Columella, De Re Rustica

ToposText · Columella · 675 sections

urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.24.1
§ 4.24.1 Therefore, at whatever time the vine-dresser shall enter upon this work, he should especially observe three things: first, to make fruit his chief consideration; next, to choose from the very start the most fruitful wood for the following year; and then, also, to make the vine-stock survive through as many years as possible. For any one of these that is neglected brings great loss to the owner.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.24.2
§ 4.24.2 Moreover, when the vine is trained out into four parts, it faces the same number of quarters of the heavens. And since these different directions possess qualities that are contrary to one another, they also require a different arrangement in the parts of the vine according to the circumstances of their situation. Therefore those arms which are exposed to the north should receive the fewest wounds, and the more so if they are pruned at the onset of cold weather, by which the scars are blasted.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.24.3
§ 4.24.3 And so only one firm wood branch next to the frame is to be allowed to grow, and one reserve branch below it to renew the vine presently for a year. But, conversely, more rods should be set apart for growth toward the south, to shade their mother as she suffers from the summer heat and not allow the fruit to wither before it comes to maturity. In the pruning of the east and west sides there is no very great difference, because the vines receive the sun for an equal number of hours in each quarter.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.24.4
§ 4.24.4 The limit, therefore, of firm wood branches will be that which the fertility of the ground and of the stem itself shall prescribe. The above must be observed in general, and the following in particular. For, to begin at the lowest part of the vine, as at the foundation, so to speak, the earth around the shank should always be laid open with a small mattock. And if any offspring which country people call a suffrago or “sucker,” clings to the roots, it must be carefully pulled up and cut off smoothly with the knife, so that it may repel the rains of winter; for it is better to tear off a shoot that sprouts forth afterward from the wound than to leave a cut that is knotty and rough. For by the one method it quickly forms a callus, and by the other it becomes hollow and rots.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.24.5
§ 4.24.5 Then, after care has been taken of the feet, so to speak, the legs themselves and the trunks must be examined to see that no sprouting leafy shoot or wart-like knob is left; unless the vine, being cut off above the frame, shall require renewal from the lower part. But if the old part of the trunk is dried out by the sun's blast, or if the vine is hollowed out by rains and by harmful animals which creep in through the pith, it will be proper to clear away with the mattock any part of it that is dead; and then that it be pared down to the quick with the pruning-knife, so that it may form a callus from the green bark.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.24.6
§ 4.24.6 And it is not a difficult matter, soon after the wounds are smoothed off, to daub them with earth which you have first moistened with oil lees. For a daubing of this sort keeps out the wood-borer and the ant, and also keeps off the sun and the rains; and because of this the wound grows together more quickly and keeps the fruit green. Also the dry and shaggy bark hanging along the upper parts of the trunk must be peeled off down to the body; because a vine, when rid of its rags, so to speak, thrives better and imparts less of dregs to the wine. Moreover, the moss which binds and compresses the legs of the vines in the manner of shackles, and softens them with its mouldiness and old dirt, must be stripped off and scraped away with the iron.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.24.7
§ 4.24.7 This, then, for the lower part of the vine. And likewise those directions must next be given which are to be observed with reference to the head. The wounds which a vine receives in its hard wood should be made slantwise and rounded, for they grow together more quickly and, as long as they have not formed a scar, they shed water to better advantage; while crosswise cuts receive and hold more moisture. Let the vine-dresser especially avoid this fault. Let him cut off branches that are far extended, old, badly formed, crooked, and turning downward; and let him permit the growth of those that are young and fruitful and straight. Let him preserve the young and tender arms, and remove the old and withered with the pruning-hook. Let him trim off the tips of the reserve stubs when they are one year old.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.24.8
§ 4.24.8 When the vine has been raised to about four feet above the ground, let him arrange it in the same number of arms, each facing in the direction of one cross-piece of the frame. Then let him allow the growth of one rod to each arm if the vine is rather slender, or two if it is more stocky; and, having placed them upon the frame, let him cause them to hang down.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.24.9
§ 4.24.9 But we must bear it in mind not to allow two or more branches of firm wood to be in the same line and on one side of the arm. For it is especially injurious to the vine when every part of the arm does not exert itself equally, and when it does not dispense its juice to its offspring in equal portions, but is drained on one side only; whereby it comes about that that vein whose moisture is entirely taken away withers as though struck by lightning.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.24.10
