the proper wood and shape for the various parts of his plough. The plough-tail (Virgil's "buris," Georg. i. 170) is to be of ilex wood, which a servant of Athena—i.e., a carpenter—is to fasten with nails to the share-beam, and fit to the pole. It is well, he says, to have two ploughs, in case of an accident to a single one. And whilst one of these was to have plough-tail, sharebeam, and pole all of one piece of timber, the other was to be of three parts, each of different timber, and all fastened with nails. This latter is apparently the better of the two, that which is all of one wood being a most primitive implement, simply "a forked bough." The soundest poles are made of bay or elm, share-beams of oak, and plough-tails of ilex oak. For draught and yoking together, nine-year-old oxen are best, because, being past the mischievous and frolicsome age, they are not likely to break the pole and leave the ploughing in the middle. Directions follow this somewhat dry detail as to the choice of a ploughman:—
Of four-squared loaf in double portions fed.
He steadily will cut the furrow true,
Nor toward his fellows glance a rambling view,
Still on his task intent: a stripling throws
Heedless the seed, and in one furrow strows
The lavish handful twice, while wistful stray
His longing thoughts to comrades far away."
—E. 602-609.
The loaf referred to was scored crosswise, like the Latin "quadra" or our cross-bun, and the object in this case was easy and equal division of the slaves'
