. Both of which kinds are of the springtime.

Tertium, quo ipsas gemmas cum exiguo cortice in partem sui delibratam recipit, quam vocant agricolae emplastrationem, vel, ut quidam, inoculationem. Hoc genus insitionis aestivo tempore optime usurpatur.

The third, by which it receives the buds themselves with a small piece of bark into a part of itself stripped, which the farmers call “emplastration,” or, as some, “inoculation.” This kind of grafting is most advantageously employed in the summer season.

[2] Quarum insitionum rationem cum tradiderimus, a nobis repertam quoque docebimus. Omnes arbores simul atque gemmas agere coeperint, luna crescente inserito; olivam autem circa aequinoctium vernum usque in Idus Apriles.

[2] When we have set forth the method of these graftings, we will also teach one discovered by us. As soon as all trees begin to put forth buds, graft at the waxing moon; but the olive around the vernal equinox up to the Ides of April.

[3] Ex qua arbore inserere voles, et surculos ad insitionem sumpturus est, videto ut sit tenera et ferax nodisque crebris; et cum primum germina tumebunt, de ramulis anniculis, qui solis ortum spectabunt, et integri erunt, eos legito crassitudine digiti minimi. Surculi sint bifurci vel trifurci. Arborem.

[3] From whatever tree you will wish to insert-graft, and from which you are going to take scions for insition, see that it is tender and fertile and with frequent nodes; and as soon as the buds begin to swell, from one-year-old little twigs that will face the rising of the sun and will be sound, choose them of the thickness of the little finger. Let the scions be bifurcate or trifurcate. The tree.

quam inserere voles, serra diligenter exsecato ea parte, qua maxime nitida et sine cicatrice est; dabisque operam, ne librum laedas.

the tree which you wish to graft, cut out carefully with a saw on that part where it is most smooth and without a scar; and you will take care not to injure the inner bark (liber).

[4] Cum deinde truncum recideris, acuto ferramento plagam levato. Deinde quasi cuneum tenuem ferreum vel osseum inter corticem et materiem ne minus digitos tres, sed considerate, demittito, ne laedas aut rumpas corticem. Postea surculos, quos inserere voles, falce acuta ex ima parte deradito tantum, quantum cuneus demissus spatii dabit, atque ita, ne medullas neve alterius partis corticem laedas.

[4] When thereafter you have cut back the trunk, with a sharp iron implement smooth the wound. Then, as a thin wedge, whether iron or bone, insert it between the bark and the wood to a depth of not less than three fingers, but carefully, lest you injure or tear the bark. Afterwards, the slips which you wish to graft, shave from the lowest part with a sharp pruning-knife only as much as the lowered wedge will give of space, and in such a way that you do not injure the pith nor the bark of the other side.

[5] Ubi surculos paratos habueris, cuneum vellito, statimque surculos in ea foramina, quae cuneo adacto inter corticem et materiam feceris, demittito. Ea autem fine, qua adraseris, surculos sic inserito, ut semipede vel amplius de arbore exstent. In una arbore duos, vel si truncus vastior est, plures calamos recte inseres, dum ne minus quattuor digitorum inter eos sit spatium.

[5] When you have the scions prepared, pull out the wedge, and immediately let down the scions into those foramina which you will have made by driving the wedge between bark and wood. And with that end with which you have shaved them, insert the scions thus, so that by half a foot or more they stand out from the tree. In one tree you will rightly insert two scions, or, if the trunk is vaster, more, provided that not less than four fingers’ space be between them.

Pro arboris magnitudine et corticis bonitate haec facito.

According to the magnitude of the tree and the goodness of the bark, do these things.

[6] Cum omnes surculos, quos arbor ea patietur, demiseris, libro ulmi vel iunco aut vimine arborem constringito; postea paleato luto bene subacto oblinito totam plagam, et spatium, quod est inter surculos, usque eo dum minime quattuor digitis insita exstent. Supra deinde muscum imponito, et ita ligato, ne pluvia dilabantur. Quosdam tamen magis delectat in trunco arboris locum seminibus serra facere, insectasque partes tenui scalpello levare, atque ita surculos aptare.

