Occupations > British wine-maker, and domestic brewer

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INTRODUCTION TO
one of the most obscure departments of chemis¬
try. That this decomposition, namely, the con¬
verting of the saccharine matter into spirit, is
going on, can only be ascertained by the saccha-
rometer, which will show the gradual progress of
the attenuation through fermentation. This in¬
strument also shows the specific gravity both of
the pure juice, and the juice and water, as well as
of the compound of juice, water, and sugar. To
accomplish this end, portions of the must or com¬
pound must be taken out daily to be weighed by
the instrument. I would strongly recommend
those of my readers who are wine-makers, and
who are really desirous to excel in this art, to re¬
cord the results of their daily examinations in a
book kept for the purpose, that these may serve
as guides to them in their future operations. It
must be obvious to every reflecting mind, that
without a knowledge of the fermentable matter
one has to work upon, all attempts to obtain uni¬
formity of wine must be unavailing. The sac-
charometer, with the method of using it, I will
afterwards describe.
I have used it upwards of twelve years, and
without its aid I never could have made wine of
any description. I use it, first, for finding the
specific gravity of pure juice; secondly, of the
pure juice with water; and, thirdly, of the com¬
pound of juice, water, and sugar, bringing the