ORDER VI. VEIN-AVINGED INSECTS. 291 



then put into the liquor and well mixed with a spoon, and 

 the boiling is continued for two minutes more, after which 

 the white of eggs is added, and the whole is then mixed 

 with the same care as the charcoal, and it is again boiled 

 for about two minutes ; the vessel is then taken from the 

 fire, the liquor is left to cool, and is then strained through 

 a sieve or flannel. 



"To excite fermentation the liquor must be exposed to 

 heat. Two methods are practiced for this purpose : the 

 first is to place the liquor in a stove, or the corner of a 

 chimney, in which a constant fire is kept ; some bottles are 

 filled with the same liquor. In about seven or eight days 

 the liquor emits a thick and dirty froth, which leaves a 

 vacuum in the barrel which must be filled up from the 

 bottles, which are also in a state of fermentation, which 

 lasts about two months, and then ceases of itself The 

 other method is to expose the liquor to the sun ; but in this 

 case it must be done in the month of June, and left exposed 

 until the fermentation ceases, which takes place in three or 

 four months. On placing the barrel in the warmest situa- 

 tion, it must be raised a little from the ground, and atten- 

 tion must be paid to the bees and other insects attracted by 

 the odor. During the heat of the day the liquor swells, 

 the froth rises to the bung-hole, and runs down on each 

 side of the barrel. Instead, therefore, of placing the barrel 

 exactly horizontal, it is better to give it a slight inclination, 

 taking the bung-hole as the parallel. As soon as the sun 

 sets, or is obscured, the volume of the liquor is diminished, 

 and the barrel has no longer the appearance of being full. 

 In the first case the bees will lick up, without danger to 

 themselves, the liquid which has flowed from the barrel ; 

 but in the second the bung-hole must be closed with a plate 

 of lead pierced in holes ; without this precaution the bees 

 would drown themselves. The plate of lead must be taken 

 olF when the liquor begins to froth, and when the baiTcl is 



