BREWING.-HOPS.

strained from it, and when it is moderately cool, the barm or yeast is applied. The barm causes the whole to ferment, and when sufficiently fermented, it is tunned up in vessels for use. One, two, three, or more months are necessary to pass, before it will be fit for use. The quantity of malt for making a hogshead, sixty-three gallons, of strong beer, may be ten bushels; for good ale five bushels are sufficient.

The following account of a London brewing establishment, from the pen of Professor Griscom, will give the reader some idea of the extent to which brewing operations are carried in England. This establishment (Barclay's brewery,) covers about eight acres of ground, and manufactured last year (1829), 340,000 barrels of 36 gallons each. The building which contains the vats, and the vats themselves, are enormous. The largest of the latter contain each 4000 barrels. The average number of vats is nearly one hundred. A steam engine of twenty two horse power is employed in driving the machinery, and about two hundred men are engaged in the various works of the establishment; while it is supposed that the number of persons dependent upon it without, in the sale and transportation of the beer, is three or four thousand. The three coppers in which the beer is boiled, hold each 150 barrels.

Twenty-five gentlemen once dined in one of them; after which, fifty of the workmen got in and regaled themselves. One hundred and ninety pounds of beef steaks were thus consumed in one day, in this novel dining room. The tuns in which the beer ferments, hold 1400 barrels each. The carbonic acid in one of them stood about three and a half feet above the liquor, and poured over the side in a continued stream. A candle is instantly extinguished on being placed near the outer edge of this receptacle, and on holding one's face over it, a sharp, pungent sensation is felt in the mouth and fauces, not unlike that produced by ardent spirits. An immersion of a few moments would be sufficient to occasion a suspension of voluntary motion.

One hundred and sixty horses are kept on the premises, for the purpose chiefly of transporting the materials to and from different parts of the city.

HOPS, it is said, preserve malt liquors: if hops were not added, that clammy sweetness, which the liquor retains after working, would soon become acid, and render the liquor unfit for use. The whole virtue of the hop resides, it appears, in a fine yellow powder, readily separable from the leaves by mere rubbing, or threshing: this powder is called Lupulin.

SECTION IV.

CONDIMENTS.

GINGER, the common, is a native of the East Indies, but now naturalized in the West Indies, whence we are chiefly supplied with it. It is a perennial shrub, which grows about a yard high. Its propagation is effected by parting the roots in the spring, planting them in pots of

NUTMEG.-CLOVE.

light earth, and placing them in a hot bed of tanner's bark, where they remain. The different kinds of ginger found in the shops appear to be the same root differently dried, or otherwise prepared; the roots which are white, soft, and woolly, are in general, less pungent than the more solid and compact kinds. Ginger is much employed as a condiment, and as a medicine. It is considered as a useful stimulant in dyspepsy, gout, and other complaints, requiring exciting medicines. Ginger is sometimes brought to this country, preserved in syrup. It is also used as a plaster, wet with French brandy, to be laid upon the stomach, in cases of great pain, or to check excessive vomiting in cholera; and often subserves an excellent purpose.

- NUTMEG is the product of a tree, which resembles the cherry tree in growth, and size, and is a native of the Molucca Islands, from which, except Banda, by the policy of the Dutch, it has been nearly extirpated; Banda, now supplying with mace and nutmegs, the whole of Europe. The flowers, which are inodorous, are present at the same time with the fruit, and male and female are on the same, and on separate trees. Nutmegs are inclosed in four different covers. The first a thick husk, like that of our walnuts. Under this lies a thin reddish coat, of an agreeable smell, and aromatic taste, called mace. This wraps up the shell, and opens in proportion as the pod grows. The shell, which makes the third cover, is hard, thin, and blackish; under this is a greenish film of no use; and in this is found the nutmeg,which is properly the kernel of the fruit. The nutmeg tree yields three crops annually the first, which is the best, in April; the second in August, and the third in December. The fruit requires nine months to ripen ; when gathered, the outer covering is first stripped off, and then the mace carefully separated and dried; the nutmegs in the shell are next exposed to heat, and smoke, for three months, then broken, and the kernels thrown into a strong mixture of lime and water, after which they are cleaned and packed up. This process is said to be necessary for their preservation, and with the same intention, the mace is sprinkled with salt water.

