the State of Spirit in fermented Liquors . 
343 
SECTION II. 
Having ascertained that alcohol exists in wine ready formed, 
and that it is not produced during distillation, I employed that 
process to discover the relative proportion of alcohol con- 
tained in different wines. 
In the following experiments, the wine was distilled in glass 
retorts, and the escape of any uncondensed vapour was pre- 
vented by employing sufficiently capacious receivers, well 
luted, and kept cold during the experiment. 
By a proper management of the heat towards the end of the 
process, I could distil over nearly the whole of the wine with- 
out burning the residuary matter : thus, from a pint of Port 
wine, of Madeira, of Sherry, &c. I distilled off from fifteen 
fluid ounces, to fifteen fluid ounces and a half ; and from the 
same quantity of Malaga, and other wines containing much 
saccharine matter, I could readily distil from fourteen to fifteen 
fluid ounces. 
In order to ascertain the proportion of alcohol with preci- 
sion, pure water was added to the distilled wine, so as nearly 
to make up the original measure of the wine, a very small 
allowance being made for the space occupied by the solid in- 
gredients of the wine, and for the inevitable loss during the 
experiments : thus, five fluid drachms and a half of distilled 
water w 7 ere added to fifteen fluid ounces and a quarter of the 
liquor procured by the distillation of a pint of port wine, and 
in other cases nearly the same proportions were observed. 
This mixture of the distilled wine and water, was immediately 
transferred into a well stopped phial, and having been tho- 
roughly agitated, was allowed to remain at rest for some 
