are

juice that flows out in consequence of the pressure of their own weight is fermented by itself, and constitutes that kind of wine which at Tokay is known by the name of essence. It is thick and clammy, and is chiefly used to mix with the other sorts. Upon the shrivelled grapes thus deprived of a part of their juice, the juice of the unshrivelled grapes is poured, and the whole is subjected to pressure. The juice thus expressed constitutes, when fermented, the wine called auspruch, which is the kind of Tokay usually exported, and in fact the best. More juice of fresh grapes is poured upon the shrivelled grapes, and they strongly squeezed by the hands. The juice thus obtained, when fermented, constitutes the wine called masslasch; it is of rather inferior quality, but when mixed with a portion of essence it becomes as good as the auspruch. The common people mix all the grapes together at once, and make a species of wine which is usually drunk in the country, and constitutes the vin du pays. The following, according to Lord Glenbervie, are the best rules for judging of the qualities of Tokay wine. 1. The colour should neither be reddish nor very pale, but a light silver. 2. In trying it, you should not swallow it immediately, but only wet your palate, and the tip of the tongue. If it discovers any acrimony to the tongue it is not good. The taste ought to be soft and mild. 3. It should, when poured out, form globules in the glass, and have an oily appearance. 4. When genuine, the strongest is always of the best quality. 5. When swallowed it should have an astringent taste in the mouth, which they call the taste of the root. Tokay wine has a strong aromatic flavour, quite peculiar, by which it is easily distinguished from all other wine. It keeps a very long period. Lord Glenbervic drank of some that had been above 80 years in a cellar in Vienna.*

* Phil. Trans. 1773. Vol. LXIII. p. 292.

Salop.

Tokay mine.

put into globular glasses having a neck open at top, and arranged by 50 on the top of a furnace. The fire is kindled below them, and is at first gentle, but on the third day they make it very intense. The sal ammoniac sublimes and coats the upper part of the glasses. The cakes are obtained by breaking these glasses. Such is the process as described by Hasselquist. But there is reason to suspect that it is imperfect. As no source presents itself whence the muriatic acid, one of the constituents of sal ammoniac, could be obtained; unless indeed we were to conceive the salt to exist ready formed in the soot, which is highly improbable. The method followed in Britain, and we presume in every manufactory of sal ammoniac in Europe, is to mix sulphate of ammonia and common salt in glass vessels, and apply heat. A double decomposition takes place, sal ammoniac sublimes, and glauber's salt remains behind in the bottom of the glass. The difficulty of the process consists in the procuring of sulphate of ammonia. It exists ready formed in the soot of our chimneys, proceeding from the pit coal employed as an article of fuel; and this is the source from which it is usually obtained.

15. Among the nourishing and agreeable articles of food prepared from the vegetable kingdom, salop has always held a distinguished rank. It is usually imported from Persia, and is known to consist merely of the bulbs of different species of orchis dried in a particular way. Mr. Moult has given us a method of preparing these bulbs, which he says from experience answers perfectly well. The plant is to be dug up when the seed is ripe, and the stalk. going to fall. The fresh bulb is to be cleaned, and freed from its skin, by dipping it in warm water, and rubbing it with a coarse cloth. The bulbs thus prepared are arranged on a tin plate, and introduced into an oven of the heat requisite for baking bread, left in it for ten minutes, and then taken out. They have lost their milky appearance, and acquired a semi-transparency. They are then to be dried slowly, either by simple exposure to the air, or by a moderate artificial heat.* The use of the oven seems to be to destroy the life of the bulb, and thus prevent it from growing instead of drying.

16. The last paper which we shall mention relating to chemical manufactures, is an account of Tokay wine by Lord Glenbervie. Tokay is a village which lies in Hungary at the confluence of the rivers Bodrog and Theis. The hills round it occupy the space of about 12 miles, and all of them produce the grapes from which Tokay wine is made. They are all white grapes. The vintage is as late as possible, because the frosts of September are considered as of service to the flavour. The consequence is that many of the grapes are shrivelled at the time of pulling them, and look like half dried resins. These shrivelled grapes are carefully picked out, and thrown into a perforated cask. The

* Phil. Trans. 1769. Vol. LIX. p. 1.

juice that flows out in consequence of the pressure of their own weight is fermented by itself, and constitutes that kind of wine which at Tokay is known by the name of essence. It is thick and clammy, and is chiefly used to mix with the other sorts. Upon the shrivelled grapes thus deprived of a part of their juice, the juice of the unshrivelled grapes is poured, and the whole is subjected to pressure. The juice thus expressed constitutes, when fermented, the wine called auspruch, which is the kind of Tokay usually exported, and in fact the best. More juice of fresh grapes is poured upon the shrivelled grapes, and they are strongly squeezed by the hands. The juice thus obtained, when fermented, constitutes the wine called masslasch; it is of rather inferior quality, but when mixed with a portion of essence it becomes as good as the auspruch. The common people mix all the grapes together at once, and make a species of wine which is usually drunk in the country, and constitutes the vin du pays. The following, according to Lord Glenbervie, are the best rules for judging of the qualities of Tokay wine. 1. The colour should neither be reddish nor very

pale, but a light silver. 2. In trying it, you should not swallow it immediately, but only wet your palate, and the tip of the tongue. If it discovers any acrimony to the tongue it is not good. The taste ought to be soft and mild. 3. It should, when poured out, form globules in the glass, and have an oily appearance. 4. When genuine, the strongest is always of the best quality. 5. When swallowed it should have an astringent taste in the mouth, which they call the taste of the root. Tokay wine has a strong aromatic flavour, quite peculiar, by which it is easily distinguished from all other wine. It keeps a very long period. Lord Glenbervie drank of some that had been above 80 years in a cellar in Vienna.*

BOOK V.

MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES.

NOTWITHSTANDING the numerous topics comprehended under the divisions in the preceding books, the subjects treated of in the Philosophical Transactions are of so various a nature, that it was not possible, without using violence, to include the whole of them under any of the great branches into which natural science has been divided. On that account we have thought it better to throw several detached subjects together under the comprehensive title of miscellaneous. To some of these, names may be given; others are so unconnected, that they will not admit of any common title, while they are not of sufficient importance to constitute separate chapters. We shall divide this book into four chapters, in which we shall treat respectively of Weights and Measures, of Political Arithmetic, of Antiquities, and of Miscellaneous Articles, so far as these subjects occupy a place in the Philosophical Transactions.

CHAP. I,

OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.

THE diversity of weights and measures in different countries occasion not a little inconvenience to scientific men; as it is necessary, before it be possible to reap any advantage from experiments in which weights or measures are concerned, to reduce them to some common standard. The uncertainty of the weights and measures employed by the ancient nations have rendered many of their experiments and observations useless to the moderns. To remedy these defects as much as possible, two things have occupied a good deal of the attention of men of science; namely, to determine some unalterable standard of weights and measures, which may be determined with exactness, which may be had recourse to at all times, and by means of which the weights and the measures at present in use, supposing them hereafter to be lost, may be recovered and