POPULAR MISCELLANY. 



137 



cms. Tobaccos are also generally adulter- 

 ated, and, if the adulterating matter be 

 woody, the smoke will be of high tempera- 

 ture, and liable to cause inflammation of the 

 tongue. 



Antipathies^ Some strange cases of an- 

 tipathy are recorded in the lives of eminent 

 men. Erasmus was made feverish by the 

 smell of fish. Ambroise Parr had a patient 

 who would faint at the sight of an eel, and 

 another who was convulsed on seeing a 

 carp. Gardan was disgusted at the sight 

 of eggs. A king of Poland and a secretary 

 of France bled at the nose when offered ap- 

 ples. A huntsman in Hanover, who would 

 attack a wild-boar valiantly, ran away or 

 fainted whenever roast pig was presented to 

 his view. A person is told of who fainted 

 whenever he saw a rose, and similar stories 

 are told of antipathies to lilies and honey. 

 Tycho Brahe abhorred foxes, Henry III. of 

 France cats, mice, spiders, etc., and Mar- 

 shal d'Albret pigs. There was " once upon 

 a time " a lady who could not endure the 

 sight of silk or satin. The man who would 

 faint whenever he heard a servant sweep- 

 ing is not so much of a stranger, and the 

 one who was similarly affected by the sound 

 of a bagpipe invites universal sympathy. 

 Boyle was overcome at hearing the splash- 

 ing of water. 



Coinage Alloys. According to Professor 

 W. Chandler Roberts, of the Royal Mint, the 

 term alloy is usually applied in ordinary 

 language to the mass formed by mixing a 

 base metal with a precious one, while in sci- 

 entific language it indicates the base metal 

 which is added. Alloys are used in prefer- 

 ence to pure precious metals for various 

 reasons, chief among which is the fact that 

 they are harder and more durable. The 

 fact that their substitution for pure gold or 

 silver may be a valuable source of revenue 

 is a less commendable reason, but has not 

 been without force. When a base metal is 

 to be chosen for mixture with a precious 

 one, it should be borne in mind that the re- 

 sulting alloy must have the qualities of good 

 color, ductility, and freedom from brittlc- 

 ness. Silver forms a very ductile alloy with 

 gold, but lowers the color, while copper 

 forms a durable as well as a ductile alloy 



and heightens the color. A triple alloy of 

 gold, silver, and copper may be made of 

 delicate tints ; but it is difficult to assay and 

 causes complications in the keeping of the 

 accounts, and for those reasons the simple 

 copper alloy is now almost universally used. 

 At the mint, the qualities sought as most 

 desirable in an alloy are: 1. Ductility; 2. 

 Durability ; and, 3. Uniformity of composi- 

 tion. The alloy is, besides, expected to be 

 sonorous, or to impart the true " ring " to 

 the coins struck from it, and to possess the 

 degree of viscosity which will enable it to 

 flow under pressure into all the fine lines of 

 an engraved die, while at the same time the 

 metal must be rigid enough to retain its 

 impression when submitted to rough usage. 

 A great variety of alloys have been used 

 for coinage in the world's history, from pure 

 precious metal down to base metal with only 

 a trace of precious metal in it. Those now 

 in use arc not very numerous. The fine- 

 ness of alloys of silver is computed with 

 reference to the troy pound. The compu- 

 tation in the case of gold alloys is based on 

 the singular " carat " system, the name of 

 which is probably derived from the Kepdriov, 

 a small Greek weight. This has within two 

 years given way at the British Mint to a 

 decimal system. 



Making Champagne. The making of 

 champagne is a process requiring extreme 

 care and attention at every stage for at 

 least two years. The grapes are picked with 

 especial pains to keep any of them from 

 falling or receiving bruises. Only the juice 

 of the first pressing is made into high-class 

 wine, and the quantity of this that shall be 

 drawn is regulated by weight. Four hun- 

 dred kilogrammes arc allowed for every 

 forty gallons of wine, and when the desired 

 quantity has been obtained the pressing is 

 stopped. The protruding edges of the mass 

 which have escaped the heavier pressure are 

 cut off and subjected to a second pressure, 

 the juice from which is called the first 

 tallh. A thirdj pressure gives the second 

 faille, and a fourth the redeche, juices that 

 are considered fit only for the workmen. 

 When the scum has risen in the wine-tubs 

 it is taken off, and the casks are filled and 

 fumigated with sulphur and put away, not 

 quite full, in the cellar, for fermentation. 



