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occafions necefiary; but it is peculiarly fo in thofe 

 cafes in which the native oils are very abundant, or 

 volatile, or difagreeable. In diflilling malt fpirits, 

 this circumftance is feldom fufficiently attended to ; 

 the fermentation being ufually hurried forward with 

 a rapid carelefihefs, in confequence of which fome 

 part of it is converted into vinegar, before other parts 

 of it are affimilated at all. Hence it neceflarily fol- 

 lows, that the malt not only yields a fmaller quantity 

 of fpirit, but affords that fpirit alfo of a much infe- 

 rior quality to what it would have been if the fer- 

 mentation had been duly conducted. Spirits that 

 are drawn from ale, which has been accidentally al- 

 lowed to run into the acetous fermentation, are 

 always, on this account, of a quality far fuperior to 

 that obtained from malt by any other procefs. 



In attempting therefore to obtain a fpirit from 

 roots or other vegetable fubftances, the firft point to 

 be attended to is, to conduct the fermentation pro- 

 perly, and to pufh the vinous fermentation as far as 

 it can be made to go. I am difpofed to afcribe the 

 fuccefs I had in this experiment, beyond what others 

 have experienced, in a great meafure to this caufe, 

 and to the care that was taken to prevent it from 

 obtaining the flighted empyreumatic taint during 

 the diftillation j though it may alfo have been oc- 

 cafioned by fgme other unobferved peculiarity. 



One 



