Part 4 (2/2)

The in to the lowest price; that of the juniper berries being there very trifling, and increasing but little the price of whiskey: still that s, as will be seen hereafter

The United States are, in some parts, almost covered with the tree called here _cedar_; which tree is no other than the juniper, and grows almost every where, and bears yearly a berry, which is in reality the juniper berry Some Hollanders knew it at Boston, collected considerable quantities of it in Massachusetts, and shi+pping it to so froo, at the house of a Hollander, who received it froht, and sold as the produce of his own country, as really that of the United States

I collected reat quantity of those berries, at Norfolk, Va by roes, to who 2-1/2 cts per pound Two years ago, it sold for 6 cents in Philadelphia, and bore the sareat deal of cedar in Kentucky, and consequently of berries

I have seen them at Blue Licks, and they abound near the Kentucky river

Although an incredible nureater nu, in the United States; and millions of bushels of berries are lost every year, while only skilful hands are wanted, to make them useful to mankind The juniper berry has htful aromatic, and contains an oil essential, and a sweet extract, which by the fermentation yields a vinous liquor, made into a sort of wine in sothens the stomach, when debilitated by bad food or too hard labor

The Hollanders, who have long had the art of trading upon every thing, have constantly turned even their poverty to account They have iin, and scarcely any juniper trees They only collect the berry in those countries where it is neglected as useless, as in France and Tyrol, which produce a great deal of it The United States need have no recourse to Europe, in order to get the juniper berries: they have in abundance at home, what the Hollanders can only procure with trouble and e; but they must follow the same methods employed in the Holland distilleries

The juniper berry contains the sweet reat proportion: it has therefore the principle necessary to the spirituous fermentation; and, indeed, it ferments spontaneously When fresh, and heaped up, it acquires a degree of heat, but not enough to burn, as I have ascertained: it is therefore safely transported in hogsheads Froood fer the quantity of spirit, when joined to a fermentable liquor

A distiller in He needs only to perfu a certain quantity of the berries, slightly broken: the fermentation is then common to both; their sweet mucosity enriches that of the wort, and increases the spirit, while at the same tietation, yields the essential oil, which perfu common to both substances, unites them intimately; and when, by the distillation, the spirit is separated fro fro that unity of taste, and all the properties of Holland gin, because obtained by the sale and sain or whiskey, as it requires no in costs only the price of the berries, which repays him amply, either by the spirit it yields, or by its essential oil, which, floating on the surface, reat price, and the Hollanders sell much of it

We have seen, in the 10th chapter of this work, that allons of wort, being the production of the saccharine extract of 12 bushels of grain The intelligent distiller will himself detershead to have a good aroshead; and will, upon trial, judge whether or not this quantity is sufficient, or must be increased At any rate, economy should not be consulted in the use of the berries, since their price does not increase that of the whiskey This low price must naturally becoin; and henceforth it will be an important article of exportation for the United States, as well as a considerable and wholesome object of home consumption

FOOTNOTES:

[A] Soer vinous liquor, but it is still very far from Lavoisier's proportions Others add successively newtheir ferer, and consequently without obtaining more spirit This is absolutely contrary to the true principles of distillation

[B] See his beautified operation on the decomposition of water

[C] I must here observe, that the juniper berry, as well as several other fruits, contains two kinds of essential oil: one is the proxietation, and the other is the superabundant oil: the first is combined with the soapy extract, and dissolves in water; while the second does not unite with it, and floats on the surface

END