der to destroy which taste, they are obliged to make at the same time use of acids, such as the sulphuric, muriatic, and nitric acids: others employ the crystals of verdigris, or radical vinegar (acetous acid) distilled from crystals of verdigris; or the acid from iron or copper vitriol. These ingredients destroy, in some measure, the bad taste, without increasing the quantity of spirit: for the purpose of attaining the latter end, they have recourse to oleaginous aromatics in general and vegetable oils, which possess an uncommon power to augment the quantity of spirit; but to produce this effect they must be mixed with the liquor before the fermentation: for this purpose they are triturated with a little sugar in a mortar, and by this means they would considerably retard the fermentation; but the use thereof, in order to derive from them all possible profit, requires a peculiar mode of conducting the vinous fermentation. When the distillers wish to give their spirits a vinous taste, they digest strong nitric acid with alcohol for some time, and distil it afterwards, which produces a dulcified nitrous acid, and mix a little of this acid with their spirit, which gives it a flavour resembling that of French spirit of wine.

These are the principal means which the distillers generally make use of: they are very seldom employed in Holland, and by no means necessary for the interest of the distiller. Their mode of proceeding yields spirit of a pleasant and agreeable flavour, and in great quantity; and no artifice can ever equal the taste and flavour which a slow operation, in every stage and part of the process, naturally imparts to the spirit. I must suppose that these practices are more common, if not generally resorted to, in this country; but as chemistry furnishes a great many simple means to discover the alkali and acids in the liquor, the officer whom government employs for the purpose cannot but find it a very easy task to detect the fraud; for example, solutions of bodiés precipitated by alkalis, such as vitriol of iron, but chiefly alum mixed with small quantities with a little of this spirit, will immediately show the presence of alkalis by a precipitate, and the change which acids produce in blue vegetable colours will prove their presence. A bit of paper tinged with litmus put into the

spirit, tincture or syrup of violets, into which are poured a few drops of the spirit, manifest immediately the presence of these acids. Severe punishments inflicted on these fraudulent distillers, who sacrifice to their avarice the health of their fellow-citizens, will go a great way in preventing these frauds; and they would doubtless cease entirely if the duty were laid on the product of the labour of the distillers, that is, on the spirit, or to be paid immediately from the malt or corn, as is done in Bremen, where the distiller pays the duty at the mill, to which he carries his corn to be ground for the use of his distillery, and thus is exempt from all constraint during the whole course of the opera

tion.

The only point which I have yet to consider is, whether there does not exist a method to accelerate considerably the distillation without running any danger of experiencing these bad effects. To this I cannot but answer in the affirmative: you have only to substitute shallow caldrons in the room of deep ones; their diameter must be larger, and they must have a concave bottom. I have made several experiments with a caldron constructed in this manner, and the result was always a purer spirit, and in, a greater quantity, with a saving of ten-twelfths of fuel. The reason is this, that a large surface of liquor being exposed to heat, the liquor is heated in a more speedy and even manner in all its parts by a less brisk and strong fire, and evaporates with uncommon rapidity, and can neither contract an empyreumatic taste, nor can much essential oil rise and mix with the spirit, as the power of the fire must be greatly inferior to that which is employed under a common still, where the lower parts of the liquor experience a violent fire before the higher parts are sufficiently heated, and wherein the liquor continues a longer time exposed to the action of the fire, in proportion as the evaporation proceeds more slowly; and this diminution of heat is perhaps the reason why more spirit is obtained, because some part of the finest spirit cannot fail to evaporate when the distillation must be pushed on by a brisker fire; but in this case it is unavoidably necessary that the fire-place be constructed on the principle above described. For the same reasons it is obvious, that it is very profitable to effect the distillation in small caldrons, especially if they are of the