[6] When you have let down all the scions which that tree will allow, bind the tree with the bast (inner bark) of elm, or with rush, or with withy; afterwards with chaff-mud well kneaded smear over the whole wound, and the space which is between the scions, up to the point until the grafts stand out not less than four fingers. Then place moss on top, and bind it thus, lest they be washed away by rain. Some, however, are more pleased to make in the trunk of the tree a place for the scions with a saw, to smooth the parts that have been cut with a thin scalpel, and so to fit the scions.

[7] Si pusillam arborem inserere voles, imam abscindito, ita ut sesquipede e terra exstet. Cum deinde praecideris, plagam diligenter levato; et medium truncum acuto scalpello permodice findito, ita ut fissura digitorum trium sit in ea. Deinde cuneum, quo diducatur, inserito, et surculos ex utraque parte derasos demittito, sic ut librum seminis libro arboris aequalem facias.

[7] If you will to insert a tiny tree, cut it off at the bottom, so that it stands a foot and a half out of the ground. Then, when you have cut it back, carefully smooth the wound; and split the middle of the trunk very moderately with a sharp little chisel, so that the fissure is of three fingers in it. Then insert a wedge, by which it may be drawn apart, and let down the slips pared on either side, so that you make the liber of the scion equal to the liber of the tree.

[8] Cum surculos diligenter aptaveris, cuneum eximito, et arborem, ut supra dixi, alligato; deinde terram circa arborem adaggerato usque ad ipsum insitum. Ea res a vento et calore maxime tuebitur. Nos tertium genus insitionis invenimus, quod cum sit subtilissimum, non omni generi arborum idoneum est, sed fere recipiunt talem insitionem, quae humidum succosumque et validum librum habent, sicut ficus.

[8] When you have carefully fitted the scions, take out the wedge, and bind the tree, as I said above; then bank up the earth around the tree as far as the graft itself. This will protect it especially from wind and heat. We have discovered a third kind of grafting, which, although it is most subtle, is not suitable for every kind of tree; yet those trees for the most part receive such a graft which have a moist and sappy and strong inner bark (liber), such as the fig.

[9] Nam et lactis plurimum mittit, et corticem robustum habet. Optime itaque inseritur caprifici ramus. Ex arbore, de qua inserere voles, novellos et nitidos ramos eligito, in iisdemque observato gemmam, quae bene apparebit, certamque spem germinis habebit; eam duobus digitis quadratis circumsignato, ut gemma media sit; et ita acuto scalpello circumcidito delibratoque diligenter, ne gemmam laedas.

[9] For it sends forth very much milk, and has a robust bark. Therefore a branch of the caprificus (wild fig) is grafted most excellently. From the tree from which you wish to graft, choose new and gleaming shoots, and in them observe a bud which will appear clearly and have a sure hope of sprouting; mark it off with two squared fingers, so that the bud is in the middle; and thus with a sharp scalpel cut around and peel the bark carefully, lest you injure the bud.

[10] Postea item alterius arboris, quam emplastraturus es, nitidissimum ramum eligito, et eiusdem spatii corticem circumcidito, et materiam delibrato. Deinde in eam partem, quam nudaveris, praeparatum emplastrum aptato, ita ut alterae delibratae parti conveniat.

[10] Afterward likewise, from another tree which you are about to plaster, choose the most shining branch, and cut around the bark of the same extent, and strip the material; then upon that part which you have laid bare, fit the prepared plaster, so that it may correspond to the other stripped part.

[11] Ubi ita haec feceris, circa gemmam bene alligato, cavetoque ne laedas ipsum germen. Deinde commissuras et vincula luto oblinito, spatio relicto, ut gemma libera vinculo non urgeatur. Arboris autem insitae sobolem et ramos superiores praecidito, ne quid sit, quo possit succus evocari, aut ne cui magis quam insito serviat.

