VINEGAR. 



Diet. Chem. Lewis's Mat. Med. Thornton's Lond. 

 Difp- See alfo Acet;c Add, Acetite, Acetous Add, 

 and AcETUM. 



Vinegar, in Rural Economy, is an acid or cooling hquid 

 that may be made ufe of with confiderable benefit in dif- 

 ferent forts of field labour, in mixture with water or other 

 fluids, as quenching third very effeftually, without Simu- 

 lating or increafing the heat of the body too greatly. It 

 has been Hated, on the authority of a manufcript paper 

 found in pofTefiion of fir William Pulteney on the ufe of 

 vinegar, by the writer of the Correfted Report of the Agri- 

 culture of the County of Middlefex, that during the firft 

 American war, the interruption given by oirr cruizers to 

 the trade of that country, and fome other circumftances, 

 prevented the inhabitants of it from procuring proper fup- 

 plies of molafles for their diftilleries, and a diftrefs was ex- 

 perienced, particularly in harveft-time, from the want of 

 rum to mix with water, which was the drink of their labour- 

 ers. It is commonly known, the writer thinks, that cold 

 water is dangerous, when ufed by perfons heated -vvith 

 labour, or by any fevere exercife ; and yet it is neceflary to 

 fupply the wafte and cxhauftion of perfpiration in fome 

 mode or other. When rum or wine is added in fmall quan- 

 tity to water, it may be ufed, even if cold, with little 

 danger : it would, however, be fafer, it is fuppofed, if a 

 little warm water were mixed and employed in fuch cafes. 



On this account. Dr. Rufti, of the fame coimtry, after 

 making proper experiments on the fubjeft, recommended in 

 a publication, that inllead of rum, which could not then be 

 had, the labourers in harveft {hould mix a very fmall pro- 

 portion of vinegar with the water they made ufe of as 

 drink. Some years aftervi'ards, in another publication, the 

 fame writer mentioned that the praftice had been adopted, 

 and had fucceeded even beyond his expeftations ; indeed fo 

 much fo, t'hat in many places vinegar was ftill continued to 

 be ufed, though rum could eafily be had. The preference 

 of vinegar to rum is accounted for in this manner ; fevere 

 labour or exercife excites a degree of fever ; and that fever 

 is increafed by fpirits or fermented liquor of any lort ; but 

 vinegar, at the fame time that it prevents mifcliief from 

 drinking cold water during the heat and perfpiration occa- 

 fioned by exercife, allays the fever ; and the labourers found 

 themfelves more refreflied and lefs exhaufted at night, when 

 vinegar was ufed inftead ot rum. 



■ The exad propoi-tion of the vinegar is not known by the 

 writer, but it is fuppofed that it was not more than about 

 a tea-fpoonful to half a pint of water. 



The difcover)', it is faid, was not altogether new, as the 

 Romans ufed vinegar to mix with water for the drink of 

 their foldiers. 



The writer of the above agricultural report adds to 

 this, that M. Denon, a celebrated French draughtfman, 

 who accompanied their army while it was in Upper Egypt, 

 experienced the advantage of vinegar mixed fomewhat in 

 this way in that burning climate, which he relates in this 

 manner ; " I cooled the heat of my blood with vinegar, 

 which I mixed with water and fugar, and drank of it 

 largely." 



Independently of this, however, the fame writer ftates, 

 that the quality of water, which produces the ill effefts 

 above defcribed to perfons drinking it cold, when under 

 any confiderable degree of perfpiration, may probably be 

 correfted by the fimple addition of (kim-milk. The la- 

 bourers in fome diftrifts of this kingdom, it is faid, during 

 harveft, make ufe of.no other beverage than milk and water, 

 which is found to allay the fever, and quench the third, 

 rauchmore than beer. At the fame tiiiie, the labourers are 



glad when they can get beer or ale, though they confefs 

 that they are much fooner thirfty after drinking either, than 

 they are after drinking milk and water, or it would feem 

 than vinegar and water. 



As it is necelfary to have good and well-kept vinegar in 

 this intention, as well as for fome domeftic and other pur- 

 pofes, it may be proper to confider the nature of it, and the 

 means of preferving and preventing the decompofition and 

 injury of it in any way. Where good vinegar is wanted, 

 wines of good quality are necelfary, as the bed kinds of it 

 are thofe that have been made from generous wines. The 

 more fpirituous the wine is, and the more of this vinous 

 fpirit that can be retained in the vinegar, of courfe the 

 better and dronger it will be, and conlequently the more fit 

 for the above ufes. In regard to the means of its preferva- 

 tion, they principally confid in defending it well againd the 

 aftion or influence of the external air, by keeping it in 

 proper veffels, well clofed, and placed in cool fituations. Its 

 alterations and injuries may likewife be further retarded, 

 where neceifary, by depriving it of a portion of the water 

 which it contains ; for which purpofe, nothing more is 

 wanted than to jud let it boil for an indant ; but the veffels 

 which are employed in this kind of bufinefs Ihould obvioufly 

 not be made of copper. The procefs too, which has been 

 propofed by fome with a fimilar intention, is quite fimple ; 

 it confids in filhr.g with this acid glafs veffels of a proper 

 kind, which are to be then placed in boilers full of water ; 

 the water being in this cafe made to boil for a full quarter 

 of an hour, after which the vinegar in the veffels is taken out, 

 when it may be kept for feveral years without undergoing 

 any alteration or decompofition. Didillation, too, has been 

 advifed as a means of preferving vinegar ; but beCdes the 

 circumdance of its being a tedious and difficult procefs, it is 

 apt to deprive the acid of the agreeable fmell and tade 

 which are pecuhar to it in its natural date, and which is 

 always defirable, but more efpecially when lor ufe in the 

 above intention. And the fame is the cafe with vinegar 

 that has been concentrated by freezing. The acid by this 

 fimple operation becomes much ftronger, and capable of 

 being kept for a much greater length of time ; but it ac- 

 quires fomething of a burnt fmell and tafte, which render it 

 unfit for being employed for many domedic purpofes, as 

 well as that above dated. 



There is another manner of accomplidiing this bufinefs by 

 a fahne fubdance, which is that of fea-falt, or muriate of 

 foda, which is advifed by fome to be added to vinegar, as 

 being able to preferve it, and which fucceeds well enough 

 in fome cafes, though it is not without its inconveniences ; 

 for the vinegai-s that contain this material grow turbid, 

 and at length lofe their primitive quaUties. Bi't though it 

 may not fucceed quite fo perfectly as might be wiftied, it 

 may ftill be employed in ■ certain cafes with advantage, efpe- 

 cially if the quantity of fait that is neceffary to be added to 

 the vinegai' be not in too large a proportion. 



What refpefts the iigns by which vinegar may be known 

 to be good, adulterated, or fpoiled, deferve confiderable 

 attention, as nothing is more common than to meet with 

 vinegars that are of bad quality. Two caufes principally 

 contribute to their being in that date : the fird of which is, 

 that they have been manufaftured or prepared with weak 

 wines, or fuch as are already in a fpoiled condition ; the 

 fecond, that they have been mixed with acrid fubdances, 

 fuch as pimento and others ; or that mineral acids, fuch as 

 the fulphuric or muriatic, have been added to them. Nothing 

 is, however, more eafy than to detect fuch frauds and im- 

 pofitions, it being fufficient for the purpofe to merely fatu- 

 rate a given quantity of potalh with the vir.egar which is 



fufpefted 



