AGRICULTURAL ALCOHOL IN GERMANY. 25 
part distributed among the workmen for use as food or to be fed to 
the pigs. 
The grain for the most part is sold in Berlin, the straw being 
(kept for bedding, etc. Whereas at Dahlem barley was not raised 
but had to be bought for the distillery, at Dahlewitz more than the 
quantity required for the distillery is raised, the surplus being sold 
in Berlin. In the malting process, oats are used with the barley in 
the proportion of 1 to 3. The grain is not mixed in this proportion 
at the time of malting, but when it is sown in the spring. It is be- 
lieved that the natural mixture is better for the process of malting 
than the artificial mixture. 
There were on the estate at that time 100 milch cows, 20 draft 
oxen, a considerable number of calves, 26 field horses, 6 coach and 
riding horses; also pigs and 300 chickens. 
While the estate was run largely as a dairy farm it was by no 
means as exclusively such as the Dahlem estate. The cows were 
allowed to calve twice before being disposed of, the bull calves were 
sold when two weeks old, and the others were raised. Thus the stock 
_was replenished on the estate. The calves were pastured for a part 
of the time, but the bulk of the 123 acres of meadow land was used 
for hay (Heuwiese). The cattle bred were the black Dutch. 
All of the buildings looked very substantial, but the distillery, 
which was about 80 years old, was of a specially heavy construction. 
The interior was rebuilt about the time the present owner took pos- 
session. Most of the parts, therefore, are modern, and the general 
impression was very favorable, although naturally the arrangement 
is not as convenient as it might be, because it had to be adapted to 
the existing space. From the malting vaults to the receiving tank 
of the finished product everything had the appearance of order and 
cleanliness. 
_ One fact observed was of special interest as showing the operation 
of the method of taxation. The agricultural distillery is still taxed in 
part in accordance with the mash-tub tax laws. This law has been 
regarded as of special benefit to the distilling industry because it 
stimulated a number of improvements, as, for example, the thick 
mash. In order to utilize the mashing space to the utmost, this dis- 
tillery has a contrivance which removes the skins, etc., from the 
mash, thereby slightly reducing the volume. While such a4 contri- 
vance would not be necessary in the United States, it shows how even 
in one of the smaller distilleries every step is taken to reduce the 
tax to be paid. 
The capacity of the mash tubs is about 580 gallons (2,200 liters) 
per tub. About 500 tubs are fermented during the distilling season 
of 84 months, using a twofold operation. About 1,215 gallons of 
spent mash are obtained daily, so that with 100 milch cows each cow 
