240 
CHEMICAL MEMORANDA. 
By Witi1am McMurtrig£, CHEMIST. 
ANALYSIS OF WINES..—Since the publication of ourlast monthly report 
we have been led to make some examinations of wines, with ‘a view to 
the determination of a means of distinction between the alcohol of fer- 
mentation and that of distillation, and the amounts of these constitu- 
ents which any given wine contains. Our attention was drawn to this 
subject by the receipt, from Hon. J. N. Douglass, Commissioner of In- 
ternal Revenue, of a sample of ‘“‘Sonoma sparkling champagne,” manu- 
factured by J. N. Blum, of New York State, and seized in New Orleans 
according to the law providing for the taxation of all wines of Ameri- 
can manufacture containing more than 5 per cent. of absolute alcohol 
produced by distillation. The object of the examination in this case 
was, therefore, to determine whether the wine was produced by the 
natural process of fermentation, or by the use of brandy or other alco- 
holic fluids, thus placing it within the limits of the above-mentioned 
law. The only reliable method for making such distinctions consists 
in determining the total amount of alcohol which the given wine con- 
tains, and considering all above a eertain per cent., generally 12 to 14, 
which is known to exist in a normal wine, as alcohol of distillation. 
This is, of course, only approximate, on account of the variation in the 
composition of different wines. 
Other experiments for the determination of the purity of wines were 
made, with a view to proving the presence of adulterations, but they 
gave negative results. According to Beyse, Bolley, Neubauer, and other 
chemists who have devoted years to the study and investigation of wines 
and their manufacture, the separation and determination of the two 
varieties of alcohol spoken of is impossible. In the course of our 
investigations we procured, for comparison, a specimen of “ Imperial 
_ champagne,” manufactured by the American Wine Company of Saint 
Louis, and have made complete analyses of the two, obtaining the fol- 
lowing results, in parts per thousand: 
No. 1.—“ Sonoma sparkling.” 
RICUHOlDyWeleht =. ...2- 22 eco ee. ones ER’ - - - he ones @s ee 107.7 
BucoOnolby VOLUME =-- 5-52 -6cee oc ce - eee ele = © - = eg cele au ame dine sina eae 
IBERUR CULV MUNA DDCE.-n.o2 > Ste nica cafcece/ ca << peREetetn'= © © +o cielce sel soe lcs =e a 102.1 
Bee eee et ess sc cals cast hoe eecloe o ok Sere delcess see eee eee 1.9 
Aue (calemiated as tree tartaric) 252-522 see | 0. = coe caw oo ojen cee eee 6.5 
AiconoWoy weleht.:.. 25) c.'.. << 5-\- be eee nis os oo wreeine ieee eee 95. 
COR CSU! 
AVGaOlpby Volume: 2 .'.. 228.5 US ee Se ew Se cece ce oa neve ence eee 122. 
Hixiracmivenunauver......2.-)s2-t. lo. cles eee coe cock cleo ein hs eee eee 129. 
See ois n onion no ice ot soe icicis = EEE eleinie aime b/s 9.0)6 =e =e ee a 
Wed (calemlatedsasifree tartaric)... .-.ceeeeee es & ~~ = oes ono. Sone ee 5 
Marus.—The following are the results of analyses of calcareous maris: 
No. 1, sent to this Department by J. L. White, Iola, Marion County, 
Florida; and No. 2, sent by H. R. Pollard, from Stevensville, Virginia: 
No. 1. 
Moisture: (determmedvat 130° GC): - 2... Sa e se 2 ce ee eee erate ele 1 
Organic-and) volatilematters.--..: .- 2.) seeeeieee === «= ole nee wee eee eee ils 
Peroxide of-iron andpalomina.- <= =. «2.22: ssa > @ - +o .  e eeeeenel 1.24 
AMIS Coe eo e ek Ree ee nines = ae va oho’ = aoe Sno > oils Cone nee tere AQ, 