The CLOVE is obtained from a tree, somewhat in the form of a nail; whence the term clove, from the French clove, a nail. The clove tree was anciently very common in the Molucca islands; at present, cloves are chiefly obtained from Amboyna, the Dutch having from their cupidity, dug up the trees in the other islands. It is now, however, cultivated in the isles of France, at Cayenne, and in the island of Dominica, in the West Indies. The tree is very large; its bark resembles that of the olive tree, and its leaves those of the laurel, its fruit falling, takes root without any culture, and eight years after bears fruit. The clove is the unexpanded flower. At Amboyna, they are collected from October to December, when they begin to redden. They require to be dried quickly; on which account, they are first immersed in boiling water, and then exposed to smoke and heat; the drying is afterwards, finished in the sun. Although the unopened flowers, and even the leaves, are extremely aromatic, the real fruit which is a coriaceous berry, is not so. Cloves are hot, stimulating aromatics, which affect the breath, eyes, and head, and are useful in palsies, &c. There is an oil drawn from cloves by distillation; it is sometimes used as a remedy for

PEPPER.CASSIA.-CINNAMON.

the tooth-ache, but very improperly, since from its pungent quality, it is apt to corrode the gums and injure the adjacent teeth. When the tooth is carious and will admit of it, a bruised clove is much to be preferred. Much, however, of the oil of cloves, which is sold, is said to be obtained from all-spice.

PEPPER, or rather Black Pepper, is well known from its general use. It is the produce of a climbing plant, or vine, growing in several parts of the East Indies, chiefly Java, Sumatra, Malacca, and the coasts of Malabar. It is propagated in Sumatra by cuttings, or suckers; in growing, it is supported by props. The plant is three years old, before it bears fruit; it yields two crops annually, the first in December, the second in July. White pepper is the fruit of the same plant, perfectly ripe, and freed from its outer coat by means of a preparation of lime and mustard-oil applied before it is dried.

The CAYENNE PEPPER, or bird pepper, brought from the West Indies, is very useful as a condiment, particularly with fish; and latterly it has been introduced into medicine in the shape of a tincture, which is a useful stimulant in dyspepsy, &c.

JAMAICA PEPPER, or pimenta, is the fruit of an ever-green-tree, rising sometimes fifty feet in height. It grows plentifully in Jamaica and other American Islands. It is aromatic, and may supply the place both of cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon, whence it is called by the English all-spice. The essential oil of pimenta contains the principal virtues of the berry; it is so much like oil of cloves as to be often mistaken and sold for it.

CASSIA, or Cassia Cinnamon, is the bark of a species of bay-tree, growing in Malabar, Ceylon, Sumatra, and Java. It has many of the habits of the cinnamon tree, and is barked in the same manner. Cassia cinnamon is chiefly distinguishable from the true cinnamon, by being of a lighter color than that article; by being also thicker, by breaking shorter, and by having less bitterness in its taste, as well as very frequently when chewed becoming mucilaginous in the mouth; this last, however, is not an invariable accompaniment.

CINNAMON is the bark of a tree growing in abundance in the islands of Ceylon, and also in Malabar, Cochin China, Sumatra and other East India islands. It is also now cultivated in the Brazils, the Mauritius, and Guiana. It seldom rises above thirty feet high. Ten varieties of this tree have been enumerated; of these, that called the sharp sweet cinnamon, is said to be the best. It is raised from the seed. The chief part of the cinnamon in this country is brought from Ceylon. The principal difference between cinnamon and cassia consists in the former being much thinner and in more irregular masses, and also in its having much more astringency, and therefore in substance is preferable to cassia.

SALT, COMMON SALT, muriate of soda, or chloride of sodium by the most correct and recent nomenclature, is a saline crystallization used to season and give pungency to various kinds of food; as well as to preserve it on numerous occasions from putrefaction. Salt is obtained from three different sources, namely, the water of the sea, mines, where it exists in a solid form, called rock salt, and from saline springs.

SALT.

Rock salt is found in various places; at Nantwich in Cheshire, at Cracow in Poland, and in Hungary, Catalonia, in Africa, Asia; and in America, forming hills or very extensive beds above the surface.

