Miscellanies. 38 1 



had lain there from 1794, and both the timbers and flooring were 

 very little injured by rot. 



I concluded, that a free circulation of air must be allowed, or air 

 must be entirely excluded, to save timber from decay. 



It has been found, that when posts are set in the ground and cased 

 with boards for better appearance, the confined air destroys them. 

 Even red cedar, which lasts an age when set open, if cased, which 

 is often done for ornament in gate posts, decays as soon as any other 

 wood, by the confined air. 



7. The' odor of wines, due to a peculiar ether. By MM. J. 

 LiEBiG AND Pelouze. (Ann. de Ch. et de Phys. Oct. 1836.) — It 

 is a fact of common observation, that a bottle containing but a few 

 drops of wine, gives off a peculiar odor, which cannot be imitated 

 by mixing alcohol and water in the proportions in which they exist in 

 jhe wine. This characteristic odor, which is more or less apparent 

 in all wines, is produced according to MM. Liebig and Pelouze, by 

 a fluid possessing all the characters of an essential oil. The flower, 

 aroma, or bouquet ofivine, as it is more especially called, is produced 

 by a substance which is inodorous, and should not be confounded 

 with the subject of these remarks ; it is not volatile, is different in 

 the several kinds of wines, and in many fails entirely. 



This oil may be obtained by distilling large quantities of wine, or 

 the lees of wine, or especially from the product deposited after fer- 

 mentation has commenced. From the results obtained they infer 

 that this oil constitutes about joios V^^^ ^^ ^^^ wine. The oil as 

 thus obtained, before purification, has a strong odor, and is generally 

 colorless. Occasionally it presents a slightly greenish tint, derived 

 from the presence of a small quantity of copper, as is proved by rea- 

 gents ; this color may be removed by distillation. 



The constitution of this product, though it contains a considerable 

 quantity of oxygen, is quite different from that of the oxygenated es- 

 sential oils heretofore known. It proves to be a peculiar ether con- 

 taining an acid allied to the fatty acids. This new acid is called by 

 its discoverers, cenanthic acid, and the ether, consequently, cenanthic 

 ether. 



(Enanthic ether. — The cenanthic ether may be deprived of any 

 free acid it may contain, by agitation with a hot solution of carbonate 

 of soda, and subsequently boiling the mixture ; the ether rises to the 

 surface and may be readily removed. The small quantity of water 

 or alcohol which it still retains, may be separated by means of the 



