• from the Fruit of the common Arbuhis. 407 



first about a thousand hogsheads were obtained, and the follow- 

 ing vear this quantity was more than doubled. 



The spirit was of a good quality; it was sold at Trieste at 

 the average price of lOO livres the hogshead. The expense of ma- 

 nufacture amounted only to 30 livres. It has a taste singularly 

 agreeable, and not in the least empvreumatic, so that it may be 

 very well employed in the preparation of fine liqueurs. It was 

 in great request at Trieste. 



The fruit of the arbutus is attended with this precious advan- 

 tage, that it succeeds perfectly in those years when the olive and 

 the raisin fail, which it is well known are the principal produc- 

 tions of the Dalmatian islands. 



To manufacture the arbutus spirit, the fruit is collected at the 

 moment that it begins to soften, and is easily plucked from the 

 tree ; it is bruised, and put into vessels to ferment. When there 

 is not enough of juice to cover the skins of the fruit, sea-water 

 is added, and the mass is stirred twice every day. If the fruit 

 were left in immediate contact with the air, it would become 

 soured; besides, the sugar being badly dissolved and the mass too 

 little diluted, it could not conveniently ferment. 



From the moment that the fermentation has actively com- 

 menced, a quantity of liquid is withdrawn every day by a cock 

 at the bottom of the vessel, and poured again on the surface of 

 the matter in fermentation. This gives a uniform progress to 

 the fermenting process throughout the whole mass. 



As soon as the fermentation is finished, the liquid is withdrawn, 

 and submitted to distillation. It furnishes about the fourth of 

 its bulk in spirits of from IS to 20 degrees of strength. Wine 

 treated in the same manner gives a spirit of only 1-1 degrees. 



After the abstraction of the alcoholic liquor, the remaining 

 mass is served with the tenth of its weight of sea-water ; it is 

 then pressed, and the liquid obtained is submitted to distillation, 

 either separately or conjointly with the direct produce of the 

 fermentation. The preference is given to sea-water on account 

 of its greater property of precipitating the viscous principle, and 

 rendering thus the ])roducl more limpid, and more easy to be 

 drawn off. 



A thousand pounds of fruit furnished a hogshead of whiskey of 

 16 degrees strength. 



The Austrian Government, wishing to verify an assertion con- 

 tained in ihiiAmudc^ ties Arts et Mimufdctures (1812), that the 

 fruit of a sugar tree discovered in Spain (which tree was nothing 

 else than tlie Arl'i/ttis iiiiedo) furnished tlie fifth of its weight in 

 syrup fit for crystallising, appointed M. Bignami, ))hysician of 

 i>j>iratro, to make an experiment on the subject. 



Twenty pounds of fruit were broken down, diluted with water, 



and 



