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SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY, NO. III.

(Sel. Mag.)

ACETOUS OR ACID FERMENTATION.

IN my two last papers, I described the vinous or spirituous fermentation, and considered its application to wine, beer, ale, alcohol and ardent spirits. The acetous or acid fermentation of which I am now about to treat, is simply a continuation of the former; for when fermentation has once commenced, it has a constant tendency to proceed, and unless some check be interposed, it will go regularly forward from spirit to acid, or, in other words, from wine to vinegar; and this change is so gradual, that it is very difficult to point out with precision when the vinous fermentation ceases, and when that of the acid begins. In those cases also in which the liquor has completely undergone the spirituous fermentation, if it be only exposed to the action of atmospheric air, and have a certain degree of temperature, it will spontaneously and necessarily be disposed to turn sour, that is, to become vinegar, as is well known in the case of wine; and it is to this circumstance that vinegar owes its name, it being derived from two French words-vin and aigre, signifying sour wine.

Vinegar was known many ages before the discovery of any other acid, if those only be excepted which existed ready formed in vegetables. It is mentioned by Moses, and seems to have been in common use among the Israelites and other eastern nations at a very early period.

Its manufacture, as an article of commerce, among ourselves, has long been kept a secret among the persons of the profession, who are said to bind themselves to each other by oath not to reveal it. The process, however, is pretty accurately known; and many private families are in the habit of making, and that with tolerable success, what they may want for their own use. For the production of vinegar, two things, as I have before hinted, are indispensably necessary-an admission of atmospheric air, and a temperature somewhat higher than that which is

usually found in our own climate, that is, from about 75° to 80°. When a liquor already fermented is employed, it is also of importance, that yeast or some other ferment should be added, in order to hasten the fermentation; or else the change will be too gradual to obtain vinegar to perfection, and the first acetified portion will turn mouldy before the last can become sour. But if the material employed has not undergone fermentation, as in the case of making vinegar from malt or from sugar, the whole process of vinous and acetous fermentation will go on without interruption. It is important, also, that the process should be stopped in that stage in which the acid has attained to its highest degree of strength and perfection, after which the liquor becomes deteriorated, the acetous acid gradually disappears, and an offensive, mouldy, watery liquor remains, with scarcely any acidity. Much depends upon the skill and experience of the manufacturer, to determine when his vinegar is in a fit state to be drawn off and closely barrelled.

Vinegar may be prepared from either cider, beer, or wine; but the most usu al method is to obtain it at once from malt or sugar. When malt is employed, it is macerated in water, and the fluid is made to ferment, so as to produce a strong ale without hops. This is barrelled and placed in a hot chamber for six or eight weeks, that the fermentation may proceed equally and uniformly. The soured liquor is next emptied into smaller barrels, which are set in rows with their bung-holes open, and placed in the open air till the liquor becomes perfect vinegar. This process, it will be perceived, is on the large scale; and though it will succeed on a smaller, yet it is well known, that the larger the mass the more perfect will be the fermentation. To this circumstance it is perhaps owing that the vinegar made by private families is so frequently spoiled; for the quantity being generally small, the fermentation

is not complete, and consequently, the vinegar in greater danger of being injured by some adventitious and unforeseen occurrence. When sugar is employed, the process is exceedingly similar to that which I have just described.

Vinegar is very subject to decomposition, becoming ropy and muddy. It has been discovered, however, that if it be made to boil for a few moments, it may afterwards be kept for a long time without alteration.

For pickling, and other similar uses, the common vinegar is not sufficiently strong. Its strength, however, may be greatly increased by exposing it to the frost, and removing from it the layers of ice as they are successively formed; for the frozen part consists almost entirely of water. And, in the same manner, the strength of wines may be increased; but in each case, care must be taken that the frozen part be not suffered to remain on till it thaws; for by this means a very sensible deterioration takes place.

For chemical purposes, it is necessary that vinegar should be obtained in a yet more concentrated state, and that it should be divested of its several impurities; for it is found, that, besides acetic acid and water, it contains various other ingredients, such as mucilage, tartar, a colouring matter, and often two or more vegetable acids. But if it be subjected to distillation, and continued till about two-thirds of it are passed over, its impurities will be left

behind in the residuum which remains at the bottom of the still, and it will at the same time appear in a concentrated state. It is now found colourless as water, and is called by chemists acetous acid. When concentrated as much as possible, by peculiar processes, it is termed radical vinegar, or acetic acid. Under this latter form, it is extremely pungent and acrid, and when applied to the skin, reddens and corrodes it in a very short time. It is exceedingly volatile, and, when heated, very readily takes fire.

