30I DISTILLATION bF PERSIMONS. 



holes in one, or Both fides, big enough for the worms to be 

 put in at, as they want to fpin, and then flopped up. The 

 infide Ihould be waflied wltli a fohition of gum Arabic, 

 or cherry tree gum. The boxes may Hand on any flat 

 place to prevent the worms getting out; and when the 

 filk is to be unwound, by immerfing the boxes in warm 

 water the cocoons may be taken out without breaking the 

 threads of filk. 



u 



A MEMOIR on the DISTILLATION ^/PERSIMONS, 



^/ Mr. Isaac Bartram, 



HIS Society having propofed at one of their tneet- 

 ings in November laft, that a trial fliO\ild be made 

 for drawing a fpirit from the fermented juice of the Pcrft-- 

 mout I was appointed to make the experiment. 



The feafon being then fo far advanced, I apprehended it 

 was too late; but being ftill urged by the Society to make 

 the eflay, I purchafed about half a bufhel of the fruit in the 

 month of December, which was fo much damaged by the 

 froft and rain, that 1 almofl defpaired of fuccefs; the pro- 

 per time for gathering it being in the month of Odober. 



I however proceeded in the following manner: 



I caufed the perfimons to be well mafhed, and put them 

 in a five gallon keg, to which I added two gallons of wa- 

 ter, and about twopennies worth ofyeft, in order to pro- 

 mote a fermentation. This being completed, I committed 

 the whole to the ftill, and drawed therefrom near half a 

 gallon of proof fpirit, of an agreeable flavor. 



From the fuccefs of this experiment, I think it maybe 

 concluded, that the perfimon maybe rendered very bene- 

 ficial to thofe who have many of them growing on their 

 plantations, and that they are worthy of the public atten- 

 tion, as many advantages may be reaped from the cultiva- 

 tion of the trees; fomc of which I Ihall hint in the courfe 



of this paper. 



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