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XXXII. A treatise onthe cultivation of thevine, and the method ofmaking winesVersion of record first published: 18 May2009

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~o8 On tb, Cultivation of tbt Pine, indleate that the acids have eonftant relations of quantity, in the neutral falts they form, with different alkaline or earthy bales. So that," if the fulphurie acid, for example, exiR in greater ro. portion in the . . . . . . fulphate of pota0n than in the ful- phate o~hme, the murlaUe acid, with which It may make an exchange of bale, will be found in the fame ratio of quantity in the muriate of lime and in th~ muriate of potafh; a conclufion that would not a~ree With the proportions which chemif~s have often attri.buted"to the oompo-nent parts of the different non-metaUic fal~s. Guyton has already made fe- veral very jut~ and important reflections on this fubje&, and quotes the obfervations of Richter, with whole work I am not yet acquainted. (./tnnales de Cbiraie, tom. xxv. p. ~9~.)

[ To be continued. ]

XXXlI. i/Treatife on the Cultivation of the Yine, and the Mabod of making l/Fines.

[Continued from p. t~ i . ]

On the Clar~fieatlon of Wines.

~d, . I ~ E s I D E S the operation of fulphurin wines, tI~ere • . . . g

ts another, no lefs effentlal, called clar~catzon. It eonfit2s, in the firft place, in drawing off the wine. from the l(ees, which requires certain preeautions~ and in then difen~ag~ng it from all the prineiples fufpended or weakly diffolvea in it ; fo that nothing may be retained but the fpiritous and incor- ruptible prinei-ples alone. There operations are even per- formed before that offulphuring, which is only a eontlnua- tlon of them.

The firf~ of there operations is caIIed drawing off, tranf- vafation, defecation. According to AriRotle, this o]?eratiot~ ought to be often repeated : quomamful~erveniente teflatls ca- lore folent f,~ces fubvert~, ac ira *)ina acefcere.

In the differentwine countries there are certain fixed pe- riods of the year for this operation, eftabl[~ed, no doubt, on the eont~ant and refpe&able obfervation of ages. At the Hermitage, the wine is drawn off in March and-September; in Champagne, on the I3th of O6~ober, about the xsth of February, and towards the end of March. . Dry, cold weather, is always ehofen for. this..po eration. It is certain that it is then only that the wine is m a good eon- dition. Damp weather) and foutherly wir~ds~ always render

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and the Method of making IVines. ao 9

wine turbid ; and eare muff be taken not to draw it offwhile there prevail.

Baeeius has left us rome exeellent precepts refpe&ing the rno~ favourable periods for the defecation of wine. l ie ad- vifes the weakeft wines, that is to fay, thole produeed from fat eovered foil, to be drawn off at the winter fi~lfiiee; mo- derate wines, in the fpring; and the mope generous, durin~ fummer. He gives as a ~eneral precept, not to draw otr wine but when-the north =wind prevails ; and he adds, that wine drawn off at the tim~ of full moon is converted into vinegar !

Tile manner of drawing off wine ean be a matter of indif- ference only to thole unacquainted with the effe& of atmo- fpherie air on that liquid : by opening the tap, or placing a cock at about four inches from the bottom of the ealk, the wine which runs off becomes a&ated, and determines move- ments in the lees ; fo that, under this double view, the wine aequires a difpofition to become four. A part of there in- conveniences has been obviated by drawing off the wine by means of a fyphon ; the motion is then gentler, and by thele means one may penetrate to any depth at pleafure, without agitating the lees.- But all there methods are attended with faults, which have been completely remedied by the help of a pump, the ufe of which has been ef~abtilhed in Champagne and other wine countries.

To a leather pipe, of from four to fix feet in length, and two inches in diameter, are adapted at each end wooden pipes, nine or ten inches in length, which decreafe in dia-

eter towards the ends, and are-fixed to the leather pipe.by means of a piece of packthread. The bung of the catk m- tended to be filled is taken out, and one of the extremities of the pipe is put into it. A good cock is fixed in the eafl~ to be emptied two or three it~ches from the bottom, and into this is inferted the other extremity of the pipe.

By this mechanifm alone, the half of the one carlo is emptied into the other: for this purpnfe nothing is neceffarv but to open the cock; and the remainder maybe made to'pals by a-very fimple procefs, for which a pair of bellows abou~t two (eet it{ length, comprehending the handles, and ten inches in breadth, are employed. The bellows foree the air through a hole formed at the anterior part of the fmall end : a fmall leather valve, placed below the finaIl hole, prevents the air from ruffling out when the bellows are opened, and to the extremity of, the bellows is adapted a perpendicular wooden pipe to comey the air downwards : this tune is fitted into the bunghole in fueh a manner~ that when the bellow~

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~IO On t]~e Cultivation of the Fi~e,

are worked, and the air forced out, a preffure is exercifed on the wine, by which mea.ns it is obliged to hTue from the one cafk, and to'afcend into the other. When a hiffin~ is heard at the cock, it is fpeedily flint : this is a fign that all' the wine has paffed.

