Flax is mostly sown in sandy[812] soils, and after a single ploughing only. There is no plant that grows more rapidly[813] than this; sown in spring,[814] it is pulled up in summer, and is, for this reason as well, productive of considerable injury to the soil.[815] There may be some, however, who would forgive Egypt for growing it, as it is by its aid that she imports the merchandize of Arabia and India; but why should the Gallic provinces base any of their reputation upon this product?[816] Is it not enough, forsooth, for them to be separated by mountains from the sea, and to have, upon the side on which they are bounded by the Ocean, that void and empty space, as it is called?[817] The Cadurci,[818] the Caleti, the Ruteni,[819] the Bituriges,[820] and the Morini,[821] those remotest of all mankind, as it is supposed, the whole of the Gallic provinces, in fact, are in the habit of weaving sail-cloth; and at the present day our enemies even, who dwell beyond the Rhenus, have learned to do the same; indeed, there is no tissue that is more beautiful in the eyes of their females than linen. I am here reminded of the fact, that we find it stated by M. Varro, that it is a custom peculiar to the family of the Serrani[822] for the women never to wear garments of linen. In Germany it is in caves[823] deep under-ground that the linen-weavers ply their work; and the same is the case, too, in the Alian territory, in Italy, between the rivers Padus and Ticinus, the linen of which holds the third rank among the kinds manufactured in Europe, that of Sætabis[824] claiming the first, and those of Retovium[825] and of Faventia, in the vicinity of Alia, on the Æmilian Way, the second, place in general estimation. The linens of Faventia are preferred for whiteness to those of Alia, which are always un-bleached: those of Retovium are remarkable for their extreme fineness, combined with substance, and are quite equal in whiteness to the linens of Faventia; but they have none of that fine downy nap[826] upon them, which is so highly esteemed by some persons, though equally disliked by others. A thread is made, too, from their flax, of considerable strength, smoother and more even, almost, than the spider’s web; when tested with the teeth, it emits a sharp, clear twang; hence it is, that it sells at double the price of the other kinds.