THE VINEGAE EEL. 
217 
strongly acid or corrosive liquids, sucli as -would be poisonous 
to most other creatures. It may in reality be said of them 
that they live only in substances unfavourable to life in most 
other animals. 
The Anguillula Aceti is only found in the inferior and diluted 
vinegars of commerce. In the strongest vinegars sent out by 
manufacturers of repute, it never occurs ; the reason of which 
is, that considerable care is taken to separate all mucilaginous 
or albuminous vegetable matters from the acid. This is 
effected by certain refining processes, as well as by the addi- 
tion, allowed by law, of a certain quantity of oil of vitriol (sul- 
phuric acid) to every gallon of vinegar, before it is sent out to 
the retailer. The legal quantity of this strongly corrosive acid 
is often exceeded in the commoner or badly manufactured 
vinegars ; otherwise they would rapidly spoil, and generate the 
vinegar eel, and become mouldy, or mothery, as it is more 
commonly termed. 
Dr. Hassall found that many other ingredients are used in the 
adulteration of vinegar ; and in eighteen samples out of twenty- 
eight examined by him, he found not only a larger proportion 
of the oil of vitriol than there should have been, but also re- 
mains of vegetable and other matters, some of which were 
positively of a deleterious nature. Nevertheless, in a very short 
time, all were soon more or less covered over by some fungoid 
growth. From this fact we may gather that very great diffi- 
culty is experienced in preventing the vinegars of commerce from 
undergoing rapid decomposition ; doubtless arising from the 
facility with which the sporules of fungi, as well as other 
organized bodies floating about, find a ready access to the fluid, 
and which appears to afford all the required elements for de- 
velopment and growth. 
Although well known that water is rarely if ever found free 
from the presence of either living or decaying vegetable matter, 
we were, perhaps, not quite prepared to find another fluid, 
having a large admixture of a strongly corrosive acid, and 
which at first sight might, without much hesitation, be pro- 
nounced noxious to the growth of either vegetable or animal, 
offering a suitable nidus for the development and nourish- 
ment of both ; and we at once see that it would be quite at 
variance with facts to say that vinegar eels “ are developed in 
vinegar only, without the addition of any decaying organic 
substance.”* 
* The foot-note twice/ referred to in the course of this paper is our own : 
and our readers might be disposed to infer that there is a difference of 
opinion between the author and ourselves. This is not the case. When we 
spoke of “ vinegar only,” we referred to the addition of slices of truffle, and 
VOL. IT. — NO. VI. Q 
