274 CHYMISTRY APPLIED TO AGRICULTURE. 



ders the use of it common, the laborer has seldom the means 

 of procuring it daily : it is therefore necessary that its place 

 should elsewhere be supplied by such other liquors as will 

 produce nearly the same eifect, and this is done by the fer- 

 mentation of grains, fruits, milk, the sap of trees, &c., from 

 the product of which there is formed in Europe a great va- 

 riety of liquors ; some of these have become very important 

 articles of consumption and of commerce. 



The peasants in the greater part of our districts, have ac- 

 quired the habit of preparing their liquors from the fermen- 

 tation of most of these substances ; and as the only object I 

 have in view is to furnish information in regard to extending 

 and perfecting these processes, I shall confine myself to 

 pointing out such methods as are easily executed, and which 

 require the employment of such substances only, as are 

 everywhere in the hands of the agriculturist. 



All mucilaginous fruits, all fleshy stone fruits, excepting 

 those which yield oil, all grains which contain gluten, sugar, 

 or starch, are capable of undergoing the spirituous or alco- 

 holic fermentation. 



The expressed juice of saccharine fruits may be made 

 to ferment by exposure to a sufficient degree of heat. The 

 method most commonly pursued, is that of crushing or 

 grinding the fruits, and thus fermenting the pulp with the 

 juice; in this manner are treated apples, pears, grapes, 

 cherries, &c. &c. 



For such fruits as are not very juicy, but contain how- 

 ever some sugar and mucilage, and for such as can be 

 made to keep better by being dried, some water is em- 

 ployed to mix and dissolve the fermentable principles : in 

 this class of fruits may be placed those of the service-tree, 

 the cornelian cherry, the medlar, the mulberry, the privet, 

 the juniper, the Neapolitan medlar, the thorn-apple, the 

 wild plum, &c., and with them the dried fruits of the plum 

 and fig-tree, and of some of the other trees and shrubs be- 

 fore mentioned. 



To produce the developement of the saccharine princi- 

 ple in bread corns by germination, they must be moistened 

 with water : the spirituous fermentation is afterwards ex- 

 cited in them by immersing them in water, containing the 

 yeast of beer, or leaven made of wheat flour. The opera- 

 tion of germination may even be suppressed by mixing 

 the meal with a portion of leaven and of luke-warm water ; 

 this dough may be allowed to ferment for twenty-four hours, 



