405 
bilge stave. The rule in that case is: cube the length shown, and 
multiply by .00226 for gallons. 
Example: a cask measured as above shows 25 inches; find the 
contents in gallons :— 
25° x -00226=15625 x -00226=35-4 gallons. 
When the volume of small casks of wine is required, it is often 
found easier to find its contents by weighing than by measuring. 
A gallon of wine is known to weigh 10lbs., so that the gross weight 
of the cask from which the weight of the empty cask is deducted 
will give, when divided by 10, the number of gallons of wine. Thus, 
say, the cask weighs, when full, 585lbs., and empty, 70lbs., the 
difference divided by 10 gives 5114 gallons. 
To Season Casks. 
A “woody” taste very often taints what would otherwise have 
been a good wine. It is too often surmised that because a cask has 
just left the hands of the cooper, and is made of new wood, it is 
fit to receive wine straight away; as a matter of fact, the staves 
are still full of sappy and resinous matters, easily extracted by 
the alcohol in the wine, which will, unless removed, impart to the 
first wine with which they come in contact an unpleasant and woody 
taste. 
Several methods are used for seasoning the timber :— 
(1) Fill the cask or the vat, as the case may be, with water 
—hot preferably—in which is dissolved 10Ibs. of com- 
mon salt for every 100 gallons capacity, and let it 
stand for a day or two; then run the water out and 
rinse the cask well with fresh water. 
(2) Another method, which is even better, consists in filling 
the vessel with water—either eold or tepid—and add- 
ing a handful of washing soda or of potash for every 
50 gallons capacity. Let stand for several days; run 
out the liquid, which will have extracted a brown 
colour from the wood. Fill with clean water, let 
stand for a day or so, then run it out. If the water 
is quite colourless, let the cask drain. For every 100 
gallons capacity, make hot one gallon of a sound wine, 
pour into it and bung lightly, and roll the cask about 
for a day or so to give time to the spirit to penetrate 
the pores of the new wood; then drain out all the 
wine and fill with sulphurous fumes, drive the bung 
or the plug in, and the cask is then ready for use. 
Rectified spirit can be used instead of hot wine, but 
care must be taken that no burning sulphur match 
is used for sulphuring, as the sudden expansion of 
the aleoholic vapour would cause an explosion. 
