fined by a mixture of whites and theils of eggs, powdered alabafter, and ifinglafs. The use of the thel's and alabafter is to correct any ímali degree of acidity that the wine may have contracted.' The following obfervations will probably be of fervice to fuch perfons as may attempt making wine here. After the wine, and particularly that of countries where the fun is not very powerful, has paffed its fermentation in the vat, and is drawn off into cafks, it will require fomething to feed upon. To this end, it will be right always to preferve a few bunches of the beft grapes, which may be hung up in a room till there be occafion for them; when they fhould be picked off the stalks, and two or three good handfuls of them should be put into each cask, according to its fize.' When the wine is of an age at which it usually is bottled, [but what that age is, we are not informed] care fhould be taken to examine whether it be fufficiently bright; becaufe a natural brightnefs is the most certain indication of the liquor's having undergone a due fermentation, and confequently of its being rendered most wholefome." -To this agrees Dr. Neumann's definition of the characters of good wine, which clofes the chapter. The goodness and wholefomeness of wines (fays that excellent chemift) are judged of, from their being bright, clear, and fparkling in the glass; of an agreeable reviving fmell and tafte; leaving, when held in the mouth for fome time, a flight fenfe of aftringency; being moderately strong and fpirituous; paffing freely by urine; exciting appetite; producing a gentle fweat in the night; keeping the belly open the next day; [he does not, furely, expect this from red Port] without being followed by any head-ach, heavinefs of the limbs, or other uneafinefs. Such a wine, moderately ufed, is a very valuable cordial.' Mr. Mills begins Chap. II. (which treats of Cyder and Perry,) with obferving, that the principles on which Cyder is made, and fhould be managed, are, in general, fo fimilar to the directions for Wine; that he thinks it needlefs to enlarge on this head.The following points, however, he recommends to be particularly obferyed: It is of great importance in making Cyder, that the fruit be thoroughly ripe. The juices of unripe apples retain their harsh four tafte in fpite of all endeavours, and never acquire that racy,. mellow flavour which the fun only can beftow. It should therefore be the first care of every one concerned in making of Cyder, to let his apples hang upon the tree till they arrive to their maturity." ays When your apples are fit for gathering, (which fhould albe done by hand) it is effential to choofe dry weather for that that purpose: for water is a bad ingredient in all vinous li→ quors.' One general rule for all fruits, is, to prefs their juice for fermenting, when the fruit is in the greatest perfection for eating. • Apples that have lain any time in heaps, to fweat, are generally covered with a clammy moisture. This fhould be wiped off, for it is a watery juice, which would impoverish the Cyder.' The rotten parts fhould alfo be cut out, for they communicate to it a putrid taste. He is an advocate for racking Cyder off the lees; for repeated experiments have proved, that fournefs in all fermented liquors ⚫ begins ever at the lees, and therefore the more of them is left among the Cyder, the more readily it will turn eager.' Chap. III. treats OF BREWING: under the following heads: § 1. Of the Choice of Water for Brewing.-Pure Rain-water, as being the lightest, is esteemed the beft.-Well and Spring waters are commonly hard; and hard water is very unfit for drawing a tincture from any vegetable.-River-water is generally next to rain-water in point of softness.-Pond-water, if pure, is equal to any other for brewing. 2. Of Malt.-Bite a grain of it afunder, and if it tastes mellow and sweet, breaks foft, and is full of flour from one end to the other, it is good. So alfo if it fwims on the furface, when put into the water. The best way of grinding it, is to bruise it in a mill compofed of two iron cylinders. Thefe bruise the malt without cutting its husk, so that the hot water inftantly pierces its whole fubftance, and foon draws forth a rich tincture, with much less mashing than in the common way.' $3. Of Hops. The newer the hops are, the better they will always prove; for the fragrance of their flavour is in fome degree loft by keeping, though they be ever fo well preserved.' $4 Of the Brewhouse, and of the veffels ufed in Brewing. Too great care cannot be taken to keep every vessel perfectly clean and sweet, for if they are tainted, the liquor put into them contracts a difagreeable scent.' $5. Of the heat of Water for Mafbing.-The malt fhould not be put to it whilft boiling hot. $6. Of Mashing.-When the water is brought to a due heat, the malt is to be put in very leifurely, and uniformly mixed therewith.Remark. It is found that the grains, after the several taps are spent, remain of the fame bulk as before, or at leaft very little diminished. May we not from thence infer, that the part abforbed by the water, and in which the virtue of the malt and the ftrength of the beer confift, is contained in an exceedingly small compafs? It is indeed true, that hot water and repeated malhes do fwell a little the hulls and skins of the malt; but but no allowance for this increase will be fufficient to remove the cause of our furprize.' -$7. Of boiling the Wort.Obfervation :-That long boiling of the hop is a pernicious practice, and produceth an inert, auitere, and naufeous bitter, in the place of a pleafant, active, and aromatic one. But every brewer may eafily fuit the degree of bitterness to his own palate, thus: Inftead of putting the hops into the wort when this is put into the copper, or before it boils, they may be put in five minutes before the wort is taken off the fire: if this is not fufficient to give the defired degree of fragrant bitter, ten minutes may be taken; and fo on to the time which fhall be found to anfwer. I prefer putting the hops to wort towards the latter end of the boiling, rather than at the beginning, because the continued boiling of the liquor will diffipate their fragrance, even though the hops are taken out of the wort." As the defign of boiling the wort is to clear the liquor of imparities, and to obtain the virtue of the hop; a much less time than ufual will be fufficient. It is, in fact, of greater confequence than is generally imagined, that the wort be not boiled longer than is neceffary; because that longer boiling difcharges it of fo much air, that the fermentation often becomes imperfect: it gives, especially to ftrong extracts, a vifcidity which fermentation can scarcely ever get the better of, and it inevitably dif perfes the fragrancy of the hops. From what I have feen, I am well affured, that from 20 to 30 minutes boiling is fufficient for frong extracts, and from 30 to 60 for small beer.