850 
On the Cultivation of the Vine , 
ter rise to 93 degrees in a vat containing thirty muids * 
of vintage Languedoc measure,, In that case, indeed, 
all the saccharine principle is decomposed ; but there is 
a loss of a portion of the alcohol by the heat and the ra- 
pid movement which the fermentation produces. 
In general, the capacity of the vats ought to be varied 
according to the nature of the grapes. When they are 
very ripe, sweet, saccharine, and almost dry, the must has 
a thick consistence, &c. fermentation takes place with 
difficulty, and a great mass of liquid is required that the 
syrupy juice may be entirely decomposed ; otherwise 
the wine remains thick, sweetish, and too luscious. It 
is only after being long kept in the cask that this liquor 
acquires that degree of perfection to which it is capable 
of attaining. 
The temperature of the air, the state of the atmos- 
phere, and the weather which prevails during the vin- 
tage^ — all these causes and their effects must be always 
present in the mind of the agriculturist, that he may be 
able to deduce from them rules proper for directing his 
conduct in regard to this object. 
Influence of the constituent Principles of Must on 
Fermentation . 
The sweet and saccharine principle, water, and tartar, 
are the three elements of the grape which seem to have 
a powerful influence on fermentation : it is not only to 
their existence that the first cause of this sublime opera- 
tion is due, but it is to the very variable proportions of 
these different constituent principles that we must refer 
the principal differences exhibited by fermentation. 
1st, It appears proved, by comparing the nature of all 
the substances which undergo spiritous fermentation, 
* A mttid contains 300 quarts, comprehending stalks, skins, and dregs. TH* 
