ON THE ART OF MAKING WINE. 45 



to be subjected to fermentation. The proportions 

 of sugar seem to have been allotted with equal 

 want of consideration ; and it seldom appears to 

 have entered into the minds of the inventors, that 

 the strength of the wine was to depend on this in- 

 gredient. The proportions of the fruits to the to- 

 tal compound, seem to have been dictated by simi- 

 lar caprices \ their natural properties, whether of 

 sugar, acid or flavour, not having been considered 

 in the views of the artist. 



Those ingredients which are added for the 

 avowed purposes of flavour, have been managed 

 with similar want of judgment, and they have in- 

 deed often been supposed capable of communicat- 

 ing the strength, or vinous quality, to the liquor. 

 Instead of being introduced at the decline of the fer- 

 mentation, they have been exposed to all its 

 effects; in consequence of which, their flavour 

 has often been volatilized or destroyed. This is 

 the case with cowslip wine, where an enormous 

 quantity of flowers is used, to obtain an effect 

 -which might be procured with a much smaller 

 allowance. Such also is the practice with rasp- 

 berries, a practice worth noticing, since it affords 

 an opportunity of stating the more correct and 

 useful mode of proceeding. If an attempt is made 

 to form wine from raspberries and sugar, a liquor 

 will be produced with little or no flavour of the 

 fruit ; but a small quantity of syrup or juice of 

 raspberries added at the decline of the fermentation, 