Funnels of tin plate, the tubes of which are at leaft a foot and a half in length, that they may be immerfed in the liquor without eaufing any agitation, are alfo emplm,,.ed,

Drawing off wine feparates a part of its impurities, and eonfequemly removes rome of thole caufes which may alter the quality of it ; but there frill remain rome fufpended in the liquor, wffich cannc~t be caught but by the following opera- tions, which are called .finingof wine, or clar!fcalion-: Fifh- glue (ifinglafs) is almott always employed for (his purpof~ : it is unrolled with care~ and cut into fmall morfds, and it is then fteeped in a little wine, where it fwell.~ up, becomes loft, and forms a vifeid mat's, which is poured into the wine. The wine is then Rrongly agitated, after which it is left at rett. Some whip the wine, in ivhlch the glue has been diffolved, with a few twigs of birch, &c. and lay there means occafion a confidera.ble foam, which is caref~hlly removed. In all tales, a portion of the glue is. precipitated wiih the principles it has enveloped, and the hquor is drawn off when the de- pofit is formed.

In warm climates the ufe of glue is dreaded, and during fummer its place is fupplied by whites of eggs : ten or twelve are fufficient for half a muid~. The ez~z~ are firft beat up with a little wine ; they are then mixed ~ i t h the liquor in- tended to be clarified, and it is whipped with the fame care. It is poflible that gum arabic might be fubftituted fbr glue. Two ounces will be fufficient for f'our hundred pot~ of wine. It. is p.ut into the liquor in the form of a fine powder, and the hquor is then Rifted.

Wine muft not be drawn off till it is completely made : if the win.e is green and harfh, it mut~ be fuffered to ferment a fecond time on the lees, and mutt not be drawn off till to- "wards the middle of May ; it it continues green, it may even Be left till the end of June. It e~en fometimes h~ppens that it is-neceffary to convey back the wine to the lees, and to mix them fli'ongyl ", that. the wine may again acquire that movement of fermentatmn which is neceffary to bring it to perle&ion.

W e are told by Miller that when Spanifl~ wine becomes turbid by the lees, it may be clarified by the followin~ procefs: Put the whites of eggs, gray falt.~ and falt water, into a

" ~ .~l.bout a 7 2 gaAo~ catk Enlshlh. convenient

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and the Method of maUng 14/'ines. ~ i t

convenient veffel; fkim off the foam formed at the fur- face, and pour the eompofition into the wine caik from which a part of the liquor has been drawn off: at the end of two or three days the liquor becomes clear, and acquires an agreeable tafie. After being fuffered to remain at reft for about a week, it is then drawn off.

To revive claret injured by floating lees, two pounds of calcined, flints, well pounded, .ten or twelve eggs, and. a laree.~ handful of falt, ar6 beat up with two gallons of wine, which are then poured into the catk : two or three days after, the wine is drawn off.

There compofitions may he varied without end : fometimes t~arch is employed, and alfo rice, milk, and other fiJht~ances, more or lefs capable of developing the principles which render the wine turbid.

Wine is clarified alfo, and its bad tafle is often corre&ed, by making it di -o12 over fhavin~s of beech wood, previoufly ftripped of the bark, boded m water, and dried in the fun or in a i~ove : a quarter of a bufllel of there thavings will be fuf- ficient for a muid of wine. They produce a flight movement of fermentation in the liquor, which becomes clear in the eourfe of twenty-four hours.

The art of cutting wines (couper du vin), as it is called, (eorre6ting one wine by another--giving a body to thofe wines which are weak--colour to thole deflitute of i t--and an agreeable flavour to thofe which have none, or which

• have a bad one,) cannot be deferibed. In thefe cafes, the tafie, fight, and fmell rnut~ be confulted. The high]y va- riable nature of the fubf~anees employed muff be ftudied.: and it will be fuffieient for us to obferve, that in this part of the management of wines every thing confirms: Ifi, In fweetening wines, and rendering them faeeharine by the ad- dition of baked muff, concentrated with honey, fugar, or another wine of a very lufcious quality. 2d, Colouring the wine by an infufion of turnfole cakes, the juice of elder-ber- ries, logwood, and mixin~ it with dark, and, generally, eoarfe wine 3 d, Perfuming it-by fyrup of rafpberries, an i~fufion of the flowers of the vine fiafpended in the catk, tied up in a ba~, as is pra&ifed in Egypt, according to the teftimony of Hafi~lquitt.