§ 4.24.10 There is also a shoot, called the “throat-shoot” (focaneus), which usually comes out at the centre of the fork; and farmers call it by the aforesaid name because, sprouting out between the two arms where the vine divides itself, it obstructs the fauces or throat, so to speak, and forestalls both of the hardened branches by drawing off their nourishment. Therefore these same farmers are careful to cut off and trim away this rival, as it were, before it gains strength. If, however, it has already become so strong as to have impaired one arm or the other, the weaker arm is removed and the throat-shoot is allowed to grow.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.24.11
§ 4.24.11 For when the arm is cut off, the mother vine bestows her strength equally upon both parts. Therefore let the pruner establish the head of the vine one foot below the frame, from which, as I have said, there may extend the four arms by which the vine is renewed yearly by cutting away the old branches and allowing the growth of new ones, the choice of which must be made with skill. For where there is a great abundance of woody branches, the pruner should guard against leaving either those that are next to the hard wood (that is, from the stock and head of the vine), or on the other hand, those at the ends. For the former contribute very little to the vintage, since they yield scanty fruit, being, in fact, like leaf-branches; while the latter exhaust the vine, because they burden it with too much fruit and extend themselves as far as the second or third stake, which we have declared to be wrong.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.24.12
§ 4.24.12 Therefore branches will be let grow to best advantage on the middle of the arm, that they may neither disappoint the hope of a vintage nor cause the wasting of their own stem. Some men are more greedy in enticing the fruit by allowing the growth of terminal and medial shoots, and also by cutting the sprig next to the hard wood into a reserve stub; a thing which I believe should not be done in any circumstances unless strength of soil and stock permit it. For they cover themselves with grapes to such an extent that they cannot reach maturity if friendliness of the land and a thrifty condition of the stock itself are not present.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.24.13
§ 4.24.13 The subsidiary branch, which is the same as the reserve stub, should not be cut back into a spur when the rods from which the next fruits are expected are situated in a suitable place; for when you have bound them and bent them to look downward towards the earth, you will force the growth of hard wood below the binding.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.24.14
§ 4.24.14 But if the vine has sprung out from the head to a greater length than the practice of husbandmen allows, and has crept out with its arms to the roof-like trellises that belong to other vines, we shall leave close to the main stem a strong reserve rod, and the largest possible, of two or three joints, from which, as from a spur, firm wood may be quickly fashioned into an arm the following year; so that the vine, cut back and restored in this way, may be kept within the frame.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.24.15
§ 4.24.15 But in setting aside a reserve stub for growth the following points must be especially observed. First, that the wound shall not face upward toward the heavens, but rather that it slope downward toward the earth; for in this way it is both protected from the frosts and shaded from the sun. Secondly, that the cut shall not be made like an arrow-point but hoof-shaped rather; for the former dies more quickly and over a wider area, while the latter is checked more slowly and within narrower limits. There is also a practice which I observe to be employed, and very wrongly, which should be especially avoided; for in their attention to graceful appearance, so that the reserve stub may be shorter and like a thumb, they cut the branch close to the joint.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.24.16
§ 4.24.16 But this is very detrimental, because the bud, being placed next to the wound, suffers from frost and cold, and afterwards from heat also. The best plan, then, is to clip the subsidiary branch about midway between the joints and to make a sloping cut behind the bud, so that, as I have already said, its tears may not drop upon the budding eye and blind it.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.24.17
§ 4.24.17 If there is no opportunity for a cut branch, we must look about for a knob which, even though cut very close in the manner of a wart, may put forth a firm wood branch the following spring, which we may leave either for an arm or for fruit. If such a knob is not to be found, the vine must be wounded with the knife and caused to form a “sore” in that place where we wish to draw out a shoot. Now I strongly believe that those branches which we are making ready for bearing should be freed of tendrils and secondary shoots.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.24.18
§ 4.24.18 But one method is employed in cutting these away, and another in removing those that come out of the main stem. For anything that sprouts from mature wood is cut away and trimmed close by a more vigorous application of the pruning-hook, so that it may form a scar more quickly; while, on the contrary, anything that comes from young wood, such as the secondary shoot, is cut away with greater caution because it usually has a bud close beside it, and care must be taken that this is not grazed with the knife. For if, in applying the knife, you trim too closely, the bud is either taken away altogether or wounded severely; and because of this the branch when it presently puts forth in sprouting will be feeble and less fruitful and also more liable to injury by the winds, obviously because it will be weak when it comes forth from the scar.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.24.19
