BOOK XIV. XXVII. 133-136 



its windows ought to face north-east, or at all events 

 east ; dunghills and tree-roots must be a long way off, 

 and all objects with a strong smell should be avoided, 

 as it very easily passes into wine — particularly there 

 must be no fig-trees or wild figs near ; also spaces 

 must be left between the jars, to prevent taints 

 passing from one to the other, as wine is always Hable 

 to very rapid infection. Moreover (these instruc- 

 tions proceed) the shape of the jars is important : 

 pot-belHed and broad ones are not so good. Imme- 

 diately after the rising of the Dog-star they should 

 be coated with pitch, and afterwards washed with 

 sea-water or water with salt in it, and then sprinkled 

 with ashes of brushwood or else with potter's earth, 

 and then rubbed clean and fumigated with myrrh, as 

 should frequently be done with the wine-cellars also. 

 Weak vintages shoukl be kept in jars sunk in the 

 ground, but jars containing strong wines should be 

 exposed to the air. The jars must never be filled 

 quite full, and the space above the surface of the 

 wine must be smeared with raisin-wine or boiled- 

 down must mixed with saffron or iris pounded 

 up with boiled must. The Hds of the jars should 

 be treated in the same way, with the addition of 

 mastich or Bruttian pitch. It is laid down that 

 jars must not be opened at mid-winter except on a 

 fine day, and not when a south wind is blowing, or 

 at a fuU moon. 



Flower ^ of wine forming is thought to be a good Tesis of 

 sign if it is white, but a bad sign if it is red, unless it ^^^^^- 

 is a red wine ; similarly it is a bad sign if the jars feel 

 warm to the touch, or if the Hds sweat. Wine that 

 quickly begins to form a flower and to develop an 

 odour is not going to keep. Also boiled-down must 



275 



