1903 The still-room by C. Roundell

Wine-maki.

after the manner of making gooseberry wine, em- ploying one pound of raisins, four pounds of sugar, and one ounce of cream of tartar to the gallon of water. When active fermentation has nearly ceased, a few weeks before racking, add two quarts of bruised cowslip flowers. Then complete the making of the wine in the usual way. To ynake Rhubarb Wine, — Take five pounds of rhubarb stalks, cut them into small pieces, and pro- ceed as in making either gooseberry or sparkling gooseberry wine, but no cream of tartar should be added, and only three pounds of sugar should be allowed to the gallon. To ynake Date Wine, — Take six pounds of stoned dates, and proceed as in making gooseberry wine, but no sugar is to be added. The Merissah of the Berbers is a wine made from dates to which a small quantity of maize has been added. To make Damson Wine, — Take five pounds of ripe stoned damsons, crush them and one-tenth of their stones, and boil them in a gallon of water. Then proceed as in making gooseberry wine, but only allow three pounds of sugar. Mead^ or Metheglin — for the distinction between them is difficult to determine — was the chief alco- holic beverage of the earliest inhabitants of Britain, and the maker of the mead was the eleventh person in order of precedence at the ancient courts of the Welsh princes. Mead is usually supposed to have 87