306 VINEGAR, CIDER, AND FRUIT-WINES. 



increases rapidly in size, and receives through the stem the inor- 

 ganic substances indispensable for its development, and water. If, 

 at this stage, it is taken from the tree, it soon commences to 

 wither and decay. But in the second period, when it fairly 

 begins to ripen, its green color is, as a rule, replaced by a yellow, 

 brown-red, or red. Oxygen is now absorbed from the air and 

 carbonic acid is evolved, whilst the starch and cellulose are con- 

 verted into sugar under the influence of the vegetable acids, and 

 the fruit becomes sweet. When the sugar has reached the maxi- 

 mum the ripening is completed ; if the fruit be kept longer, the 

 oxidation takes the form of ordinary decay. 



CHAPTER XXV. 



FRUITS AND THEIR COMPOSITION. 



FOR the preparation of fruit-wines, not only the fruits culti- 

 vated in our gardens and orchards on account of their fine flavor 

 are used, but sometimes also others which do not by any means 

 possess an agreeable taste, and whose juices after fermentation 

 yield a product which has at least only a very doubtful claim to 

 the name of " wine." The utilization of such material for wine- 

 making can only be explained by special fancy, and hence here 

 only such fruits will be considered as, on account of the nature 

 of their juices, will yield with rational treatment a beverage of 

 a sufficiently agreeable taste to be liked. 



For the fabrication of fruit-wine, sugar not only by itself but 

 also in its proportion to the free acid present, is undoubtedly the 

 most important constituent of the fruit. The following compila- 

 tion from Fresenius gives the average percentage of sugar in 

 different varieties of fruit. 



