Great Britain and Ireland. 37 



The water for supplying the boiler passes through a long 

 coil of pipe immersed in the boiling hot spent wash, by which 

 means it is raised to a high temperature before it reaches 

 the boiler. It will be seen that the vapour passing through 

 this apparatus is all condensed by the wash, not water; 

 and, therefore, no heat is wasted, as in the common 

 process. The consequence of this is, that about three- 

 fourths of the fuel used with the common stills is saved, 

 a matter of very important consideration, in a national 

 point of view. 



According to the common process, it requires 12 lbs. of 

 coals to distil a gallon of proof spirits,* of which, as we have 

 said, 9 lbs. are saved by the new system ; and, assuming 

 the whole quantity of spirits distilled in the empire to be 

 36,000,000 gallons, which (colonies included) we believe is 

 not over the mark, the saving of fuel arising from the new 

 methods of distilling, which, no doubt, will be soon uni- 

 versally adopted, will amount to 140,000 tons of coal per 

 annum. 



Our Continental readers have no idea of the enormous 

 size of some of the distilleries of the United Kingdom. The 

 apparatus of Mr. Coffey, at Iuverkeithing, of whfch we ha*e 

 given a description, distils 2000 gallons of wash per hour; 

 and one wbich he has subsequently erected ?t Leith,forthe 

 same proprietors, upwards of 3000 gallons per hour.' There 

 are several of equal magnitude ; and we have seen a state- 

 ment, which we have reason to rely on, which shews that 

 those now erected, or being erected, are of capacity to 

 distil half a million of gallons of wash per day. This wash 

 yielding, on an average, from 11 to 12 per cent, of proof 

 spirit*. 



Article III. 

 Alcohol and its Co>npounds.+ 

 I. Aldehyde, | from alcohol dehijdrogenatus,) may he pre- 

 pared by passing vapour of ether through a long glass tube 



* When * ■»%. tfa. faratronrHwrificinyooortwa 



and when stron S wash is used, a gallon of spirits r : .n he distilled with muc h less 

 than 1 2 lbs. of conls ; hut we have good reason to believe the treran consumption 

 isnot lev, thv. ' 



t Ann. t\o f him. et dfl TIins. In 



