of  alcohol.  To  this  weak  spirit  one-quarter  or  one-balf  of  its
volume  of  vinegar  is  added.  Suppose  vinegar  containing  4J
percent,  of  acetic  anhydride  is  to  be  made.  Theoretically,  the
>Tasb  should  contain  a  little  over  5  per  cent,  absolute  alcohol,
but  on  account  of  the  loss  by  evaporation  of  alcohol,  a  wash  of

6  per  cent,  must  be  used.  If  in  making  this  wash  80  per  cent.
alcohol  is  employed,  then  the  latter  would  have  to  be  diluted
so  that  every  gallon  of  it  becomes  13^^  gallons.  In  other
words,  to  100  gallons  of  80  per  cent,  alcohol  1,250  gallons  of
water  are  added,  which  makes  1,330  gallons  of  mixture,  and


itizecDyGoO^lf


144  MANUFACTURE   OP   VINEOAK.
this,  after  the  addition  of  300  gallons  of  rin^ar,  becomes  1,630
gallons  of  wash.  A  portion  of  the  water  must  be  taken  suffi-
ciently hot  to  give  a  temperature  of  90"  to  100°  F.  to  the
wash.  The  resulting  wash  is  placed  in  the  fermenting  barrels
to  fill  each  one  two-thirds  full,  and  the  temperature  of  the
apartment,  observed  by  thermometers  placed  in  difi'erent  parts
of  it,  must  be  kept  at  between  75°  and  100°  F.  At  the  mini-
mum temperature  less  fuel  is  required,  but  the  time  needed
for  acetification  is  extended,  and  consequently  more  barrels
and  a  larger  apartment  are  needed  to  make  the  same  amount
of  vinegar.  With  the  maximum  temperature  the  reverse  is
the  case.