§ 4.24.19 Furthermore, it is difficult to set a limit to the length of the woody branch which we allow to grow; yet most people draw it out to a length such that, when bent and falling down over the frame, it cannot touch the ground. We believe that the following points should be investigated more closely: first, the condition of the vine, for if it is strong it sustains a greater number of woody branches; and next, the richness of the soil, for if this quality is not present we shall quickly kill even the strongest vine if it is wasted away by rods that are too long.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.24.20
§ 4.24.20 But long branches are valued, not for their length, but for the number of their eyes. For where there are rather considerable spaces between the joints, it is permissible to extend the wood to the point where it almost touches the ground, for nevertheless it will put forth but few leaves and shoots; but where the segments are short and eyes are found at close intervals, the branch, though short, is green with many sprouts and luxuriant with numerous offspring. Therefore it is necessary that a limit be set to such a sort especially, that it may not be burdened by fruiting branches of excessive length, and that the vine-dresser may take into account whether or not the vintage of the previous year was abundant.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.24.21
§ 4.24.21 For after a large yield the vines must be spared, and for that reason they should be closely pruned; but after a scanty yield they must be urged. In addition to the other directions we are of this opinion also, that we should carry out the entire operation with the thinnest and sharpest of hard iron tools. For a knife that is blunt and dull and soft delays the pruner, and for that reason he accomplishes less work and causes more labour for the vine-dresser; for if the edge is curled over, which happens to soft iron, or if it penetrates too slowly, as is the case with a blunted and thick too, greater effort is needed. Then, too, ragged and uneven wounds tear the vines; for the matter is not finished with a single stroke but by strokes often repeated.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.24.22
§ 4.24.22 And so the usual result is that what should be cut off is broken off, and that in this way the vine, being mangled and jagged, is rotted with moisture and its wounds do not heal. Therefore the pruner should be expressly reminded to draw out the edge of his implement and to make it as razor-like as possible. And he should not be ignorant as to what part of the pruning-hook should be used in each operation; for I have learned that a great many men make havoc of vineyards through lack of knowledge on this point.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.25.1
§ 4.25.1 Now the shape of the vine-dresser's knife is so designed that the part next to the haft, which has a straight edge, is called the culter or “knife” because of the similarity. The part that is curved is called the sinus or “bend”; that which runs on from the curve is the scalprum or “paring-edge”; the hook which comes next is called the rostrum or “beak,” and the figure of the half-moon above it is called the securis or “hatchet”; and the spike-like part which projects straight forward from it is called the mucro or “point.” Each of these parts performs its own peculiar tasks, if only the vine-dresser is skilful in using them.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.25.2
§ 4.25.2 For when he is to cut something with a thrust of the hand away from him, he uses the culter; when he is to draw it toward him, he uses the sinus; when he wishes to smoothe something, he uses the scalprum, or, to hollow it out, the rostrum; when he is to cut something with a blow, he uses the securis; and when he wants to clear away something in a narrow space, he makes use of the mucro. But the greater part of the work in a vineyard must be done by drawing the knife toward you rather than by hacking; for the wound which is made in this way is smoothed with one impression, since the pruner first puts his knife in place and so cuts off what he has intend to cut.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.25.3
§ 4.25.3 One who attacks the vine by chopping, if he misses his aim, as often happens, wounds the stock with many blows. Therefore that pruning is safer and more advantageous which, as I have said, is accomplished by the drawing of the knife and not by striking.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.26.1
§ 4.26.1 When this is finished there follows, as I have said before, the matter of propping and trellising the vineyard. And for giving firmness to this the stake is better than the pole, and that not any stake you please; for chief of all is the olive tree split with wedges, the oak and the cork tree, and any other wood of like strength. The round prop holds third place; and that is most approved which is made of juniper, and also of laurel and cypress. Also forest pines do well for this purpose, and elders too are acceptable in the capacity of supports. These props and their like must be gone over again after the pruning, and the decayed parts must be hewn away and sharpened;
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.26.2