In the Orleanois, and other countries, a wine is made called there vin rap~. It is prepared ftom picked grapes~ which are trod with wine or Icy; placing in the prefs a flra- turn of vine-twigs and another of grapes in alternate order, or by infufing the twigs in the wine. There wines a~e made to boil itrongly, and they are then employed to give firength

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1 ~ On the Cultivat;on of tbe Vine,

and eolour to the weak colourtefs wines of the cold and daml~ countries.

Though wine may work at all times, there are certain pe- riods of the year at Which fermentation feems to be renewed in a particular re'tuner ; and, above all, when the vine hegitrs to bud, when it is in flower, or when the grapes, begin to become colotlred. At there critical moments, wine ought to be watched with particular care ; and ewery movement of .fertn..entation may be prevented by drawing o~ and fulphur- lng it, as above indicated.

x~rhen wines are completely clarified, they are preferred in calks, or i'n glafs. The largeft veffels are the beft,, and they ought to be well elo, fed. Every body has heard of the enor- mous capacity of the tun of Heidelberg, in which wine is preferred for ~.hole centuries, always improving in quality ; and it is allowed that wine keeps better in very large calks than in fmall ones.

The choice cf fituation in which veffels containing win~ ought to be depofited, is not a matter of indifference : on this fubje& we find among the antients ut:ages and precepts which deviate for the moft partfi'om our common methods, but which, in part, are worthy of attention. The Romans drew off the wine from the calks to thut it up in large earthen veffels glazed in the infide : this is what they called difllzjio vinomm. It appears that for containing wines they had two forts of veffels, which they called ampbora and cadus. '/'he amphora was of a fquare or cubical form, had two handles, an-d contained twenty gallons of liquor. This veffel terminated in a narrow neck, which was flopped with pitch or plafier to prevent the wine from exhaling. This we learn from Petro~ius, who lays, _,4mpborw vitrew diligenter gypfatee allatee /unt, quarum iz cemzczbus ~zltacm erant alCfixa cure boc t#ulo--- Falernum opz- manure annorum centum." The cadus had the figure of the cone of a fir-tree; it contained one-half more than the amphora.

The moft generous-wines were expofed to the open air icz vefl~:ls well elofed ; the weakef~ were prud~:ntly placed under cover : Fort~us ,vinum rub dio locandum, tenuia veto )¢ub te~o rcponenda, cavendaque a comm~tione ac flrepitu ,viarum, lays Baceius. Galen obferves that the whole wine was put into bottles, after which it was expofed to a ftrong heat in elofe apartments ; and in fummer it was expofed to the fun on the tops of the houfes, that it might fooner become 'mellow, and fit t~r drinking. Omne vim~m in lagenas transfundi, poflea in clauf~ enbzcula multd fubjecTa d~amm~ reponi, et in teaa wdiu,n eejtate in/blari, unde c~tius m,zturcj'ca~t at ?otu£ idonea evad,mt.

That

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and the Melbod of making Wines. ~I~

*I'hat wine may keep, and improve in quality, it ought to /0e put into veffds depofited ill proper plaees, the choice of which is not a matter of indifference. Glafs veffels are the ~rnoft favourable, becaufe, betides their prelenting no principle foluble in wine, they fhelter it from the eonta& of the air, £mm moitture, and the principal variations of the atmo- (phere. Care mutt be taken to fhut there veffels very clofelv with good cork ; and to lay the bottles on their tides, that the cork may not dry, and faeilitate the aeeefs of the air. For the greater fafetv, the cork may be covered with a coating of wax, applied by ~ means ofa brufll; or the neck of the bottle may be immerfed in a mixture of inched wax, refin, and pitch. Some people cover the wine with a ftratum of oil: this procefs is recommended by Bacclus. The neck is then covered with an inverted glafs tumbler, a veflbl of tin plate, or any matter capable of preventing infe&s or mice from falling into the wine.

The vefl'els moflc generally employed for keeping wine are caflis, which for the mof~ part are made of oak. They vary in fize, and are known by different names, fueh as'pipest hogfheads, &e. The great inconvenience of calks is, that they not only prefent to the wine fub~ances which are foluble m it, but that they are affe&ed by the variations of the atmo- fphere, and afford a paffage both to the air which endeavours to efcape from them, and to that of the atmofphere which penetrates them.