-This method of boiling frang beer a fhorter time than fmall, may (for any thing we know) be very right; tho' we apprehend it to be just the reverfe of the common practice. Private perfons, who would regard only pleasure and health in their malt liquors, fhould never exceed eight, feldom fix, bufhels of malt to the hogfhead of their ftrongeft beer. it is only of this ftrength, it will never hurt them, unlefs taken to great excefs; and at the fame time it will be ftrong enough to exhilarate the fpirits fufficiently to enliven converfation. The quantity of hops must be fuited to the tafte of the drinker, and to the time that the liquor is to be kept. The common allowance is, from one pound and an half' [a very fmall allowance, truly!] to three pounds for a hogfhead. For very ftrong beer, fome go as far as fix pounds.-Small beer fhould always be brewed by itself; and in that cafe, two bufhels and an half of malt, and a pound and an half of hops, are fufficient to make a hogfhead.' § 10. Of fermenting Malt Liquors. Caution; When the fermentation is at its height, all the dirt, or foul yeast, which rises on the furface, must be carefully kimmed off, whatever be the quality of the liquor.' Though it be not common to rack beer off from the hogfheads into which it is firft put; yet as the lees in the cafk will be conftantly rifing upon every change of air, and so produce frequent frettings, or flight fermentations, to which it is often owing that beer becomes foon hard, or contracts a degree of acidity; it seems to Mr. Mills highly advifeable, the better to prevent this, to rack the beer off into perfectly clean and sweet casks, as foon as it is become tolerably clear. The cause of the frettings being hereby removed, the liquor thus managed will remain long in a flate of perfection, and probably become thoroughly fine without the affiftance of art. 11. Of the Distempers of Malt Liquors.-Among others, incident to beer, Mr. Mills mentions its appearing ropy: which, he fays, is very difficult to cure.-We have known it effectually cured, by putting a bunch of hyffop into the cafk. Chap. IV. treats of Diftillation; and Chap. V. Of Vinegar.But we pafs from them, as it is high time we should, to Part VI. in which the Author speaks of the culture of fome plants which though not neceffarily included in the general management of a Farm, are nevertheless, objects of great benefit to the public, as well as to the hufbandman who rears them judiciously. Thefe are Hemp, Flax, Madder, Woad, and Weld or Dyer's-Weed.Concerning the culture of each of thefe plants, he has collected (chiefly from M. Du Hamel) a variety of feemingly good directions for the particulars of which, we muft, however, refer to the work itself-which is concluded with an APPENDIX, containing corrections of, and additions to, all the five Volumes. Thefe additions (which are pretty confiderable) we shall hope to see inserted in their proper places, whenever a new Edition is called for; which may probably be the cafe foon: as we really think Mr. Mills's Work, a very judicious compilation, upon the whole, and highly deferving the notice of the public. We only with that he had been somewhat more liberal of his own reflections upon the quotations he makes; a task, which (if we may judge from a few fpecimens of that kind) he seems very capable of performing; and which we would therefore beg leave to recommend to his confideration, upon a revifal. In the Preface to this volume, (which was published with the last number) he mentions the prefent Work as being only the first part of his general plan: but what that plan is, he does not fay. He hints, however, that what ftill remains to be done will require fo much time and labour, that, confidering his bad state of health, it is impoffible for him to promife when it may be in his power to finish it. A Com A Comparative View of the State and Faculties of Man, with thofe of the Animal World. 12mo. 3s. bound. Dodfley. TH HE following Difcourfes, (fays the Editor, in an Advertisement prefixed to them) were originally delivered in a private literary fociety, without the moft diftant view to their publication. It muft, in truth, be acknowledged that the Reader will find in them many hints thrown out on Subjects of confequence, which are not fo fully and accurately profecuted as their importance requires; befides that the Sentiments are often expreffed with a freedom, which, however allowable in a private company, may perhaps be deemed too bold when offered to the Public. All this the Author himself was fully fenfible of, though he had neither leisure nor inclination to alter them. • This little Work, however, notwithstanding its imperfections, has, in the Editor's opinion, a very confiderable degree of merit; and in these sentiments he has the honour of being joined by feveral of the Author's friends of great diftinction in the Republic of Letters. He has taken the liberty, therefore, of offering it to the Public, almoft without the Author's confent, though not without his knowledge: how far he has been his friend in fo doing, that Public, to whofe candor he fubmits it, muft determine.' Such are the modeft terms, in which the Editor fpeaks of a performance, which every man of tafte, will, we are perfuaded, perufe with pleafure; as it abounds with juft remarks on many ufeful and entertaining fubjects; while an original vein of thinking runs through the whole of it: and, what is very uncommon in original thinkers, the Author writes with temper and moderation. He appears to be well acquainted with human nature, to poffefs delicacy of fentiment, and fenfibility of heart; and, what muft naturally procure him the efteem of every benevolent reader, to be a fincere friend to the highest and best interests of humanity. He fets out with a fhort account of the different and oppofite views that have been given of human nature, of the manner in which enquiries into it have been profecuted, of the peculiar difficulties attending the ftudy, and the reasons why fo little progrefs has been made in the knowledge of it. He then proceeds, in the remaining part of his firft difcourfe, to make fome obfervations on certain advantages which the lower Animals feem to poffefs above us, and to enquire more particularly into the comparative ftate of mankind and the inferior Animals. This part of the work contains fome very ufeful remarks; the fubject curious and interefting, and we fincerely with the ingenious Author |