1865.J 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
2^1 
Xiefore its petals had fallen, and a strong shoot 
pushing from the center of the second one. 
Our correspondent mentions that green leaves 
were found mixed with the petals, and that 
some were found partly leaf and partly petal. A 
careful observer will find many e.xaraples of 
abnormal conditions of vegetable growth, and 
they are worthy of examination, as they fre- 
quently give one a clearer insight into the real 
structure of flowers and other parts of the 
plant, than we can derive from examining tliem 
in the perfect state, in which we usually see them. 
Vinegar Making. 
Vinegar, so useful iu the household, is prepared 
from various matciials, but whatever is used, or 
however the process of mauufacture, its production 
in all cases depeuds upon the conversion of alco- 
hol into acetic acid, or the acid of vinegar. Though 
the hquid used m.ay not at first contain alcohol, it 
must have those principles from which it may be 
produced and alcohol is formed in the process be- 
fore the liquid becomes vinegar. This is the ease 
where fruit juices or solutions of sugar of any liind 
are used for vinegar ; the change is first to produce 
alcohol from the sugar, and tlien to convert the al- 
cohol 60 formed into acetic aeid. Without going 
into the chemi- 
cal changes, this 
is in brief what 
takes place, and 
the essentials iu 
vinegar mal;iug 
are : a hquid 
containing alco- 
hol, or some ma- 
terial that will 
produce alcohol, 
A ferment of 
some kind, a suf- 
ficient tempera- 
ture and a free 
admission of air. 
As the conversion of alcohol into acetic acid is 
the result of oxidation, the presence of the oxj'- 
gen of the air is quite important, and other things 
being equal, whatever tends to promote free con- 
tact of the air and the hquid, very much hastens 
the formation of vinegar. In apple, grape, and oth- 
er fruit juices, we have a solution of the sugar of 
the fruits, which .at the proper temperature readily 
undergoes fermentation ; alcohol is produced from 
the sugar, and a weak mixture of alcohol and wa- 
ter, iu the form of cider or wine, is the result. This 
liquid if left to itself for some months, will at 
length contain no alcohol, but he changed to viue- 
gar. In the case of frait juices no ferment is ad- 
ded .as they contain a natural ferment, though vin- 
egar is formed much sooner if some old vinegar, or 
mother of vinegar, be added. Vinegar prepared 
from fruit juices contains, besides acetic acid and 
■water, various coloring matters, as well as peculiar 
flavoring principles ; these, while they are not ob- 
jectionable for table uses — indeed rather improve 
it — render it less fit for pickling, as the pickles 
have a less fine appearance .and do not keep so well. 
Very pure and colorless vinegar is made directly 
from whiskey, or some other form of alcohol, .and 
it is this which is found in the market as " white 
wine vinegar." In making vinegar from alcohol 
a v.at is used of the form shown in the accompany- 
ing figure. It m.ay be either a vat built for the 
purpose or a very tall cask. They are made from 
6 to 13 feet high, and we have seen the vats made 
of two casks put together, with the junction made 
tight by caulking. About a foot from the bottom 
of the vat are 6 or 8 half inch holes, bored with a 
downward slant so that a liquid trickling down tlie 
Bides of the cask will not run out, and .an inch or 
two above tha holes, a false bottom is placed in 
which are bored numerous % inch holes. The cask 
is filled with beech-wood shavings to within about 
a foot or 16 inches of the top. Six or eight inches 
below the top of the vat is fixed a platform, or cross 
partition, in which holes are regularly pLaced, atl,V 
inches apart. These are .about l-13th of an inch 
in diameter, .and burned out so that they will re- 
main free. This partition is put in place and the 
joint between it and the sides of the vat made tight 
by caulking. Pieces of twine are put into the holes 
in the partition in such a manner that the liquid, 
when poured upon it, will trickle through in drops. 
Four tubes of gl.ass or of cane, % of an inch in di- 
ameter, are set in holes iu the partition ; these do 
not project below, but above they reach to within 
an inch of the top of the v.at, which is closed by a 
tijiht cover havino; an opening to admit the liquid. 
A thermometer is inserted in a hole in the vat, 
inches below the partition, so arranged that the 
internal temperature m.ay be inspected. A wooden 
faucet is placed near the bottom of the vat, .and a 
glass tube, cui-ved in the form of a gooseneck, is 
placed with its bend below the row of air holes. 
