Notices respecting New "Books. f>7 



IS doubtless to be aTtrlbuted the excessive and increasing preva- 

 lence of hepatic affections, diseases comparatively Httle known 

 to our continental neighbours. It is sutficient to have touched 

 on this most imporiant suliject, on which the proposed limits of 

 the present essay will not allow me to dwell. It is more to my 

 present purpose to shovv, that the use of brandy in the manu- 

 facture of wine is founded on a mistaken principle. Having 

 shown that it is injurious to wine in general, by destroying its 

 liveliness and hastening its decomposition, I might strengthen 

 this assertion by mentioning that it is not used in any of the 

 wines of France or Germanv, and x\^?^, the finer wines, claret, 

 burgundy, and hock, are totally destroyed by it. But it is also 

 proper to point out its insufficiency for producing the effects ex- 

 pected from it, tlie preservation of the wine, and tlie retardation 

 of tbe acetous process. The former parts of this essay having 

 fully explained the nature both of the vinous and of the acetous 

 fermentation, I need not here again describe them, except to re- 

 mind the reader, that the acetous process cannot take place 

 while there exists between the leaven and the sugar a dispropor- 

 tion in favour of the latter, and that the fermentation cannot be 

 re-excited if the leaven has been entirely separated by the usual 

 processes of racking, fining, and sulphuring, should even the 

 sugar have disappeared. Such wine can therefore have no ten- 

 dency to vinegar, and the addition of brandy if intended to pre- 

 vent that effect is at least superfluous. It is now to be inquired 

 whether brandy has any power to prevent the acetous process 

 iToni taking place, supposing that the circumstances favourable 

 to it are present. If brandy in small quantity be introduced into 

 vinegar during the acetous stage of fermentation, the process 

 goes on as before, and the alcohol is acetified, the produce be- 

 coming a stronger vinegar. This has indeed been lately denied 

 by Mr. Cadet, in whose hands the addition of alcohol in small 

 (juantities appears to have had no effect on the acetous process. 

 From his tspcriments it would also appear that the addition of 

 alcohol in a quantity exceeding l-17th of the fluid suspends the 

 acetification. In the state of ignorance in which we are re- 

 ■specting the cht niical nature of that process, it docs not appear 

 easv to reconcile these contradictory experiments. Admitting 

 that the experiments of Mr. Cadet are unexceptionable, it remains 

 certain that wine can be, -m it daily is, brougiit iiito the acetous 

 fermentation by proper treatment or under certain natural cir- 

 cumstances, although containing a far greater proportion of al- 

 cohol than that which appeared to hhn sufficient to suspend the 

 process. It is certainly posf ible that the state of combination 

 above described, in which the alcohol exists in the wine, may, 

 v.hf-n fonlta'^ted v.'ilhtlie mere mixture which may possibly take 



E 2 place 



