New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1860-05-14

i and when spring again hung forth her banners Of
I green, he brought to them as their mistress and
!. browning grace his wife, Imogene.
: French Wines and Brantiles.
a correspondent of the New York Tribune writes
the following letter:
ROME, March 3, lssO.-As, intoxicating drinks Of
all kinds, as healthful beverages, up for trial.
embrace every opportunity Of obtaining reliable
evidence useful to enable the court ana iary 10
come to correct judgment on this important
question now before the civilized world.
Messrs. Barton 4 Guestier, Bordeaux, France,
/. having been named to me by my bankers here as
extensive pure wine producers, whose statements
could be implicitly relied upon, at once wrote
tile house through one Of the partners now here,
with the answers ! give below, which you can
publish if you think them Of value to your readers.
The common wine Of the country (called Pqnette)
4 manufactured CATER the juice Of the grape has
been trodden out by the feet) from grape. stalks
skins, and the deposit Of other substances in the
yat, with water thrown on to help fermentation.
This Piquette hardly deserves the name OF wine.
Chemists should ascertain how far such drink.
lfdcited from such materials (aside from its con.
tanned ALCOHOL is a healthful beverage for man. /
| Lave visited wine establishment and have seen
the deposit from which Piquette was expressed.
y was most filthy mass. took my party to
view It, and they had not been all good abstain.
ars, this exhibition would have made them So att
least 80 far as the common wine {Piqnette) Il
| was so offensive that we were all glad to escape
from it at soon as possible. 1t l. used for manure
but It Is unfit for snch until largely mixed with
/ earth.
/ large wine dealer in the United States In.
| formed me (after having abandoned the trade)
that but little Of the wine imported into the coun
| Try as pure was consumed in that state-that one
| Eask Of pure would make four Of fabricated.
With such facts before the public, how strangely
that one should take the risk Of drinking these
1 posons.
4 1
France is drawing out very important facts with
regard to the wine and spirit trade. The press can
do vast public benefit I by giving them publicity.
/ Yours very truly, EDWARD @. DELAyANs
| QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOVE PREFERRED TO.
| Question 1.-The present price Of win d,ordinaire
| Ion or cask
| Answer.-In the following replies shall confine
myself entirely to the produce of France as have
no means OF ascertaining with any degree of GER
ton No. Unjust restrict myself to the Department
Of the Gronde. where, according to the legal price
! currents published by the Chamber Of Commerce,
and compiled by the Syndc of Wine Brokers, / find
the average price Of Burgeois ordinare in 1884, was
300 francs the tun Of four hhds equal 10 81 per gal
on IN 1860, 700francs the tun of four hhds. equal
| to 81 per gallon This ID the American gallon of
sixty gallons TO q Bordeaux hogshead. The prices
| named are new wines bought on the spot #---ss
Question 1.-THE dminution per cent of pure
wines oil all qualities in consequence Of the disease
of the grape vine?
Answer.-Fifty- three per cent. diminution. The
average production of France, from Is47 to 1862
inclusive, was AZ 100000 of heetotres from 1853
1.-THE first year of oidiumh) to 1868 (exclusiye Of
1858, which was more than an average crop
throughout France, though below IT in our Depart
ment) It fell to 20000,000 heetolitres.f
Question Ill. The proportion. Of fabricated
wines sold to pure. the general quality of the drugs
used, and their effect upon health
Answer.-There are no reliable statistics by
which this question can be accurately answered.
hun ti,nAfa
Municipality Of Paris, it would appear to be fully
one-half. The dressings of the lees alcohol, tar
taric acid, oxide of lead, elderberres 1quorice,
OTIS root. ana water, enter largely into the com
position OF ialsiiied wines, and are undoubtedly
most pre1udical to health, but to what extent1
am not prepared to state. In the Departments
especially the wine-produeing ones, the adutera
ton is OF less deleterious character and consists
chiefly in cutting the heavy wines of the Midi
(Narbonne, Lot, Cahors, Gers and of SPAIN with
white wines of Saintonge and Entire -deux-Mers
and alcohol and water.
Question nv - The proportion of pure wine
shipped to the United States to the fabricated
from France and their wine reproducing countries?
Answer.-Supposed to be about one-half, chiefly
adulterated as mentioned above. The cargo wines
for New Orleans and San Francisco are more aduls
terated than those for New York, as cheaper ar
tlcle IS required for placing on hotel tables free Of
charge. The white wines of this country can only
be adulterated with water and even then are very
apt to turn to vinegar.
Question Whether whisky is not exported
from the United States, and returned there manu-
featured into substance called wine. and Skinned
and sold as such
Answer-When in 1857, owing to the very high
prices Of spirits in France, the Government took
on the DUTY corn whisky was imported from the
United States to the different parts of France to
the extent of 1900 casks of 80 gallons, which was
undoubtedly largely mixed with Cognac and La
KocheIle brandes, and reexported as such to the
United States and elsewhere. To such an extent
was TINS carried on that our firm went upon its
STOCK Tor two years rather than run the risk Of buy.
ing an adulterated and inferior article. Govern
ment prosecutions have now put check ON these
proceedings We have never heard of American
spirits entering into the composition of fabricated
VINE, nor DO We think it likely, as it could not
pete with British Spirits which are of better and
more neutral quality than those imported from the
United States BrandesS are also mixed with the
alcohol extracted from beet root, molasses sorpho
VINE lees, potatoes, rice, malt and artichokes,
s Men afa saa 10 produce pr a per cent
Question VI.-Whether there il as Inch pure
VINE made on the Continent as is reqsired for
Answer.-The population of France ia All, OOO-
V W "a and the average production of pure wine
Al, o00 900 hectolitres the consumption Of 60
nar ~ rars i one and hundreths hectotre
are #atered and naked for if the whole ponula.
lloh o. france consumed in the ratio, not only
, Moaia mere De no wae left for expectation but
tion Mot th nos pc snlnslent for home consump-
t Mon u the returns of produce however, no men.
noa 81 p aue Oh most important point the wine
mas maze from second DRESSINGS, grape.stalIs grape
shiiis ana water, known under the name Of ri.
qlette, and constituting the sole beverage Of the
~ sn & classes to the extent of some IS 900 900
VI oo,oOo 0o0 heetolitres per annum
question sIi.-What is the proportion of alco.z
h ~, IN the ordinary pure wine as used by the la.
p9ithns classes and placed on tables generally
a. answer..The laboring classes as stated above,
ano os alln1 pure Wine but Pquete and the wine
nenon od ,aoles without charge is mostly that
Free o. alcohol contained in these wines accurately
~ should say from to per cent The degree
M u spirlts contained in all the different wins On
aen leu ~ pure state averages 81 per cent In the
average aes 9ro and saintonge districts the
if i fro iisss ron % to Il and IL per cents and
J. g rom me last named districts that all the beat
p praaa g comes fAll pure brandy is made from
sadinm, disease Of the vine
theefoitfe, eqnaI 10 tWent y.8o T,nYefiai s,,
e, Inc muscles of the human jaw produce power
t edual 10 4s4 pounds. This is only what seiensp
tells us; but we know the Jaw Of some Of onr law