p, goats and swine: (2) concerning large
cattle, which are likewise divided by nature into three species, neat
cattle, asses and horses: and (3) concerning those instruments of
animal husbandry which are not kept for profit but for convenience,
namely: mules, dogs and shepherds. Each of these nine subjects must be
considered under nine heads: (a) four relating to the acquisition of
cattle, (b) four to the care of them, and (c) one which has to do
with all the others. So there are at least eighty-one chapters
for discussion of the subject, all indispensable and all of great
importance.

"Under the head (a) of acquisition, it is first of all necessary, to
enable you to buy good live stock, that you should know at what age it
is best to buy and to keep each different kind. For instance, you may
buy neat cattle for less money before they are a year old and after
they are ten, because they begin to breed at two or three years and
leave off soon after the tenth year, the beginning and the end of the
life of all live stock being sterile. The second consideration under
this head is a knowledge of the conformation of each kind of cattle
and what it should be, for this is of great importance in determining
the value of all animals. Thus experienced stockmen buy cattle with
black horns rather than white, large goats rather than small, and
swine with long bodies and short heads. The third consideration under
this head is to make sure of the breeding. On this account the asses
of Arcadia are celebrated in Greece, as are those of Reate in Italy,
so that I remember an ass that brought sixty thousand sesterces, and a
four-in-hand team at Rome that was held at four hundred thousand. The
fourth consideration is of the legal precautions to be observed in
buying live stock, for in order that title may pass from one to
another certain formalities must intervene, since neither a contract
nor even the payment of the purchase money suffices in all cases to
transfer a title: thus in buying you some times stipulate that the
animal is in good health, some times that it comes out of a healthy
flock or herd, and some times no stipulation at all is made.

"Under the head (b) of the care of live stock, the four considerations
are what should be done, after you have bought your cattle, in respect
of feeding, of breeding, of raising them, and of maintaining their
health. In the matter of feeding, which is the first of these
considerations, the three