§ 4.26.2 and some, if they are sound, are to be reversed, while others, which are either rotten or shorter than is proper, must be removed and replaced with suitable props; those that are lying flat must be set up, and those that lean are to be straightened. As for the frame, if there is no need of a new one, have fresh bindings worked into the mending of it. If it seems to need rebuilding, let it be tied together with poles or reeds before the vine is attached to its prop, and then, as I have directed in the case of a newly planted vine, we should bind the vine to the stake, close to head and below the arms; and this tying should not be done every year in the same place, lest the band cut into the stock and choke it.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.26.3
§ 4.26.3 Then we will arrange the arms in four directions, below the star, and bind the tender fruiting branches upon the frame, not forcing them contrary to their nature; but according as each branch will submit, it will be bent slightly, so as not to be broken in the bending and that the buds already swelling may not be rubbed off. And when two mature branches are extended along one part of the frame, let a bar come between them; and let the separated vine-shoots run out over the quadrangular openings of the frames, and, as if plunging downward, let them look upon the ground with their tips.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.26.4
§ 4.26.4 That this may be done skilfully, the binder must remember not to twist the young branch but merely to bend it down and tie it; and he must bear in mind that every mature branch which cannot yet be bent down to earth is to be placed upon the frame, so that it may rather rest upon a bar than hang from its binding. For I have often observed that farmers, through want of foresight, place a fruiting branch under the frame and tie it in such a way as to let it hang merely by a withe; and when this vine receives the weight of its shoots and grapes, it is broken down.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.27.1
§ 4.27.1 When our vineyards are so put in order, we shall next hasten to clean them and to rid them of the pruned twigs and deadwood. However, these must be gathered when the ground is dry, lest the earth, being trampled when muddy, make the task harder for the digger, who is to be brought in immediately while the vines are still dormant. For if you send the digger in when the fruiting branches are swelling and putting forth buds, he will knock off a large part of the vintage. Therefore vineyards are to be dug as deep as possible during the time when spring begins and winter ends, before the buds come, that they may sprout out more luxuriantly and joyfully; and when they have bedecked themselves with leaves, a limit must be set to the young shoots before they are full grown.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.27.2
§ 4.27.2 And let the same vine-dresser who made use of the knife before, now prune with his hand, and let him hold the shade in check and pull off superfluous foliage; and it is of the utmost importance not to do this unskilfully, since the removal of excess leafage is even more beneficial to vines than is pruning. For though the one is of great advantage, still it wounds and checks the vines; while the other heals them more generally, without a wound, and makes the next year's pruning easier.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.27.3
§ 4.27.3 Then too it produces a vine that is freer from scars, because that from which a green and tender thing is plucked soon heals over. In addition, the mature branches which have fruit make a better recovery, and the grapes, being more completely exposed to the sun, are thoroughly ripened.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.27.4
§ 4.27.4 Therefore it is the part of an intelligent vine-dresser, and one especially expert, to take stock and consider in what places he should allow the growth of firm wood for the year, and to remove not only the branches that are destitute of buds, but fruitful branches as well, if their number has gone beyond proper bounds; since it happens that some eyes put forth three shoots, of which you must remove two, that the eyes may better rear one nursling apiece.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.27.5
§ 4.27.5 For it is the business of a wise husbandman to consider whether the vine has bedecked itself with a greater quantity of fruit than it can carry to maturity. Accordingly he will wish, not only to pick off superfluous foliage, which should always be done, but sometimes to shake off a part of the fruit so as to lighten a vine that is overburdened by its own productiveness. And a diligent vine-trimmer will do this for various reasons, even if there is no more fruit than is able to ripen;
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.27.6
§ 4.27.6 or if it is right that a vine, fettered by heavy bearing in previous years without interruption, should now restore and recover itself, if provision is to be made for the mature wood of the future. For to break off the tips of the rods for the purpose of checking rank growth, or to remove twigs that are situated on the hard part of the stock, unless it is necessary to preserve one or two for renewing the vine; as also to pull off every green shoot that comes out of the head and between the arms, and to strip away those sterile shoots which all along the mature wood shade the mother vine to no purpose, is a proper task for anyone at all, even for a child.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.28.1
