I 



C U L T 1 V A T I O N OF the VINE. 



252 



N 



the alteration In the nice Italian wines,* for wine during 

 the firft year after making, continues fermenting more or 

 lefs, during which time a great quantity of air is generated^ 

 until the cold in September puts a ftop to it, after which 

 it is in an imbibing (late, that is, it draws or fucks in air; 

 the air thus generated is of a rancid nature (as the Grotto 

 del Canno) and will kill a living animal if put into it, fo 

 that if there be, during the fermentation, two quarts of 

 this air, fo rancid, pent up in the upper part of the cask,, 

 when the cold ftops the fermentation, the wine by abforb- 

 ing this air becomes foul, and acquires this rancid tafte;- 

 to prevent which. I would propofe the following experi- 

 ment : 



* Had Dr. Hulcs been alked whiit he thought was the true caiife of thofc frequent fermenta- 

 tions, and was delired to apply a remedy ; I thluk he would have fought for the caiife, where 

 it wasi to be found, and upon removing- that, the effeds would naturally have ccafed; but be- 

 ing put upon the fcsrch of fecondary caufes, canfes far removed from the original, in order to 

 prevent or cure the evil eifeds of them, he refolved that difficulty, I do fuppofe in tliebeft 

 manner it could have been done, and with great ingenuity applied a remedy. And now, 

 fliould tiicfe pages fall within his ken, or fome friendly letter comprehending my full mean- 

 insr, the Dodor, as a true plulofophcr, from a public benevolent fpirit, would foon find ont 

 the 'true caufc of thefc mifchicl^, and apply a remedy, truly fpecific. 



The gentleman in Italy, who makas the rcprefcntation to Mr. Miller fays, ** And what is 

 moft llrange, one calk drawn out of the fame vat, flnill be infeded, and another remain per- 

 fediy good;" in this eafc it is certain, that the firft andfecond calk drawn out of the vat, and 

 the third and fourth, if the vat be large, were drawn offline and clear, being pcrfcdly free 

 from the faeces or lees below, but wlien the lail cafk comes to be drawn, a good deal of the 

 lees comes with it, and this is not nmch regarded, as the lees were fuppofed to nourlHi the 

 wine* fuppofe the gentleman complaining had the firft and the laft calk drawn out of the vat, 

 and one of them fpolled, the other remained perfedly good, which ill all we fuppofe to have 

 been the calk ? That which was perfectly fine, or that which has the lees? Whoever will tafte 

 the firft and the laft drawings, will find fo fenfible a difference in the wine, that 1 think he 

 cannot be at a lofs to determine the queftion. 



Secluding the air from wine or cyder, is a great means of pf eferving them long 

 found and good; nature itfelf points thisout to us; wine forms a fcum upon the top 

 tofccurc itfelf from the bad impreihons of it, and we daily find that thefc li<tuors 

 put into bottles, keep much hetter than when left in caiks; fome tlnnk that ftrong 

 old Madeira is an exception to this rule, but I think it has not had a fair and impar- 

 tial trial. That cyder drawn out of a barrel grows worfe and worfe as the air gets to ' 

 it, everyone is fenfible of, wncreas fome of the fame cyder bottled, remains good a 

 long time, if well corked and rofined, as every body knows; and that this is the 

 X cafe with common wines, no man will difpute. For this reafon the lining of 

 tiie infidcof the caflcs withrofin, as the Romans did with pitch, prepared as hereafter 

 dlreded would be a great means of preferving wine, not only from the air hut 

 from great wafte; and the bung and vent-hole fliould be well fecured with clay and 

 horfedung: if yon are under apprehenfions that the rofm will communicate a bad 

 tafte to the wine; melt it, and wafli it with lye, and that will prevent it. The 

 Dodor's method of keeping the caflcs full is very ingenious and of great fcrvice. 



'l"he tubes, reprefented in the margin, perhaps may be a fmall improvenient 

 upon his, this double tube is fuppofed to be made of pewter or tin, well foldered to- 

 gether; the fmall tube enters the large one at bottom, below the wine, and does 

 not break the fcum that is on the top of the wine in the large tube ; the large tube 

 Ihould be well ftopped with a good clofe fcrew head, and this muft j>e opened when 

 wine is poured in through the fmall tube, and prefently flopped again, that the calk 

 may always be kept full, and to keep out the air. 



&■... 



ri L^ 



rt 



f^ 



