>Does anyone know if Virgil in the Georgics (or anywhere else) referred to >that kind of manure we today call 'compost'? And if so what terms(s) he >used for it (not 'compositus' I am sure). > >My reason for asking is that I am trying to find out when the practice of >composting vegetable waste began. > >Many thanks, > >Patrick Roper
I looked up "compost" in my old Dr Smith's Smaller English-Latin Dictionary (1906) and was directed to the entry for "manure" -- which in itself suggests that, as far as Smith knew, vegetable composting didn't happen. The entry for manure as a noun starts of course with stercus and ends with "fimus: v. DUNG," but in between comes "laetamen, -inis, n. (of any kind): Pall. (rare)." Palladius 1.23 (Lewis & Short s.v. laetamen) apparently refers to goose droppings; but L&S also refer to Pliny the Elder, 18.16.40.141, where a grain called secale (which has been identified as both rye and "black spelt"), supposedly called "asia" in Piedmont (Pliny refers to the Taurini "under the Alps," but I wonder whether this is not also where the practice of using it to enrich soil arose), which even when mixed with regular spelt is still hard on the tummy: but Pliny says at the end of the entry that "pro laetamine est," it takes the place of laetamen. I don't know whether it would be composted first in this role, or how one kept it from sprouting in the soil -- that may suggest that it was at least chopped up. I'm sure you've noticed the connection between "laetamen" and "quid faciat laetas segetes" ... James L. P. Butrica Department of Classics The Memorial University of Newfoundland St. John's NL A1C 5S7 (709) 737-7914 / (709) 753-5799 (home) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- To leave the Mantovano mailing list at any time, do NOT hit reply. Instead, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message "unsubscribe mantovano" in the body (omitting the quotation marks). You can also unsubscribe at http://virgil.org/mantovano/mantovano.htm#unsub
