COMBUSTIBLES. 
769 
of the spirit passes into the refrigeratory, where they are also condensed 
and flow out into the receiving can. The quality of the spirit is deter 
mined by the temperature at which the water is kept, in which the 
dephlegmator or alcogene is plunged. If this temperature is 130 or 136 
deg. Fahr. the spirit will be of the strength 3/ or 1. 
When the phlegm which separates from the alcohol, and runs into the 
receiver, n, appears to be totally exhausted, it is no longer pumped up 
into the still bodies, but rejected as useless; and a fresh parcel of wine 
is let into the bodies, by turning the cock, b, and thus the distillation is 
continued without any interruption until the vinasse in the still bodies 
becomes so loaded with tartar and colouring matter, that there is danger 
of its fürring them, and hence it must be let out by the discharge cock 
*, and the bodies washed by pumping warm water into them. 
Comparative trials were made with this apparatus, and 
those used by other distillers. Six Cwt. of wine distilled 
in the stills of Messrs. Argand, and in stills constructed 
upon M. Chaptal’s principles, yielded in nine hours, from 
to ½ their weight in brandy, à preuve de Hollande. In 
the same space of nine hours, Dr. Solimani’s apparatus 
converted 105 Cwt. of wine into 1et its weight of spirit at 
*, with the expenditure of 3 Cwt. of fuel. So that in an 
equal time, and with 23as of fuel, Solimani’s apparatus dis 
tilled 18 times as much wine into strong spirit as the best 
common stills could convert into ordinary brandy. 
It owes this advantage to the flat form of the dephleg 
mator which exposes a thin sheet of vapour, in a horizontal 
position, to the coolipg action of the water. A dephleg 
mator composed of four sheets of copper, only 18 inches 
square, and placed so close as to take up only 26 inches 
in height, rectified, in 16 hours, 600 veltes, 171b. 1 each, of 
brandy into strong spirit. 
As the steam is worked at the usual pressure of the at 
mosphere only, the heat communicated to the liquor in 
the still bodies is never entirely equal to that of boiling 
water ; and, owing to this circumstance, the flavour of the 
spirit is so good as to make a difference of 5 per cent. in 
the price. M. Chaptal’s report mentions the adapting of a 
loaded safety valve to the boiler, to work with hotter steam ; 
but this would require additional apparatus, and, probably. 
diminish the fine flavour of the spirit by raising the essen 
tial oil of the grape. 
Fig. 314 represents the apparatus of M. Berard. A is the furnace in 
which the body of the still b is set. C is the head ; the dotted lines in the 
top of the still body and in the head represent the diaphragms with their 
condensing pipes and safety pipe ; the construction of which are shewn 
more at large in fig. 345. D isthe beak of the head, which is made very 
large, and furnished with two cocks, k, i, both of which have double 
passages. E is a pipe proceeding from the beak to the hither end of the 
3D