328 GILVPE CULTURE AND WINE-MAKING. 



analysis sliows tlie ingredients of wliicli the glass of a good bot- 

 tle that had withstood a strong pressure was composed : 



Silicic acid 58.4 



Potash 1.8 



Soda 9.9 



Lime 18.6 



Aluminum 2.1 



Oxvdc of iron 8.9 



Doubtful 0.3 



100.0 



This bottle contained no magnesia ; but several of the broken 

 bottles contained some, viz., one bottle 2.4 per cent., and another 

 one 3.6 per cent. Of how great an importance the chemical com- 

 position of the Champagne bottles is, the following, incident, which 

 occurred in France, will show clearly : A certain glass manufac- 

 tory used sulphuric alkalies in the composition of their Cham- 

 pagne bottles ; the consequence of which was that the wine dis- 

 solved the sulphuric particles of the glass, and a beverage was 

 produced which smelled like rotten eggs, and tasted somewhat 

 like the mineral waters of Parad, in Hungary. 



The chief properties of a good Champagne bottle are the fol- 

 lowing : 



1. It must weigh from 800 to 900 grammes. 



2. The glass must be of an even thickness. 



3. It must never be of a blue or rainbow color, which can be easily detected by 

 wetting the bottle and holding it np to the sunlight in a horizontal position. 



4. The glass must be perfectly pure ; if but the smallest particle of flint is nsible 

 in it, the bottle can not be used with safety. 



5. The neck of the bottle must be perfectly conical, so as to better hold the cork. 



As it is not advisable to use shot for the cleaning of the bot- 

 tles, the smallest particle of lead being sufficient to spoil the wine, 

 the cleaning apparatus, which was invented by H. Caillet, is gen- 

 erally used for that purpose, the main piece of which is represent- 

 ed in Fif/. 23. The bottle is put with its neck in the opening 

 gofa flat piece of wood marked o, and by the force of the springs 

 r r pressed against another piece of wood marked h. By means 

 of a winch which, through the cords c c, moves the double roll 

 2), the bottle, which is partly filled with water, is quickly turned 

 round; and while a stream of water is washing the outside of it, 

 the workman presses the brush marked Ic, which is attached to 

 an iron wire marked c^yj against it with his left hand^, holding 

 with his right one the brush u x, which cleans the inside of the 

 bottle at the same time. This apparatus is a double one, as our 

 sketch shows, two bottles moving on the same axle, and from two 

 to six of them are generally turned by one cord. Fig. 2-i shows 

 the wooden frames on which the bottles are placed during the 

 cleaning process. 



The CorJcs. 

 The greatest care must be bestowed on the selection of the 



