Knight's cyclopædia of the industry of all nations, 1851 / [edited by George Dodd].
- Date:
- [1851]
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Knight's cyclopædia of the industry of all nations, 1851 / [edited by George Dodd]. Source: Wellcome Collection.
72/1000
![75 ALCOHOLIC DKTNKS. ALDEENEY. 76 strong, and the yellow vrhen wealc. Although the flame of alcohol yields but little light, its heat is intense ; it burns without any smoke. There ai-e several substances which commu- nicate colour to the flame of alcohol: boracic acid and salts of copper impart green, barytic salts yellow, and the salts of strontia an in- tense and beautiful red colour. These pro- perties are made available in pyrotechny or fire-works. Alcohol combines in definite proportions with chloride of calcium, nitrate of magnesia, and other salts, with which it forms alcoales. It dissolves resins, essential oils, camphor, sugar, soap, and numerous acids, with readi- ness; it also readily dissolves ammoniacal gas. As alcohol remains fluid at the lowest temperatures, it is advantageously employed in filling thermometer tubBS, and in experi- ments on artificial cold; its antiseptic proper- ties are great, and hence its use in preserving anatomical preparations; on account of its ready inflammability, the purity, and the in- tense heat of its flame, it is conveniently, but not economically employed in chemical lamps, usually termed spirit lamps. There are many other useful purposes to which this remark- able liquid is appHed; but its chief employ- ment is m the form of beverages. ALCOHOLIC DEINKS. The number of alcoholic drinks is surprisingly large and varied. The following are the principal:— Agita Ardienie, made in Mexico, from the fer- mented juice of the Agave; Arack or Arrack, made in India from the juice of the palm and from rice; Araka, made in Tartary, from fer- mented mare's milk; Araki, made in Egypt from dates ; Arika, made in Tartary and in Iceland, from fermented cow's milk; Brandy, made in nearly all wine countries from wine and from fruits ; Geneva or Holland, made in Holland from malted bariey or rye, rectified on juniper berries; Gin, made in England from malted barley, rye, or potatoes, and rec- tified with tm-pentine; Goldivasser, made at Dantzio from various kinds of corn, and rec- tified witli spices; Kirschwasser, made in Switzerland from the Machaleb cherry; Lait, made at Siam from rice; Maraschino, made in Dalmatia from the Macarska cheriy; Mahwah Arrack, made in India from the flowei's of the Madhuca ti-ee; Rum, made in the West Indies and South America from cane sugar, and molasses ; Rnkia, made in Dalmntia from the husks of grapes, mixed with aromatios ; Ros- solio, made at Dantzic from a compound of brandy with certain plants j Sckis-Kayanodka made at Scio from fruit and lees of wine ; SUilknia-trava, made at Kamschatka from a sweet grass ; Show-choo, made in China from the lees of rice vnne; Trosia, made in the Rhemish provinces from the husks of gi^apes fermented with barley and rye; Tuba, made in the PhiUppine Islands from palrai wine ; Vino Meresel, made in Mexico by dis- tilling the fermented juice of the Agave; Whiskey, made in Scotland and Ireland from raw and malted grain, and in the south of France from sloes. However difierent the above alcoholic beve- rages may be, they all have a common resem- blance in these particulars:—they all consist chiefly of dilute spirit or alcohol; they aU contain portions of essential oils, or colouring matter, or extractive matter; they aU derive their distinctive character from the nature of these added substances ; and they may all be made to yield pure alcohol by re-distillation and rectification. Numerous as they are, these drinks are wholly distinct from the various rich and lus- cious CoBDiALS and Liqueurs, of which the reader will find a brief account in subsequent articles. ALCOHOMETER. The rigorous proceed- ings of the Excise in collecting the duty on Enghsh spkits, render the use of several in- struments necessary. One of these is the Alcohometer, a sort of hydrometer fitted to ascertain the quantity of pure alcohol in any given mixture of spirit and water, for abso- lutely pure alcohol never comes before the notice of the public generally; it is always combined more or less with water. Various means have been adopted to test the strength of alcohol—finding the temperature of the vapour produced, determining the temperatiu-e produced by admixtm-e ^rith water, or ascer- taining the degree of volatiGty ; but the mode which has been found best in practice is by determining the specific gravity, which becomes greater and greater as there is more and more water mixed with the spirit: in other words, a pint of spirit and water is heavier than a pint of piure spu-it. The Excise charge duty, not on the quantity of liquor manufactiu-ed by distillation, but on the quantity of pure spirit contained; and this quantity is determmed by the alcohometer or hydrometer. ALDER. [Alnus.] ALDERNEY, or AUEIGNY, one of the islands in the English Channel, lying in the bay of An-anches, near the coast of Nor- mandy. The soil is sandy, gritty, and gravelly round the coast, but in the valleys it is very fertile, producing excellent corn and potatoes. In the meadows they grow rye-grass and clover, which give excellent milk and butter. The grass lands occupy about one-third of the area of the island. The land is generally ele-](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21495348_0072.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
