92 THE AMERICAN VINE-DRESSER'S GUIDE. 



OF WINE VESSELS. 



You must be careful to prepare your tubs 

 some days before the vintaging time. You 

 fill them one-third full of water, and let them 

 soak. After having left this water in the tubs 

 four or five days, and assured yourself that 

 they do not leak, you wash them well, and let 

 them drain, after which you rinse them with 

 a little spirits of wine or warm must. If the 

 tubs have a bad taste, boil ashes and wash 

 them with the water ; if they are musty or 

 sour, you must kindle straw inside of them, 

 taking care to only char them slightly ; then 

 you scrape, clean, and sprinkle the inside with 

 warm wine-must or spirits of wine, and let 

 them drain. Be careful to place a close grat- 

 ing, or a net-work of willow inside the tub 

 near the groove, to catch the grapes, so that 

 they shall not hinder the wine from flowing. 

 What I have just said about tubs is applicable 

 to the wine-press and the casks in which the 

 wine is kept ; and it is necessary to burn a 



