For uberius ... prouenit compare Caesar BG V 24 'eo anno frumentum in Gallia propter siccitates angustius prouenerat'.
13. MITTERE AD HVNC CARMEN. Burman printed without comment MITTERE CARMEN AD HVNC, the reading of Heinsius' fragmentum Louaniense. It seems to be a mere normalization of the hyperbaton; the elimination of the elision (mittere ad) may have been a factor as well.
13. AD HVNC indicates that Ovid cannot have addressed these words in the first instance directly to Severus, but must here be recollecting his earlier thoughts. I have therefore placed the line in quotation marks.
15. NEC TAMEN. 'This was the principal reason; a second reason, however, was that ...'
15. INGENIVM = 'poetic talent', as often. Compare viii 66, xvi 2, Tr III vii 47, EP II ii 103, EP II v 21 (quoted at 20 uena pauperiore), EP II v 26, and EP III iv 11.
15. RESPONDET introduces the agricultural image of 18 'sed siccum sterili uomere litus aro', for the word here means 'yield'. OLD respondeo 8c cites for the literal sense Virgil G II 63-64 'truncis oleae melius, propagine uites / respondent', Columella II 1 3 'humus ... magno faenore ... colono respondet', Col III 3 4; for a transferred use see Sen Ep LXXXI 1 'non respondeant [sc beneficia] potius quam non dentur'.
16. SICCVM ... LITVS ARO. Proverbial for a useless activity. See Otto harena 4 and compare Tr V iv 47-48 'plena tot ac tantis referetur gratia factis, / nec sinet ille [Ovid] litus arare boues'.
Sterili is transferred by hypallage from litus; siccum serves no purpose beyond providing a balancing epithet.
17. VENAS EXCAECAT, the reading of most codices, is obviously correct as against the VENAS CVM CAECAT of BCHL. Ovid uses excaecare again at Met XV 270-72 'hic fontes natura nouos emisit, at illic / clausit ... flumina prosiliunt aut excaecata [uar exsiccata] residunt'.
17. IN VNDIS is probably corrupt; if it is retained, from the context it must mean 'in the water of springs' (Professor A. Dalzell). Williams suggests 'in the case of water', marking the analogy with pectora sic mea sunt limo uitiata malorum in 19.