FERMENTED LIQUORS. 



FERN. 



Thus we see that the 72 parts of carbon of 

 the sugar is divided between the alcohol and 

 the carbonic acid ; that the whole of the hydro- 

 gen both of the sugar and the water enter into 

 the composition of the alcohol, and only 32 

 parts of the ogygen of the sugar, and none of 

 that of the water. Fermentation, therefore, 

 effects merely a change in the distribution of 

 the components of the bodies subjected to its 

 action ; the yeast or ferment being the agent 

 which effects these changes without itself en- 

 tering into the products resulting from them. 

 The yeast, if added, remains as residual matter, 

 but where no yeast is required, that substance 

 is one of the products of the process. 



But this is only that species of fermentation 

 which is denominated vinous. If the fermen- 

 tation proceeds beyond the point which has 

 been described, such changes, as already 

 stated, take place ; and vinegar or acetic acid 

 is generated, and the process is then termed 

 acetous fermentation. A third kind of fermen- 

 tation also follows in most vegetable matters, 

 namely, the putrefactive, in which there is a 

 large production of gases, and vegetable mould 

 or humus. In general parlance, however, the 

 term fermentation implies either the vinous or 

 the acetous fermentation. 



FERMENTED LIQUORS are those liquors 

 obtained by the process described in the pre- 

 ceding article. See also BEER, CIDER, WINE, 

 ALCOHOL, &c. All liquors which have under- 

 gone the vinous fermentation are considered as 

 great antidotes to putrefaction ; for it has been 

 remarked that since the custom of brewing and 

 distilling liquors has prevailed in Europe, 

 many of those cutaneous and putrid diseases 

 with which our forefathers were afflicted have 

 been less frequent and severe than they for- 

 merly were. The total abstinence from fer- 

 mented liquors by the Turks is further assigned 

 as one of the chief causes why they are more 

 liable to the plague and other contagious dis- 

 eases, than those nations among whom beer or 

 wine is the common beverage. (Willick's Dom. 

 Encyc.} This opinion, however, is purely hy- 

 pothetical. 



FERN. An acotyledonous or flowerless 

 class of weeds, of which there are many spe- 

 cies in Great Britain. They grow chiefly in 

 mountainous tracts of natural pasture. Fern 

 is extremely difficult to eradicate, as the roots 

 in deep soils have been found at the depth of 

 seven or eight feet. But however troublesome 

 this plant may prove to the industrious hus- 

 bandman, it is not altogether useless. It forms 

 a good litter for cattle, and may be used as 

 thatch ; for though inferior to many other ma- 

 terials, it will last ten or twelve years. It 

 forms a good manure for potatoes, when dug 

 into the soil ; and serves for fuel, where it is 

 plentiful, for brewing, baking, heating ovens, 

 burning lime, &c. The ashes, which the 

 plant affords in great abundance, yield potash ; 

 and the poor in some districts mix the ashes 

 with water and form lye balls for scouring 

 linen, which are a useful and cheap substitute 

 for soap. In Norway, the dried leaves are in- 

 fused in hot water, and thus afford a whole- 

 some and relishing food for all domestic cattle, 

 468 



which eat them eagerly, and manage to thrive 

 and grow fat upon them. 



In a botanical point of view, it would be im- 

 possible and useless to describe all the species 

 of ferns in this work ; we shall therefore notice 

 particularly those only which are applicable 

 to other uses than thatching, or the production 

 of alkali from their ashes, or constituting ma- 

 nure, as they may all be employed for these 

 purposes. 



1. Male Shield Fern (Jtspidiumfilfr-mas') is a 

 perennial, growing in woods, dry ditches, and 

 on shady banks. Its roots are tufted, large, 

 scaly ; its fronds or herbage are several from 

 one root, three feet high, doubly pinnate, erect; 

 the midribs scaly, and the leaflets obtuse, ser- 

 rated, partly confluent; the masses of seminal 

 capsules near the midrib, and not occupying 

 more than the half of each leaflet ; and the 

 capsular cover orbicular. 



The root is nauseous, and was at one time 

 much used as a remedy for tape worm ; it 

 indeed was the principal ingredient in the 

 celebrated remedy of Madame Nouffer, who 

 received 18,000 francs from Louis XVI. for 

 her secret : but since the introduction of the 

 oil of turpentine, as a remedy for tape worm, 

 fern root has ceased to be employed. 



2. Maidenhair (Adiantum capillus renm's) is 

 a perennial found on moist rocks and old walls 

 near the sea. It is an elegant fern ; the roots 

 are blackish, shaggy, creeping; the fronds 

 from 6 to 12 inches high, doubly compound ; 

 the leaflets alternate on capillary stalks, wedge- 

 shaped, lobed, deep green, smooth, and each 

 segment terminated in a roundish, flat scale, 

 with the cover transversely oblong. 



This fern as well as another species of the 

 same genus, Jl.pedatum, is employed for mak- 

 ing the well-known syrup called capillairc, which 

 is, when diluted with water, a pleasant beve- 

 rage in fever. 



3. Fir Club Moss (Lycopodium selugo). A 

 perennial, common on the Derbyshire and 

 Yorkshire hills, and in the Highlands of Scot- 

 land. The root is fibrous; the stem 5 to 10 

 inches high, once or twice forked, and level at 

 the top. The leaves uniform, crowded in eight 

 rows, lanceolate, obtuse, entire, slightly spread- 

 ing; capsules on the uppermost shoots, kidney- 

 shaped. See CLUB Moss. 



The Highlanders use this fern instead of 

 alum to fix colours in dyeing. The root is a 

 powerful emetic and purgative; but its action 

 is attended with giddiness and convulsions, 

 consequently it is dangerous. 



4. Greater Rough Horsetail (Equisctnm hye- 

 male). A perennial, found in boggy woods. 

 The root is black and variously branched ; the 

 stem 2 to 3 feet high, erect, naked, rough, 

 branching at the top, embraced by tight whitish 

 sheaths, black at the top and bottom; and the 

 teeth deciduous. The fruit is in a terminal cat- 

 kin, and abounds with whitish powdery seeds. 



This fern is well known for its use as a 

 polisher, owing to the flinty particles (silex) 

 deposited in the furrows of the cuticle. It is 

 usually imported from Holland, and is there- 

 fore called Dutch rushes. (Willich's Dom. En- 

 eye. , Low's Prac. 



