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To Make Alcohol Vinegar

The following is the German method of making acetic acid, and is excellent and simple In a bell glass or tall glass case, arrange shelves a few inches apart, one above another. on which place small flat dishes of earthenware or wood then fill these dishes with alcohol, and suspend over each, in small trays or capsules, a portion of the black powder of platina (see Platinum-Black); hang strips of porous paper in the case, with their bottom edges immersed in the spirit to promote evaporation. Set the apparatus in a light place at a temperature of from 68° to 86° Fahr., for which purpose the sunshine will be found convenient. In a short time the formation of vinegar will commence, and the condensed acid vapors will be seen trickling down the sides of the glass, and collecting at the bottom, whence it may be removed once or twice a day. We shall find that during this process, produced by the mutual action of the platina and the vapor of alcohol, there will be an increase of temperature, which will continue till all the oxygen contained in the air enclosed in the case is consumed, when the acetification will stop; the case must then be opened for a short time, to admit of a fresh supply of air, when the operation will commence again.