Glazed earthen veffels have the advantage of retaining a more equal temperature ; but they are more or lefs porous, and at length (he wine in them mut~ become dry. In the ruins of Herculaneum vefl~ls were foul:~t in which the wine had dried. Rozier fpeaks of a fimilar urn difeovered in a vineyard in the territory of Vienne in Dauphiny, in a place where the palace of Pompey had formerly flood. The Ro- mans remedied the porofity of earthen velt~Is by covering them with wax on the intide, and pitch on the outride : they covered alfo the whole furfaee with wax cloths, which they applied with great eare.

Pliny condemns this ufe of wax, becaufe, he lays, it made the wine turn four : Nam ceram accipierzlibus wjis, comperlutJ~

Whatever may be the nature of the veffels deflined to con- tain wine, a cellar theltered from all aceideuts muir be eholb~.

it{, The expofure of the cellar muti be northern : its tem- perature is then lefs variable than when the apertures are *urned towards the fouth.

zd~ It mul~ be of fuch a depth that the temperature may be 0 3 cont{dxt;y

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~i4 On the Cultivation of the Vine,

eonflant]. . y the fame: In cellis quee. non falls, profundw dmrm caloris partic~pesjTunt ; vma non diu fubfiflunt mtegra, lays Hoffman.

3d, The moiiture in it muff be eonfiant, without being too great : exeefs of moifiure renders the papers, corks, calks, &c. mouldy. Drynef, defieeates the calks, and makes them leak.

4th, The light ought to be very moderate : a i~rong light dries; darknefs, almot~ abfolute, rots.

5th, The cellar muf~ be iheltered from fhoeks. Violent agitation, or that thaking oceafioned by the lapid paf~age of eamag.es along the i~reet, agitates the lees, mixes them with the wine, where they are kept fufpended, and oceafions aeetification. Thunder, and all movement oeeafioned by /hocks, produce the fame erie&.

6th, Green wood, vinegar, and all fubfianees fufeeptible of fermentation, mugt be kept at a difianee from a cellar.

7th, The reverberation of the fun, which, as it neeeffarily ehanges the temperature of a cellar, muft alfi) alter the pro- pel'ties of the wine preferred in it, ought alfo to be guarded againt~.

A cellar, therefore, muff be dug to the depth offome fa- thoms below ground ; its apertures ought to be dire&ed to- wards the north; it mut~ be at a difiance from the ~reet, highways, workfhops, fewers, neeeffaries, &c. and ought to be arched at the top.

VII. ~laladies of/,Vine, and the Means of preventing or corredting tbera.

There are fome wines which improve by age, and which cannot be eonfidered as perle& till a long time after they have been made. Lufeious wines are of this kind, as well as all highly fpiritous wines; but delicate wines are fo apt to turn Jour, or dO,, that it is only by means of great pre- caution the); can be preferred for feveral years. - -

The firft of the principal kinds of wine known in Burgundy, is'that of Volney, near Beaune. This wine, fo delicate and agreeable, will not bear the vat above I~, I6, or 18 hours, and can fcarcelv be kept from one vintage to another.

The fecond of the principal kinds of wine in Burgundy is that of Pomard : it keeps better th~n the former ; bt~ if kept longer than a year, it becomes oily, fpoils, and aflhmes the col~ur of the peelings of onions.

In every canton the wine has a fixed and known period of duration ;" and it is every where known that this period mut~ be flmrter or longer according to the nature of the feafon, and the care employed in the procefs of vinilication. No one is

ignorant;

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and t]:e Method of making Wines. 213

ignorant that the wine made from grapes colle&ed in rainy weather, or produced in fat foil, is not of long duration.

The antients, as we are informed by Galen and Athenams> bad determined the epoch of age, or ~(he period at which the different wines ought to be drunk :--Falernum ab annis de- cem ut potui idoneum, e ta quindecim uflqrze ad viginli annos : after that period grave eJt capiti et nervos ojT~endit. Albani veto cure du~ lint fpecies, boc du[ce illud acerbu,•, ambo a decimo quinto anno vigent. Surrentinmn bigeJimo quinto anno ineipit e fie uZile, quia ell pingue et vix di~eritur, a¢ veterafcens Jblum j i t potui ktoneum. Tiburtinufia leve eft,

facile vaporat, viget ab annis decem. Lubicanum pingue et inter albanum et falernum p. utalu.r ufui ab annis decem ido- neum. Gauranum rarum znvenztur, at optimum eft et ro- bufium. Signirrium ab annis rex potui utile.