§ 4.28.1 But the time for vine-trimming must be chosen, preferably, before the vine shows its flower, though it is permissible to repeat the operation afterwards. Therefore the intervening period of days, when the berries are being formed, refuses us entrance to the vineyard, because it is not expedient to disturb the fruit when it is in the blossom. But when the fruit is passing from childhood and is in the adolescent stage, so to speak, it is proper to bind it and strip it of all leaves, and also to make it plump by frequent diggings; for fruit is made more plentiful by pulverizing the soil.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.28.2
§ 4.28.2 And I do not deny that most teachers of husbandry before me were content with three diggings; among whom is Graecinus, who speaks as follows: “It may seem sufficient to dig an established vineyard three times.” Celsus, too, and Atticus agree that there are three natural impulses in a vine, or rather in every branch: one which makes it sprout, another which makes it bloom, and the third which makes it ripen. These impulses, then, they think are stimulated by diggings: for nature does not sufficiently accomplish her purpose unless you diligently give her the benefit of your efforts. And this attention to the cultivating of vineyards comes to an end with the vintage.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.29.1
§ 4.29.1 I return now to that part of my discussion in which I promised directions for the grafting of vines and protecting the grafts. Julius Atticus has said that the time for grafting is from the Calends of November to the Calends of June, up to which time he asserts that a scion can be kept without sprouting. And by that we should understand that no part of the year is excepted if we have a supply of dormant twigs. Furthermore, I would freely grant that this can be done in other kinds of stock that have stronger and sappier bark.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.29.2
§ 4.29.2 In the case of vines, one thing it is not in keeping with my honesty to conceal — that it is exceedingly rash to allow husbandmen to graft during so many months; not that I am unaware that a vine grafted in the dead of winter sometimes takes hold. But we should instruct learners, not what may come about by chance in one or two experiments, but what commonly occurs under a definite system. For if the risk is to be taken with a small number, in whose case greater care makes amends for rashness, I can wink at it to a certain extent;
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§ 4.29.3 but when the extensiveness of the operation divides the attention of even the most careful husbandman, we ought to remove every uncertainty. There is, indeed, a contradiction in what Atticus directs. For he says that it is not right to prune a vineyard during the middle of winter; and although this does less injury to the vine, still it is forbidden to be done, with good reason, because in cold weather every branch is numb with the cold, and because in its frozen condition it produces no impulse in the bark to heal the scar.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.29.4
§ 4.29.4 And yet this same Atticus does not forbid grafting at the very same time, and he directs that it should then be done by cutting off the head of the whole vine and making a cleft at the point of this cutting. Therefore the more proper way of grafting is at the end of winter, when the days are now growing warm, when both bud and bark are stirred by nature, and when there is no attack of cold weather that may sear either the grafted scion or the wound made by the cleft.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.29.5
§ 4.29.5 Nevertheless I would allow those who are in haste, to graft the vine in the autumn, because the temperature of the air at that season is not unlike that of spring. But at whatever time one intends to graft, let him know that attention to the choosing of scions is not different from that which was prescribed in the preceding book when we gave directions for the selection of cuttings. When he has pulled from the vine scions which are of good stock, fruitful, and as well ripened as possible, let him also choose a day that is warm and free from winds.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.29.6
§ 4.29.6 Then let him look for a scion that is round and of firm body, not of spongy pith, and also with numerous eyes and short joints. For it is of the greatest importance that the twig which is ingrafted be not long; and also that there be many eyes on it, from which it may put forth shoots. And so, if the joints are long, it will be necessary to shorten the scion to one or at most two eyes, lest we make it so long that it cannot endure the storms and winds and rains without being disturbed.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.29.7
§ 4.29.7 Now when a vine is grafted it is either cut off or left whole and bored through with an auger; but the former is the more usual graft and is known to almost all farmers, while the latter is less common and is employed by few. Therefore I shall discuss first the method which is more in use.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.29.8
§ 4.29.8 The vine is generally cut above ground, though sometimes below, in the place where it is most solid and free from knots. When it is grafted close to the ground, the graft is covered with earth to its very top; but when the graft is higher above ground, the cleft is carefully daubed with kneaded clay and bound with an overlaying of moss to ward off heat and rains. The scion is so shaped as to be not unlike a reed pen. The piece that is pared off you should hold against the cleft; and under this cleft there is need of a node in the vine, to bind it together, as it were, and not allow the crack to advance beyond that point.
