AUTOMATIC VINEGAR APPARATUS. 81 



generator may even be entirely overlooked and thus remain inac- 

 tive until the next supply of alcoholic liquid is poured in. 



The greatest disadvantage is, however, the interruption for 

 several hours daily of the formation of vinegar in all the genera- 

 tors, so that, for instance, in a factory working 16- hours a day, 

 one-third of the time is lost. Independently of the small return 

 on the capital invested, these interruptions are accompanied by 

 many other conditions injurious to the regular running of the 

 factory. 



The greatest of these evils is that with the cessation of the sup- 

 ply of alcoholic fluid the augmentation of the vinegar ferment 

 diminishes and finally ceases altogether. Further, the develop- 

 ment of heat in the interior of the apparatus at the same time 

 ceases and the temperature is reduced several degrees, this phenom- 

 enon appearing even in factories provided with the best heating 

 apparatus and keeping up a constant temperature in the workroom 

 during the night. 



In the morning when work is resumed, it is in most cases 

 necessary to vigorously air the apparatus by opening all the draught 

 holes in order to gradually restore the temperature to the required 

 degree, and it requires some time before the apparatus again 

 works in a normal manner. 



The vinegar ferment, however, is very sensitive to changes of 

 temperature as well as to the concentration of the nourishing 

 substance surrounding it, and there can be no doubt that its aug- 

 mentation is prejudiced by the continuous variations of tempera- 

 ture to which it is exposed during the interruptions of several 

 hours a day. That such is actually the case is shown by the fact 

 that the quantity of vinegar ferment formed in the generators is 

 small as compared with that which under conditions favorable to 

 the ferment forms in a short time upon alcoholic liquids. 



Besides the debilitation of the vinegar ferment and the conse- 

 quent disturbance in the regular working of the factory, the 

 repeated reduction of the temperature in the generators has the 

 further disadvantage that besides the vinegar ferment other fer- 

 ments for whose development a low temperature is more favorable 

 may be formed, and these ferments may increase to such an extent 

 as to entirely suppress the vinegar ferment. There can scarcely 



