ON RURAL AFFAIRS, BOOK I.

Blacksmiths, carpenters, and makers of jars and casks must necessarily be kept on hand, so that the reason of needing the city does not distract the farmers from their solemn work. In cold places, vineyards should be planted toward the South; in hot places, toward the North; in temperate places, toward the East or, if necessary, the West. The method of labor cannot maintain one single standard in such a diversity of lands: and therefore the custom of the soil and the province will easily show what number of workers handles each task, whether regarding vines or any kind of sowing. It is established that those things which are blooming should not be touched. One cannot choose things well unless the one choosing first assumes this duty. In agricultural matters, the duties are best suited to the young, the commands to the elders. In pruning vines, three things must be considered: the hope of fruit, the material that will succeed it, and the place which preserves and restores it. If you prune a vine earlier, you will obtain more shoots; if later, you will obtain more fruit. As with trees, it is fitting to transfer vines from the worst places to better ones. After a good vintage, prune more strictly; after a meager one, more broadly. In all work of grafting, pruning, and cutting, use hard and sharp iron tools. Finish what must be done to a vine or tree before the opening of the blossom and the bud. In vineyards, the digger should correct what the plow has omitted. In hot, dry, and sunny places, you must not strip the leaves, since the vine prefers to be covered. And where the Vulturnus the hot Southeast wind burns the vineyards, or any wind hostile to the region, let us cover the vine with straw or material sought from elsewhere.