1860 A Treatise on the Manufacture , Imitation, Adulteration and Reduction of Foreign Wines, Brandies, .

184

VINES-AR.

and of the beech chips, with a loss of time and vinegar, becomes necessary. The only mode of obviating this difficulty is, to take well-clari– fied fermented wash. "Another evil attendant on the quick process is, the evaporation of the spirituous liquors. Since, in the graduation tub, there is a tempera-– ture of 110°, it is impossible to avoid a loss of spirit from the circulation and efilux of the air. The air, indeed, that issues fron1 the top hole in the uppermost cover, might be conducted over an extensive surface of fresh water, where its spirit would be condensed in a great measure. But, after all, this fear of great loss is, I believe, groundless; because the spirit is rapidly acidi– fied by the oxygen of the air, and thereby loses its volatility. "The supply of the warm wa~h should be drawn fron1 a cistern placed near the ceiling, where the temperature of the apartment is hottest; and it inay be rcplcni::ihed from the partly acctificd liqnor in the cistern on the floor.