60 Ofi Citric Acid. 



June 22, 1810. — " I find as much difference in lemon-juice 

 as in wine, and both have more or less body according to ibe 

 particular soil on which the fruit grows. When fresh squeezed, 

 all seems equally sharp and good. Tlie hot weather, however, 

 b the test, and much will not bear it ; it often changes very 

 quickly, and a mawki&h vinegar-sort of taste alone remains. 

 Though the early juice resists the heat the best, I can positively 

 assert that, with the utmost care, there is no certain iy of pre- 

 ser\'ing its native sharpness in the hot months but !)y the addi- 

 tion of lime or some other agent." 



From a table of the produce of this esta!)Hshment in the years 

 1S09 and 1810, it appears that 74,9(14 gallons of juice v^-ere 

 used, and 35,01711)5. of chalk, which gave 49,002 lbs. avoirdu- 

 pois of citrate. Tiie quantity of citrate produced by every lb. 

 of chalk varied from 19 toJ27 ounces, and from every gallon of 

 juice from 8| to 12| oz. avoirdupois. The disparity in the pro- 

 ducts from the chalk is ascribed to the use of an ecjual quantity 

 to every kind of juice, which was very injurious. Dize says that 

 64| lbs. of chalk gave him 20 lbs. of dry citrate ; but 1 have never 

 been able to procure this quantity, and 1 conceive that he had 

 not freed it entirely from the mucilage by washing. Proust (who 

 operated on the fruit of Andalusia) speaks of SOoz. of dry citrate 

 from a pound of chalk, and this, I am confident, is the utmost 

 that can be procured. 



Before I conclude this part of the Essay, it will be right to 

 apprize those who nf.sy intend to embaik in this business, that it 

 vill be necessary to send the whiting from England, as neither 

 lime, nor chalk, nor any other suitable ingredient (the burning 

 of marble beiiig expensive) for the purpose is to be found in Si- 

 cily. In sending out whiting or chalk, it will be advisable not to 

 rely entirely on one shipment ; for, should the calcareous earth 

 be lost, it is probable the whole purchase of juice would be 

 spoiled before a fresh supply could be written for, and actually 

 arrive in the island*. 



[To be continued.] 



* It should also be known that all the resident merchrints h.Tvc an inveterate 

 jeslousy against any new settlers amongst them, and therefore strangers will be 

 dis.'ippointed if they po with an expectation ot receiving the usual facilities in bill 

 negotiations, whatever may be the recommendations which they may take out 

 with them. Everv article which is ihe produce of the island, must be paid for 

 ii» hard ca-ih, and the purchasers should be provided accordingly. Considering 

 thete, and some other difFicutties, which I have already stated, (and I have felt no 

 ficsire to conceal any circumstance, however unfavourable, which is connected 

 with lhi& subject,) 1 am inclined to think that, by purchasing kmon-juice in 

 i>ondon or Liverpool, at favourable opportunities, citrate of lime might be 

 made iti England nearly as cheap as it could be imported from Sicily, with all the 

 inconveniences and di.sadvantages which must inevitably attend its formation in 

 a distant country. However, liaving stated the difTei-ent facts, the reader will be 

 able to form hit own cpji ion. 



XVII. On 