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§ 4.29.9 Even if this node is four finger-breadths distant from the point of cutting, still it will be proper that it be bound before the vine is split, lest the wound spread wider than it should when a way is made for the graft with the knife. Moreover, the pen-shaped scion should be tapered not more than three fingers, and so that it may be smooth on the side where it is shaved. And this shaving is carried so far as to reach the pith on one side, and on the other side to be pared down a little farther than the bark; and to be fashioned in the form of a wedge, so that the scion may be sharp at its lowest point, thinner on one side and thicker on the other, and that, when inserted by the thinner side, it may be pressed close on that side which is thicker and may touch the cleft on both sides. For, unless bark is fitted to bark in such a way that the light shows through at no point, it cannot grow together.
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§ 4.29.10 There is more than one kind of band for ingrafting. Some bind the cleft with willow withes; some wrap it with inner bark; very many tie it with rush, which is most suitable. For the willow withe, when it has dried, penetrates and cuts into the bark. For this reason we give higher approval to softer bindings which, after being wrapped around the stock, are drawn tight by forcing in small wedges of reed. But it is of very first importance that the ground be loosened around the vine beforehand, and that the surface roots and suckers be cut away; and afterwards that the stock be covered with earth. And when the stock has taken hold of the graft, it again requires care of a different sort:
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.29.11
§ 4.29.11 for, when it buds, it must be stripped oftener of superfluous growth, and the suckers which sprout from the sides and roots must be pulled off more frequently. Furthermore, anything that it puts forth from the place of ingrafting must be tied up, lest the scion should be loosened when moved by the wind, or the tender shoot be pulled out. And when this shoot has increased in size it must be deprived of its secondary shoots, unless because of the poverty or baldness of the place they are reserved for layers. Then autumn applies the pruning-knife to the matured branches. But the following method of pruning is observed in grafted vines — that, where there is no desire for a layer, one shoot is brought up to the frame; and a second is cut back to such an extent that the wound is flush with the stock, though in such a way that nothing is pared from the hard wood.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.29.12
§ 4.29.12 Excess foliage must be removed just as in the case of the young quickset; but the pruning is to be done in such a way that demands are put upon it very sparingly up to the fourth year, until the wound of the trunk forms a scar. This, then, is the method of procedure in cleft-grafting.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.29.13
§ 4.29.13 The procedure by terebration or boring is as follows: first, to take note of the most fruitful vine in the vicinity, from which you may draw over a traverse branch, so to speak, still clinging to its parent vine, and pass it through the hole. For this is a safer and surer way of grafting because, even though it does not take hold the next spring, at any rate it is forced to be united in the spring following, when it has grown larger; and presently it is cut loose from its mother, and the upper part of the grafted vine is lopped off close to the place where the scion was admitted.
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0845.phi002:4.29.14
§ 4.29.14 If there is no opportunity for such a traverse branch, then a twig is selected — one taken as fresh as possible from the vine — and, being lightly pared all around in such a way that the bark alone is removed, it is fitted to the hole; and then the vine is cut back and daubed over with clay, that the whole stock may devote itself to a vine of different origin. However, this is not done in the case of a traverse shoot, which is nourished at its mother's breast until it grows into the other vine.
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§ 4.29.15 But there is one type of iron tool with which our ancestors used to bore through the vine, and a different sort which I myself have now found by experience to be more suitable. For the ancient gimlet — the only kind that old-time farmers knew — would make sawdust and would burn the place which it perforated. Moreover, it was seldom that the burned part would revive or unite with the former and that the grafted scion would take hold. Then, too, the sawdust was never so completely removed that some did not remain in the hole; and this, by its intervention, kept the body of the scion from being closely joined to the body of the vine.
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§ 4.29.16 We, having devised what we call the “Gallic auger” for this kind of grafting, have found it far more suitable and practical. For it hollows out the stock in such a way as not to burn the hole, because it does not make dust but shavings; and when these are removed a smooth wound is left, which can more easily touch the seated scion on every side, since there is no interference of that woolly matter which the ancient gimlet produced.
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§ 4.29.17 Therefore see to it that the grafting of your vines is finished immediately after the vernal equinox; and graft the black vine in places that are parched and dry, the white vine in wet places. And there is no need of propagating this if only the stock is of so moderate a thickness that the growth of a grafted scion can cover the wound on all sides; unless, however, the place left vacant in a vine whose head is dead demands a replacement. When this is the case, one of the two shoots is turned down for a layer, and the other is carried up to the frame and set apart for fruit. And it is not without advantage to rear shoots from the vine which you have layered, as they sprout from the arched part of the layer, which, if it so happens, you may either use for further layers or leave for fruit.