Rock salt, it is said, was entirely unknown to the ancients. The Polish mines near Cracow were discovered in 1251; their depth and capacity are surprising. Within them is found a kind of subterraneous republic, which has its polity, laws, families, &c.; and even public roads, carriages, and horses, for the conveyance of salt to the mouth of the quarry, where it is taken up by engines. These horses when once down never see the light again; but the men take frequent occasions of breathing the village air. When a traveller arrives at the bottom of this strange abyss where so many people are interred alive, and where so many are even born, and have never stirred out, he is surprised with a long series of lofty vaults sustained by huge pilasters cut out with chisels; and which, being themselves rock salt, appear by the light of flambeaux, which are incessantly burning, as so many crystals or precious stones of various colors, casting a lustre which the eye can scarcely bear. One of the chief wonders of the place is, that through these mountains of salt, and along the middle of the mine, runs a rivulet of fresh water, sufficient to supply the inhabitants. As soon as the massive pieces are got out of the quarry, they break them into fragments fit for the mills, where they are reduced to a coarse powder, to be used as culinary salt. There are four kinds, white, bay, red, and brilliant; the last is the sal gemma of the druggists, but not known in this country. All these become white when pulverized, though they appear of different colors in their natural state.

Salt is obtained from sea water by different methods. At Lymington, in Hampshire, England, the sea water is admitted into large reservoirs, where, being exposed to the air, a part of the water evaporates; the remaining liquor is then transferred to boilers, where the water is still further evaporated by artificial heat, and then set by to cool and crystallize. The water which remains after the crystallization of the salt is called mother water. It contains, or is said to contain, sulphate of magnesia, or as it is usually called Epsom salt, a well known purgative salt; from this source it is that most, if not all the Epsom salt found in the shops, is obtained by mere evaporation. From the same salt is also obtained the common magnesia of the shops. This is what is publicly known of the method of obtaining Epsom salts, but it is believed that the manufacturers keep the real process a secret.

Besides the salt obtained from sea water, in various countries, much is obtained from the rock salt produced from mines, and a good deal is also produced from brine springs.

In the United States salt is manufactured, but not very extensively, from sea water. Large quantities are made from brine springs. The principal springs are to be found in the State of New York, in the counties of Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, Ontario, Niagara, Genesee, Tompkins, Wayne, and Oneida. Those of Oneida are the most valuable. In 1823, 606,463 bushels were manufactured in this latter county. In 1800, there were not less than 50,000 bushels manufactured. Fortyfive gallons of water make a bushel of salt. At Nantucket, 350 gallons of sea water are required. The following approximated analysis

SALT.

of the water of a spring in New York is given by Dr. Noyes of Hamilton College. Forty gallons, or 355lbs. contain 56lbs. of saline extract.

and probably muriate magnesia and sulphate of soda.

The village of Salina and other neighboring places, are the chief places where salt is extensively manufactured. The mode of evaporation is different at different places-sometimes by boiling, and again by exposure to the atmosphere. "At Salina, the mode adopted," says the Northern Traveller, "is that of boiling; and a brief description will convey a clear idea of the process. Each building contains sixteen or eighteen large iron kettles, which are placed in two rows, forming what is called "a block." They stand about three feet higher than the floor; and under them is a large furnace, which is heated with pine wood, and requires constant attention, to keep the water always boiling. The water is drawn from a large reservoir, at one end of the building, after having been allowed to stand awhile, and deposit the impurities it has brought along with it. A hollow log, with a pump at one end, and furnished with openings against the kettles, is the only machine used in filling them. The first deposit made by the water, after the boiling commences, is a compound of several substances, and is thrown away, under the name of " Bittern;" but the pure white salt, which soon after makes its appearance, is carefully removed, and placed in a store room, just at hand, ready for barrelling and the market.

"Each manufactory yields about forty bushels a day, and the different buildings cost about half a million.

"There are two large manufactories here, where salt is made in reservoirs of an immense size, and evaporated by hot air passing through them in large pipes. The reservoir of the principal one contains no less than 40,000 gallons. The pipe is supplied with heat by a furnace below, and the salt is formed in large loose masses, resembling half thawed ice. The crystallization, also, is different from that produced by the other modes, at least in secondary forms."

As a condiment, common salt is of all others the safest, best, and most extensively employed. It is used by all nations; and, indeed, in some shape, or other, by almost all animals whatever. It seems, in a peculiar manner, designed to assist in the digestion, and assimilation of our food. In the quantity in which it is usually taken, there is no reason to doubt, that many of our aliments become thereby more wholesome and digestible, as well as more agreeable. Like the other condiments, however, in larger quantities it is injurious to the constitution. It occasions heat and thirst, and seems rather to impede, than to assist, digestion. Besides the usual culinary preparations, in which salt is advantageously employed, it is used, also, as an antisceptic, to preserve aliments from spontaneous decomposition, and particularly to prevent the putrefaction of animal food. In general, however, the large quantity of salt which is necessarily employed in this way, in