"W I N 



fore traniparent, grows opaque, and a violent uriin- 

 lerrnpted inteftine motion manifefts itfelf therein. 

 2. The parts of the fermenting fluid appear to be 

 incredibly elaftic, and the mocion of them excecdino- 

 violent. Indeed, by means of this property of fer*^ 

 mentation, very terrifying and furprifmg aftions may 

 be performed. Thus, if a hundred pints of mud were, 

 on fome warm day in autumn, to be confined clofe in 

 a vellcl of Oak above an inch thick in the fides, and 

 made ever fo tight and ftrong with iron hoops, yet 

 could not this prevent the working of the liquor ; but 

 in fpite of fo great a refiftance, it would burit the vef- 

 fe!, with a report as loud as that of a cannon. 

 And therefore the way to preferve'new Wine in the 

 llate of mull; is, to put it up in very ftrong but fmall 

 cafks, firmly clofed on all fides j by which means it 

 -vill be kept from fermenting, and then it goes by the 

 name of ftum : but if it Ihould happen to fall into fer- 

 mentation, the readieft and only way to flop it, is by 

 the fumeof fulphur, orfomethingof thelike nature, 

 Were it not for the knowledge of this property of 

 burning fulphur, the wine merchants and vintners 

 might frequently fuftain great damages from the 

 burfting of their veflels, when the liquor is upon the 

 fret, or, by fome alteration in the air, or other acci- 

 dent, begins to ferment again : but the fmoke of a 

 little common brimftonc, or a lighted match dipped 

 In it, and held under a calk of Wine that is juft 

 ready to burft its hoops, will calm its fury, and make 

 it fubfide as fuddenly as a fpoonful of oil, thrown 

 into a large foaming copper of boiling' fugar, takes 

 dov^n its heat, and prevents the mifchief it might 

 othcrwife occafioh."' - '., 



J}. A thick flcin, or crufty fcurf, forms itfelf on the 

 ilirface, through which the elaftic or fermenting mat- 



.^ \ 



W I N 



ter is continually breaking. -This cruft appears to be 

 the principal caufe of fermentation •, for it keeps in, 

 or prevents the fpirituous part of the liquor from fly- 

 ing off; and if it be 'frequently broken, it puts a 



check to the fermentation, and will often entitely flop 

 it, if wholly taken a,way. - ..... . .., , i .^U^v .' 



4. This fliin or cruft, which we now* call flowers or 

 yeaft, gradually confumes and precipitates to the 

 bottom of the liquor -, in which cafe it is called by 

 the name of fasces or mother i and after this, the fluid 

 above it imnicdiately becomes tranfparent again, ceafes 

 to Fiifs anH Diibble, has a very^penetrating, pungent, 

 fpirituous, or yinpus tafte and Icent, with a mixture 

 of acidity and fweetnefs. And now the liquor, hav- 

 ino- undeigone the "operation of "ferftentation, is be- 



fer- 



come Wine, : ' ,-;' -■■-:f .- .^ -'"''^"'^^^ 



The vapour arifing from the liquor', 'auring its 



mentation, ought not to be approached too^ near, or 

 breathed in too great a quajitity, b^caufe it is highly 

 poifonous i and, if it "prov'e riot mortal, may at leaft 

 render the perfoh "apoplectic and paralytic. We have 

 accounts in the French and German Tranfaffcions, ^of 

 people who were immediately ftruck^ead, by recelv- 

 ins^at thenofe the fumes that iflTued from large veflels 







' r 



of Wine, in the ftate of fermentation. , 

 And now, if the Hqiior thus fermented be flopped 

 down clofe, it will begin to, feed upon and digeft its 

 own lees or mother, and at' length confume them ; in 

 which cafe we conVmohly fay, the Wine begins 19 ri- 

 pen ; dnd afterwards, this mother flioots to the fides 

 of the containing veflel, and there appearsTn the" form 

 of an cflrntial fait, which is then called tartar.. ;:.,. 

 The fpace of time required for finidiing the fermenta- 

 tion differs with the fubjeft matter, the feafon 'of the 

 year, the nature of the place, and other circumftances ; 

 but it is known to be perfeftly performed by the fe- 

 veral phasnomena juft now mentioned. ... ^ 



As foon as the flowers fall to the bottom, the veffel 

 Ihould be bunged down, otherwife the volatile part 

 would fly ofi^, and the fermented liquor become vapid 



and flat. 



