66 
PRODUCTION  OF  ALCOHOL  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 
sorption  of  the  active  principle  :  secondly,  the  certainty  of  al° 
ways  keeping  the  alkaloid  in  the  soluble  form,  and  thus  ensuring 
equal  distribution  from  the  hygrostatic  properties  of  the  glyce- 
rine, which  could  not  be  obtained  from  the  use  of  any  aqueous 
solution,  even  in  the  form  of  a  malate,  as  in  the  extract,  and 
also  its  ease  of  application,  freedom  from  attention,  as  it  always 
remains  moist,  and  lastly,  the  certainty  appertaining  to  the  em- 
ployment of  all  medicaments  of  a  definite  composition. —  Chemical 
News^  London^  October,  1860. 
ON  THE  PRODUCTION  OF  ALCOHOL  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES, 
By  Frederick  Stearns,  of  Detroit. 
In  regard  to  the  questions  referred  to  me  upon  Alcohol  I  have 
the  following  statement  to  make : 
The  points  in  the  query  relating  to  the  production  of  alcohol, 
and  the  statistics  of  its  commercial  relations,  are  evidently  the 
most  important,  the  others  being  already  exhausted  in  reliable 
chemical  treatises  ;  hence  I  directed  my  inquiries  to  the  former. 
1  found  the  construction  of  a  complete  table  of  statistical  in- 
formation was,  for  various  reasons,  beyond  my  power,  and  that 
to  await  the  results  gathered  by  the  decennial  U.  S.  census 
(now  recently  taken)  would  give  to  statistical  tables  great  accu- 
racy. It  is  evident  the  region  of  the  Ohio  River  valley 
contributes  the  largest  share  of  whisky  and  its  derivatives  that 
is  produced  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States ;  and  the 
following,  part  fact  and  part  estimate,  copied  from  a  letter  of  a 
reliable  correspondent,  is  all  I  have  to  offer  this  year  in  relation 
to  the  matter. 
The  amount  of  whisky  which  finds  a  market  annually  in  Cincin- 
nati is  about  five  hundred  thousand  barrels,  worth  on  an  average, 
one  year  with  another,  five  millions  of  dollars.  This  amount  is 
derived  from  Ohio  and  the  States  bordering  the  Ohio  River. 
An  estimate  of  the  total  U.  S.  product  is  one  million  five 
hundred  thousand  barrels.  This  estimate  is  based  upon  its 
average  production  in  several  States  and  not  upon  the  receipts 
of  the  large  eastern  markets.  The  present  annual  manufacture 
of  alcohol  in  Cincinnati  will  average  forty-six  thousand  barrels, 
