BOOK ONE.

...a stable or non-damaging road: and so that in order to gather the fruits, one is not forced always to lease the domain to a farm To "lease the domain" refers to tenant farming, where the owner does not manage the land directly., but rather when one wishes, to be able comfortably to keep it in one's own hand, having it cultivated by domestic servants. That it should also not be totally devoid of wood, but that at least there should be some of some kind to help with heating, until such time as one has planted it there abundantly.

These are the necessary conveniences for rural management, some more, some less: but if they fail together, the stay in the fields can only be a prison, instead of the pleasant dwelling we seek. It would also be evidence of little judgment, either to purchase notorious inconveniences and losses, or to persist in a pernicious struggle.

The knowledge of the air and the water, although among the most important articles, is of greater ease than any of the others. Certainly, nothing could be greater than that which, according to second causes In Renaissance philosophy, "second causes" refers to the laws of nature or physical processes through which God (the First Cause) operates., increases or diminishes the life of man, as common sense shows us such faculty belongs to these two elements. And concerning the ease of recognizing them, there is nothing easier: because without giving yourself other trouble, it is only necessary to frequent the place where you desire to lodge for only three days in each season, to resolve yourself regarding the quality of the air and water: thus in one year you will easily come to the end of such an important matter. No place can be called healthy if it is not so continually; there being some places healthy in Winter that are not so in Summer; others in Spring, but not in Autumn. Added to this, in the faces of the inhabitants, one can read somewhat the quality of these two Elements: those who are nourished in places where the air and water are bad are generally not well-favored, nor of good color, nor of a clear voice. For experience refutes the opinion of Pliny Gaius Plinius Secundus, or Pliny the Elder, author of the Roman Natural History., who says the quality of the air is not recognizable by the disposition of men, who always find themselves well under whatever air they are, even if pestilential, having become accustomed to it.

Regarding the site and quality of the terroir The characteristic soil and climate of a specific place., reason dictates that if a hillside is lacking, one should settle on the plain rather than the mountain. In the absence of perfectly qualified earth, one should choose heavy soil rather than light: hard rather than soft: strong rather than weak: humid rather than dry: ashy, tanned, reddish rather than white, yellow, or red: gravelly rather than stony: clayey rather than sandy; because of the choice there is between wheat and rye (the former grain tolerating clay, and the latter, sand). And if it happens that you have fat water original: "l'eau grasse," referring to nutrient-rich water from streams that carry silt or organic matter, ideal for irrigation. at your command to water such land, prize it above all others: Because with such a benefit, you will supply the defects and natural imperfections of the soil: from which, by means of good water, you will make meadows and arable lands at will: plowing and clearing the one and the other alternately by years, to always have new lands and meadows, and by this management, each year an abundance of grains and hay. In short, whatever site and quality of earth, however stubborn it may be, by the favor of fertile water, it will be accommodated, and its natural harshness much tamed, so much is such water of profitable revenue; nonetheless with all the more efficacy the hotter the sky of the region is, for the purpose of irrigation.

For its quantity

To state here the terms and limits of the domain is not appropriate, since it...