ing cultivated, and what work has been done
or left undone, he should call for his steward and inquire for his
account of what work has been done and what remains to be done. He
should ask whether the work has been completed in good time and
whether what is left uncompleted can be finished. He should find what
wine has been made, and what wheat stored. When he has gone into these
particulars, he should ask for an account of the days spent in
accomplishing the work.

If the work does not seem satisfactory and the steward should excuse
himself by declaring that he has done his best, that the slaves were
good for nothing, that the weather was bad, that some slaves had run
away, that he himself had been called off on public service, and
should allege other such excuses, he should still be strictly called
to account. He should be asked if on rainy or tempestuous days he had
seen that indoor operations had been carried on. Had the wine-casks
been scoured and lined with pitch; had the house-cleaning been done;
had the grain been taken from the thrashing-floor to the granary; had
manure been thrown from the stables and cow-houses and piled into
heaps; had the seed been winnowed; had any rope been made; had the old
rope been repaired, and had he seen that the slaves mended their coats
and caps. He should be reminded that on religious festivals old
ditches might have been cleared out, the public road mended, briers
cut down, the garden dug over, the meadow cleared, the trees trimmed,
thorns pulled up by the roots, the grain ground and a general clearing
up carried through. He should also be told that when slaves were sick
their rations should be cut down.

When the matters have been settled to the master's satisfaction, he
should take measures to see that what has not been done be at once
accomplished. He should then proceed to consider the account of the
farm, and a consideration of the amount of grain which has been
prepared for fodder. He should have returns made of wine and
olive-oil, and learn how much has been consumed, how much sold, how
much is left over and may be put on sale. If there is a deficit any
year, he should order it to be made up from the outside, and whatever
is above the needs of the farm sold. If there is anything to let out
on contract, he should order this to be done, and concerning the work
which he wishes to be thus accomplished he should give his order in
writing. As regards the cattle he should orde