c 



446 Experiments on the Splrli 'inferTriented Liquors, 



Tn order to ascertain the proportion of alcohol with pre- 

 Isiou, pure water was added to the distilled wine, so as 

 nearly to make up the original measure of the wine, a very 

 small allowance being made for the space occupied by the 

 solid ingredients of the wine, and for the inevitable loss 

 during the experiments : thus, five fluid drachms and a half 

 of distilled water were added to fifteen fluid ounces and a 

 quarter of the liquor procured by the distillation of a pint 

 of Port wine, and in other cases nearly the same proportion* 

 were observed. This mixture of the distilled wine and wa- 

 ter was immediately transferred into a well stopped phial, 

 and having been thoroughly a^itnted, was allowed to remain 

 at rest for some hours j its specific gravity (at the temper- 

 ature of GO" Fahrenheit) was then very carefully ascertained, 

 by weighing it in a bottle holding exactly one thousand 

 grains of distilled water at the above temperature, and the 

 proportion of alcohol per cent, btj vieasure, was estimated 

 by a reference to Mr. Gilpin's tables *, the specific gravity 

 of the standard alcohol being 0-82300 at 60\ 



As the most convenient mode of exhibiting the results 

 of these numerous experiments, I have throv.-n thetn into 

 the form of a table: in the first column the wine is speci- 

 fied; the second contains its specific gravity after distilla- 

 tion, as above described ; and the third exhibits the propor- 

 tion of the pure spirit, which every hundred parts of the 

 wine contain. I have also inserted porter, ale, cyder t» 

 brandy, and some other spirituous liqueurs, for the con- 

 venience of conjparing their strength with that of the 

 wines. 



• Phil. Trans. 1794. 



f The proportion of spirit, which may be obtained from these three li- 

 quors, is subject to considerable variation in different samples: the number 

 given for each, in the table, is therefore the mean of several experimenti, a* 

 it did not seem necessary to speciCy them separately. 



Wine. 



