§283. Preparation of the Grain.--In the earliest times the grain (_far_) had not been ground, but merely pounded in a mortar (Fig. 107). The meal was then mixed with water and made into a sort of porridge (_puls_, whence our word "poultice"), which long remained the national dish, something like the oatmeal of Scotland. Plautus (†184 B.C.) jestingly refers to his countrymen as "pulse-eaters." The persons who crushed the grain were called _pīnsitōrēs_ or _pīstōrēs_, whence the cognomen Pīsō (§273) is said to be derived, and in later times the bakers were also called _pīstōrēs_, because they ground the grain as well as baked the bread. In the ruins of bakeries we find mills as regularly as ovens. See the illustration in §285. [Illustration: FIGURE 108. SECTION OF MILL] [Illustration: FIGURE 109. A POMPEIAN MILL WITHOUT ITS FRAME-WORK] §284. The grinding of the grain into regular flour was done in a mill (_mola_). This consisted of three parts, the lower millstone (_mēta_), the upper (_catillus_), and the frame-work that surrounded and supported the latter and furnished the means to turn it upon the _mēta_. All these parts are shown distinctly in the cut (Fig. 108; see also Rich, Harper, and Smith under _mola_; Guhl and Koner, p. 774; Schreiber LXVII; Baumeister, p. 933), and require little explanation. The _mēta_ was, as the name suggests, a cone-shaped stone (_A_) resting on a bed of masonry (_B_) with a raised rim, between which and the lower edge of the _mēta_ the flour was collected. In the upper part of the _mēta_ a beam (_C_) was mortised, ending above in an iron pin or pivot (_D_) on which hung and turned the frame-work that supported the _catillus_. The _catillus_ (_E_) itself was shaped something like an hourglass, or two funnels joined at the neck. The upper funnel served as a hopper into which the grain was poured; the lower funnel fitted closely over the _mēta_, the distance between them being regulated by the length of the pin, mentioned above, according to the fineness of the flour desired. The mill without frame-work is shown in Fig. 109. [Illustration: FIGURE 110. HORSE AND MILL] §285. The frame-work was very strong and massive on account of the heavy weight that was suspended from it. The beams used for turning the mill were fitted into holes in the narrow part of the _catillus_ as shown in the cut. The power required to do the grinding was furnished by horses or mules attached to the beams (Fig. 110), or by slaves pushing against them. This last method was often used as a punishment, as we have seen (§§170, 148). Of the same form but much smaller were the hand mills used by soldiers for grinding the _frūmentum_ furnished them as rations. Under the Empire water mills were introduced, but they are hardly referred to in literature. [Illustration: FIGURE 111. BAKERY WITH MILLS]