Vol. XXIII. N0.3.] 



POPULAR SOIEISTCE NEWS. 



39 



^onje, Earn?, aRd Gardeii. 



WINE MAKING. 



The growing of grapes and the making of 

 wine occupies the attention of a large propor- 

 tion of the tillers of the soil. This industry 

 is of the greatest antiquity and, in fact, the 

 only man deemed worthy to be saved from 

 the wreck of a degenerate world, engaged in 

 it as soon as the prolonged "wet spell," re- 

 corded in the book of Genesis, came to an end, 

 and, like many of his less distinguished de- 

 scendants, proved his own best customer, 

 much to his disadvantage. 



Whatever opinion one may hold as to the 

 desirability or necessity of the use of wine as 

 a beverage, grape culture is an important and 

 extensive form of agriculture, and the process 

 as carried on in the European vineyards is of 

 much scientific interest. In this country the pro- 

 duction is rapidly increasing, and in point of 

 purity and freedom from adulteration, the 

 American product compares most favorably 

 with that of Europe. Most excellent varieties 

 of wine are also made from oranges and 

 other sweet fruits. 



For the proper ripening of the fruit of the 

 grape-vine ( litis vinifera) an average sum- 

 mer temperature of from 64 ° to 68 ° is 

 necessary. The sweetness and flavor of the 

 grape depends upon the more or less complete 

 conversion of the tartaric and other acids of 

 the unripe fruit into grape-sugar. The whole 

 of Central and Southern Europe has a climate 

 suitable for this purpose, as has the larger part 

 of the United States, but the climate of Eng- 

 land is too cool and moist to properly ripen 

 the grapes, while in New England it is a very 

 uncertain matter, and the October frosts will, 

 in a great many seasons, ruin the entire crop 

 before sufficient sugar has been formed to fit 

 the grapes for the wine press. The Concord, 

 Delaware, and similar grapes ripen with us 

 to perfection for eating purposes, but Nature, 

 evidently, never intended the land of the Pu- 

 ritans to be a wine-producing region. 



The grapes, after being gathered, are 

 stripped from the stalk and placed in large 

 wine-presses, where the juice is extracted by 

 pressure. These presses in Europe are usu- 

 ally of a rude and simple construction, much 

 resembling an old-fashioned cider press, but 

 the use of a centrifugal machine, in which the 

 juice or must is extracted from the grapes by 

 rapidly rotating them in a cylindrical vessel, 

 has been suggested, and tried with most ex- 

 cellent results, ten minutes time sufficing to 

 perfectly express the juice from 1 20 pounds 

 of grapes, and giving nearly two per cent, 

 more of the product. When the American 

 inventive genius turns its attention to this in- 

 dustry we may expect to see great improve- 

 ments over the present methods, which prob- 

 ably do not much differ from those used in 

 the time of Noah himself. 



The juice of the grapes as it runs from the 

 press is divided into two or three parts ; that 

 produced first by the lightest pressure, making 

 the best flavored wine, as it is most free from 

 the tannic acid and other astringent and bad 

 tasting constituents of the seeds and skin. 

 The color of the wine depends upon the color 

 of the grapes, white wine being made from 

 light colored varieties, while the red wines 

 are expressed from the dark colored fruit, the 

 purple coloring matter present in their skins 

 being changed to red by contact with the tar- 

 taric acid in the juice. 



The most important constituent of the 

 grape juice is the grape sugar, a mixture of 

 dextrose and levulose. As has been stated 

 above, it is formed during the ripening of the 

 fruit from tartaric and small quantities of 

 other acids, and upon the proportion between 

 the acid and sugar depends, largely', the quali- 

 ty of the wine. In a poor year there may be 

 only twelve times as much sugar as acid, 

 while in a season favorable to the complete 

 ripening of the fruit there may be twenty-four 

 times as much. 



The fermentation of the grape juice is car- 

 ried on in open vats, and is spontaneous, no 

 addition of yeast being necessary. The yeast 

 germs are always present in the air, and, fall- 

 ing into the juice, increase and multiply by 

 feeding upon the albuminous substances pres- 

 ent, at the same time decomposing the sugar 

 into carbonic dioxide and alcohol. A tem- 

 perature from 50 ° to 60 o is most favorable 

 for the progress of the fermentation, which is 

 finished in from ten to fourteen days, when 

 the wine is drawn ort" into casks or bottles, 

 where a slight after fermentation generally 

 takes place. Much care is necessary to pre- 

 vent the occurrence of the acetic fermentation, 

 which is especially liable to occur in weak 

 wines, and would speedily convert them into 

 vinegar. During the progress of the fermen- 

 tation the bi-tartrate of potash which is pres- 

 ent in the juice is precipitated, as it is insol- 

 uble in weak alcohol, and is the principal 

 source of the cream of tartar of commerce. 



