Georg. 2.226Nunc, quō quamque modō possīs cognōscere, dīcam.Now I will tell by what means you may recognise each kind. Georg. 2.227Rāra sit an suprā mōrem sī dēnsa requīrēs—
altera frūmentīs quoniam favet, altera Bacchō,
dēnsa magis Cererī, rārissima quaeque Lyaeō—
230ante locum capiēs oculīs altēque iubēbis
in solidō puteum dēmittī omnemque repōnēs
rūrsus humum et pedibus summās aequābis harēnās.If you ask whether it is loose or unusually dense — since one favours corn and the other Bacchus, the dense rather Ceres, all the loosest Lyaeus — first you will pick out a place with your eyes, and have a pit sunk deep in solid ground, and you will put all the earth back again and level the sand on top with your feet. Georg. 2.233Sī dēerunt, rārum pecorīque et vītibus almīs
aptius ūber erit;If it falls short, the soil will be loose, and better suited to cattle and kindly vines; Georg. 2.234sīn in sua posse negābunt
235īre loca et scrobibus superābit terra replētīs,
spissus ager;but if it refuses to go back into its place, and earth is left over when the pits are filled, the field is dense; Georg. 2.236glaebās cūnctantīs crassaque terga
exspectā et validīs terram prōscinde iuvencīs.expect reluctant clods and thick ridges, and break the land with strong bullocks.
Georg. 2.238Salsa autem tellūs et quae perhibētur amāra,
frūgibus īnfēlīx—ea nec mānsuēscit arandō
240nec Bacchō genus aut pōmīs sua nōmina servat—
tāle dabit specimen: tū spissō vīmine quālōs
cōlaque prēlōrum fūmōsīs dēripe tēctīs;But salty ground, and that which is called bitter, unlucky for crops — it neither grows gentle with ploughing, nor keeps its breed for Bacchus or their names for fruits — will give a test like this: take down from the smoky roofs baskets of close-woven wicker and the strainers of the wine-presses; Georg. 2.243hūc ager ille malus dulcēsque ā fontibus undae
ad plēnum calcentur;here let that bad soil and sweet water from the springs be trodden in to the brim; Georg. 2.244aqua ēluctābitur omnis
245scīlicet, et grandēs ībunt per vīmina guttae;all the water, to be sure, will struggle out, and big drops will pass through the wicker; Georg. 2.246at sapor indicium faciet manifestus et ōra
trīstia temptantum sēnsū torquēbit amārō.but the taste will give plain evidence, and with its bitter sensation will twist awry the mouths of those who try it. Georg. 2.248Pinguis item quae sit tellūs, hōc dēnique pactō
discimus: haud umquam manibus iactāta fatīscit,
250sed picis in mōrem ad digitōs lentēscit habendō.Likewise, which land is rich we learn in this way at last: it never crumbles when tossed in the hands, but grows sticky like pitch on the fingers as it is held.
Georg. 2.251Hūmida maiōrēs herbās alit, ipsaque iūstō
laetior.Moist land nourishes taller grass, and is itself more luxuriant than is right. Georg. 2.252Ah nimium nē sit mihi fertilis illa
nec sē praevalidam prīmīs ostendat aristīs!Ah, may that land not be too fertile for me, nor show itself too strong in the first ears! Georg. 2.254Quae gravis est, ipsō tacitam sē pondere prōdit,
255quaeque levis.Heavy land betrays itself silently by its own weight, and so does light. Georg. 2.255Promptum est oculīs praediscere nigram,
et quis cui color.It is easy to tell in advance by the eye which is black, and what colour each has. Georg. 2.256At scelerātum exquīrere frīgus
difficile est: piceae tantum taxīque nocentēs
interdum aut hederae pandunt vestīgia nigrae.But to search out the accursed cold is difficult: only pitch-pines and harmful yews, or sometimes black ivy, reveal its traces.