for the consumption of a class of people who are unable to judge of any quality in wine but its strength. The same writer remarks, that “brandy is always added to the finest sherries on their shipment, to enable them to bear the voyage, it is said, but in reality, because strength is one of the first qualities looked for by the consumers." Again," in no case do the exporters send a genuine natural wine, that is a wine as it comes from the press, without a mixture of other qualities."

Large quantities of fictitious* sherry are manufactured in this country, of which some of the cheaper wines form the basis. To these are added, brandy-cowe, extract of almond-cake, cherry-laurel-water, gum-benzoin, and lambsblood, as occasion or variety may require. Claret is equally adulterated with other wines. A small quantity of Spanish red wine, with a portion of rough cider, previously coloured by means of berry dye, or tincture of Brazil wood, is added to a cask containing inferior claret. The cheap placarders and advertisers, are enabled to reduce their prices, by a little management in the apportioning, what is used of the Spanish red wine and the cider.t

The value of Champaigne renders it a fruitful subject in the hands of adulterators. Most of the second-rate Champaigne sold in this country is prepared from the juice of acid fruits, such as the gooseberry. Dr. Lee remarks,

a

Prepared by allowing a portion of water to soak in the brandy puncheons, by which the refuse spirit is extracted.--Wine and Spirit Adulterations Unmasked, p. 104.

a

*

that the high price of good Champaigne wine has led to many adulterations and imitations of it, some of them of a most pernicious and dangerous character. “Such," he observes, “is the common one by means of lead, which is practised to a great extent, among the dealers in France, in preparing wine for exportation. It corfsists of a solution of sugar

of lead in water with a small allowance of alcohol. By adding a little nitric acid, and then a portion of sulphuric acid to a tumbler full of this fluid, I have lately seen a solid deposit of sulphate of lead in the form of white flakes, filling one-third of the glass, and this too in a sample that came direct from the importer." Champaigne appears to be adulterated with such perfection, that even good judges are unable to ascertain the difference between the genuine and spurious article. In America, according to Dr. Lee, “the price of Champaigne varies from twenty shillings to thirteen dollars per dozen. Mr. Busby affirms, that genuine Champaigne is never sent out of France at less than three, francs, or sixty cents, a bottle. We must then conclude, that a considerable proportion of the wine sold in America under that name cannot be genuine.”.

It has already been seen that brandy is almost universally used in the fictitious preparation of wines.* This inflaming compound also appears to be the never-failing panacea when they are subject to diseases, and likely to run into decomposition. Other materials are, however, in

These are so numerous, that a few of them only will be presented to the notice of the reader.f

Lead is usually employed to improve the taste of acescent or harsh wines. The German emperors issued decrées against its use, betwixt the years 1498 and 1577. In the year 1696, several persons in the duchy of Wirtemberg were poisoned, in consequence of drinking wine adulterated with ceruse, a well-known preparation of lead. The practice was defended, under the pretence that its use was sanctioned by physicians of high authority. The attention, however, of physicians and legislators was directed to the subject. Various articles in particular appeared in the Acta Germanica, a publication of high repute.* The practice was universally condemned as dangerous, and, in some of the German states, it was made a capital offence. Soon after this event, some individuals who had infringed this law were punished by hard labour. A wine cooper at Eslingen revived this injurious practice, and induced other individuals in various laces to adop the same plan; he was condemned however to lose his head. Those persons who had the adulterated wines in their possession were severely fined, and the noxious compounds were destroyed.

The well-known endemic colic of Poitou, which first made its appearance in 1572, and raged with fearful violence for a period of sixty or seventy years, is now generally acknowledged to have arisen from the adulteration of wine with lead. The lead colic thus derived its scientific name, colica pictonum. In 1781 and 1782, almost every individual of three regiments in Jamaica was attacked with an epidemic colic, which, on investigation, was found to arise from the presence of lead in the rum. Dr. J. Hunter, who paid some attention to this subject, seems to suppose that the lead might be dissolved in the spirit, while passing through the leaden worms of the apparatus used in distillation.š There appears some reason, however, to doubt this conclusion.

