Chapter 204 Teaching Farming

Today is the first time that the Ministry of Agriculture has used the experimental field to teach the people how to farm, so it attaches special importance to it. Volenus personally went to the site to organize it, dividing all the people who came to learn into dozens of groups, so that they can have rich farming experience. Agricultural ministers, formal ethnic groups or reserve ethnic groups gave explanations and demonstrations, and he himself also served as the explanation for one of the groups.

"Do you know why the fields must be plowed before planting wheat?" Volenus asked the "students" at the edge of the field.

The "students" who studied in his group all had extraordinary identities. There were Spukala and Tetilips, the heroes of the bridge construction, Pecot, the fighting hero, and Pheasalus, the commander of the legion, and Tuolips. Lirugo, Carminus, and the chief officers of various departments, Pigris, Horace, Carina, etc.

Even Roman veterans like Frontinus, Quintus, Lebilus, etc. who had farming experience came to the experimental field, because they all had the experience of failed farming, and now there are no slaves. They need help, but also have to study hard on their own. In their eyes, Volenus, the chief officer of the Department of Agriculture, is the "farming expert" in the tribe.

Almost all the students in his group were prominent figures in the tribe, and Volenus couldn't explain it himself even if he didn't want to.

"It should be... it can make the soil looser and more conducive to the growth of wheat... it can also dig out the eggs and pests hidden in the soil and throw them away or kill them to prevent them from harming the wheat seedlings... and , you can dig out the roots of these weeds and throw them away to prevent them from competing for land with wheat..." Quintus said after considering.

"Quintus, what you said is very good. Is there anything else?" Volenus asked.

"That's all I know."

"What about you?" Volenus looked at the others.

"Like Quintus, that's all I know."

"Don't look at me. I've never farmed before and I don't know anything about this."

"I have planted it before, but we did it simply. We just dug a hole, sprinkled some seeds, watered it, and then left it alone. It was very simple, not that complicated, and of course the harvest was very small."

…

These tribal leaders who were reused by Maximus because of their various talents did not know much when it came to farming, which gave Volenus a sense of superiority.

Of course, it was impossible for him to show this emotion, but he coughed lightly and said seriously: "The leader once said that wheat seedlings, like people, need to breathe. If the land is too compact, it will not only be difficult for wheat seedlings to breathe, but also Moreover, it is difficult for its roots to penetrate the soil tightly, and its growth will not be very good, so we need to turn the soil to loosen it, which is very important.

Some soils are very sticky, and some soils are very hardened. After plowing, you need to break the hardened soil, but this is very time-consuming. The Skordisqi people taught us a way to mix a small amount of lime powder into the soil. It can solve this problem and reduce pests in the soil... Our Ministry of Agriculture is going to trial this method first. If it really works, we will vigorously promote it to the people. The land allocated to the ethnic minority people is all good land. The Ministry of Agriculture has carefully inspected it. There is no problem of over-sticky or hardened soil, so there is no need to worry about it for the time being.

Quintus was right, plowing the soil would also remove weed roots and insect eggs. Especially insect eggs, they are buried deep in the ground and we cannot find them. Some of the insects hatched from the eggs feed on the roots of wheat seedlings. When they grow up, crawl out of the ground, they will continue to gnaw on the wheat seedlings, but we have to It's very difficult to catch, so dig them out of the ground when they're still eggs and the winter cold can kill them.

In the future, you can raise some chickens and ducks, drive them to the fields after plowing, and let them peck the insect eggs that are plowed out, and you can also make them grow fat... In addition to the three points mentioned by Quintus In addition, the turned soil is more conducive to the growth of wheat seedlings after being exposed to the sun, and it is also conducive to the penetration of the fertilizer we apply... Therefore, it is necessary to plow the land before planting, and it must be plowed deeply, and the effect is will be good. "

"But it would take a lot of effort to plow all these dozens of acres of land!" Pecot exclaimed. He had the most land and felt a little panicked.

"If you use manpower to turn the soil, let alone dozens of acres, even one acre will tire you out, so it's best to use livestock and farming tools." Volenus pointed to a cow that was eating weeds in the field. Zhuang Niu said: "You can use horses or oxen to plow the land. Horses are faster, so the plowing speed is faster, but oxen are stronger and more obedient. They can feed themselves by eating grass. Our tribe is short of horses now. But there are more than a hundred oxen, so it is more convenient to use oxen for farming——"

"Can I use a donkey?" Pheasalus asked.

"Donkeys can also work, but donkeys have a stubborn temper and are not easy to control. Moreover, donkeys are relatively weak. To pull our plow, we have to rest after plowing for a while, which is more time-consuming." Volenus said, looking to the side After waving, two Skordisqi tribesmen laboriously carried a wooden frame to his side.

