1827 Wine and spirit adulterators unmasked

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attached to the offence, too strong for the persons, who are ordinarily employed where such practises are carried on, to withstand, without paying them most exorbitant wages to purchase their secresy. If my present limits would permit, I could detail many plans by which these difficulties are to be surmounted. The singular fact, however, that the detection of this nefarious traffic was owing en- tirely to the disclosures of an accomplice, who was influenced by mo fives of revenge, and that the three men, besides the clerk, employed in the business, and on the premises, by Oldfield, swore in the course of the trial, that they had never seen any mixing of Wine whatever, going on, (although the fact had then been clearly established in the preliminary step to adulteration, of which he was convicted,) will, I apprehend, be conclusive enough as to there being no lack of means, in respect to the finding of opportunities for adulterating, with- out my perplexing my Readers with technical statements. In proceeding to give an account of the various modes of adulterating Wine, and as a reason for my rendering the proportions in the illustrative ex- amples, relating to this part of the subject, on so large a scale, it is perhaps requisite to premise, that one of the grand secrets in the art of cheapen- ing Wine, is by the vatting, or keeping a number of large vats in the which to mix and adulterate the different Wines.