HI 



AM ,>||o I. IP MilKK-v 



ALCOHOLOMETRY. 



action. A larger quantity, or wvend auall doses repeated at short 

 interval*, extend the action beyond the sphere of the splanchnic nerve, 

 even to the spinal chord, the "brain, awl entire nervous system. The 

 feeling of comfort and warmth experienced in the pnecordial region i 

 itiffused over the whole frame. The puke w rawed, become* more 

 powerful and quicker, all raiucular action* take place with more 

 Ma, Ktrength. and capacity of endurance, the tone of the nervou* 

 y*tem i* raised, the influence of the nervous energy upon the other 

 organ* U quicker and more powerful ; but, above all, that part of 

 the nervous intern whose functions are executed by the brain in 

 mod perceptibly increased, aa is seen in the greater cheerfulness, 

 humour, and courage, as well as the more active and acute power 

 of thinking. During this degree of action the sensibility to external 

 impremions U unimpaired, or even in many instances augmented, an i* 

 manifested by a more eager participation in the incidents occurring 

 or sentiments expressed, and in the expansion nf the affection* or 



Contemporaneously with these, all the function* of organic life are 

 carried on more actively ; of which we have pnx>f in the increaaed 

 secretions, especially of the cutaneous transpiration and secretion of 

 urine. 



From this view, it is obvious that alcohol is an agent which, within 

 certain limits, may be most beneficially employed when some portion 

 of the system, particularly the stomach, brain, or kidneys, requires 

 assistance. Hence, under the influence of many sedative poisons, 

 alcohol furnishes the readiest and most potent means of counteracting 

 their effects, the prolonged action of which would prove fatal. Some 

 poisons however, particularly those of ranunculaceous plants, such as 

 monkshood, probably from their active principle being dissolved by the 

 spirit, have their deleterious influence increased by alcohol. In the 

 sinking stage of fevers, and many analogous states, alcohol furnishes 

 the only means of warding off death. In malarious districts and in 

 very humid regions, a moderate use of alcoholic drinks protects the 

 frame against injurious impressions. Hence, in Holland, and even in 

 fenny districts of our own country, alcohol is useful. When cold is 

 conjoined to humidity, it is still more serviceable. The Swiss peasant 

 at great elevation* on the Alps, and the shepherd in the Highlands, set 

 the mints of their mountains at defiance ; the former by his ' enziangeist,' 

 or ' bitter-maps,' the latter with whiskey. Such persons are rarely intoxi- 

 cated. Many persons with feeble and slow digestion have the process 

 expedited by a small portion of alcohol taken after their meals. Those 

 alo who suffer much from acidity in the stomach, or who are prone to 

 calculous disorder*, find great benefit from pure alcohol, in preference 

 to either malt liquors or wines. (Prout, 'On Diseases of the Stomach,' 

 3rd ed. p. 9.) For the difference between pure alcohol and alcohol 

 combined with other principles in wines, see WISES. With persons 

 very prone to acidity, pure alcohol agrees better than any wines, espe- 

 cially than the sweet wines; and those disposed to the lithic acid 

 diathesis find alcohol preferable to all wines except those of the 

 Rhine, the employment of which however must be habitual, not 

 occasional. Immense benefit* would be conferred on the community 

 in thia country, if those light wines could be introduced at a moderate 

 price, as the quantity of alcohol in them is very small compared with 

 other wines. 



A reference to the chemical composition of alcohol will show that it 

 is a highly carbonised compound. When taken to excess it produces 

 exhaustion of the nervous power and an oppression of the circulation, 

 almost apoplectic. Emetics or the stomach-pump, vegetable acids given 

 freely, occasionally dashing cold water on the face or head, artificial 

 respiration, and very cautious venesection, in some instances restore the 

 sufferer. I.iebig says alcohol has not been detected in the urine. When 

 the quantity taken is not excessive, and can be all exhaled by the lungs, 

 thi* may be true ; but the presence of alcohol in the brain, blood, and 

 urine lias been proved by Dr. Percy. 



