176I can tell you many precepts of the ancients, unless you shrink back and it irks you to learn of slight concerns. 178First of all, the threshing-floor must be levelled with a huge roller, turned over by hand and made firm with binding chalk, so that weeds may not creep up and it may not crack, overcome by dust; then various pests make sport of it: often the tiny mouse has set up house under the earth and built his granaries, or blind moles have dug their chambers, and the toad is found in holes, and the many monsters that the earth brings forth, and the weevil plunders a huge heap of spelt, and the ant, fearful of a needy old age.
187Observe too when the walnut clothes itself thickly in blossom in the woods and bends its fragrant branches. 189If the fruit abounds, the corn will follow alike, and a great threshing will come with great heat; 191but if the shade is overabundant with a luxuriance of leaves, in vain will the floor thresh stalks rich only in chaff. 193I have indeed seen many sowers treat their seeds, soaking them first in soda and in black lees of oil, so that the produce might be larger in the deceptive pods, and might soften quickly, however small the fire. 197I have seen seeds chosen long since and examined with much labour degenerate nonetheless, unless human effort picked out the largest by hand every year.
199So by fate all things rush to the worse and, slipping back, are carried backwards, just like one who barely drives his skiff with oars against the stream, if by chance he slackens his arms, and the channel sweeps him headlong down the rushing river.