160  Aromatic  Elixir.  {Am Atrium™' 
operated  by  hand,  and  which  will  shave  off  the  peel  from  a  box  of 
oranges  or  lemons,  in  any  desired  thickness,  at  the  rate  of  about  a 
box  an  hour. 
Furthermore,  a  tincture  made  from  the  cut  peel  seldom  separates 
oil  globules  on  standing,  while  one  made  from  grated  peel  always 
does.  Shaving  the  peel  thus  has  a  three-fold  advantage :  in  ease  and 
rapidity  of  operation,  in  greater  security  of  flavor,  and  in  a  more 
permanent  tincture. 
To  secure  uniform  results  the  strength  of  the  tincture  should  be 
definite.  The  shaved  portions  of  the  peel  are  weighed,  and  2  c.c. 
of  alcohol  are  poured  over  them,  in  a  wide-mouthed  bottle,  for  each 
gramme  of  peel.  After  macerating  forty-eight  hours,  the  liquid  is 
drained  off  through  a  filter,  and  the  peel  rinsed  well  with  just  suffi- 
cient alcohol  to  obtain  a  50  per  cent,  tincture  through  the  filter.  A 
tincture  so  made  will  keep  without  change  of  flavor  many  months, 
and  produce  superior  results  in  elixirs  and  other  uses. 
But  while  the  use  of  tinctures  of  fresh  fruits  will  improve  the 
elixir,  there  is  still  a  lack  of  vigor  and  freshness  in  the  flavor. 
Flavors,  like  perfumes,  need  to  be  developed  and  strengthened  t© 
produce  the  best  results. 
Wine  is  the  agent  needed  in  this  case.  What  musk  is  to  a  per. 
fume,  so  will  wine  be  to  our  elixir.  A  moderate  amount  will  develop 
and  brighten  the  orange  flavor  without  imparting  a  vinous  quality. 
Twelve  and  a  half  per  cent,  of  wine  in  the  elixir  will  bring  out  the 
orange  and  freshen  its  qualities  without  the  wine  being  itself  notice- 
able. If  more  than  this  be  added  the  wine  becomes  prominent  and 
the  orange  is  reduced. 
Then  comes  the  question  of  the  quality  and  kind  of  wine  to  be 
preferred. 
Through  the  kindness  of  Messrs.  Duroy  and  Haines,  I  have  been 
enabled  to  compare  the  effects  of  ten  different  varieties  of  wines  on 
this  elixir.  The  wines  tried  were  a  port,  malaga  and  claret  of  the 
red  wines,  and  muscatel,  tokay,  angelica,  sweet  and  dry  catawba, 
two  qualities  of  sherry  and  a  "  non-sparkling  "  champagne. 
These  were  all  used  in  the  same  proportions,  and  with  the  same 
tinctures  of  orange  and  lemon,  and  have  been  compared  repeatedly 
during  the  past  three  to  four  months. 
There  is  first  a  notable  difference  between  the  light  and  the  heavy 
wines  in  the  elixirs.    The  light  wines  blend  perfectly  with  the 