(Dr. Oolding Bird, in 3lr,n,l <;',i-rtte, voL xxxiv. p. 890.) 

 ALCOHOLIC DRINKS. The number of alcoholic drinks U sur- 

 prisingly large and varied. The following are the principal : Atjtta 

 A rdienlt, made in Mexico, from the fermented juice of the Agave; 

 Arafl- or Arrark, made in India from the juice of the palm and from 

 rice; Arai-a, made in Tartary, from fermented mare'* milk; Arai-l, 

 made in Egypt from dates ; Arita, made in Tartary and in Iceland, 

 from fermented cow's milk ; Hrandy, made in nearly all wine countries 

 from wine and from fruits ; Hrannticrin, the coarsest sort of j>irit 

 used in Germany, is manufactured principally from potatoes, but 

 occasionally rye U used ; Geneva or Holland*, made in Holland from 

 malted barley or rye, rectified on juniper berries ; Qin, made in England 

 from malted barley, rye, or potatoes, and rectified with turpentine ; 

 Ooldumaer, made at Dantzic from various kinds of corn, and rectified 

 with unices ; Kirrfhu-aufr, made in Switzerland and Germany from the 

 Machaleb cherry ; Ian, made at Siam from rice ; -I/ made in 



Dahnatia from the Macaraka cherry; Ifahmik A rrai-l; made in Indh 

 fn.m UM flowers of the Madhuca tree ; Rum, made in the West Indian 

 and South America from cane sugar, and molasnes ; Jtakia, made in 

 Dalmatia from the huaks of grape*, mixed with aromatic* ; Xomolio, 

 made at DanUic from a compound of brandy with certain plant* ; 

 h'nyarCKihi, made at Scio from fruit and lee* of wine ; Slatl-ala- 

 Inan. made at Kamxchatka from a weet gnuw ; Stimr-rTino, made in 

 (')iin.i from th<! lw of rice wine; Trtaln, made in the Rhenish pro- 



vinces from the hunk* of grape* fermented with KM !<-y and r\ i : Tuba, 

 made in the Philippine Inlands from |*)m wine; Vino Mrmtl, made in 

 Mexico by distilling the fermented juice of the Agave ; WhiiL-r;/, made 

 in Scotland and Ireland from raw and malted grain, and in tin 

 of France from xloe*. 



However different the above alcoholic beverage* may be, tl. 

 have a common resemblance in these particular*: they all consist 

 i -hiefly of spirit or alcohol diluted in very varimn. ]>r<>|uini<>n>> ; 'i 

 cm i tain portion* of essential oil*, or colouring nut' 

 matter; they all derive their distinctive character from the nature of 

 these added substance*; and they may all be made to yield pure 

 alcohol by re-distillation and rectification. [BRANDT ; DISTILLATION ; 

 ,tc.] 



Numerous as they are, these drink* are wholly distinct from the 

 various rich and luscious CORDIALS and Liyt Krus. The Americans 

 display remarkable ingenuity in the prejnration of .-m-h drink*, and n<> 

 lens in the invention of extraordinary names for tin m. 



ALCOHOLOMETRY. The process of estimating the percentage 

 amount of absolute alcohol in any sample of .-|>i.,'-. whi'-h ;- usually 

 effected by the determination of the specific gravity of the sam|>l<-. A- 

 a preliminary to this estimation, it is necessary tint th.- .,l.-..li<.) ,-hmild 

 be freed as far as possible from every foreign ingredient except water. 

 This i* easily effected, in the case of 'wine* and fermented liquors, by 

 submitting them to distillation until the whole of the alcohol ha* 

 passed over. The temperature of the distillate being then brought t 

 60, it i* ready for the determination of the specific gravity, which i- 

 performed by a delicate hydrometer. [HYDBOMETEB ] Vast numbers 

 of experiments have been made by various observer* on the densities of 

 mixture* of alcohol and water, and the results of these experiment* 

 form the groundwork of the different table* exhibiting the percentage 

 of alcohol in spirits of various specific gravities. The following table 

 by Drinkwater is one frequently used in alcoholometry : 



