Dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

AGRICULTURA. AGR1MENSORES. 71
recorded that an individual named Fulvius Hir- the work of a Scotch clergyman, who was well
pinus constructed, near Tarquinii, the first coch- acquainted with the practical details of agriculture
learium ever formed in Italy, a short time before and who had studied the Latin writers with great
the civil war between Caesar and- Pompey. (Varr. care, but whose scholarship was unfortunately so
iii. 14; Plin. H. N. ix. 56, xxx. 7, 15; comp. imperfect that he was in many instances unable to
Sallust. Jug. 93.) interpret correctly their expressions. Many useDormice (glires) were regarded as articles of ful and acute observations will be found in tlie
such luxury that their use as food was forbidden " Economie Politique des Romains " by Dureau
in the sumptnary laws of the more rigid censors; de la Malle, 2 tomes, 8vo. Paris, 1840, but he also
but, notwithstanding, a glirariuzn became a com- is far from being accurate, and he is embarrassed
mon appendage to a villa. It was a small space throughout by very erroneous views with regard to
of ground surrounded with a smooth wall of polished the rate of interest among the Romans, and by the
or stuccoed stone, planted with acorn-bearing trees singular misconception that from the expulsion of
to yield food, and containing holes (cavi) for rear- the kings until the end of the second Punic war,
ing the young. They were fattened up in earthen the law forbade any Roman citizen to possess more
jars (dolia) of a peculiar construction, upon chest- than 7 jugers of land. (Vol. ii. p. 2.) Those who
nuts, walnuts, and acorns. (Varr. iii. 15; Plin. desire to compare the agriculture of modern Italy
H. N. ix. 57; comp. Martial, iii. 58, xiii. 59; with ancient usages will do well to consult Arthur
Petron. 31; Amm. Marc. xxviii. 4.) Young's "Travels in Italy," and the Appendix of
Symonds; the " Agriculture Toscane " of J. C. L.
II. b. Piscinae. Simonde, 8vo. Ginhve, 1801; and "' Lettres 6crites
Lastly, we may say a few words upon artificial d'Italie a Charles Pictet par M. Lullin de Chafish ponds, which were of two kinds -freshwater teauvieux." 8vo. Paris. 2nd ed. 1820. [W. R.]
ponds (piscinae dulces), and salt water ponds AGRIMENSO'RES. At the foundation of a
(piscinae salsae s. maritimne). colony and the assignation of lands the auspicia
The former, from an early period, had frequently were taken, for which purpose the presence of the
been attached to ordinary farms, and proved a augur was necessary. But the business of the
source of gain; the latter were unknown until the augur did not extend beyond the religious part of
last half century of the republic, were mere ob- the ceremony: the division and measurement of
jects of luxury, and were confined for the most part the land were made by professional measurers.
to the richest members of the community, to many These were the Finitores mentioned in the early
of whom, such as Hirrus, Philippus, Lucullus, and writers (Cic. c. Rullum, ii. 13; Plautus, Poenulus,
Hortensius, who are sneeringly termed piscinarii Prolog. 49), who in the later periods were called
by Cicero, they became objects of intense interest. Mensores and Agrimensores. The business of a
These receptacles were constructed at a vast cost Finitor could only be done by a free man, and
on the sea-coast, a succession being frequently the honourable nature of his office is indicated by
formed for different kinds of fish, and the most the rule that there was no bargain for his services,
ingenious and elaborate contrivances provided for but he received his pay in the form of a gift.
the admission of the tide at particular periods, and These Finitores appear also to have acted as judices,
for regulating the temperature of the water; large under the name of arbitri, in those disputes about
sums were paid for the stock with which they boundaries which were purely of a technical, not a
were filled, consisting chiefly of mullets and mu- legal, character.
raenae; and a heavy expense was incurred in Under the empire the observance of the auspices
maintaining them, for fishermen were regularly in the fixing of camps and.-the.establishment of
employed to catch small fry for their food, and military colonies was less regarded, and the pracwhen the weather did not permit such supplies to tice of the Agrimensores was reduced to a system
be procured, salt anchovies and the like were by Julius Frontinus, Hyginus, Siculus Flaccus, and
purchased in the market. For the most part they other Gromatic writers, as they are sometimes
yielded no return wahatever, during the lifetime at termed. As to the meaning-.of the term Gromai
least of the proprietors, for the inmates were re- mad the derived words, see Facciolati, Lexicon, and
garded as pets, and frequently became so tame as the Index to Goesius, Rei Agrariae Scriptosres.
to answer to the voice and eat from the hand. The teachers of geometry in the large cities of the
When sales did take place the prices were very empire used to give practical instruction on the
high. Thus Hirrus, who, on one occasion, lent system of gromatice. This practical geometry was
Caesar 6,000 muraenae, at a subsequent period one of the liberalia studia (Dig. 50. tit. 13. s. 1);
obtained 4,000,000 of sesterces (upwards of but the professors of geometry and the teachers of
30,0001.) for an ordinary villa, chiefly in conse- law were not exempted from the obligation of being
quence of the ponds and the quantity of fish they tutores, and from other such burdens (Frag. Yat.
contained. ~ 150), a fact which shows the subordinate rank
A certain Sergius Orata, a short time before the which the teachers of elementary science then held.
Marsic War, formed artificial oyster-beds (vivaria The Agrimensor could mark out the limits of
ostrearum) from which he obtained a large revenue. the centuriae, and restore the boundaries where they
He first asserted and established the superiority of were confused, but he could not assign (assignare)
the shell-fish from the Lucrine Lake, which have without a commission from the emperor. Military
always maintained their celebrity, although under persons of various classes are also sometimes menIthe empire less esteemed than those from Britain. tioned as practising surveying, and settling disputes
(Varr. R. R. iii. 17; Colum. viii. 16, 17; Plin. about boundaries. The lower rank of the profesH. N. ix. 54i 55a; Cic. ad Att. i. 19.) sional Agrimensor, as contrasted with the Finitor
Of moderm treatises connected with the subject of earlier periods, is shown.by the fact that in the
of this article the most important is Dickson's imperial period there might be a contract with an
" Husbandry of the Ancients," 2 vols. 8vo. 1788, Agrimensor for paying him for his services.
4