Aromatic vinegar may be readily prepared as follows. Rosemary tops dried, and sage leaves dried, 4 oz. of each; lavender flowers dried, 2 oz.; cloves bruised, 2 drams; and distilled vinegar, or acetous acid, 8 lbs. These ingredients must be macerated, or steeped, for seven days, and the expressed liquor subsequently filtered through paper. The odour of this liquid is pleasant, pungent, and aromatic, and is a grateful perfume in sick rooms.

The aromatic spirit of vinegar, originally invented, and from time to time improved, by the late Mr. Henry of Manchester, is composed of highly concentrated vinegar, united with the most pleasant aromatics, and most powerful antiseptics; and may be kept unimpaired for any length of time. Its grateful odour renders it peculiarly refreshing in crowded rooms, and in the apartments of the sick. It is said also to counteract the infection of contagious disease.

(Lond. Mag.)

TO AN INFANT SLEEPING ON HIS MOTHER'S BOSOM, DURING A STORM AT SEA.

Softly pillow'd on the breast,

O how gently lies thy head!

Sleeping in unbroken rest,

All thy little wants are fled!

On thy cheek I've watch'd the tear-
Like a dew-drop on the rose ;
Now its gone, and not a fear

Breaks the charms of thy repose.

Cradled on the rolling waves,

While the frenzied ocean scowls: Floating o'er immeasur'd caves,

While the tempest round thee howls.

'Mid the storm, ah what a calm

O'er thy face serenely beams! 'Mid our fears, no dread alarm Interrupt thine infant dreams!

Thus, when toss'd on life's rough seas---
And what storms await thee there!
Which nor anxious foresight sees,
Nor to flee avails our care!--

May thy confidence repose

On that high paternal love, Whence, 'mid every tempest, flows Peace-the pledge of rest above!

LIFE IN LONDON! (New Mon.)

ALMACK'S ON FRIDAY.

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። THE peculiar beauty of the British constitution, sir, consists in this," said an Opposition member to M. Cottu: " every man, however humble his origin, may aspire to the highest honours of the state. Thus it is that industry and talents are excited: all men feel an interest in the fabric, and therefore no men league to overthrow it." The Senator might have extended his eulogium. This aptitude for high places is not confined in England to the Senate, the Pulpit, and the Bar. The posts of fashion are as open to attack as the office of Lord High Chancellor ; and it is not a little amusing to observe the straits to which people of ton are driven to avoid a contact with les Bourgeois. Bath, in the days of Beau Nash, was a resort for the great; so was Tunbridge Wells :-the North Parade and the Pantiles are now deserted. "The Moor is at the gate,' and no Christian can be seen there. Ranelagh, the ci-devant "third heaven" of beauties of high life, is levelled with the dust. In vain did the Court make it unfashionable to be seen there before eleven. The East outbid the West, and would not enter till half-after that hour. Fashion withdrew in disgust, and Ranelagh perished. A very few years ago, an Autumn at Brighton was by no means an unfashionable affair. But, alas! in rushed all Cheapside, with the addition of Duke's-place. Coy Fashion took flight, and, when the coast was clear, resettled upon the Steine at Christmas. This had all the appearance of a decisive victory. But not so hardly were her tents pitched, when the populous East" poured from her frozen loins" an army of brokers, brewers, and broad-cloth venders, to shiver for a month upon the East Cliff. Old Dixon, of Savage-gardens, was destined to be added to the frost-bitten fraternity. His neighbour Culpepper, who must likewise follow the fashion, called upon the worthy citizen, and found him in a sorry nankeen kind of tenement, on the Marine Parade, gaz

ing upon vacancy from out a bow-window which let in the winds from three points of the compass, until they inflated his carpet into the shape of a demiballoon. "Well," said the visitor to his host, "I never thought you, of all people, would have chosen to put in to Brighton at this time of the year.”—“ Į did not choose to put in," answered Dixon, "I was driven in by stress of wife." I really do not know what people of distinction are to do next; for if turkey, chine, plum-pudding, galante-show, and twelfth-cake will not keep citizens in town, nothing will. To what Libyan desert, what rocky island in the watery waste, is high life now to retreat? Saint Helena may do, the distance is too great to allow of men of business frequenting it; they cannot well run down from Saturday to Tuesday but I decidedly think that nothing short of it will be effectual. The Island of Ascension is too full of turtle: the whole court of aldermen would be there, to a dead certainty.

