d my four points upon the
physical characteristics of a farm, which were, its conformation, the
quality of the soil, its extent and layout, its boundaries and their
protection."

_Of the considerations of neighbourhood_

XVI. It remains to discuss the conditions outside the farm itself,
for the character of the neighbourhood is of the utmost importance to
agriculture on account of the necessary relations with it. There
are four considerations in this respect also, namely: whether the
neighbourhood bears a bad reputation; whether it affords a market to
which our products can be taken and whence we can bring back what we
may require at home; whether there is a road or a river leading to
that market, and, if so, whether it is fit for use; and fourth whether
there is in our immediate vicinity any thing which may be to our
advantage or disadvantage. Of these four considerations the most
important is whether the neighbourhood bears a bad reputation: for
there are many farms which are fit for cultivation but not expedient
to undertake on account of the brigandage in the neighbourhood, as in
Sardinia those farms which adjoin Oelium, and in Spain those on the
borders of Lusitania.

On the second point those farms are the most profitable which have
opportunities in the vicinity for marketing what they raise and buying
what they must consume: for there are many farms which must buy corn
or wine or what ever else they lack, and not a few which have a
surplus of these commodities for sale. So in the suburbs of a city it
is fitting to cultivate gardens on a large scale, and to grow violets
and roses and many other such things which a city consumes, while it
would be folly to undertake this on a distant farm with no facilities
for reaching the market. So, again, if there is nearby a town or a
village or even the well furnished estate of a rich man where you can
buy cheap what you require on the farm, and where you can trade your
surplus of such things as props and poles and reeds, your farm will
be more profitable than if you had to buy at a distance; nay, more
profitable even than if you were able to produce all you require at
home: because in this situation you can make annual arrangements with
your neighbours to furnish on hire the services of physicians, fullers
and blacksmiths to better advantage than if they were your own: for
the death of a single such skilled slave wipes out the entire profit
of a farm. In carrying on th