1865.J 
931 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
\)efoie its petals liacl fallen, and a strong shoot 
pushing from the center of the second one. 
Our correspondent mentions tliat green leaves 
were found mixed with the petals, and that 
some were found partly leaf and partly petal. A 
careful observer will find many examples of 
abnormal conditions of vegetable growth, and 
they are worth}’- 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 them 
in the perfect state, in which we usually see them. 
TME M®ltJ§E!l(0)LIQ). 
Vinegar Making. 
Vinegar, so useful in the household, is prepared 
from various materials, but whatever is used, or 
however the process of mauufacturo, its production 
in all eases depends upon the conversion of alco¬ 
hol into acetic acid, or the acid of vinegar. Though 
the iiquid used may not at first contain alcohol, it 
must liave those principles from which it may be 
produced and alcoiiol is formed in the process be¬ 
fore tile iiquid becomes vinegar. This is the case 
where fruit juices or solutions of sugar of any kind 
arc used for vinegar ; the change is first to prodnee 
alcohol from the sugar, and then to convert the al¬ 
cohol so formed into acetic acid. Without going 
into the chemi¬ 
cal changes, this 
is in brief what 
takes place, and 
the essentials in 
vinegar making 
are: a liquid 
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 oxy¬ 
gen of the air is quite important, and other things 
being equal, whatever tends to promote free con¬ 
tact of the air and the liquid, 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, in 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 be changed to vine¬ 
gar. In the case of fruit 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 
t is this which is found in the market as “ white 
wine vinegar.” In making vinegar from alcohol 
a vat is used of the form shown in the accompany¬ 
ing figure. It may be either a vat built for the 
purpose or a very tall cask. They are made from 
6 to 12 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 the 
sides of the cask will not run out, and an inch or 
two above ths holes, a false bottom is placed in 
which are bored numerous % inch holes. The cask 
is filled with beech-wood shavings to witliin about 
a foot or 16 indies of the top. Six or eight inches 
below tile top of the vat is fixed a platform, or cross 
partition, in wliich holes arc regulariy placed, atlj^ 
inches apart. These arc about lT2th of an incli 
in diameter, and burned out so tliat tliey 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 glass or of cane, % of an incli in di¬ 
ameter, are set in holes in the partition ; these do 
not project below, but above they reach to within 
an incli of the top of the vat, which is closed by a 
tight cover having an opening to admit the liquid. 
A thermometer is inserted in a hole in the vat, 0 
inches below the partition, so arranged that the 
internal temperature may be inspected. A wooden 
faucet is placed near the bottom of the vat, and a 
glass tube, curved 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¬ 
ture of one-fiflh vinegar and four-fifths of a 3 per 
cent, mixture of alcohol and water. This liquid is 
heated to 75° or 80°, 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 established, and the tempera¬ 
ture within the vat has reached to about 100°, when 
it is ready to commence the process of manufirctur- 
ing vinegar. The liquid used consists of 28)^ gal¬ 
lons of -u’aterji gallons of vinegar, and 10 quarts of 
80 per cent, alcohol. This, in passing through the 
vat, becomes converted into vinegar, and the process 
may be made continuous. In practice, two vats are 
used, and the liquid, with only a portion of the al¬ 
cohol, is passed through the first vat, after which 
the remainder of the alcohol is added to it, and the 
process completed by passing it through the sec¬ 
ond. The present high price of all alcoholic liquids 
will probably prevent many from experimenting in 
this direction, and this general outline of the pro¬ 
cess is given in answer to numerous requests for 
information respecting the manufacture 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. 
Coloring Cheese. 
The color of cheese sometimes exerts a greater 
influence 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 quality ; and still 
the golden-colored one will be pronounced best, 
and command the highest price. So much docs a 
good color enhance the value of cheese in most 
markets. In order to secure the desired color, it is 
customary to employ Annatto, but it may be done 
without. Let the curd remain in 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 and 
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 if cured with 
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 very good color to the exterior. 
Fig. 1.— CITRON FLOWER AND FRUIT. 
Wliat is Citron? 
B}' citron wo do not mean tliat variety of water¬ 
melon which in itself is a hard green and tasteless 
thing, but whieli by the addition of snflicient sugar 
and flavoring, is sometimes made to serve as a 
sweetmeat, but tliat dark, fragrant, candied citron 
■which is found in tlio stores, and wliicli liousckeep- 
ers use when they wisli to acliievo sometliing unu¬ 
sual in tlie way of cakes. The citron of tlie shops 
is the candied rind of a fruit closely related to tlie 
orange and lemon—the Ciirua medica. Tlie tree, 
which is of medium size, is a native of Asia, and is 
now cultivated in the warm climates generally. 
The fruit is in general shape like the lemon, but 
very rough and knobby on the surface. It is quite 
large and 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 shown in the above engrav¬ 
ing, and a section, fig. 
2, shows the relation 
which the rind and 
pulp bear to one an¬ 
other. The pulp is 
very acid, like that of 
the lemon, and the 
outer portion of tlie 
rind contains numer¬ 
ous little receptacles Fig. 2.— section of fruit. 
filled with an aromatic oil which communicates 
its flavor to the preserve, and is also extract¬ 
ed for use in perfumery. The rind is iireserved in 
syrup, dried and packed in boxes for exiiorfation. 
It is said that the rind is sometiincs imiiortcd, 
pickled in salt and watei', and candied alter it readi¬ 
es here. Tlie Citron is mentioned by Pliny and 
other ancient writers, and it is supposed to be the 
fruit calledapple in our translation oftlie Scriptures. 
Summer Drinks. 
Many wish something other than water durfng 
the hot days of summer, and there are many drinks 
in use which serve to allay tliirst more readily than 
the same amount of pure water. All of these imp- 
ular beverages contain vegetable acids in a dilute, 
state, and these, when taken in moderation, are 
both cooling and tonic. The very general use of 
lemonade, which may be taken as a type of these 
drinks, is due to something more tlian its agreeable 
taste, and is popular testimony to the refrigerant 
property of citric acid. The citric acid of tlie lemon, 
qualified by sugar, and flavored with the oil from 
the rind, more or less of which becomes mixed 
with the iuice in the process of squeezing, forma 
lemonade. This may be imitated and the compo¬ 
nent parts put up in a dry form, as in Morris’ Con- 