The care employed in drawing off wine, and mixing it with mute wine, contributes greatly to its prefervation. Few kinds are/hipped without this precaution. It is of import- ance then, for the prevention of all its alterations, that all there operations thould be multiplied and repeated ; and it is to this valuable pea&ice we are indebted for the power of being able to fend wine to all climates, and to fubje& it to all temperatures, without fear of deeom?ofition.

(y t . . . . . l " Among, the daeafes to whmh wines are moil fubje&, oz z- nej} and aridity are the molt common and moil dangerous.

Oilinefs is an alteration which wines often contra& ; they lore their natural fluidity, and become ropy, like oi.l.

The lefs fpiritous wines turn oily ; and weak wines, which, have fermented very little, are the mope difpofed to this ma- tidy. Weak ivines, made from grapes which have beea picked, are alfo fubje& to it.

Wine turns oily in the bet~ corked bottles. Of this there are too frequent inttanees in Champagne, where the wine of a whole vintage~ when put into glafs veffels, is expofed rome- times to this alteration.

Oily x~'ines fnrnith by ditiillation but a little fat coloured and oily fpirit.

This fault may be eorre&ed feveral ways. lfl, By expofina the bottles to the air, and, above all, in

• O

a well-tared barn. o_d, By thakin~ the bottle for a quarter of an houri then

uncol'king it, an[l fufl:ering the gas and foam to efeape, 3 d, By mixing the wine with fifh-glue and whites of

eo,0,gs mixed together. ~4th, By introducing into each bottle one or two drops of

lemon juice, or any other acid. O 4 From

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216 On the Cult~aation of the Vine~

From the nature of the eaufes whleh produce oilinefs in wines, the phamomena exhibited by that malady, and the means employed to cure it, it is evident that this alteration arifes from the extra&ire principle, which has not been fuffi- ciently decompofed.

We find a fimilar effe& in beer, in the deco&ion of gall- nuts, and in feveral other cafes where the extra&ire matter, being very abundant, is precipitated from the liquor which held it in folution; and acquires the chara&ers of fibrine matter, unlefs burned by a fermentation or precipitated by an acid.

Acefcence of wine is however the moil common malady, and, we may even [ay. the mof~ natural, for it is almoft a confequence of fpiritous fermentation ; but by knowing the caufes which produce it, and the pha~nomena which accom- pany or announce it, means may be taken to prevent it. The antients admitted three principal caufes of the acidity of wines : - - i f t i The humidity of the wine: 2d, The incon- flancy or variations of the atmofphere : 3 d, Commotions.

To know this malady exa&ly, we muR call to mind fome principles which can alone furnith us with light on this fubje&.

~tt, Wine never turns four until the fpiritous fermentation is terminated; or, in other words, till the faccharine prin- ciple is completely decompofed. Hence the advantage of putting wine into calks be~bre all the faccharine priffciple has difappeared ; becaufe the fpiritous fermentation then continues, is prolonged, and removes every thing that can pave the way for acetous deeompofition. Hence the prac- tice of putting a little fugar into the bottle to preferve the wine without alteration ~ and hence the very general method of baking a part of the muf~ at a flow and moderate heat, and of mixing rome of it in the eafks intended for embarkation. In rome places of Spain and Italy all the tour is baked ; and Bellon lays that the wines o f Crete would not keep at tea unlefs the precaution were taken to boil them.

2d, The leai~ fpiritous wines are thole which foonef~ be- come four. We know, by experience, that ~hen the feafon is rainy, if the grapes be little faccharine, which eonfequently give little alcohol, the wines readily turn four. The weak wines of the north become four with great eafe ; while the flrong, generous, fpiritous wines obflinately refift acidity.

It is however no lefs true, that the moil fpiritous wines furnifl, the flrongefi vinegar, though their acetification is more difficult, becaufe alcohol is neceffary to the formation of" vinegar,

3 d, Wine

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and the Method of maklng I.Vine~. ~x 7

3 d, Wine perfe&ly free from all extra&lye matter, either in eonfequenee of its being depofited naturally by time or by clarification, is not fufeeptible of turning four. I have expofed old wine in uncorked bottles to the ardour of the fuq of July and Auguf~ for more than forty days without the wine lofing its quality ; only the eolouring principle was con- flantly precipitated under the form of a membrane, which covered the bottom of the bottle. The fame wine in which I infufed vine-leaves, became four in a few days. It is known that old wines, well purified, do not turn four.

4th, Wine does not acidify, or become four, but when in conta& with the air : atmofpherie air mixed with wine is a real leaven of acidity. When wine grows flat (J~pvuffi) it fuffers to efcape, or'exhales, the gas it contains, and the ex- ternal air then enters to 0fl'ume its place. Rozier propnfes to adapt a bladder to a pipe inferted in the veffel, in order to afeertain the abforption of the air and the difengagement of the gas. When the bladder fills, the wine tends to flatten; if it empties itfelf, it is a fign of its turning four.

