252 FKAGMENTS OF SCIENCE. 



described beer as the wine of barley. It is extremely 

 difficult to preserve beer in a hot country, still, Egypt 

 was the land in which it was first brewed, the desire of 

 man to quench his thirst with this exhilarating bever- 

 age overcoming all the obstacles which a hot climate 

 threw in the way of its manufacture. 



Our remote ancestors had also learned by experience 

 that wine maketh glad the heart of man. Noah, we 

 are informed, planted a vineyard, drank of the wine 

 and experienced the consequences. But, though wine 

 and beer possess so old a history, a very few years ago 

 no man knew the secret of their formation. Indeed, it 

 might be said that until the present year no thorough 

 and scientific account was ever given of the agencies 

 which come into play in the manufacture of beer, of 

 the conditions necessary to its health, and of the mala- 

 dies and vicissitudes to which it is subject. Hitherto 

 the art and practice of the brewer have resembled those 

 of the physician, both being founded on empirical ob- 

 servation. By this is meant the observation of facts, 

 apart from the principles which explain them, and 

 which give the mind an intelligent mastery over them. 

 The brewer learnt from long experience the conditions, 

 not the reasons, of success. But he had to contend, 

 and has still to contend, against unexplained perplexi- 

 ties. Over and over again his care has been rendered 

 nugatory; his beer has fallen into acidity, or rottenness, 

 and disastrous losses have been sustained, of which he 

 has been unable to assign the cause. It is the hidden 

 enemies against which the physician and the brewer 

 have hitherto contended, that recent researches are 

 dragging into the light of day, thus preparing the way 

 for their final extermination. 



Let us glance for a moment at the outward and visi- 