This wooden frame is made of four pieces of wood nailed into a "mouth" shape. One long piece of wood extends upward, one long piece of wood stretches forward, a short piece of wood serves as a fixation in the middle, and the other short piece of wood runs diagonally downward. , the end is covered with a polished black and shiny iron tool. This iron tool is in the shape of a sheet, with a pointed end and a round body.

Volenus patted the wooden frame and said: "This is the agricultural tool used by the Segestica people to plow the fields. They learned it from the Skodisci. It is not much different from our Italian plows, except that ——”

He kicked the short piece of wood at the bottom with his foot: "Italian plows are all made of wood, and this one is covered with iron. Although it is heavier, we have repeatedly tried to use it to plow the fields, and it is better." It saves effort and plows deeper...Pu Luo, please demonstrate it to everyone."

"Okay!" A lean old man came over.

Everyone at the field recognized him. This old man from Egypt was one of the first slaves to join the baggage team. He had been helping Volenus run around and do some chores.

Pu Luo first brought over the strong cow in the field, stroked the cow's head and said something. The cow stood obediently and did not move. Then he put the wooden plow yoke around the cow's neck, and then put the plow yoke on the cow's neck. Two ropes were pulled out and tied tightly to the two long logs of the iron plow.

Then, he stepped on the iron plowshare to make it penetrate deeply into the ground. Then he held the plow handle with his right hand and held the bullwhip in his left hand. He threw it into the air, making a crisp "snap" sound, and said in his mouth Shouted: "Let's go!"

The ox obediently stepped forward, and the rope of the yoke was straightened, giving the iron plow a strong power. The plowshare broke through the ground and slid forward. The soil surged up along the plow surface, and then slid to both sides...

Pu Pu held on to the wooden plow and moved forward, occasionally shouting. Only when he saw the strong ox wandering in the wrong direction, he lightly whipped it with a whip to get it back on track... After a while, he plowed a hundred meters. The distance seems quite easy.

"Using a plow is like driving a pack car. You need to pay attention to two points." Volenus explained from the side: "One is to hold the plow well, and the other is to control the direction of the cattle. As long as these two points are done well Yes, farming is very easy.

In addition, there are two points to pay special attention to! The fields must be cleared of stones, otherwise the plowshare will be damaged! People must walk behind the pears, otherwise they will be in trouble if their feet are injured by the plow..."

Seeing that everyone was listening attentively, Volenus said: "Next, you will personally try out how to plow the fields. Puro and I will be there to guide you."

"I'll come first! I'll come first!" Pheasalus couldn't wait to run into the field.

"Volenus, now the people don't have any cattle or horses. When it's time to plow the fields, should our Ministry of Agriculture lend them to them and charge some fees?" Quintus asked.

"I have already mentioned this matter to the leader. What the leader means is that there are only so many cattle, horses and donkeys. Many tribesmen are plowing fields for the first time. There are so many fields, and some of them are wasteland. They lend cattle to the tribesmen back and forth. It is too time-consuming for the people to use it, and they are afraid that the spring sowing time will come before the land is finished, so the leader decided to let the reserve people use oxen and horses this time to help the official people plow the land... It is estimated that in The leader will bring up this matter at the political hall meeting tomorrow.”

"The leader's decision is so right, I agree!" Pigris said first.

"I agree!" Carminus followed up and said: "These livestock were obtained by everyone's joint efforts, and they should help everyone get through the initial difficulties. It is too disrespectful to always ask for money!"

…

Just as everyone was talking about it, Feisanus' excited shout came from the field: "Brothers, look how I'm doing with my plowing!" Bian yelled proudly, and swung the whip in his hand violently in excitement.

There was a "pop" sound, and then the cow let out a long "moo" sound, spread its hooves and ran forward.

The iron plow suddenly pulled forward, and Pheasalus was caught off guard. He immediately fell to the ground like a dog chewing mud.

"Hahaha……"

…………………………………………………………………………

"Chief, there was another fight today. It was a conflict between the Segstikas and the Skodisci..." Legal officer Sidonios said to Maxim in the lobby of the main house of Snodia. Si report.

"Has the perpetrator been caught?" Maximus asked with a frown.

"They were all caught and tried and punished. But even though we have revised the law and increased the punishment, from just sticks at first to now extending the time for the offender to become a formal ethnic citizen, there is still no such conflict. Significantly reduced.

According to the words of the Skodischi tribesmen who committed the crime, they had suffered too much from the Pannoni in the past, and they originally had hatred in their hearts. As long as those Pannoni showed a look of contempt, It will make their anger explode, and then they will not be able to care about anything..."