There is a dancing-establishment in King-street, St. James's-square, called Almack's. The proprietor of the mansion is named Willis. Six lady patronesses, of the first distinction, govern the assembly. Their fiat is decisive as to admission or rejection: consequently "their nods men and gods keep in awe." The nights of meeting fall upon every Wednesday during the season. This is selection with a vengeance: the very quintessence of aristocracy. Three-fourths even of the nobility knock in vain for admission. Into this sanctum sanctorum, of course, the sons of commerce never think of intruding on the sacred Wednesday evenings: and yet into this very "blue chamber,' in the absence of the six necromancers, have the votaries of trade contrived to intrude themselves. I proceed to narrate the particulars.

"

At a numerous and respectable meeting of tradesmen's ladies, held at the King's-head Tavern in the Poultry, Lady Simms in the chair, it was resolv

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the Old Jewry, and Saint Martin's-leGrand on the north; but not a step beyond. The consequence is, that in the regions of Fore-street, Cripplegate and Moorfields, northward, and in those of Watling-street, Old Fish-street and Tower-royal, southward, a great mass of disaffection has been engendered. Wardmotes have been called, select vestries have been summoned, and special meetings have been convened; but Almack's on Friday flourishes notwithstanding. In the delivering out of subscriptions, I have heard it whispered that some tokens of partiality are discernible. Undue preferences are alleged to be given, which, if done in the way of trade, would force the obliged party to refund his debt for the equal benefit of himself and the rest of the creditors.

ed, in order to mortify the proud flesh of the six occidental countesses above alluded to, that a rival Almack's be forthwith established, to meet on every Friday evening: that Mr. Willis be treated with as to the hiring of his rooms: that the worthy chairwoman, with the addition of Lady Brown, Lady Roberts, Mrs. Chambers, Mrs. Wells, and Miss Jones, be appointed six lady patronesses to govern the establishment: that those ladies be empowered to draw a line of demarcation round the most fashionable part of the city, and that no residents beyond that circle be, on any account, entitled to subscriptions. The six lady patronesses, who originated these resolutions, dwell in the most fashionable part of the city, viz. Lady Simms, in Cornhill, Lady Brown, in Mansionhouse-street, Lady Roberts, in Birchin-lane, Mrs. Chamin Throgmorton-street, Mrs. Wells, in Copthall-court, and Miss Jones, in Bucklersbury. It is astonishing with what rapidity the subscriptions filled; and the governesses of the establishment have acted with great circumspection in confining the amusement to none but their upper circles. The chief members are warehousemen and wholesale linen-drapers, with, of course, their wives and daughters. The original plan was to exclude all retail traders; but, as this would have made the ball rather too select, the scheme was abandoned. Grocers dealing both wholesale and retail, silversmiths, glovers, packers, dyers, and paper-stainers, are admissible, provided their moral characters be unimpeachable and their residences be not too Eastward. Some discord has arisen in consequence of black-balling a very reputable pawnbroker in East Smithfield. West Smithfield is within the line of demarcation, but not East; and the exhibitor of three blue balls, who has been thus rejected, complains loudly that he is thrust aside to make room for a set of vulgar innholders and cattle-keepers from Smithfield in the West. But to squalls like this the best-regulated establishments are liable. The line of demarcation includes Bow-lane, Queenstreet, and Bucklersbury, on the South side of Cheapside; and King-street,

