Popular Technology Volume I Part 4

12. Ale and porter are called stock liquors; because, not being designed for immediate consumption, they are kept for a considerable time, that they may improve in quality. Porter is usually prepared for consumption by putting it into bottles. This is done either at the brewery, or in bottling establishments. In the latter case, the liquor is purchased in large quant.i.ties from the brewer by persons who make it their business to supply retailers and private families.

13. We have evidence that fermented liquor was in use three thousand years ago. It was first used in Egypt, whence it pa.s.sed into adjacent countries, and afterward into Spain, France, and England. It was sometimes called the wine of barley; and one kind of it was denominated Pelusian drink, from the city Pelusium, where it was first made.

14. Among the nations of modern times, the English are the most celebrated for brewing good liquors. London porter is especially in great repute, not only in that city, but in distant countries. Much fermented liquor of the different kinds, is consumed in the United States, where it is also made in considerable perfection.

THE DISTILLER.

1. Although alcohol can be extracted from any substance containing saccharine matter, yet sugar-cane, grapes, apples, peaches, rye, corn, and rice, on account of their abundance, and superior adaptation to the purpose, are more commonly used than any other. As whiskey is the chief article of this kind, manufactured in the United States, it will be selected to ill.u.s.trate the general principles of distillation.

2. Corn and rye are the materials from which this liquor is mostly extracted; and these are used either together or separately, at the option of the distiller. The meal is scalded and mashed in a large tub: it is then permitted to stand, until it has become a little sweet, when more water is poured upon it, and, at a suitable temperature, a quant.i.ty of yeast is added. To aid in producing rapid fermentation, a little malt is sprinkled on the top.

3. After an adequate fermentation has taken place, the _beer_, as it is called, is transferred to a large close tub, from the top of which leads a tube extending to the worm in another tub filled with cold water. The worm is a long pewter tube, twisted spirally, that it may occupy a small s.p.a.ce.

4. The beer is heated in the close tub, by means of steam, which is conveyed to it, from a large kettle or boiler, by a copper or iron pipe. The heat causes the alcoholic particles to rise like vapour, and pa.s.s into the worm, where they are condensed into a watery fluid, which pa.s.ses out into a receiver.

5. At first, pure alcohol distils from the worm; but the produce becomes gradually weaker, until, at length, the spirit in the beer being exhausted, it consists only of water condensed from steam. The remains of the beer are given as feed to hogs and cattle.

6. Brandy is distilled from grapes, rum from sugar-cane, arrack from rice, whiskey from various kinds of grain, peach-brandy from peaches, and cider-brandy from apples.

7. The great variety of articles employed in the productions of different kinds of ardent spirits, must necessarily vary the process of distillation in some particulars; but, in all cases, fermentation and heat are necessary to disengage the alcoholic properties of the saccharine matter, and also an apparatus for condensing the same from a gaseous to a liquid form. In some countries, the _alembic_ is used as a condenser, instead of a worm. The form of this instrument is much like that of the retort; and when applied, it is screwed upon the top of the boiler.

8. Spirits, which come to market in a crude state, are sometimes distilled for the purpose of improving their quality, or for disguising them with drugs and colouring substances, that they may resemble superior liquors. The process by which they are thus changed, or improved, is called rectification. Many distilleries in large cities, are employed in this branch of business.

9. There is, perhaps, no kind of merchandise in which the public is more deceived, than in the quality of ardent spirits and wines. To ill.u.s.trate this, it is only necessary to observe, that Holland gin is made by distilling French brandy with juniper-berries; but most of the spirits which are vended under that name, consist only of rum or whiskey, flavoured with the oil of turpentine. Genuine French brandy is distilled from grapes; but the article usually sold under that denomination, is whiskey or rum coloured with treacle or scorched sugar, and flavoured with the oil of wine, or some kind of drug.

10. The ancient Greeks and Romans were acquainted with an instrument for distillation, which they denominated _ambix_. This was adopted, a long time afterward, by the Arabian alchemists, for making their chemical experiments; but they made some improvements in its construction, and changed its name to _alembic_.

11. The ancients, however, knew nothing of alcohol. The method of extracting this intoxicating substance, was probably discovered some time in the twelfth or thirteenth century; but, for many ages after the discovery, it was used only as a medicine, and was kept for sale exclusively in apothecary shops. It is now used as a common article of stimulation, in almost every quarter of the globe.

