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CHAPTER XVII. 

 ACIDS. 



TARTAR CREAM OF TARTAR TARTARIC ACID -OXALIC 



PYROLIGNEOUS AND ACETIC CITRIC GALLIC. 



AN acidulous concrete salt is disengaged from 

 wines while kept in casks, and, adhering to the tops 

 and sides of the containing vessels, forms a crust 

 which hardens to the consistence of a stone. This 

 substance is generally called tartar, but is known in 

 commerce under the name of Argol. Its goodness 

 depends rather on the repeated fermentations pro- 

 duced by a succession of new wines in the casks, than 

 on the soil or climate where the wine is grown. 



Less tartar is afforded by sweet than by sharp 

 wines, and it is also less valuable. The tartar of 

 Rhenish wine is better than that of any other ; and 

 in general those wines which have the most acid 

 in them furnish the greatest quantity of tartar, and 

 that too in the largest crystals. Argol brought 

 from Germany is the best, because it is formed around 

 those vats of immense dimensions and great dura- 

 bility, which are given as dowries to daughters, or 

 descend as heir-looms from father to son. In these 

 vast repositories the salt is left undisturbed until it 

 comes to a hard consistence, which is one of the chie. 

 qualities to be regarded in tartar. 



Argol is either white or red, according to the 

 colour of the wine from which it was produced. 

 The white is preferred to the red, as it contains fewer 

 impurities ; but they differ in no other respect, their 



