There is no doubt that the proper plan is, to have the gar-
dens adjoining the country-house; and they should be watered,
more particularly, by a river running in front of it, if possible;
or else with water drawn from a well by the aid of a wheel
or of pumps, or by swipes.[1] The ground should be opened
just as the west winds are beginning to prevail; fourteen
days after which it should be got ready for autumn, and then
before the winter solstice it should have another turning up.
It will require eight men to dig a jugerum, manure being
mixed with the earth to a depth of three feet: the ground,
too, should be divided into plots or beds with raised and
rounded edges, each of which should have a path dug round it,
by means of which access may be afforded to the gardener and
a channel formed for the water needed for irrigation.
1.