[11] When you have done these things thus, bind well around the bud, and beware not to injure the sprout itself. Then plaster (lute) the commissures and the bindings with clay, leaving a space, so that the free bud is not pressed by the binding. But cut back the suckers and the upper branches of the grafted tree, lest there be anything by which the sap can be drawn off, or lest it serve anything else more than the graft.

Post XXI diem solvito emplastrum. Et hoc genere optime etiam olea inseritur.

After 21 days, loosen the plaster. And by this method the olive too is grafted most excellently.

[12] Quartum illud genus insitionis iam docuimus, cum de vitibus disputavimus. Itaque supervacuum est hoc loco repetere traditam rationem terebrationis. Sed cum antiqui negaverint posse omne genus surculorum in omnem arborem inseri, et illam quasi finitionem, qua nos paulo ante usi sumus, velut quandam legem sanxerint, eos tantum surculos posse coalescere, qui sint cortice ac libro et fructu consimiles iis arboribus, quibus inseruntur, existimavimus errorem huius opinionis discutiendum, tradendamque posteris rationem, qua possit omne genus surculi omni generi arboris inseri.

[12] That fourth kind of grafting we have already taught, when we discoursed about vines. Therefore it is superfluous in this place to repeat the handed‑down method of boring. But since the ancients denied that every kind of scion could be inserted into every tree, and sanctioned that quasi‑definition, which we used a little before, as a sort of law—namely, that only those scions can coalesce which are similar in bark and bast (inner bark) and in fruit to the trees into which they are inserted—we judged that the error of this opinion should be examined, and that the method should be handed down to posterity by which every kind of scion can be inserted into every kind of tree.

[13] Quod ne longiore exordio legentem fatigemus, unum quasi exemplum subiciemus, quo possit omne genus surculi omnibus arboribus inseri. Scrobem quoquo versus pedum quattuor ab arbore olivae tam longe fodito, ut extremi rami oleae possint eam contingere. In scrobem deinde fici arbusculam deponito, diligentiamque adhibeto, ut robusta et nitida fiat.

[13] So that we may not weary the reader with a longer exordium, we will subjoin one, as it were, example, by which every kind of scion may be grafted into all trees. Dig a trench at a distance of four feet from the olive tree on every side, so far that the outermost branches of the olive can reach it. Then set a little fig tree in the trench, and use diligence to make it become robust and glossy.

[14] Post triennium, cum iam satis amplum incrementum ceperit, ramum olivae, qui videtur nitidissimus, deflecte, et ad crus arboris ficulneae religa; atque ita amputatis ceteris ramulis ea tantum cacumina, quae inserere voles, relinque. Tum arborem fici detrunca, plagamque leva, et mediam cuneo finde.

[14] After three years, when it has already taken a sufficiently ample increase, bend down the olive branch that appears most glossy, and tie it to the trunk of the fig-tree; and thus, the other little twigs having been cut off, leave only those tips which you will wish to insert. Then lop the fig-tree, and smooth the wound, and split the middle with a wedge.

[15] Cacumina deinde olivae, sicuti matri cohaerent, ex utraque parte adrade, et ita fissurae fici insere, cuneumque exime, diligenterque ramulos colliga, ne qua vi revellantur. Sic interposito triennio coalescet ficus cum olea, et tum demum quarto anno, cum bene coierint, velut propagines, ramulos olivae a matre resecabis. Hoc modo omne genus in omnem arborem inseres.

[15] Then the tips of the olive, as they cohere to the mother, abrade on both sides, and so insert them into the fissure of the fig; remove the wedge, and carefully bind the ramules, lest by any force they be torn out. Thus, with a three-year interval interposed, the fig will coalesce with the olive, and then at last in the fourth year, when they have well come together, like propagations, you will cut off the olive ramules from the mother. In this way you will insert (graft) every kind into every tree.

At prius quam finem libri faciamus, quoniam fere species surculorum omnium persecuti sumus prioribus libris, de cytiso dicere nunc tempestivum est.