When wine flattens, the eatk fuffers the wine to ooze through the tides, and if a hole be made with a gimblet, the wine efcapes with a hiffing nolle and foam: on the other hand, when wine turns four, the tides of the cafk, the bung, and the luting, are dry, and the air ruthes in with violence as loon as it is un~opped.

From this cireumftance it may be concluded that wine fhut up in very elofe veffels is not fufceptible of becoming four.

5th, There are certain times of the year when the wine turns more readily four. There periods are, the moment when the lap riles in the vine, when it flowers, or when the grapes affume a reddifh tint. It is during thet~ periods, in particular, that precautions muff be taken to prevent its be- coming acid.

6th, Change in the temperature alfo promotes acidity, efpecially when the heat riles to 80 or 9 ° de. grees. The de- generation is then rapid, and almoft unavoidable.

The acidity of wine may be eafily prevented by removing all thole caufes before mentioned which tend to produce this alteration ; and when it has begun, it may be remedied by the means, more or left effe&ual, which "we are going to mention.

Baked muft, honey, or liquorice, are diffolved in wine in which acidity has manifefled itfelf: by there means its four tafte is eorrecCted, being concealed by the fweetiih favour of thcfc ingredients.

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~i8 "On the Cuttivati~ of the Vi~e,

The little acid which has been formed may be feized by the means of afhes, alkalies, chalk, lime, and oven litharge. This lagc fubftanee, which forms a very fweet falt with acetous acid, is exceedingly dangerous. T'h~ criminal adul~ teration may be eafily dete6"ted by pouring hydro-futphuret of potafh (liver of fulphur) into the wine_ There will be immediately formed an abundant and black precipitate. Sulphurated hydrogen gas may afro be made to pafs through this altered liquor : this will produce a blackifh preeipitate~ which is nothing but fulphuret of lead.

The works of oinologitts abound with recipes, of greater or lefs value, for eorre&ing the acidity of wine.

Bidet t~ys, that about a fiftieth of lkimmed milk added to four wine rel~ores it ; and that ~t may be drawn off in five days.

Others take four ounces of the h e r wheat, boil it in water till it burrs ; and, when it has cooled, put it into a fmall bag which is immeffed in the ealk, (haking it with a f~ick.

Some recommend atfo the feeds of leeks, fennel, &e. To fhow the futility of the greater part of thefe remedies,

it will be fufficient to obferve, that it is impoffible to make fermentation proceed in a retrograde manner, and that4t can at moft be fufpended ; that the whole of the acid then formed may be feized, or its exiPmrtee may be eotacealed~ hy fweet and faccharine principles.

But" betides there alterations there are other , whieh~ though l~fs common and dangerous def/~ve to be noticed. Wine fi;metimes eontra&s what is called a talte of the ealk. This malady may arife from two eagles ~ firfl, when the wine is pm into calks, d~e wood of which is rotten orfiamaged ; fe- condly, when lees have been, lv.iet to dry in the calks into which new wine is put. Willerrnoz propo(es lime watern ca~'l~onic acid, and oxy~na~ed muriatie acid, to corre& the bad tare arifin~ from the eatk: others recommend mixing tile wine with iffnglafs, drawing it carefully off~ and infufing roaR+d wheat, i.n i{ fi~r two or three days.

A phaenomenon, which has f~ruck and embarraffed the numerous au'~hors who have fpoken of the difeafes of wine, is what is ~atled the ?lowers of wine. There are formed in ca~s, but partic.ularl~Tin bottles, in which they c~eeupy the n~ck ; t h e v eou~antlv announce and precede~the acid &ge- neration of wine. ~'hev manifeec themfelves in ahnoff all fermented liquors, and always more or lefs abundantly ac- cording to the quantity of extra&ire matter exil~ing in tlxe hquor. I have feen them formed in fuch abundance, in a fermented mixture of molaffes and the }malt of beeu that

they

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and the Method of making I~nes. ~l

they precipitated themfelves in the liquor in pellieles, or nu- merous and fueeeffive Rrata. In this manne U I have obtained twenty Rrata.

There flowers, which I at firf~ took for a preeipitate of tartar, is, in my opinion, a vegetation, or real by,is, which belongs to that fermented fub[~ance. It is reduced almoft to nothing by defiecation, and by analyfis exhibits only a little ihydrogen and a ~zreat deal of carbon.

