CHESnSTRT. 203 



3. Decompose the bichromate by immersion in a bath formed 

 of, water, 100 parts by weight ; hydrochloric acid, 5 parts. 



4. Wash it in clean water and dry it. 



5. Vitrify the proof on a clean piece of cast iron, the surface 

 of which has been previously chalked. One minute will suffice 

 for indelibly fixing and glazing the photograph, which must be 

 carefully and slowly allowed to cool. 



Photographs on enamel of any size, taken in this manner, are 

 perfectly unalterable under all atmospheric conditions, and may 

 consequently and aptly be called " everlasting photographs." — 

 Scientific American. 



PRESERVATION OF WINES. 



The process for improving and preserving wines, originally pro- 

 posed by Pasteur in his *' Etudes sur le Vin,'''' by simply heating it 

 to a temperature of 55° to 75° C. (131° to 1G7° F.), previous to 

 bottling, or after partial decomposition had set in, has lately 

 been reported upon by a commission of the French Navy De- 

 partment — a series of experiments and trials on an extensive 

 scale having been made for the purpose of determining its value. 

 The report states that Pasteur's process will preserve French 

 wines permanently, or for an indefinite length of time, from 

 acidity and change of taste or clearness; that a temperature of 

 from 5d° to 60° C. (131° to 140° F.) is the one desirable to apply 

 to the wines ; and that this heating should be performed in vessels 

 of tin or tinned copper. — Dinglefs Journal, from Armengaud''s 

 G6nie. 



ANALYSIS OF LAGER BEER. 



Prof. C. F. Chandler, of the School of Mines of Columbia Col- 

 lege, has recently concluded a series of chemical tests with lager 

 beer, undertaken in order to ascertain the extent of its intoxicat- 

 ing properties, and the hygienic character which it has been rep- 

 resented to possess. His report is eminently successful in prov- 

 ing that the nourishing qualities which have been ignorantly 

 assigned to lager beer are only fictitious, and also that it is en- 

 tirely objectionable as a drink. It is composed chiefly of water, 

 with a certain amount of alcohol, — enough to cause intoxication 

 wlien copiously imbibed. During the brewing of the beer — 

 which, if properly done, occupies 8 months, tiie brewing commenc- 

 ing in cokl weather — great care has to be taken to prevent its 

 becoming mouldy, which it sometimes does by the slightest varia- 

 tion in temperature. It is necessary to cool the brewing-vault 

 in summer and warm it in winter, in order to keep it at the 

 requisite temperature, averaging from 41 to 45 degrees Fahrenheit. 

 Frequently, however, the weather continues to act on the beer 

 after it has been barrelled and sold to retail dealers, rendering 

 it flat and bitter, in which condition it is very often sokl as a 

 drink. Prof. Chandler's analyses embracefl 5 samples of difierent 