But before we make an end of the book, since in the prior books we have pursued almost all the species of scions, it is now timely to speak about cytisus.

XII. Cytisum in agro esse quam plurimum maxime refert, quod gallinis, apibus, ovibus, capris, bubus quoque et omni generi pecudum utilissimus est; quod ex eo cito pinguescit, et lactis plurimum praebet ovibus, tum etiam quod octo mensibus viridi eo pabulo uti et postea arido possis. Praeterea in quolibet agro quamvis macerrimo celeriter comprehendit; omnem iniuriam sine noxa patitur.

12. It is most important that there be as much cytisus as possible in the field, because it is most useful to hens, bees, sheep, goats, oxen too, and to every kind of livestock; because from it they quickly grow fat, and it provides a very great amount of milk to sheep, then also because for eight months you can use that green fodder, and afterwards it when dry. Moreover, it quickly takes hold in any field, however meager; it endures every injury without harm.

[2] Mulieres quidem si lactis inopia premuntur, cytisum aridum in aqua macerare oportet, et cum tota nocte permaduerit, postero die expressi succi ternas heminas permiscere modico vino atque ita potandum dare; sic et ipsae valebunt et pueri abundantia lactis confirmabuntur. Satio autem cytisi vel autumno circa Idus Octobres, vel vere fieri potest.

[2] Women indeed, if they are pressed by a lack of milk, it is proper to macerate dry cytisus in water, and when it has soaked through for the whole night, on the following day to mix three heminae of the expressed juice with a modest amount of wine and so to give it to be drunk; thus both they themselves will be well and the infants will be strengthened by an abundance of milk. But the sowing of cytisus can be done either in autumn around the Ides of October, or in spring.

[3] Cum terram bene subegeris, areolas facito ibique velut ocimi semen cytisi autumno serito. Plantas deinde vere disponito ita ut inter se quoquoversus quattuor pedum spatio distent. Si semen non habueris, cacumina cytisorum vere deponito, et stercoratam terram circumaggerato.

[3] When you have well subjugated the soil, make little beds there, and there, as with the seed of ocimum (basil), sow cytisus in autumn. Then in spring dispose the plants so that on every side they are distant from one another by a space of four feet. If you have no seed, set down the tops of cytisi in spring, and heap manured earth around.

[4] Si pluvia non incesserit, rigato quindecim proximis diebus; simul atque novam frondem agere coeperit, sarrito, et post triennium deinde caedito, et pecori praebeto. Equo abunde est viridis pondo XV, bubus pondo vicena, ceterisque pecoribus pro portione virium. Potest etiam circa saepem agri satis commode ramis cytisus seri, quoniam facile comprehendit et iniuriam sustinet.

[4] If rain has not set in, water for the next 15 days; as soon as it begins to put forth new foliage, hoe it, and then after 3 years cut it and offer it to the livestock. For a horse, 15 pounds of green fodder is sufficient, for oxen 20 pounds, and for the other livestock in proportion to their strength. Cytisus can also be sown quite conveniently by branches around the field’s hedge, since it easily takes hold and endures injury.

Aridum si dabis, parcius praebeto, quoniam vires maiores habet, priusque aqua macerato, et exemptum paleis permisceto.

If you give it dry, provide it more sparingly, since it has greater strength; and first macerate it in water, and, once removed, mix it with chaff.

[5] Cytisum cum aridum facere voles, circa mensem Septembrem, ubi semen eius grandescere incipiet, caedito, paucisque horis, dum flaccescat, in sole habeto; deinde in umbra exsiccato, et ita condito. Hactenus de arboribus praecepisse abunde est, reddituro pecoris curam et remedia sequenti volumine.

[5] When you wish to make the cytisus dry, around the month of September, when its seed begins to grow large, cut it, and for a few hours, while it wilts, keep it in the sun; then dry it in the shade, and so store it. Thus far it is enough to have given precepts concerning the trees, reserving the care of the livestock and the remedies for the following volume.