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§ 4.30.1 Inasmuch as we have discussed those matters which it seemed could be taught to advantage for the establishing and cultivating of vineyards, a method must be set down for the provision of props, frames, and withes. For these are prepared beforehand, as dowries, so to speak, for the vineyards. And if the farmer is destitute of these, he has no reason for making vineyards, since everything that is needed will have to be sought outside the farm; and, just as Atticus says, not only does the cost of purchase put a burden upon the accounts of the overseer, but also the procuring of them is a very great annoyance.
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§ 4.30.2 For they must be brought together at a most inconvenient season — in winter. Therefore osier-willows and reed thickets must be provided beforehand, and also ordinary woods or woods purposely planted with chestnut trees. Atticus thinks that one iugerum of osier-willows may suffice for binding twenty-five iugera of vineyard, and one iugerum of reed thicket for framing twenty; and that a iugerum planted with chestnut trees is enough to provide as many props as a iugerum of reeds can furnish with cross-rails.
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§ 4.30.3 Ground that is either well watered or abounding in marshland is best for nourishing the willow, and yet level and rich ground is not unsuitable. And this ground should be turned with the double spade; for the ancients direct us to trench ground intended for a willow-bed to a depth of two and one-half feet. And it makes no difference what kind of osier you plant, if only it is very pliant.
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§ 4.30.4 Still they think that there are chiefly three kinds of willows: the Greek, the Gallic, and the Sabine, which most people call the Amerine.a The Greek is of a yellow colour; the Gallic of a dingy purple, and with very slender switches; and the Amerine has a slim and reddish rod. And either top-shoots or truncheons of these are planted. Top rods of moderate stoutness, which, however, should not exceed the thickness of a circular two-pound weight, are best planted if they are put down as far as solid ground.
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§ 4.30.5 Truncheons of one and one-half feet are stuck into the earth and covered over with a little of it. A well-watered spot requires wider spaces, and spaces of six feet in the quincunx arrangement do very well; a place that is normally dry needs closer planting, but in such a way as to give easy access to those who cultivate it. In this case it is satisfactory that the distance between rows be five feet, yet so that the plants may stand at two-foot intervals in the line of planting, alternating with empty spaces between.
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§ 4.30.6 The time for planting them is before they bud, while the slips are dormant, and it is best that they be taken from the trees when they are dry. For if you cut them off when they are wet with dew, they do not grow properly; and for this reason rainy days are avoided in lopping off the willows. Willow copses are to be dug more frequently during the first three years, as are new vineyards. Later, when they have gained strength, they are satisfied with three diggings; under any other cultivation they quickly run out.
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§ 4.30.7 For, even though care is taken, very many willows die. In their place layers should be propagated from a near-by plant, by bending down and burying its leaders, so that anything that has died may be replaced with these. Then when the layer is a year old, let it be cut loose from its stock, that it may be fed by its own roots just like a vine.
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§ 4.31.1 Very dry places, which do not admit copses of this sort, require broom. A band of this material not only has sufficient strength, but also it is very pliant. The plant is raised from seed, and when it has sprouted, it is either transplanted as a quickset when two years old; or, if left where sown after that time has passed, it may be cut close to the ground every year in the manner of standing grain. Other bindings, such as those made of bramble, require greater labour, but still a necessary labour in poor soil.
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§ 4.31.2 Willow for poles requires about the same land as that for withes; nevertheless it thrives better in well-watered ground. And it is planted in the form of truncheons; and when it has sprouted it is made to grow as a single shaft, and is frequently cultivated and weeded; and excess foliage is removed no less than in the vine, that it may be encouraged to length rather than spread of branches. When so cared for it is cut finally in its fourth year.
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§ 4.31.3 For the willow which is prepared for bindings may be cut off when it is one year old, at about two and a half feet above ground, so that it may send out branches from the trunk and be arranged in arms like a low vine; but if the ground has been rather dry, it will be cut back preferably at the age of two years.
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§ 4.32.1 The reed is planted in ground that is not worked so deep, though it is better to plant it with the two-foot spade. Although it is very hardy and does not refuse any situation, it succeeds better when put in loose soil than in compact; better in a damp place than in a dry one; better in valleys than on hillsides; and on river banks and in borders and thickets better than in midfield.
