WINE MAKING. 443 



even temperature, the mercury ranged from 

 sixty-five to ninety-five. In the moderately 

 rich must, fermentation began in about three 

 days, and in the others later in proportion to 

 the richness. 



Fermentation lasted more than a week in all 

 cases, and in the richest more than four weeks. 

 The " racking" was done by simply transferring 

 the wine very carefully from one bottle to an- 

 other. The progress was naturally watched 

 with deep interest, and notes made daily ; but 

 we present here only the result, which was in 

 every instance a perfect wine, varying greatly, 

 however, in important characteristics, as these 

 were affected by the different times of gather- 

 ing the grapes and by the different localities in 

 which they were grown, the first exercising 

 much the greatest influence, the last gathered 

 and ripest grapes producing far the richest 

 must and finest wine. These experiments de- 

 monstrated not only that the lona will make 

 excellent wine in this way, but that the must 

 is free from those destructive elements which 

 produce acetous fermentation, a point of great 

 weakness in most of our native grapes. In 

 this way, small quantities of good wine can be 

 made from pure, rich must in an ordinary liv- 



