ISO Pi'ofcssor Hitchcock 07i the Analysis of Wines from 



near enough for all the purposes for which the analysis was under- 

 taken. 



It appears that in all cases, except Nos. 7 and 8, the specific 

 gravity of the wines before distillation was greater than that of 

 water. No. 4, from Lebanon, was much heavier ; in part, proba- 

 bly, because the juice was concentrated before fermentation, and in 

 part because it is so old. It yields, of course, a large per cent, of 

 solid matter. 



The difference in the results, according to the tables used, is just 

 what we might expect from the different standards assumed by 

 Tralles, Gilpin, and Lowitz, and from the fact that the table of the 

 latter gives the per cent, by weight, whereas all the others give it 

 by measure. Gilpin's tables have been most commonly made the 

 standard, but they convey erroneous conclusions ; that is, as the sub- 

 ject is usually understood, they indicate more alcohol in fermented 

 liquors than they contain. 



The results wliich I have now given justify, it seems to me, the 

 following conclusions : — 



In the first place, the grapes of Palestine, Syria, and the Levant 

 generally, produce wines as strongly alcoholic as those of any country 

 whose soil and climate are congenial to the vine. 



It has been thought that the great quantity of sugar which must 

 exist in the grapes of those countries, and the heat of the climate, 

 are so unfavourable to fermentation that little or no alcohol can be 

 produced from them. But here we have ten specimens of the com- 

 mon wines of those countries, all of wliich belong to the class of 

 strong wines. It may be thought that the strongest wines were 

 selected by Mr Van Lennep ; but I particularly requested him not 

 to do it, desiring him to send me rather the common wines ; and 

 the apprehension which he expressed that they would be all soured 

 before reaching this country, shews that he supposed them to be 

 quite weak. I incline to believe that their strength is not above 

 the average in those countries ; and yet, by consulting the analyses 

 of Brande, Beck, Fontenelle, &c., we shall see that they rank among 

 the stronger wines. And, indeed, this is just what the chemist 

 would expect ; for if those countries furnish the finest grapes, they 

 doubtless contain a large amount of the sugar and ferment requisite 

 for the production of alcohol,* 



In the second place, we have every reason to believe that the 



* Since the above was written, I have had the pleasure of meeting Mr Van 

 Lennep in this country, and he confirms all the statements made in the text re- 

 specting the strength of the wines. He is even of opinion that those from the 

 neighbourhood of Smyrna are below the average strength of the wines of that 

 region. Rev. Mr Sherman, also, who obtained the specimens from the vicinity 

 of Hebron, and whom I have lately seen, thinks that they may be somewhat 

 stronger than the average of wines in that region. The specimens from Mount 

 Lebanon were procured by the Rev. Leander Thomson, who is also in this coun- 

 try, but I have not met with him. 