A " dry" wine is one in which all the su- 

 gar has been fermented and changed to alco- 

 hol, while a sweet wine contains a greater or 

 less proportion unchanged. The percentage 

 of alcohol in wmes varies from 7 per cent, in 

 claret and hock to 17 or 20 per cent, in sherry 

 and Madeira. These latter, including port 

 wine, are often " fortified " by the artificial 

 addition of brandy or alcohol to preserve them 

 from the acetic fermentation, when sent to 

 other countries, but the practice is not a com- 

 mendable one. 



Champagne is essentially an artificial wine, 

 as sugar and flavoring substances are added 

 to it when it is bottled. Its effervescing qual- 

 ity is due to the fact that a part of the fermen- 

 tation takesjplace in the bottle, the carbonic 

 acid gas thus formed remaining un<ler pres- 



sure. The entire process of manufacturing 

 champagne is a very complicated one and re- 

 quires much care, skill and experience. The 

 bottles containing the fermenting wine must 

 be carefully watched and turned, and are 

 opened one or more times for the purpose of 

 removing the sediment which forms in them. 

 The loss by the burstingof bottles is also quite 

 large, and adds considerably to the cost of 

 this seductive but treacherous beverage. 



We must also add a word in regard to the 

 phylloxera, that parasite which has already 

 devastated so many French vineyards, and 

 given a severe blow to a national industry. 

 No thoroughly effective means of destroying 

 it has yet been discovered, and a large reward 

 is offered by the French government for such 

 a remedy. Fortunately the parasite does not 

 seem to attack the stronger vines of this 

 country, and there is little danger that it will 

 ever do serious damage to our American vine- 

 yards. 



+♦* 



[Original in The Popular Science News.} 

 THE MUSHROOM. 



BY ANNA HINRICHS. 



Mushroom culture is, undeservedly, sadly nes;- 

 lected in this country. In Italy it is shunned as a 

 most deadly poison, but in Russia and also in Ger- 

 many, it is considered a great delicacy, and its nutri- 

 tive qualities are quite generally recognized. 



The danger from musliroom poisoning has been 

 greatly exaggerated. True, cases of poisoning from 

 this source have occurred, and have proved fatal. 

 But in observing certain rules of precaution, all pos- 

 sibilities of this nature are effectually averted. The 

 mushroom must never be used unless perfectly fresh; 

 if maggot-eaten, or vyilted, in short, if in any state 

 of putrefaction, poisonous elements in the form of 

 bacteria, are present. Whether raw or cooked, it is 

 a dish that cannot be preserved. It must be used 

 immediately. Whatever may have been the course 

 of preparation, it is simply out of the question to 

 serve a dish of mushrooms "warmed over." 



There are numerous tests, claimed to be infallible, 

 for the detection of these poisons, if present. For 

 example, a mushroom is rubbed vyith any article of 

 gold; if the gold discolors, the mushroom is said to 

 be poisonous. Another test is to dip a silver spoon 

 into a kettle of boiling mushrooms. In case this 

 immersion blackens the spoon, a similar verdict is 

 pronounced. These tests are very unreliable. The 

 only sure means of prevention against using poi- 

 sonous mushrooms, is to learn the characteristic dis- 

 tinction of the comparatively rare, poisonous mush- 

 rooms, and to use none buttho.se that are recognized 

 as being perfectly harmless. 



The mushroom may be seryed as a dish in itself, 

 and added to soup, ragout, and the like, it imparts a 

 delicious flavor. 



Mushroom Soup.— A soup-plate full of mushrooms 

 are cleaned thoroughly, washed quickly, and cut into 

 thick slices. Sprinkle with .salt and steam 5—10 

 minutes. Then add white pepper (to taste), a small 

 onion, chopped parsley, a piece of butter the size of 

 a walnut, and let simmer for 15 minutes. While 

 simmering, make a butter-ball of 3 tablespoonfuls of 

 flour and the same of fresh butter. Have prepared 3 

 pints of water in which has been well boiled greens 

 and a couple of carrots and turnips. Strain'and add 

 the butter-ball, then the mushrooms, and finally the 

 yolks of3 or 4 eggs, thoroughly whipped with hal 



