Roman Farm Management: the Treatises of Cato and Varro

BOOK I. The Husbandry of Agriculture

THE HUSBANDRY OF AGRICULTURE

CHAPTER

I. Introduction: the literary tradition of country life

Of the definition of Agriculture: II. a. What it is not III. b. What it is IV. The purposes of Agriculture are profit and pleasure V. The four-fold division of the study of Agriculture

I° Concerning the farm itself: VI. How conformation of the land affects Agriculture VII. How character of soil affects Agriculture VIII. (A digression on the maintenance of vineyards) IX. Of the different kinds of soils X. Of the units of area used in measuring land

Of the considerations on building a steading: XI. a. Size b. Water supply XII. c. Location, with regard to health XIII. d. Arrangement

Of the protection of farm boundaries: XIV. a. Fences XV. b. Monuments XVI. Of the considerations of neighbourhood

2° Concerning the equipment of a farm: XVII. } & }Of agricultural labourers XVIII.} XIX. } & }Of draught animals XX. } XXI. Of watch dogs XXII. Of farming implements

3° Concerning the operation of a farm: XXIII. Of planting field crops XXIV. Of planting olives XXV. } & } Of planting vines XXVI.}

4° Concerning the agricultural seasons: XXVII. } & }Of the solar measure of the year, illustrated by XXVIII.}

A CALENDAR OF AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS throughout the year, in eight seasons, viz:

XXIX. 1° February 7-March 24 XXX. 2° March 24-May 7 XXXI. 3° May 7-June 24 XXXII. 4° June 24-July 21 XXXIII. 5° July 21-September 26 XXXIV. 6° September 26-October 28 XXXV. 7° October 28-December 24 XXXVI. 8° December 24-February 7 XXXVII. Of the influence of the moon on Agriculture to which is added

ANOTHER CALENDAR OF SIX AGRICULTURAL SEASONS with a commentary on their several occupations, viz:

CHAPTER 1° Preparing time: Of tillage, XXXVIII. Of manuring,

XXXIX. 2° Planting time: Of the four methods of propagating plants, viz:

XL. a. Seeding and here of seed selection b. Transplanting c. Cuttage d. Graftage, and e. A "new" method, inarching XLI. Of when to use these different methods XLII. Of seeding alfalfa XLIII. Of seeding clover and cabbage XLIV. Of seeding grain

3° Cultivating time: XLV. Of the conditions of plant growth XLVI. Of the mechanical action of plants XLVII. Of the protection of nurseries and meadows XLVIII. Of the structure of a wheat plant

XLIX. 4° Harvest time: Of the hay harvest

L. Of the wheat harvest LI. The threshing floor LII. Threshing and winnowing LIII. Gleaning LIV. Of the vintage LV. Of the olive harvest

5° Housing time: LVI. Of storing hay LVII. Of storing grain LVIII. Of storing legumes LIX. Of storing pome fruits LX. Of storing olives LXI. Of storing amurca

LXII. 6° Consuming time: LXIII. Of cleaning grain LXIV. Of condensing amurca LXV. Of racking wine LXVL. Of preserved olives LXVIL. Of nuts, dates and figs LXVIII. Of stored fruits LXIX. Of marketing grain

Epilogue: the dangers of the streets of Rome

BOOK II. The Husbandry of Live Stock

THE HUSBANDRY OF LIVE STOCK

Introduction:--the decay of country life

I. Of the origin, the importance and the economy of live stock husbandry II. Of sheep III. Of goats IV. Of swine V. Of neat cattle VI. Of asses VII. Of horses VIII. Of mules IX. Of herd dogs N. Of shepherds XI. Of milk and cheese and wool

BOOK III. The Husbandry of the Steading

THE HUSBANDRY OF THE STEADING

I. Introduction: the antiquity of country life II. Of the definition of a Roman villa III. Of the Roman development of the industries of the steading IV. Of aviaries V. a. for profit b. for pleasure (including here the description of Varro's own aviary) VI. Of pea-cocks VII. Of pigeons VIII. Of turtle doves IX. Of poultry X. Of geese XI. Of ducks XII. Of rabbits XIII. Of game preserves XIV. Of snails XV. Of dormice XVI. Of bees XVII. Of fish ponds

INDEX.

