The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1860-11-13
ANCIENT AGRICULTURE.


gives some facts which show that our modern farm
ers have no reason to look upon anclents as par
barians to agriculture and that more respect was
then paid to agricultural books than at present.
and as reliable results derived from agricultural
iabOrs at this time.
The Roman agricultural course, with partial ex-
ceptions, was of the simplest possible description
a crop of grain and fallow. Every year one-half
of the arabic land was in grain, one-half in falow
Of the last, one-third sown with some sort OF
grass. to be moved for the CATTLE and this portion
of the fallow alone was manured once in SIX years,
and in that period bore three grain crops and one
GRASS CROP The naked fallOw received three or
four ploughings during the summer, besides the
seed furrow
In regard to wheat, the following varieties are
mentioned white, red, black, bearded, and shock,
besides others. Some said to be suited to free
and dry, others to strong and moist land
-"The mode of sowing grain, perhaps, the most
marked description between Roman and modern
practice. Their system was twotold. The land
was we'll reduced by the rper, which was our har-
row, and was used both for pulverizing aud for
drawing the weeds to the surface, and by the
crates which was an implement for crushing clods
Both these were worked by oxen. If the land
was naturally dry, it was next drawn into ridges
(simiar, probably, to our turnp ridges by double
mould board plough. The seed was then sown by
hand broadcast on these ridges, and the major
part, of course, settled into the burrows. 1t was
then covered by hand with rdsha-i e., rakes,
and lightly, for the ridges certainly not oblt
Grated They are always spoken of as beneficial
defence against drought to the corn growing on
dry land. After this covering of the seed the
land remained quiet till wheat had put out Its
fourth and barley its fifth blade. 1t then received
Its first hoeing, (sarrito,) which in dry land incu
ded what we should call earthing up; in moist
land, where the corn was already on ridge, the
operation simple hoeng
Many passages occur in the writers, which, ia
ken singly appear to indicate a strong opinion on
their part, that whereas some crops exhausted
others improved the land. The opinion that some
crops, even when gathered, improved the land
did prevail-for Columella, who strongly advocates
the ploughing in system, thinks it necessary to
combat it.
Some tell us that crop of beans stand in the
place of manuring to the iand-whch opinion
would interpret thus: not that one can make the
land richer by sowing them, but that this crop will
exhaust it less than some others. For of this
am certain, that land which has had nothing on it
will produce than that which has borne
these pulse in the preceding year"
In Roman harvesting the ears of the standing
corn were, in some cases, gathered by a sort of
comb, cut off and carried to the threshing floor
the stalk being cut by subsequent operation.
The mode in which this was done is accurately
described by the writers. In other the corn
was cut low and having been gathered together,
passed through combs, which detained the
Pliny describes a reaping machine which
was used in large farms of Gaul, but the directions
for working could hardly apply one of Mr. McCor-
mck's or Husseys reapers. The body of the ma
chine is described as fixed two wheels; to this
axle was fixed pair of shafts, into which very
steady working was harnessed, with his head
where his tail should be, SO that when he walked
on, instead of pulling by the shafts, he pushed by
them, and drove the imp lement into the standing
corn 1t had machinery by which it collected ears
of corn, cut them off, and dropped them into re-
ceptable. The implement is said to have answer
ed we'll in open and even land, and some farmers
in Gaul cut their whole harvest with it without
employing any reapers.
The threshng is said to have been done by fail.
by treadng out, (tor which horses are said to be
better than oxen,) and latterly by machine drawn
by cattle, described sometimes as having teeth
and sometimes rollers which was adopted from
Carthage.
The same writer informs US that the modes of
using straw were various, and the variations were
local. Ordinarily the upper half was used as cat
tie food, the lower litter; but when the former
failed, the latter bruised on stones, and sprink-
ied with salt, to induce the cattle to eat it,