kinds of farms, for without doubt that which is suited for
the hot plain would not suit the windy mountain, while a hill farm
enjoys a more temperate climate than either of the other two kinds and
so demands its own system of cultivation. These distinctions are most
apparent when the several characteristic conformations are of large
extent, as for example the heat and the humidity are greater in a
broad plain, like that of Apulia, while on a mountain like Vesuvius
the climate is usually fresher and so more healthy. Those who
cultivate the lowlands feel the effects of their climate most in
summer, but they are able to do their planting earlier in the spring,
while those who dwell in the mountains suffer most from their climate
in winter, and both sow and reap at later seasons. Frequently the
winter is more propitious to those who dwell in the plains because
then the pastures are fresh there and the trees may be pruned more
readily. On the other hand the summer is more kindly in the mountains
for then the upland grass is rich when the pastures of the plains are
burnt, and it is more comfortable to cultivate the trees in a keen
air.

A lowland farm is best when it is gently sloping rather than
absolutely flat, because on a flat farm water cannot run off and so
forms swampy places. But it is a disadvantage to have the surface too
rolling because that causes the water to collect and form ponds.

Certain trees, like the fir and the pine, flourish most in the
mountains on account of the eager air, while in this region where it
is more temperate the poplars and the willows thrive best. Again the
arbute and the oak prefer the more fertile lands, while the almond and
the fig trees love the lowlands.[61] The growth on the low hills takes
on more of the character of the plains, on the high hills that of the
mountains. For these reasons the kind of crops to be planted must be
suited to the physical characteristics of the farm, as grain for the
plains, vines for the hills and forests for the mountains.

All these considerations should be weighed separately with reference
to each of the three kinds of conformation.

VII. "It seems to me," said Stolo, "that, so far as concerns the
natural situation of a farm, Cato's opinion is just. He wrote, you
will recall, that the best farm was one which lay at the foot of a
mountain looking to the South."

Scrofa resumed: "So far as concerns the laying out of the farm, I
maintain that the m