436 
On the Cultivation of the Vine? 
Pliny condemns this use of wax, because, be says, it 
made the wine turn sour : JSPam ceram accipientibus vi 
sis , compertum est vina acescere. 
Whatever may be the nature of the vessels destined to 
contain wine, a celler sheltered from all accidents must be 
chosen. 
1st, The exposure of the cellar must be northern : its 
temperature is then less variable than when the apertures 
are turned towards the south. 
2d, It must be of such a depth that the temperature may- 
be constantly the same. In cellis quce non satis prof undo® 
sunt diurni cal oris participes jiunt ; vina non diu sub sis- 
tunt Integra, says Hoffman. 
3d, The moisture in it must be constant, without being 
too great : excess of moisture renders the papers, corks, 
casks, &c. mouldy. Dryness desiccates the casks, and 
makes them leak. 
4th, The light ought to be very moderate : a strong 
light dries $ darkness, almost absolute, rots. 
5th, The cellar must be sheltered from shocks. Violent 
agitation, or that shaking occasioned by the rapid passage 
of carriages along the street, agitates the lees, mixes them 
with the wine, where they are kept suspended, and occa 
sions acetiilcation. Thunder, and all movement occasioned 
by shocks, produce the same effect. 
6th, Green wood, vinegar, and all substances suscepti- 
ble of fermentation, must be kept at a distance from a 
cellar. 
7th. The reverberation of the sun, which, as it neces- 
sarily changes the temperature of a cellar, must also al- 
ter the properties of the wine preserved in it, ought also 
to be guarded against. 
A cellar, therefore, must be dug to the depth of some 
fathoms below ground ; its apertures ought to be directed 
Inwards the north f it must be at a, distance from the street, 
