Cato,
who was also called "The Censor," wrote De Re
Rustica while the Roman army was waging the Punic
wars. Columella stated that it was Cato who taught
"agriculture to speak Latin."
Cato began life as a farmer but shortly became an
outstanding leader of the metropolitan bar in Rome. He
also became a distinguished military leader in Spain
and Greece. He held many state offices and ended his
life in the Roman Senate denouncing Carthage and the
"degenerate" state of the times.
In his book he listed 120 plants including many
cultivars but this list lacked organization. Our chief
interest in his work consists in the picture it
conveys of the manners and customs of the period.
Roman Farm Management. The Treatises of
Cato and Varro by a Virginia Farmer, Macmillan
Co., 1918.
Cato, Marcus Porcius, On Agriculture
(De Re Rustica),
Harvard Univ. Press, 1934
Read portions on:
Grapes Insect pests
Pears Layering
Cabbage Nurseries
Olives Quinces
Crops for various soils Soils for various crops
Plant diseases Wines and vineyards
Equipment
Grafting
