In the same way Mr. J.A.  Despeissis, of the New South Wales Department of Agriculture, also insists upon cellar cleanliness.  And it would seem, indeed, that there is ample justification for his deprecatory remarks.  It appears that on several occasions he has noticed fowls and pigeons roosting in the wine cellars.  Now, as he pungently observes, the wine cellar was never intended for this sort of thing.  Another way of putting the matter would be to point out what a mad thing it would be to use a fowl house as a cellar.  Moreover, he gives minute directions for disinfecting the cellar, in order to destroy any germs or minute organisms which may be lurking in crevices or in odd corners.  This is best accomplished by burning some sulphur in earthenware pots, distributed over various parts of the cellar; previously seeing that all the windows and gaps are rendered air-tight by means of bagging.  The fumes should be left in the cellar—­for a day or two, after which the doors are opened, and a free current of air allowed to sweeten the whole place.

Moreover, a model cellar is necessarily a very elaborate affair, considering it is the laboratory, so to speak, in which the wine is created.  A model cellar would consist of the following six compartments:—­

* 1.  The section for the first treatment of the grape. * * 2.  The fermentation department. * * 3.  The section for the preparation and storing, of the new wine. * * 4.  The underground cellar for the storage of the matured wine. * * 5.  The bottle department. * * 6.  The distillation department and for the utilization of the refuse of wine. *

The cellar of Mr. Henley, near the Ovens River, in Victoria, is very complete.  It is provided with a steam lift, a steam crushing machine, and a steam pump, while there is perfect ventilation and a uniform temperature.  His cellar is divided into three compartments:  the fermenting house in the middle, the cellar for the new wine, and the cellar for the old wine.  The building is 83 feet by 80 feet, built of brick, with double walls 9 inches thick outside and 4 inches inside, and between the walls there is 4 1/2 inches of space.  The temperature on the hottest days in the summer never surpasses 80 degrees Fahrenheit; and, lastly, the floors, both of the cellars and the fermenting house, are cemented for the purpose of absolute cleanliness.

THE MAKING OF THE WINE—­THE GATHERING OF THE GRAPE.

At the very beginning one of the chief matters to be looked to is the selection of the time at which the grapes should be picked.  The proper period is that when the interior of the grape contains its principal components, the sugar and the acids, in the right proportions.  In the warmer districts the grapes are sometimes allowed to become too ripe.  In such a case there would be an excess of sugar and a deficiency of acid, and a regular fermentation would be impossible.  On the other hand, it will be