222 ALCOHOL, VINEGAR, SAUER KRAUT, TOBACCO, SILAGE, FLAX. 
white wine which has been previously boiled, filtered and cooled. 
This mixture is placed in shallow dishes and covered with glass 
plates. The vinegar organism appears in a few hours as a thin scum 
which ordinarily will be pure, or nearly so. If the scum does not 
show any white spots (molds) it is gently lowered upon the surface 
of the vat containing the alcoholic solution which is to be made 
into vinegar. The result is a comparatively pure culture of vinegar 
organisms, and a satisfactory fermentation. When used in making 
vinegar from cider, this process gives a vinegar quite superior 
to the ordinary type, having a finer flavor and better keeping 
properties. 
The farmer who simply lays aside his few barrels of cider or 
other alcoholic solution that it may be converted into vinegar 
will not be troubled or especially interested in the matter of pure 
cultures. A little loss is nothing to him, while the preparing and 
preserving of pure cultures is an impossibility. He feels tolerably 
confident that the cider which he sets aside for the purpose will 
contain some of the acetic acid bacteria and that in course of time 
he will obtain vinegar. Whether he gets the advantage of all the 
alcohol or loses half of it does not matter much to him. Even 
if several barrels should not produce a proper quality of vinegar, 
it would not be of much importance. Sometimes he finds that his 
vinegar is stronger than at other times, and sometimes he finds 
that its taste is much inferior to the ordinary grade of vinegar. 
Perhaps this raises in his mind a temporary question as to the 
reason for the differences. But he never pursues the subject further. 
The Preservation of Vinegar. Vinegar is apt to deteriorate 
by standing. It loses some of its acidity, falls off in flavor, and 
may become muddy and slimy. All these various troubles are 
caused by the continued growth of the microorganisms in the 
vinegar. In such vinegar may be found various growing bacteria, 
and very commonly, especially in cider vinegar, may be found 
vinegar eels in abundance. These latter are little worms that get 
into the vinegar from some source and find it a favorable locality 
for growth and multiplication, They probably injure the quality 
of the vinegar, although, so far as is known, they are harmless 
