wood or be present within it. The barrels are often sulphured some 

 days, or even weeks, before they are filled ; at other times the filling 

 of the barrel with wine takes place immediately after the sulphuring. 

 In both, cases notable quantities of sulphurous acid become diffused 

 throughout the wine itself. It is evident that some care must be 

 exercised in the use of sulphur in wine making for two very impor- 

 tant reasons. In the first place, if too much sulphur be used, red 

 wines would to a certain extent be bleached. In the second place, 

 if the wines become entirely saturated with sulphurous acid the sec- 

 ondary fermentations which produce the ripening of the wine would 

 not take place. In such cases the wines apparently appear to be per- 

 fectly mature within one or two years, whereas the proper maturation 

 of a wine requires a much longer time. In the manufacture of non- 

 fortified sweet wines much larger amounts of sulphur are used than in 

 the manufacture of dry wines. This is an important fact, since it 

 shows that the large quantities of sulphur are not necessary for the 

 preservation of dry wines, because it is well known that red wines, 

 which are generally very dry, are quite as well preserved as white, 

 although containing much less sulphurous acid. It is claimed that 

 in the manufacture of sweet wines that is, those in which the natural 

 sugars coming from the juice of the grape are not entirely fer- 

 mented larger quantities of sulphur are necessary to prevent fer- 

 mentation after the wine is mature. If the sweet wine be made 

 from a suitable kind of grape that is, one which is so rich in sugar 

 that it gives a certain maximum quantity of alcohol and still leaves 

 some unfermented sugar it is evident that no excess of sulphurous 

 acid will be necessary. In such a case the wine would be preserved 

 by its natural alcoholic content. If, on the other hand, a sweet wine 

 be made from a must so poor in sugar that it is necessary to add an 

 additional quantity, the product can not be regarded as a natural 

 wine, and hence there seems to be no necessity for providing for its 

 manufacture. 



In the manufacture of sirups and molasses it is quite customary to 

 expose the freshly expressed juices of the cane to the fumes of burn- 

 ing sulphur. The " sulphur box " used in this case is so constructed 

 that the juice, falling over shelves by gravity, absorbs the fumes of 

 the burning sulphur rising from the box, which to this extent serves 

 as a chimney. The sulphur dioxid becomes incorporated with the 

 components of the juice, forming more or less stable compounds which 

 are not entirely broken up by subsequent boiling. The sulphur in 

 this form, as well as that which may still be present in the free state 

 that is, either as an absorbed gas or in combination with metallic 

 bases passes into the finished product. When sugar is made the 

 sulphur compounds are concentrated in the molasses and this con- 



[Cir. 37] 