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§ 4.32.2 Its bulbous root is planted, as also truncheons of the cane; and again the whole reed is laid flat on the ground. The bulb, when buried with three-foot spaces between, yields a full-grown stalk in less than a year. The truncheon and the whole reed are longer than the aforementioned time in coming to maturity. But whether truncheons of two and one-half feet are planted, or entire reeds laid flat, their tops should extend above ground; because, if they are entirely buried, they rot completely.
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§ 4.32.3 But the culture of the reed thicket, for the first three years, is not different from that of the other thickets. Later, when it has become old, the ground must be trenched again. And this is its old age, when it has either dried up completely because of many years of decadence and sloth, or has become so crowded that the reeds grow up slender and cane-like.
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§ 4.32.4 But in the former case it should be dug up again from the beginning; in the latter it may be cut out and thinned — an operation which farmers call castratio. However, this repairing of a reed thicket is done blindly, because it is not apparent on the surface what should be removed or what should be left; still the reed suffers castration better before the time of cutting, since the small canes, like pointers, show what is to be plucked out.
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§ 4.32.5 The time for redigging and planting is before the eyes of the reed sprout. Then the time for cutting is after the winter solstice; for it makes growth up to that time, and is then checked when stiffened by the winter cold. The reed plot must be dug as often as the vineyard; but its leanness must be relieved with ashes or other fertilizer, and for this reason most people burn it over after it is cut.
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§ 4.33.1 The chestnut tree is next best to the oaks, and for this reason it is suitable for supporting vines. Its nut, too, when planted in prepared ground, quickly springs up; and when cut down, after five years, it renews itself in the manner of the willow, and when made into a stake it lasts usually to the next cutting. It likes a black and loose soil; does not refuse a damp, gravelly soil or crumbling tufa; delights in a shady slope with a northern exposure; and fears a heavy soil that is full of red ochre.
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§ 4.33.2 It is planted from the month of November throughout the whole winter, in ground that is dry and worked to a depth of two feet and a half. The nuts are placed in a row, half a foot apart; and the rows are separated by five-foot intervals. The chestnut is committed to furrows sunk to a depth of three-fourths of a foot; and when these furrows are planted with nuts, and before they are levelled off, short reeds are set beside the chestnuts, so that, with these markers of the planting, they may be dug and weeded with greater safety.
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§ 4.33.3 As soon as the plants have formed a stem — and they may be transplanted when two years old — they are thinned out; and two feet of room is left free for the young saplings, lest crowding weaken the plants. The planting is closer, moreover, because of various mishaps: for the nut is sometimes dried up by droughts before it springs forth, or it decays from excessive wetness; and sometimes it is destroyed by underground animals, such as mice and moles.
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§ 4.33.4 For these reasons young plantations of chestnut often grow up in thin numbers; and when it is necessary to increase them, it is better that a near-by sapling, if such a one is suitable, be bent over and propagated in the manner of a layer, than that it be taken up and replanted. For such a sapling, being undisturbed at its base, sends out shoots vigorously; but one that is torn out by the roots and transplanted is retarded for two years thereafter. On this account it has been found more advantageous to start trees of this sort from nuts rather than from quicksets. The spaces allotted to this planting, as described above, admit 2880 chestnut trees; of which total, as Atticus says, every iugerum of land will easily yield 12000 props. For the lengths cut closest to the stump generally supply four stakes when split, and then the second cuts of the same tree yield two; and this sort of split prop lasts longer than the round pole.
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§ 4.33.5 The management of setting and digging is the same as that of the vineyard. It should be pruned lightly when two years old, and again when three; for twice in early spring it must be attacked with the knife, that its upward growth may be hastened. The oak also may be planted in like manner; but it is cut down two years later than the chestnut. For this reason common sense requires that we profit rather by the gain in time, unless it happens that brush-covered and stony mountains, and the kinds of soil which we mentioned above, demand the acorn rather than the chestnut.
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§ 4.33.6 These matters concerning Italian vineyards and vineyard equipment I have discusses, so I believe, fully and not without profit. I intend presently to give an account of viticulture among our provincial farmers, also of the management of the arbustum both in our own country and in Gaul.

Via ToposText (topostext.org), a project of the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation created by Brady Kiesling. Translated by Harrison Boyd Ash (1891-1944). Composed ca. 50 CE. Licence: public domain. Source.