S16

MANUFACTURES.

llanufac- its case, which latter was made of wood, and eterytures. part of it exposed to view.

A trial on this apparatus was made before certainCommissioners of Excise at Roscrea . Previous to thetrial there were four furnaces independent of the steam-engine, one for the still, and one for each copper,which contains two hundred and twelve superficial feet;but by the proposed plan these were reduced to two,containing only sixty-tour superficial feet subject to theinfluence of the fire. It appeared, moreover, that steamnot exceeding two hundred and twenty degrees wasable to produce the highest charge of the Excise lawswith a saving of four-fifths of the fuel, and the same ofall other expenses. The plan, however, was rejectedby the Excise on the principle that it would afford faci-lities to smuggling under the then existing regulations;but since the Act of the 4th of George IV . c. 94.,has relieved the distiller from the production of a limitedquantity in a given time, this steam method has beenthought deserving of reconsideration.

These stills were made of copper: those capable ofholding forty-four gallons were about forty-four inchesin diameter at the bottom, and about five inches deep ;those holding eighty gallons were fifty-four inches indiameter, and about eight inches deep; the bottom wasperfectly flat, and about three-eighths of an inch thick;within it there were a number of iron chains turned roundby machinery, which, by rubbing against the bottom,prevented the thick matter, which the wash always con-tains, from adhering to the bottom of the still andcatching fire. This might have occasioned the imme-diate destruction of the still, and the scorched starchymatter would have communicated a disagreeable flavourto the spirits which could not have been got rid ofafterwards; there was likewise a circular plate in theinside of the still towards its top, which broke thebubbles which arose during rapid distillation, and less-ened the risk of the still boiling over, or running foul,as the distillers term it, consequently the distiller wasenabled to put a greater charge of wash into the stillthan it would have been in his power to do had thiscircular plate been omitted.

The present stills, though much larger in size, imitatethe others in the great diameter of their bottom. Thetop of the still ends in a kind of tube bent downwards,and connected with a tin tube which makes a numberof revolutions in a large vessel filled with water, andtherefore called the worm. This large vessel is calledthe refrigerator or cooler, and care is always taken tokeep its situation in a state to do this by means of astream of water constantly flowing into it. The washbeing put into the still, and the top fixed down, heat isapplied to the vessel till it is made to boil, when spirits,being more volatile than the water, go over first in thestate of steam, and are condensed into a liquid as theypass through the worm. The first portions that comeover are very strong, but the strength diminishes as theprocess proceeds: the distiller continues the operationtill the liquid which flows from the worm is as heavyas water, or till the quantity of spirits remaining are notconsidered as a compensation for continuing the processany longer. The strength of the liquor proceedingfrom the worm is ascertained by a small hydrometer,with which it is tried every now and then, and when-ever a certain mark on the instrument coincides withthe surface of the liquid, a cock at the bottom of thestill is opened, and what remains in the still is let off:

this is called the spent wash; it is a muddy brown M echaal ' a *liquid, and still retains a quantity of undecomposed , . -

saccharine matter which has been frequently used asfood for cattle. To prevent the still boiling over,which is apt to take place towards the commencementof the distillation, it is usual to throw a piece of soapinto the vessel along with the wash ; the oily matterwhich the soap contains, being spread on the surface,forms a thin coat, which breaks the large bubbles whenthey rise, and thus prevents the wash from swelling be-yond its usual bulk : butter would be less liable tocommunicate a disagreeable flavour, and so perhapswould hog’s lard. It is impossible to lay down any rulewith respect to the strength of the weak spirit obtainedby this first distillation ; it must depend partly upon thestrength of the wort, and partly on the attenuation whichhas taken place during the fermentation, but chieflyupon the attention of the distiller to distil off the wholeof the spirituous portion of the wash. The low winesare put into the still and subjected to a second distilla-tion, which in Scotland is called doubling. The firstportion which comes over is a milky liquid known bythe name of foreshot; the third portion is called feints,which are mixed with what is called the low wines and ^

distilled again. Another distilling apparatus is repre- P}-sented in fig. 5, the operation of which is sufficiently f' 1 *’ -obvious without a verbal description.

(1134.) Table, showing the Number of Gallons ofBritish Spirits chargeable with the Excise Duty ,from the Year 1820 to 1831, inclusive , with theAmount of Duty on the same.

Years.

Number of Gallons.

Amount of Duty.

1820

8,349,170

£3,941,879

1821

8,698,620

3,992,515

1822

8,754,291

4,275,381

1823

9,102,819

3,341,944

1824

15,107,849

3,894,725

1825

18,687,845

3,886,528

1826

18,233,400

*4,139,023

1827

19,684,678

4,172,233

1828

23,413,770

4,969,685

1829

22,690,270

4,783,950

1830

22,279,186

*5,185,574

1831

21,103,501

5,195,125

Method of making Crayons.

uSZflS"** iS .“ S^ral name for all coloured Me‘hod

-*•—* ■“« *sjs

is still anni; .P ° r P a,nt,,1 g' w pastel, and the same yto now dpi 6 a W> , en t * lese substances are first reducedeultv is 3n re ~ orm ed for use. As considerable diffi-Eomes a in obtaining good crayons, M-

to makA nc l artlst °f considerable note, undertookinn- the a . var ' e< y experiments with a view to obtain-n„M'' I |! U j 116 , § Teates t perfection, an account of whichcom,, ^Anriales de. Chimie . Red crayons aie

an Softe !' ochre or reddle, which is

oxt e of iron mixed with an argillaceous earth

_ 0 ^? B reduction in the rates of duty on British spirit was, in10ru ds. 2d. in Scotland , and 6s. 7d. in Ireland , to 2s. 4§d.r Imperial gallon; 1826, in England, from IOi. 6d. to 7 s. per

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