FOR THE NATIONAL WEALTH 79 



way to the wine cellars to get the wine for the 

 purpose of analysis, we did not pass by without 

 calling forth some sarcastic comments from the 

 somewhat hostile inhabitants of the little 

 town." 



Whatever this haphazard workshop may 

 have been, Pasteur's experiments, methodically 

 and perseveringly continued, were decisive. 

 What was the cause of the maladies of wines? 

 Contrary to the widely accepted opinions, Pas- 

 teur proved that oxygen was not injurious to 

 wine, but that, on the contrary, it was oxygen 

 which aged it and gave it flavour and bouquet. 

 Wine hermetically sealed, without contact with 

 oxygen, remained forever young. This preju- 

 dice having been overcome by experiments, 

 Pasteur showed further that each malady of 

 wine had its own special microbe and that un- 

 der the microscope it was possible to distin- 

 guish those of la tourne, of I'amer, of la graisse, 

 all of them well-known maladies of wine, but 

 by no means the only ones. 



How was it possible to combat these mi- 



