80 VINEGAR, CIDER, AND FRUIT-WINES. 



portion of the vapors held by it condense to liquid and run off 

 through the tube C into the bottle. The fluid thus obtained con- 

 sists chiefly of alcohol, water, and acetic acid, and is again used 

 for the preparation of alcoholic liquid. On account of the pecu- 

 liar form of the cooling vessel but little water is required for 

 feeding it. As the quantity of vapor separated from the air 

 will, however, be the greater the more energetically the tin coil is 

 cooled off, it is recommended to reduce the temperature of the 

 water to nearly 32 F. by throwing in pieces of ice. 



It has been proposed to regain the vapors by conducting the 

 air containing them into a large vessel in which water in the 

 form of a fine spray trickles down or is injected. It is, of course, 

 possible in this manner to condense the greater portion of vapors 

 of a higher temperature and tension, but with vapors of at the 

 utmost 95 F. little success would be attained. The greater 

 portion of the vapors remaining uncondensed a very large quan- 

 tity of fluid containing but little alcohol would be obtained in 

 the course of a day and this fluid could at the best be used only 

 instead of water for the preparation of alcoholic liquid. The 

 value of the material thus regained would not cover the working 

 expenses of the apparatus. By working, however, with the con- 

 densing apparatus described above, the condensed alcohol does 

 not even contain the total quantity of water evaporated with it, 

 and it need only be compounded with the corresponding quantity 

 of water and vinegar again to yield alcoholic liquid. 



CHAPTER IX. 



AUTOMATIC VINEGAR APPARATUS. 



THE principal work to be performed in a vinegar factory con- 

 sists in pouring at stated intervals the alcoholic fluid into the 

 generators. In a large factory several workmen are constantly 

 engaged in this work and losses by spilling are unavoidable. 

 Further it is almost next to impossible always to pour in the 

 same quantity at exactly the same intervals, and sometimes a 