12. But the opinion is becoming general, among all civilized people, that the use of alcohol, for this purpose, is destructive of health, and the primary cause of most of the crimes and pauperism in all places, where its consumption is common. The formation of Temperance Societies, and the publication of their reports, together with the extensive circulation of periodical papers, devoted to the cause of temperance, have already diminished, to a very great extent, the use of spirituous liquors.

13. Although the ancients knew nothing of distilling alcohol, yet they were well versed in the art of making wine. We read of the vineyard, as far back as the time of Noah, the second father of nations; and, from that period to the present, the grape has been the object of careful cultivation, in all civilized nations, where the climate and soil were adapted to the purpose.

14. The general process of making wine from grapes, is as follows. The grapes, when gathered, are crushed by treading them with the feet, and rubbing them in the hands, or by some other means, with the view to press out the juice. The whole is then suffered to stand in the vat, until it has pa.s.sed through what is termed the _vinous_ fermentation, when the juice, which, in this state, is termed _must_, is drawn off into open vessels, where it remains until the pressing of the husks is finished.

15. The husks are submitted, in hair bags, to the press; and the _must_ which is the result of this operation, is mixed with that drawn from the vat. The whole is then put into casks, where it undergoes another fermentation, called the _spirituous_, which occupies from six to twelve days. The casks are then bunged up, and suffered to stand a few weeks, when the wine is racked off from the _lees_, and again returned to the same casks, after they have been perfectly cleansed.

Two such rackings generally render the wine clear and brilliant.

16. In many cases, sugar, brandy, and flavouring substances, are necessary, to render the wine palatable; but the best kinds of grapes seldom require any of these additions. Wine-merchants often adulterate their wines in various ways, and afterwards sell them for those which are genuine. To correct acidity, and some other unpleasant qualities, lead, copper, antimony, and corrosive sublimate, are often used by the dealers in wine; though the practice is attended with deleterious effects to the health of the consumers.

17. The wines most usually met with in this country, are known by the following denominations, viz., _Madeira_ and _Teneriffe_, from islands of the same names; _Port_, from Portugal; _Sherry_ and _Malaga_, from Spain; _Champagne_, _Burgundy_, and _Claret_, from France; and _Hock_, from Germany.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BUTCHER.]

THE BUTCHER.

1. Man is designed by nature, to subsist on vegetable and animal food.

This is obvious, from the structure of his organs of mastication and digestion. It does not follow, however, that animal food is, in all cases, positively required. In some countries, the ma.s.s of the people subsist chiefly or entirely on vegetables. This is especially the case in the East Indies, where rice and fruits are the chief articles of food.

2. On the other hand, the people who live in the higher lat.i.tudes subsist princ.i.p.ally on the flesh of animals. This is preferred, not only because it is better suited to brace the system against the rigours of the climate, but because it is most easily provided. In temperate climates, a due proportion of both animal and vegetable substances is consumed.

3. Although the skins of beasts were used for the purpose of clothing, soon after the fall of man, we have no intimation from the Scriptures, that their flesh, or that of any other animal, was used, until after the flood. The Divine permission was then given to Noah and his posterity, to use, for this purpose, "every moving thing that liveth."

But in the law of Moses, delivered several centuries after this period, many exceptions are to be found, which were intended to apply only to the Jewish people. These restrictions were removed, on the introduction of Christianity. The unbelieving Jews, however, still adhere to their ancient law.

4. The doctrine of transmigration has had a great influence in diminis.h.i.+ng the consumption of animal food. This absurd notion arose somewhere in Central Asia, and, at a very early period, it spread into Egypt, Greece, Italy, and finally among the remote countries of the ancient world. It is still entertained by the heathen nations of Eastern Asia, by the tribes in the vicinity of Mount Caucasus, and by some of the American savages, and African negroes.

5. The leading feature of this doctrine is, that the souls of departed men reappear on earth in the bodies of animals, both as a punishment for crimes committed during life, and as a means of purification from sin. This dogma was adopted by the Pythagoreans, a sect of Grecian philosophers; and, as a natural consequence, it led them, as it has ever done the votaries of this opinion, to the veneration of animals, and to abstinence from their flesh, lest they might devour that of some of their deceased friends or relatives.

