The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1860-05-04
AdrlferatiOE Og Liquors.


A lecture was delivered last week on the
4duteration of liquors. bv Charles A Sec
". chemist, at The New York Medical Col
lege. The speaker first spoke briefly OF
the ar, of making liquors. Wine making
was very ancient. The first thing Noah
did after the De!uge was to plant vine-
ward aud ferment the juice of the grape;
and he must have learned this from those
who lived before the flood. But all otn-
ar liquors were Of q much more modern
origin No liquor but wine vas known
before the fourteenth century, and there
was 40 distila at that time. Brandy
was next produced, then malt liquors, and
then whisky. The word whisky is dsrlv-
ed from the Irish usquebaugh which means
water Of life" All alcohol is produced
from sugar. The separation OF little
water and carbonic acid from the sugar
changes it to alcohol The lecturer show
ed the distinctive chemical characteristics
of LIQUORS, and said that all wines were
void. They contained tartaric acid. lhe
amount Of acid to change litmus paper
from blue to red, was very little; drop OF
sulphuric acid in barrel of wator would
do So Wines also contained suiphuric
| acid, combined withpctash. Grape vinos
take up potash from the earth, and 1t thus
gets into the wine, and combines with sui
phur, making sulphate of potash. 1t has
been discovered that sulphurous acid Will
| check fermentation, and lately 1t has been
introduced for that purpose; the presence
of sulphuric acid was not of necessity hurt
| fnl in combination with other substances
it was not more poisonous than vinegar.-
Sometimes this acid was found in distilled
liquors; but it should not be. He did not
consider it very dee,erious to health, but
its presence was pretty sure sign the liq-
uor had been tampered with. The pres
ence of sulphata of potash in wine was the
best evidence of its genuineness. In good
brandy there was tannin, and tins inter-
tered with the tests for prussic acid. The
lecturer produced two bottles, one of bran
dy and another of rum, each containing
about a pint, which he said had been pur-
chased at liquor store Of low class for
ten cents. The tests showed that the
specimen of brandy contained fusil oil,
poor whisky aud pepper. The only pois-
onous ingredient was fusi. oil. There was
no prussic acid. The compound purport-
ing to be rum was nearly similar. These
were villainous substances, but he did not
think the effect upon the system was much
worse than that from pure brandy.
The taste for liquors was wholly mat
ter of cultivation, and those who were &C
cuslomel to drinking those adulterated
compo nds preferred them to pure liquors.
The difference between Scotch whisky and
the other kinds was the absence of fusil
oil, and the addition of little creosote.-
Factitious liquors might be preferable to
| the genuine articles. In genuine wines
there ara many substances which are not
agreeable, and do not add to their value;
all inorganic substances are of this cliarac-
ter. lfit were known just the desirable
ingredients in wine he could not see why
they might not be chemically combined,
and as good wines made as couli be from
the grape; and so with other liquors.
MIR. Seely performed some interesting
illustrative experiments, and then advert
ing to his announcement that he would re-
view DIR. Cox said that If he had known
what had been written with reference 10
the statements Of DR.. Cox, he would not
have so announced He then read from u
Cincinnati paper some CRITICISMS upon Dr.
Cox. lie controverIei tie assertion that
there was often strychune or prGssic acid
in liquors. They contained poisons, such
as copper and sugar of lead they were
not added as adultera;ons, but came there
in the process of distila,ion.