Q'-S Method of extracting Spirits /ton Potatoes ^ 



hard wood, or stoij€, which may be drawn more or less to- 

 gether, as occasion requires, by means of a wheel and a 

 handle to it, which serves to drive the axles of the cylinders 

 together. 



Above the cylinders there is a trough or hopper, into 

 which the potatoes are put after being drawn out of the tun,. 

 by little and little, by means yf a shovel ; and being bruised 

 by the action of the cylinders in this trough, they fall imme- 

 diately into a tub placed below them. What renders this 

 tub indispensable, is, that below each cylinder there is an 

 iron scraper, to detach the boiled potatoes which may ad- 

 here to the cylinders. 



When the potatoes are thus prepared, the grated barley 

 is put into a tub and diluted with lukewarm water, taking 

 care not to dilute it too much : the potatoes are then mixed 

 with it by tubfulls as they are ground, and when they are 

 finished the necessary quantity of water is added, and both 

 ingredients are stirred until perfectly well mixed, and not the 

 least lump left. The liquor is then left to settle; stirring it, 

 however, at intervals until the whole is cold, and in a proper 

 state to receive the yeast. 



In some places beer yeast is used ; but in others an arti- 

 ficial ferment is prepared, composed simply of clean ground 

 rice. This last yeast is prepared by kiieading the ground 

 rice in cold water ; boiling water is then added until a thick 

 broth is formed. All the efficacy of this preparation results 

 from the care taken in hcatu>g it : if too much or too little 

 heated, the whole mass will be spoiled. 



To conclude: — It may be observed that potatoes ferment 

 much more easily than grain, and require less yeast ; the fer- 

 mentation besides is very strong, and' produces a great quan- 

 tity of froth ; but it does not operate alike through the 

 whole of it, because, in particular places, the gross and 

 membranous part of the potatoes forms a strong crust above, 

 through which the froth cannot penetrate so easily. Expe- 

 rience shows that, upon distilling potatoe spirits with car- 

 rots and beet-root, the spirit then drawn is better and more 

 abundant than when made with potatoes and beet-root 

 alone ; and the advantages reported to have been derived 



from 