The shavings are boiled in good vinegar before they 
are packed in the vat, .and after all is ready, the vat 
is brought into fermentation by the use of a mix- 
lure of one-flfih vinegar and four-fifths of a 3 per 
cent, mixture of alcohol aud water. This liquid is 
heated to 7.5° or SO'', and poured into the vat and 
allowed to trickle through the shavings. The same 
liquid with the addition of more alcohol is warmed 
and passed through the next day, and so on until 
fermentation is well est.ablished, and the tempera- 
ture within the vat has reached to about 100°, when 
it is ready to commence the process of manufactur- 
ing vinegar. The liquid used consists of 383o gal- 
lons of water, 4 g.allons of vinegar, and 10 quarts of 
SO per cent, alcohol. This, in passing through the 
vat, becomes converted into vinegar, and the process 
may be m.ade continuous. In praclice, two vats are 
used, and the liquid, with only a portion of the al- 
cohol, is p.assed through the first vat, after which 
the remainder of the alcohol is added to it, and the 
process comi>leted by passing it through the sec- 
ond. The present high price of all alcoholic liquids 
will probably prevent many from experimenting iu 
this direction, .and tliis general outline of the pro- 
cess is given iu answer to numerous requests for 
information respecting themauufacturc of pickling 
vinegar. This account is made mostly from our 
own observation, while the measurements of the 
vat, etc., are taken from " The Manufacture of Vin- 
egar," by Doct. C. M. Wetherill, a book which 
gives all the practical details of the process. 
* « ^mmm I m . 
Coloring Cheese. 
■ 
The color of cheese sometimes exerts a greater 
infiuence than the flavor, in securing a ready sale. 
Most people reject a pale, light-colored cheese ; 
and choose those that have a golden color like rich 
cream, as this is a supposed characteristic of an ex- 
cellent article. A light-colored cheese may possess 
all the richness of one that is .as yellow .as gold ; 
indeed, they may both be alike in qu.ality ; and still 
the golden-colored one will be pronounced best, 
and command the highest price. So much does a 
good color enhance the value of cheese iu most 
markets. In order to secure the desired color, it is 
customary to employ Annatto, but it may be done 
witbout. Let the curd remain iu the vat, spread 
out as much as practicable, until it is of the right 
temperature to be put into the hoop. By allowing 
it to remain exposed to the atmosphere while it is 
cooling, instead of dashing cold whey, or water on 
it — as is sometimes done — the rich creamy color 
may be secured without the use of any coloring 
matter. By this means, all the good flavor aud 
richness will be retained ; whereas, when the curd 
is washed, more or less of the valuable portions of 
it are removed by the whey. If the curd be ex- 
posed to the air in this manner, the cheese will be 
of auniform color throughout. Then ifcuredwith 
care and the rind kept smooth by not allowing the 
outside to dry faster than the inside shrinks, a small 
quantity of annatto applied to the surface will im- 
part a verj good color to the exterior. 
Fig. 1. — CITliO.N FLOWER AND FRUIT. 
What is Citron? 
By citron we do not mean that variety of water- 
melon which iu itself is a hard green and tasteless 
thing, hut which by the addition of sufficient sugar 
and flavoi'iug, is sometimes made to serve as a 
sweetmeat, but that dark, fragrant, candied citron 
which is found iu the stores, and which housekeep- 
ers use when they wish to achieve something unu- 
sual in the way of cakes. The citron of the shops 
is the candied riud of a fruit closely related to the 
orange and lemon — the Citrus mcdka. The tree, 
which is of medium size, is a native of Asia, and is 
now cultiv.atcd in the warm climates generally. 
The fruit is iu general shape like the lemon, but 
very roui:;h and knobby on tbe surface. It is quite 
large aud is said to sometimes attain to the weight 
of twenty pounds. The rind is remarkably thick 
and out of all proportion to the size of the pulp. 
The shape of the fruit is showu iu the above engrav- 
ing, and a section, lig. 
3, shows the relation 
which the rind and 
pulp bear to oue an- 
other. The pulp is 
very acid, like that of 
the lemon, and the 
enter portion of the 
riud contains numer- 
ous little receptacles Fig. 3.— SECTION OP fruit. 
filled with an aromatic oil which communicates 
Its flavor to the preserve, aud is .also extract- 
ed for use iu pcrfumeiy. The riud is preserved in 
syrup, dried aud packed in boxes for export.ation. 
It is said that the rind is sometimes imported, 
pickled iu salt and water, and candied after it reach- 
es here. Tbe Citron is mentioned by Pliny and 
other ancient writers, and it is supposed to be the 
fruit calledapple in our translation of the Scriptures. 
»-. — .»»— «-• 
Summer Drinks. 
Many wish something other than water during 
the hot days of summer, and there are many drinks 
in use which serve to .all.ay thirst more readily than 
the same amount of pure water. All of these pop- 
ular beverages contain vegetable acids in a dilute 
state, and these, when taken iu moderation, are 
both cooling .and tonic. Tbe vciy general use of 
lemonade, which may be taken as a type of these 
drinks, is due to something more than its agreeable 
taste, and is popular testimony to the refrigerant 
property of citric acid. The citric acid of the lemon, 
qualified by sugar, .aud flavored with the oil from 
the rind, more or less of which becomes mixed 
with tbe juice iu the process of squeezing, forms 
lemonade. This may be imitated and the compo- 
nent parts put up iu a diy form, as iu Morris' Con- 
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