.All there rudiments or commencements of vegetation, which develop themfelves in all cafes where an organic matter is deeompofed, ought not, in my opinion, to be elaffed with perfed"t plants: they are not ]'u(ceptihle of re- produe~tion, and are only a fymmetrie arrangement of the molecut~e of the matter, which feems rather dire~ed by the fimple laws of affinity than thofe of life. Similar phamo- mena are obferved in all deeompofitions of organic beings.

• In the years, i791 and I79Z , the whole produt~t of the vintage was altered at the eommeneement bv an acrid, nau- feous odour, which went off after a long-continued fermenta- tion. This effe& was owing to an enormous quantity of tree-bugs, (puna~J'es de bois,) whieh had fettled on .the grapes, and which had been eru~ed in treading them.

VIII. Ufes and ISrtues of IVine. Wine has become the molt ufua] beverage of man, and is,

at the fame time, the molt varied. Wine is known in all climates; and the attraction of this liquor is fo firong, that the prohibitory law refpe~ing it, which Mahomet impofed on his followers, is daily broken. • This liquor, betides being a tonic and firengthener, is alfo more or ]efs nutritive: in every point of view, it muf~ be falutary. The antients aferibed to it the property of ~rengthening the" underftanding. Plato, .LEfchylus, "and Solomon, all agree in afcribing to it this virtue. But no writer has better deferibed the real properties of wine than the celebrated Galen, who Mfigns to each fort its peeulia~ urea, and defcribes the differenee they acquire by age, eli- mate, &c.

Excels in regard to the ufe of wine has at all times called forth the cenfure of legiflators. It was cu~omary among the Greekg to prevent intoxication by rubbing their temples and forehead with precious ointments and tonics. The anecdote of that famous legiflator, who, to reftra~n the intemperance of the people, authorized it by an exprefs law, is well known ; and we read that Lycurgus caufed drunken people to be pub- |icly exhibited, in order to excite a horror of intoxication in

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2~o On the Culd, at;on.of the Viae,

Laeedmmonian youth. By a law of Carthage, the ufe of wine was prohibited in the time of war. Plato interdi&ed it to young perfons below the age of twenty-two. Ariftotle did the farneto ehildren and nurfes. Andwe are informed by Palmarius that the laws of Rome allowed to priefis, or 1hole employed in the faerifices, but three fmalfglaffes of wine at their repafts.

But, notwithfianding the wifdom of laws, the hideou, pi&ure of intemperance, and the fatal confequenees with which it is attended, the attra&ions of wine have been fo powerful among certain nations, that their fondnefs for it has degenerated into a paflion and real want. We daily fee men, prudent in other refpe&s, gradually acquire the habit of indulging immoderately in the ufe of this liquor; and it, their wine extinguiih their moral faculties and their phyfical ftrength.

Narratur et prifci Catonix, $mpe meio incaluiffe virtus.

We learn from hiftory, that ~Veneeflas, king of Bohemia and of the Romans, having come to Franee to negotiate'a treaty with Charles VI. repaired to Rheims in the month of May 1397, where he got intoxicated every day with the wine of the country, ehooffng rather to forego every thing than not indulge in this excefs *.

The virtue of wine differs according to its age. New wine is flatulent, indigeiiible, and purgative : mu~um.flatuofum et vonco~tu d~l~cite. Unura in fe bonum continet~ quod alvum emolliat. P'mumrarum infrigMat ;--muflum cra ffi jucci edq , et frigidi.

The antients eonfounded there words~rauflum et novum vinum. Ovid fays, Oui nova muatta bibant. Unde virgn mufla die'ta eft pro inta~a et novella.

Light wines only can be drunk before they have grown old. The reafon we have mentioned in the preceding pages. The Romans, as we have obferved, followed this eufiom, ~nd drank their wines in fueeeffion: Vinum Gauranum et _41banura, et qufe in Sabinis et in TuJcis naJcuntur, et Mmie- hum quod drca Neapolim vicinis collibus gignitur.

New ~ines are not at all nouriihing, efpecially thole which are aqueous, and little faceharine : corpori alimentum fubge. runt pauciffiraum, fays Galen.

Thefe wines readily produce intoxieation ; and the reafor, of thi~ is, the quantity of earbonic acid with which they are charged. This acid, by difengaging itfelf from the liquo~

'~ Obfervations fur l'Agriculture, vol, ii, p. ~9". by

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and the 3Tetbod of making Wines. ~ z

by the temperature of the /tomach, extinguifhes the irrita- bility of the organs, and brings on ttupor.

Old wines, m general, are tonic, and very wholefome: they are fuited to weak ftomachs, old people, and in all cafes where ftrengthening is neceffary: they afford very little nouriflmaent, becaufe they are deprived of their really nourifhing principles, and contain fcarcely any other than alcohol.