ROMAN FARM MANAGEMENT

NOTE UPON THE ROMAN AGRONOMISTS

Quaecunque autem propter disciplinam ruris nostrorum temporum cum priscis discrepant, non deterrere debent a lectione discentem. Nam multo plura reperiuntur, apud veteres, quae nobis probanda sint, quam quae repudianda.

COLUMELLA I, I.

The study of the Roman treatises on farm management is profitable to the modern farmer however practical and scientific he may be. He will not find in them any thing about bacteria and the "nodular hypothesis" in respect of legumes, nor any thing about plant metabolism, nor even any thing about the effects of creatinine on growth and absorption; but, important and fascinating as are the illuminations of modern science upon practical agriculture, the intelligent farmer with imagination (every successful farmer has imagination, whether or not he is intelligent) will find some thing quite as important to his welfare in the body of Roman husbandry which has come down to us, namely: a background for his daily routine, an appreciation that two thousand years ago men were studying the same problems and solving them by intelligent reasoning. Columella well says that in reading the ancient writers we may find in them more to approve than to disapprove, however much our new science may lead us to differ from them in practice. The characteristics of the Roman methods of farm management, viewed in the light of the present state of the art in America, were thoroughness and patience. The Romans had learned many things which we are now learning again, such as green manuring with legumes, soiling, seed selection, the testing of soil for sourness, intensive cultivation of a fallow as well as of a crop, conservative rotation, the importance of live stock in a system of general farming, the preservation of the chemical content of manure and the composting of the rubbish of a farm, but they brought to their farming operations some thing more which we have not altogether learned--the character which made them a people of enduring achievement. Varro quotes one of their proverbs "Romanus sedendo vincit," which illustrates my present point. The Romans achieved their results by thoroughness and patience. It was thus that they defeated Hannibal and it was thus that they built their farm houses and fences, cultivated their fields, their vineyards and their oliveyards, and bred and fed their live stock. They seem to have realized that there are no short cuts in the processes of nature, and that the law of compensations is invariable. The foundation of their agriculture was the fallow and one finds them constantly using it as a simile--in the advice not to breed a mare every year, as in that not to exact too much tribute from a bee hive. Ovid even warns a lover to allow fallow seasons to intervene in his courtship.

While one can find instruction in their practice even today, one can benefit even more from their agricultural philosophy, for the characteristic of the American farmer is that he is in too much of a hurry.

The ancient literature of farm management was voluminous. Varro cites fifty Greek authors on the subject whose works he knew, beginning with Hesiod and Xenophon. Mago of Carthage wrote a treatise in the Punic tongue which was so highly esteemed that the Roman Senate ordered it translated into Latin, but, like most of the Greeks, it is now lost to us except in the literary tradition.

Columella says that it was Cato who taught Agriculture to speak Latin. Cato's book, written in the middle of the second century B. C, was the first on the subject in Latin; indeed, it was one of the very first books written in that vernacular at all. Of the other Latin writers whose bucolic works have survived, Varro and Virgil wrote at the beginning of the Augustan Age and were followed by the Spanish Columella under Tiberius, and by Pliny (with his Natural History) under Titus. After them (and "a long way after," as Mr. Punch says) came in the fourth century the worthy but dull Palladius, who supplied the hornbook used by the agricultural monks throughout the Dark Ages.

MARCUS PORCIUS CATO (B.C. 234-149), known in history as the elder Cato, was the type of Roman produced by the most vigorous days of the Republic. Born at Tusculum on the narrow acres which his peasant forefathers had tilled in the intervals of military service, he commenced advocate at the country assizes, followed his fortunes to Rome and there became a leader of the metropolitan bar. He saw gallant military service in Spain and in Greece, commanded an army, held all the curule offices of state and ended a contentious life in the Senate denouncing Carthage and the degeneracy of the times.

He was an upstanding man, but as coarse as he was vigorous in mind and in body. Roman literature is full of anecdotes about him and his wise and witty sayings.

Unlike many men who have devoted a toilsome youth to agricultural labour, when he attained fame and fortune he maintained his interest in his farm, and wrote his De re rustica in green old age. It tells what sort of farm manager he himself was, or wanted to be thought to be, and, though a mere collection of random notes, sets forth more shrewd common sense and agricultural experience than it is possible to pack into the same number of English words. It remains today of much more than antiquarian interest.

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