common cylindric form, both in regard to the quantity and quality of the spirit, and also with respect to the fuel: you will not, for instance, draw so good a spirit, and the same quantity, in a caldron of eighty gallons, as in two of forty each; the latter will be emptied twice, and oftener, in the same time which is necessary to empty the large caldron once, and with less fuel, and thus the produce of these two small caldrons will be double of that of a large one in a given time. Before I conclude I must make this observation, that it is extremely easy to make the spirit appear less strong at the proof with the hydrometer. All bodies which are easily dissolved in spirits, and augment their specific gravity, produce that effect; and the sulphurous acid possesses the property in a peculiar degree. Before you subject the spirit to the proof with the hydrometer, you should endeavour to discover the presence of this acid by the proofs above mentioned; and every distiller of fine liquors knows perfectly well, that as soon as he mixes a little sugar with his liquor to sweeten it, the hydrometer loses its effect; but it is extremely difficult to make it appear stronger than it actually is at the proof with the hydrometer. This end cannot be attained but by mixing it with bodies of less specific gravity, such as ether, which, on account of its high price, will not be made use of. I say, at the proof with the hydrometer; for this is widely different from the phial proof, because, on mixing a little oil with spirit, so much diluted by water that no more bubbles appear, they may be immediately made to reappear. The petty innkeepers in Holland are extremely expert in this trick; they commonly employ oil of olives, poppies, nuts, or almonds, and in general all sorts of oils, which do not give the spirit a bad, taste. These frauds are discovered by diluting these spirits with a great quantity of water, when the oil immediately appears on the surface of the liquid. Before I conclude, I shall here touch upon the question, Whether the residue of the distillation can serve to nourish and fatten cattle? On analysing corn, we find that it consists of an earthy or mucilaginous and a saccharine matter, and of oil and salt. If we further consider, what I have already frequently mentioned, that the saccharine matter, which exclusively yields the brandy, and that the mucilaginous and earthy matter, together with the salt, remain untouched in the

residue, it will not be doubted that this mucilage with the salt cannot but be very nourishing. Experience has proved, in Holland, that this residue, which is there called toefol-drank, possesses very nutritious virtues; the number of pigs which the distillers yearly draw from Westphalia exceeding all belief. They are fattened in a very short time for the use of the navy and merchants, who employ them on board ships for the subsistence of the seamen, who are not supplied there with beef as they are in this kingdom: while other distillers fatten with this residue bullocks and cows; and it is a circumstance worthy of notice, that. cows fed with this residue give a considerable quantity of milk. It is thus that the Dutch distiller draws some profit from every thing; nothing is lost with him, and this economy is in general the cause of the low price of geneva.

REMARKS.

Mr. Crookens appears to be ignorant of the utility of charcoal in depriving still burnt liquor of empyreuma, and supposes that this is only to be done by noxious ingredients; and as he declines to detail the mode pursued by the Dutch distillers in procuring and preserving their ferments, under the pretence that it is not necessary to the elucidation of the question before him, (although it is clear, that if any part of the process required explanation, that one did, upon which depends so much of the success of the whole operation,) the editor in order to supply the deficiency, has consulted another authority,* a practical distiller, whose work bears every mark of experience.

"By ferments, we mean any substance, which, being added to any rightly disposed fermentable liquor, will cause it to ferment much sooner and faster than it would of itself; and, consequently, render the operation shorter; in contradiction to those abusively called so, which only correct some fault in the liquor, or give it some flavour. Hence we see, that the principal use of ferments is to save time, and make dispatch in business; whilst they

*The Complete Distiller. By A. Cooper. London, 1850.

only occasionally, and, as it were by accident, give a flavour, and increase the quantity of spirit. And, accordingly, any fermentable liquor, may, without the addition of any ferment, by a proper management of heat alone, be brought to ferment, and even more perfectly, though much slower, than with their assistance.

These ferments are, in general, the flowers and fæces of all fermentable liquors, generated and thrown to the surface, or deposited at the bottom, either during the act of fermentation, or after the operation is finished.

Two of these are procurable in large quantities, and at a small expense; we mean beer-yeast and wine-lees; a prudent and artificial management, or use of which, might render the business of distillation much more facile, certain and advantageous.

It has been esteemed very difficult, and a great discouragement in the business of distillation, to procure a sufficient stock of these materials, and preserve them at all times ready for use. The whole secret consists in dexterously freeing the matter from its superfluous moisture; because in its fluid state, it is subject to a farther fermentation, which is productive of corruption; in which state it becomes intolerable fœtid and cadaverous.

The method of exposing it to the air till it has acquired a proper consistence, is subject to great inconveniencies; and so peculiar and careful a management necessary, that it rarely succeeds.

The best way, therefore, is to press it very slowly and gradually, in a thick, close, and strong canvass bag, after the manner of wine-lees, by the tail-press, till it becomes a kind of cake; which, though soft, will easily snap, or break dry and brittle between the fingers. Being reduced to that consistence, and closely packed up in a tight cask, it will remain a long time uncorrupted, preserve its fragrancy, and consequently, fit to be used for fermenting the finest liquor.

The wash being brought to a tepid, or lukewarm state in the backs, a proper quantity of a good conditioned ferment is added; but if the ferment be solid, it should be previously broken into small pieces, and gently thinned either with the hand, whisp, &c. in a little of the tepid liquor. A complete and uniform solution, however, should not be attempted, because that would greatly