140 The Process followed at Montpellier in 
times will rise to such a height that the hand cannot be 
kept in the mass, and the acetous odour is so strong that 
one can hardly approach the vessels ; while at others 
the heat is hardly sensible, and soon vanishes. There 
are even instances of the husks becoming putrid and 
mouldy without turning acid. The fermentation is as n 
sisted and promoted by raising the heat of the place by 
means of chafing-dishes, by covering the vessels with 
cloths, by shutting the doors, and by airing the mass with 
more care. The differences in the fermentation depend, 
1. On the temperature of the air: in summer the fermen- 
tation is speedier. 2. On the nature of the husks : those 
which arise from vesy saccharine grapes heat more 
easily. 3. On the volume of the mass : a larger mass 
ferments sooner, and with more strength, than a small one. 
4. On the contact of the air : the best aired husks ferment 
best. 
At the same time that the husks are made to ferment, a 
preliminary preparation called desafouga is given to the 
plates of copper which are used for the first time. This 
operation is not employed for those which have been al- 
ready used, and consists in dissolving verdigris e in water 
in an earthen vessel, and rubbing over each plate with a 
piece of coarse linen dipped in this solution. The plates 
are then immediately placed close to each other, and left 
in that manner to dry. Sometimes the plates are only 
laid on the top of the fermented busies, or placed under 
those which have been already used for causing the cop- 
per to oxydate. It has been observed, that when the 
operation called desafouga has not been employed, the 
plates grow black at the first operation, instead of be- 
coming green. 
When the plates are thus prepared, and the husks 
have been brought to ferment, the workmen try whether 
the latter are proper for the process, by placing under 