The lead colic, at one period, during the cider season, prevailed to a most alarming extent in the southwest counties of England. From evidence carefully collected by Sir George Baker, it appears that this epidemic arose from the cider being adulterated with lead, partly with the design to correct its ascescence, when in a diseased state, and partly also from the liquor becoming imprego nated with the metal through which it had to pass. The records of the French police bear testimony to the same iniquitous practice in 1696.

About 1750, a curious discovery was made by the farmers-general of France. For some years previous to this date, it appears that 30,000 hogsheads of sour wine were annually brought to Paris, professedly for the purpose

of making vinegar. The previous yearly imports, however, did not exceed 1200 hogsheads. On inquiry it was found that the vinegar merchants corrected the sourness of the wines with litharge, and thus made them in a fit state for the markets.f There appears some reasons to suppose that the practice is not unknown in France in the present day; and as a well-known writer observes, the small tart wines used in such abundance, by people of all ranks in that country, hold out strong encouragement and facilities to its perpetration.f _According to Cadet de Gassicourt, it is quite common in France, to render brandy pale by means of the same pernicious ingredient. Monsieur Boudet, indeed, detected it in several samples which were submitted to his inspection.

Dr. Shearmen relates a case of a fatal character, from the adulteration of Geneva with lead, which fell under his own observation. The criminal, in this instance, was an excise officer, who pursued this nefarious practice, in order to enhance the price of gin, which he had seized in the performance of his duty. On investigation it was found that he had purchased twenty-eight pounds of sugar of lead at one time.||

The following statement, among others, may be adduced in proof of lead, or some other equally poisonous material being used in the adulteration of wine : “On the 17th of January, the passengers by the 'Highflyer coach from the north, dined, as usual, at Newcastle. A bottle of port wine was ordered, on tasting which, one of the passengers observed that it had an unpleasant flavour, and begged that it might be changed. The waiter took away the bottle ; poured into a fresh decanter half the wine

Transact. of London College of Physicians, i. 216.
Paris and Fonblanque's Medical Jurisprudence, vol. ii. p. 347.
Treatise on Poisons by Professor Christison, 1832, p. 479.
Sur les Vins lithargyriés, Mém. de l'Académie, 1787, p. 280.
Transactions of the Medical Society of London, 1810.

poison."*

which had been objected to, and filled it up from another bottle. This he took into the room, and the greater part was drank by the passengers, who, after the coach had set out toward Grantham, were seized with extreme sickness; one gentleman in particular, who had taken more of the wine than the others, it was thought would have died, but has since recovered. The half of the bottle of wine sent out of the passengers' room was put aside, for the pur. pose of mixing negus in the evening. Mr. Bland, of New. ark, went into the hotel and drank a glass or two of wine and water. He returned home at his usual hour and went to bed. In the middle of the night he was taken so ill, as to induce Mrs. Bland to send for his brother, an apothecary in that town; but before that gentleman arrived he was dead. An inquest was held, and the jury, after the full. est inquiry, and the examination of the surgeon, by whom the body was opened, returned a verdịct of-Died by

In Graham's Treatise on the Preparation of Wines, un. der the division, entitled "Secrets belonging to the Myste ries of Vintners,” p. 31, is found the following direction to prevent wine from becoming acid :" To hinder wine from turning, put a pound of melted lead, in fair water in your cask, pretty warm, and stop it close ;” and “To soften gray wine, put in a little vinegar, wherein litharge has been well steeped, and boil some honey to draw out the wax, and strain it through a cloth, and put a quart of it through a tierce of wine, and this will mend it.” The Vintners' Guide, contains some directions for clearing cloudy or muddy wines. Sugar of lead is one of the arti. cles recommended to be used for this purpose.t Accum states, that the most dangerous adulteration of wine is by some preparation of lead, which possesses the property of stopping the progress of ascescence, and also of rendering white wine, when muddy, transparent. I have good reason, he further observes, to state that lead is certainly employed for this purpose. “The effect is very rapid, and there appears to be no other method known of rapidly