on Spirituous Liquors. 429 
When all the experiments had been completed, and the 
tables here given were just brought into order, an ingenious 
member of the Royal Society, scarcely less celebrated for his 
theoretical knowledge than his skill as an artist, published a 
pamphlet containing censures on our first experiments, and 
proposing other methods, as much superior to those we had 
adopted * In drawing up the Report, in order to avoid pro- 
lixity, the reasons for choosing some of the methods were not 
given, where they did not seem likely to be a subject of con- 
troversy ; but this pamphlet makes it necessary to assign the 
motives of our preference, that the public may judge how far 
we are justified. 
First, as to the proportions of the mixtures ; which were 
made by taking an equal quantity of spirit in every instance, 
and adding to it successive^ larger quantities of distilled water, 
as far as to an equal weight ; with the intention of going 
through the watery mixtures on the same plan. This was 
done for the following reasons: 1. Because it was thought 
more likely to avoid blunders, if the quantity of only one of 
the ingredients was changeable, that the operator might not 
have his attention distracted with computing and weighing- 
out two different quantities for each mixture. 2. Because by 
this progression the experiments come closer together about 
the medium degrees of strength, where it was supposed most 
accuracy would be wanted for practice. 3. As it was thought, 
from the first, that the best method of adjusting the duty would 
be by the absolute quantity of alcohol in any mixture, rather 
* An account of Experiments to determine the Specific Gravity of Fluids ; by 
J. Ramsden. London, 1792. 
3K 
MDCCXCII. 