Lady Simms's husband is a lotteryoffice keeper in Cornhill, and "they do say" that young men have but slender prospects of admission if they omit to buy their sixteenths at his shop. Lady Brown's lord and master is a wax-chandler in Mansion-house street; let no man who hopes to visit Almack's on Friday seek his spermaceti in any other shop. Sir Ralph Roberts is a wholesale ironmonger in Birchin-lane; I have never heard that he is open to corruption in the way of trade; but he and Lady Roberts have six grown-up daughters, and the subscriber who fails to dance with them all in one night, may look in vain for a renewal of his subscription. Mrs. Chambers's helpmate is a tailor. A rule has recently crept into the establishment that no gentleman shall be attired otherwise than in the old school of inexpressibles terminating at the knee. This regulation (which I believe originated with Mrs. Chambers) has been productive of much confusion. The common attire of most of the young_men of the present day is trowsers. These are uniformly stopped at the door, and the unhappy wearer is forced either to return home to re-dress, or to suffer himself to be sewed up by a member of the Merchant Tailor's Company, who attends in a private room for that purpose. This ceremony consists in doubling up the trowsers under the knee,

and stitching them in that position with black silk: the culprit is then allowed to enter the ball-room, with his lower man strongly resembling one of those broad immoveable Dutch captains who ply in the long room at the Custom-house. It sometimes happens that the party, thus acted upon by the needle, little anticipating such a process, has worn white under-stockings, and a pair of half black-silk upperhose reaching but to the commencement of his calf. The metamorphosis, in these cases, is rather ludicrous, inasmuch as the subscriber reappears with a pair of black and white magpie legs, and looks as if he had by accident stepped ancle-deep into a couple of ink-bottles. These poor fellows are necessarily forced, the following Friday, to furnish themselves with a new pair of shorts. I am afraid Mrs. Chambers is at the bottom of all this. I have never heard of any corrupt motive having been assigned to Mrs. Wells; and Miss Jones is a maiden lady of forty-four, living upon a genteel independence.

About eight o'clock on every Friday evening, during the season, (for I assure you the City has its seasons-"a Negro has a soul, your honour") a large mass of hackney coaches may be seen plying about the purlieus of Cheapside, the same having been hired to convey our City fashionables to the scene of festivity. Dancing commences precisely at nine, and the display of jewels would not discredit the parish of Marylebone. The large room with the mirror at the lower end is devoted to quadrilles. Waltzes were at first proscribed, as foreign, and consequent ly indecent but three of the six Miss Robertses discovered accidentally one morning, while two of the other three were tormenting poor Mozart into an undulating see-saw on the piano, that they waltzed remarkably well. The rule thenceforward was less rigidly enforced. Yet still the practice is rather scouted by the more sober part of the community. Lady Brown bridles, and beartily regrets that such filthy doings are not confined to Paris: while Lady Simms thanks Gods that her daughter never danced a single waltz in the

whole course of her life. This instance of self-denial ought to be recorded, for Miss Simms' left leg is shorter than her right. Nature evidently meant her for a waltzer of the first wa ter and magnitude, but philosophy has operated upon her as it did upon Socrates. There is a young broker named Carter, who has no very extensive connexion, in Mark Lane, but he has notwithstanding contrived to waltz himself into a subscription. He regularly takes out Harriet Roberts, and, after swinging with her round the room till the young woman is sick and faint, he performs a like feat with Jane Roberts, and successively with Betsey. The exhibitor of samples, when this is well over, is as giddy as a goose. He therefore retires to take a little breath; but in about ten minutes returns to the large apartment like a giant refreshed, claps his hands, calls out "Zitti zitti” to the leader of the band, and starts afresh with Lucy, Charlotte, and Jemima Roberts, in three consecutive quadrilles. The pertinacity of this young man is indeed prodigious. When the most experienced quadrillers are bowled out of the ring, he may be seen spinning by himself, like an Arabian Dervise. He is no great beauty, his head being several degrees too big for his body; but this disproportion does not extend lower down, for Lady Roberts says there is not a better-hearted young man in all Portsoken Ward. According to the rules of the establishment, nobody is admitted after ten o'clock, except gentlemen of the common council: their senatorial duties are paramount. About three Fridays ago an odd incident occurred. One Mrs. Ferguson and her daughter alighted at the outer door from a very clean hackney coach, delivered her card to Mr. Willis, and swept majestically past the grating upstairs into the ball-room. On a more minute inspection of the document, it was discovered to be a forgery. What was to be done? The mother was sitting under the mirror, and the daughter was dancing for dear life. Lady Simms, Mr. Wells, and Miss Jones (three make a quorum) laid their heads together, and the result was a civil message to Mrs. Ferguson, requesting

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