In this ftate it ought to ftand for fome weeks in a cool 

 place, by which means it will grow ftronger, and 

 more liquid ; for during this time, it imbibes and con- 

 fumes iisown f;:::yes, which abound in fubtile fpiritu- 



I 



Ous parts, and grows fofr, and lofes of its acidity, Bv 

 throwing off its tartar,, ' . 



And the longer it is thus fuflcred to ftand, the more 

 ftrength it gains, or the more fp.irit it will vield la 

 diftillation; 



. Thus, for inftance ; tnalt liquors, newly brewed, af- 

 ford but a fmall quantity of inflammable fpirit; but 

 if fuffercd to remain for foriie weeks in the veflel, till 

 they become fine and clean, they will yield a much 

 greater proportion : though to avoid fo' great an ap- 

 paratus of veflrls as would then be required, malt li- 



, quors, brewed, in order to make fpirits, arefeldom 

 .kept, but immediately after fermentation committed 



, to the ftill. And hence we are furhijlied with a rea- 



■ fon,'why allftale vinous liquors are ftronger, and in- 

 ebriate fooner, than fuch as are new. 



fbe phyftcal effe^s. . \ 



■ ' 



•"*• ^ . \ 



— *■ 



The phyfical properties of a vinous liquor, prepared 

 in the manner above defcribed, are thofe which 



follow :■-.'... 



I. It will have an Inebriating quality, when received 

 into the body ; and nothing is property poflfeflfed of 

 this quality, but what has been firft fermented. 

 For if a perfon ftiould eat ever fuch a quantity of 

 Grapes, or drink ever fo freely ofmuft, he might in- 

 deed bring a loofencfs upon himfelf by that means, 



. but he would not be fuddled. So likewife to take 

 down large draughts of fweet-wort, or the tindture of 

 malt, might throw one into a violent vomitino- and 

 flux, but never produce the fymptomsof drunkennefs. 

 And whatever fome pretend, as to Mandrake, Hem- 



..lock,. Poppies, opium, and the like, the effeftsthey 

 have upon the human body are rather ftupefying than 

 inebriating ; but drunkennefs is different from^ ftupe- 



. An over dpfe of vinous liquors makes a man brifl^, 

 lively, and joyful, or difpofes him to fing, dance, or 

 be merry 5 at length however, .his legs will not fup- 

 port him ; and, if the fit be violent, he grows furi- 

 ous, raving, or paralytic, and fo he dies. 

 But opi 



has not thefe effcfts ;. it brings on a pro- 

 found fleep-, and he who has taken too much of it, 

 dies lethargic. 



W 



No- 



thing appears to cool the body more than Currants; 



yet the wine prepared from t}icm is very heating. 



^Thelike is to be underftood of Cherries, andallfcr- 



ii^P^^^^?-vfe*^^'^^7 ^ho"gh ever fo cold, for thefe will 

 ' : anbrd a vinous liquor, -v-' -f;' ff, .:.;y < ^ .• ■ 



3. It is inflamnlable, and will mix with water. . 



4. It contains tartar, and affords it after the fermen- 

 tation is over. This tartar is the effential fait of the 

 vegetable made ufe of, and differs from the lees or 



'mother, being refolvable by diftillation into a water, 



a fpirit, two kinds of oil, an alkaline fait, and earth. 



All fermented vegetables afford it. Muft yields a fe- 



. culent fait, and no tartar; but if once it works, i(;i as 



' to become pure Wine, it will, in the fpace of half a 

 year, throw off a clean tartar, which therefore appears 

 to be the effedt of a perfefl: fermentation, and accord- 

 ingly is never obtained without it. 



5. It retains neither the colour, tafte, nor fmeli of 

 the fpecific vegetable from which it is made Thus 

 we have feen, that Rofemary affords a quite different 

 water,^ aftei* it has been fermented, frpm what it did 

 before. Thus fermented Hydromel, malt liquors, 



■ treacles, fugar, &c. yield fpirits by diftillation, that 

 cannot be diftinguilhed from one another. 

 The Grapes of fome countries are as fweet as honey, 

 and fo is their muft before fermentation, yet the 

 Wine prepared from either, may have little or no 

 fweetnefs, and fomttimes even gain a degree of acidi- 

 ty. It is not eafy to believe that Rhenifta Wine fliould 

 proceed from fo fweet a Grape as it does. ' 



6. It acquires a fomewhat acid and fpirituous tafte and 

 fmell. The tafte of honey or malt, &c. is fweet, and 

 their fcent fcarce perceivable, before you commit 

 them to fermentation ; but, after having undergone 



thit 



t 

 1 



