Vinegar. Vinegar is dilute acetic acid more or less mixed with gum, sugar, and other vegetable matter. It can be made from any liquid which is susceptible of the vinous fermentation. In this country it is made chiefly from cider and alcoholic liquors; in England, from malt liquors and molasses; in wine growing countries, from inferior or damaged wine. The cultivation of the vine is gradually gaining importance in this country, and it seems more than probable that, at no distant time, vinegar will be made here largely from wine.

1733. To Make Vinegar by the German, or Quick Method

1733.    To Make Vinegar by the German, or Quick Method. Many methods have been invented to produce vinegar; but that known as the "German, or quick method," has superseded all others, and is now in general use in the United States. By this process (which is very simple) time and labor are both greatly abridged, and a very fine article is produced. The method will be found embodied in the five following receipts:

1734. How to Make a Vinegar Generator

1734.    How to Make a Vinegar Generator. The construction of a vinegar generator is very simple. A is a tub, 8 feet in height, 3 feet in diameter at the bottom, and 31/2 feet in diameter at the top, with a cover, E, of which one part, G, is movable, in order to permit the liquid to be poured in when necessary. B is a shelf or false bottom perforated with a number of holes 1/6 of an inch in diameter, placed about 8 inches from the top of the generator, at which place a stout hoop must be nailed to support it. When this false bottom is placed in the generator, it should be packed carefully on the sides with cotton batting, so as to prevent the liquid from escaping at any place except through the holes. The shelf or false bottom has also four 1/4 inch holes, in which are inserted 4 open reed tubes as air vents, each having its ends projecting above and below the shelf, the upper ends projecting at least l1/2 inches below the top cover, E, and the other ends penetrating the contents of the generator. 0 0 is a horizontal row of holes at about 18 inches from the bottom of the generator, equidistant, and 1/2 an inch in diameter, bored in about every other stave, and in a vertical or slanting direction from the outside downward inside. There is also a hole for the insertion of the thermometer, 6 inches below the false top; this hole should slant from the outside, downward inside. The holes are bored in this manner to prevent the vinegar from running out. It is essential to the success of the process that a current of air should pass through the tub.

In order to establish this circulation, the above holes are made, and the air enters by them, and passes out through the tubes in the

false bottom above. Some parties insert a perforated false bottom about 2 inches below the slanting ventilation-holes, to support the shavings, leaving the portion of the tub below free; others prefer a similar false bottom about 2 inches above the holes, in order to prevent the shavings from coming in contact with the holes and obstructing the ventilation. D is a stop-cock, or faucet, 6 inches from the bottom of the generator, the discharging capacity of which must be controlled by the size of the generator. Never draw off the vinegar below this faucet.