It is of fueh wine that the poet fpeaks, when he lays : Generofum et lene requiro

Q22od curas abigat, quod cure fpe divite manet nvenas animumque meum~ quod verba minif~ret,

O_~od me, Lucane, ]vvenem commendet arnicas. Oily thick wines are the molt nourifhing. Pingula fan-

guinem augent et nutriunt';--Galen. The fame author re- commends the wines of Therea and Seibellia as highly nou- rifllin.g.q.- uod crq~Tum, utrum, q .ue, nigrum et dulce.

Wines differ alfo effentaally m regard to eolour. Red, in general, is more fpiritous, lighter, and more digeftible: white wine furnifhes lefs alcohol, and is more diuretie and weaker, as it has remained lefs time in the vat : it is almoft always more oily, more nutritive, and more gafeous, than the red.

Pliny admits four fhades in the eolour of wines--album, fulvum,fanguineum, rubrum : but it would be too minute as well as ufelefs to multiply flaades, which might become in- finite, by extending them from black to white.

Climate, culture, and variety in the proceffes of fermenta- tion, produce alto infinite differences in the qualities and virtues of wine. To avoid fatiguing repetitions, we muft refer to what we have already faid on this fubjeeq:.

The art of tempering wine by tile addition- of one part of water was pra&ifed among the antients: wine of this kind they called vinum dilutum. Pliny, after Homer, fpeaks of a wine which could bear twenty parts of water. The fame hifforian informs us, that in his time wines fo fpiritous were known, that they could not be drunk: nifipervincerentur aqua ¢t attenuentur aqua calida.

The antients, who had veryjufi and eorro& ideas refpe&- ing the art of making and preferring wines, feem to have been unacquainted with that of diftitlin~ fpirit from them : the firft eorre& ideas refpe6"ting the di(tillation of wine are aferibed to Arnaud de Vitleneuve, profeffor of medicine at Montpellier.

The difiillation of wines has given a new value to this produ&ion. It has not only furniihed a new b~verage,

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~ Defcription of the Table and the

/tronger and incorruptible, but has made. known to the arts the real folvent of refins and of aromaue principles, and, at the fame time, a mean as fimpte as certain fi~r preferving ani- mal and vegetable fub~ances from all putrid decompoiltion. ]t is on there remarkable properties that the art of the var- ni0ner, the perfumer, the maker of liqueurs, and others founded on the fame bails, have been fueceflively eftablifhed.

XXXII I . Defcription of tbe Table and the Paarlber K 3Ioun- rains, in Southern tlfrica. By JoHN BARaow~ Efq. •

T H E firf~ appearanee of fo ftupendous a marl of naked roek as the Table Mountain, eannot fail to arref~, for a timej the attention of the molt indifferent obferver of nature from all inferior obje6ts, and mof~ particularly interei~ that of the mlneralogift. As a defeription of this mountain will, with few variations, anfwer to that of almof~ all the great ranges in Southern Africa, it may not, perhaps, be thought too te- dious ~o enter into a detail of its form~ dimenfions~ and con- ftituent parts.

]"he name of t~.z7,1e land is given by feamen to every hill or mountain whofe fummit prefents to the eye of the obferver a line parallel to the horizon. The north front of the Table Mountain, dire~ly facing the town, is a horizontal line, or very nearly fo, of about two miles in length. The hold flee, that rifes almofi at right angles to 'meet this line, is fnp- ported, as it were, by a number of proje&in~ buttreffes that rife out of the plain, and fall in with the frol~ a little higher ihan midway from the bale. There and th~ divifion 0f the. front, by two great chafins, into three parts, a curtain flanked by two baftions, the firft retiring and the others proje6"t- il~, ¢ive to it the appearance of the ruined walls of tbme gigan'tic fortrefs. There walls rife above the level of Table Bay to the height of 358z ft'et, as determined by captain Bridges, of the roval e~igineers, from a meafiared bale and angles taken with "a good theodolite. ] 'he eaft fide, which runs off at right angles to the front, is fiill bolder, and has one point higher by feveral feet. The wef~ tide, along the lea fhore, is rellt into deep chafms, ~nd worn awav into a number of pointed mafl~:s. In advancing to the touthward about four miles, the mountain defeends in tteps or terraces, the lowel~ of which communicates by gorges with the ehaiix

• ' From Barrow's ~'avels zn~'o Soutl~e;~t flfrz~a, a work higl:lj worthy" o¢ the atreuttoa of cv~ry perSOn fond of i~at~ral hiffory.

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