6. People who dwell thinly scattered in the country, rear and slaughter the animals for the supply of their own tables; but, in villages, large towns, and cities, the inhabitants depend chiefly on the butcher for their meat. The animals commonly slaughtered are, sheep, cattle, and hogs.

7. The butchers obtain their animals from the farmers, or from drovers, who make it a business to purchase them in the country, and drive them to market. The farmers near large cities, who have good grazing farms, are accustomed to buy lean cattle, brought from a distance, with a view to fatten them for sale. There are also persons in the cities, who might, with propriety, be called cattle brokers; since they supply the butchers of small capital with a single animal at a time, on a credit of a few days.

8. Every butcher who carries on the business, has a house in which he kills his animals, and prepares them for sale. When it is intended to slaughter an ox, a rope is thrown about his horns or neck, with which he is forced into the _slaughter-house_, and brought to the floor by the aid of a ring. The butcher then knocks him on the head, cuts his throat, deprives him of his hide, takes out his entrails, washes the inside of his body with water, and cuts him up into quarters. The beef is now ready to be conveyed to the market-house. The process of dressing other quadrupeds varies but little from this in its general details. The cellular substance of mutton, lamb and veal, is often inflated with air, that the meat may appear fat and plump.

9. In large cities and towns, the meat is chiefly sold in the market-house, where each butcher has a stall rented from the corporation. It is carried there in a cart, and cut into suitable pieces with a saw, knife, and a broad iron cleaver.

10. In some of the large cities, it is a practice among the butchers, to employ _runners_ to carry the meat to the houses, of those customers who may desire this accommodation. In villages, where there is no market-house, the butcher carries his meats from door to door in some kind of vehicle.

11. Those who follow this occupation usually enjoy good health, and, as they advance in years, in most cases, become corpulent. Their good health arises from exercise in the open air; and their corpulency, from subsisting princ.i.p.ally on fresh meats. It is thought, however, that their longevity is not so great as that of men in many other employments.

[Ill.u.s.tration: TOBACCONIST.]

THE TOBACCO PLANTER, AND THE TOBACCONIST

THE TOBACCO PLANTER.

1. Tobacco is a native production of America, which was in common use among nearly all of the Indian tribes, when this continent was discovered by Europeans. Its original name among the nations of the islands, was _yoli_; whilst, with those of the continent, it was termed _petum_. The Spaniards, however, chose to call it _tobacco_, a term in the Haytian language, which designated the instrument in which the herb was smoked.

2. This plant was first introduced into Spain, then into Portugal and France, and, at length, into other countries of the Eastern continent.

Sir Walter Raleigh carried it from Virginia to England, and taught his countrymen the various methods of consuming it among the natives.

3. The introduction of this nauseous plant into Europe, was everywhere attended with ridicule and opposition. Hundreds of pamphlets were published, in various languages, dissuading from its use in the strongest terms. Even James the First, king of Great Britain, did not regard it as inconsistent with the royal dignity to take up his pen on the subject. In his "_Counterblast to Tobacco_," published in 1603, occurs the following remarkable pa.s.sage: "It is a custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain; and, in the black fume thereof, nearest resembling the horrible Stygian smoke of the pit that is bottomless."

4. Pope Urban VIII. excommunicated those who took tobacco in churches; and Queen Elizabeth also prohibited its use in houses of public wors.h.i.+p. In 1689, an ordinance was published in Transylvania, threatening those who should plant tobacco with the confiscation of their estates. The grand-duke of Moscow, and the king of Persia, prohibited its use under the penalty of the loss of the nose, and even of life. At present, however, the consumption of tobacco is looked upon with so much greater indulgence, that all the sovereigns of Europe, and most of those of other nations, derive a considerable revenue from the trade in this article.

5. But it is truly astonis.h.i.+ng, that a nauseous weed, of an acrid taste, disagreeable odour, and deleterious qualities, should have had so great an influence on the social condition of nations; that its culture should have spread more rapidly than that of the most useful plants; and that it should, consequently, have become an article of extensive commerce.

6. Of this plant there are several species, which differ from each other, in size, strength, and flavour. Some one or more of these varieties, are cultivated in various parts of the world: but especially in North and South America, and in the West Indies. It is one of the staple productions of Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio. The whole value of the tobacco, exported annually from the United States, amounts to about five millions of dollars.