387 



For that purpose the inside walls are washed with a weak acid 

 solution, such as a 10 per cent, solution of tartaric acid, applied 

 twice in 24 hours before using the vat. A protective coating of 

 tartrate of lime, insoluble in wine, is thus formed. 



Another wash, much used in the South of France, is one of 

 silicate of potash. A first application of a solution of 25 per cent, 

 of this substance is applied with a brush, and after two or three 

 days, when quite dry, the walls of the vat are washed with fresh 

 water; when dry, the inside of the vats again receive a second 

 coating of a 50 per cent, solution of silicate of potash, and are left to 

 dry for a few days, when the vats are again thoroughly washed 

 with water. A coating of silicate of lime, which is unattackable by 

 wine, then lines the vat. 



As an improvement on the brick and cement vats already 

 described, it would, I believe, tend to strengthen the structure and 

 prevent possible cracks to run a thin band of hoop iron between 

 each course of bricks. 



CRUSHER AND STEMMER. 



As the grapes are carted to the fermenting shed, they are 

 transferred from the boxes or the barrels in which they were placed 

 at the vineyard into the crusher. In the old days of wine-making 



Stemmer and Crusher. 



