40 VARRO ON FARMING [bk. 



carried thither, it is easily blown away. Moreover, 

 as it gets the sun all day long, it is healthier, for 

 any small insects which breed or are carried there 

 are either blown away or quickly perish from 

 drought. 

 4 Sudden rainstorms and rivers in flood are dan- 

 gerous to those who have their dwellings on low- 

 lying ground or in hollows; there is danger also 

 from sudden bands of robbers who can more easily 

 surprise them. For both these reasons high ground 

 is the safer. 



CHAPTER XIII 



THE FARM YARD AND HOUSE 



1 In the farmhouse, stables and cowsheds must be 

 made for greater warmth in winter. Produce, such 

 as wine and oil, must be kept in storehouses on the 

 ground floor (you must also make a place for the 

 oil and wine vessels) ; ^ dry produce, such as beans 

 and hay, must be stored in raised barns. You must 

 also provide a place for the slaves to occupy when 

 exhausted by work or cold or heat, where they can 

 stroll about or refresh themselves in comfort by 



2 sleep. The foreman's room should be close to the 

 door, and he should know who goes in or out at 



^ Item ut vasa, etc. The text as it stands in Keil is unin- 

 telligible to me. I have adopted Pontedera's conjecture, t'iem 

 uhi vasa vinaria et olearia esse possint. 



