107 / 230
SPIRIT
OP
POTATOES.
107
To
this
effect,
it
is
necessary
to
place
them
in
ware-
houses,
or
other
suitable
places,
where
the
temperature
never
gets
sa
low
as
to
endanger
them.
Cellars
are
very
proper
to
fulfil
this
object,
because
they
keep
almost
inva-
riably,
in
winter
as
in
summer,
at
a
temperature
of
55^
Fahr.
There
are
two
methods
of
preparing
potatoes
for
fermentation;
the
object
of
both
is
to
saccharify
their
fecula.
The
first
is
by
means
of
malted
barley
or
Indian
corn,
and,
though
practised
in
town
distilleries,
is
more
generally
followed
in
the
country,
because
it
is
more
in-
timately
connected
with
the feeding of
cattle;
and
is
composed
of
three
operations.
Potatoes
were
first
used
for
distillation
many
years
ago,
and
the
method
then
adopted
consisted
in
submitting
them
to
the
action
of
boiling
water,
as
it
is
still
done
in
their
preparation
for
food.
For
this
purpose
stills
of
3
or
4
hectolitres
were
used,
but
the
difficulty
of
getting
the
potatoes
out
of
these
ves-
sels,
and
the
expense
of
fuel,
soon
caused
it
to
be
replaced
by
that of
steaming
them,
which
mode
is
much
less
ex-
pensive.
Various
apparatuses
have
been
invented
for
boiling
potatoes;
the
following
is
said
to
be
the
most
perfect
:
Fig.
13
represents
this
apparatus
erected
on
brick-
work.
A
is
a
copper
still,
provided
with
a cover
B
strongly
fastened
to
the
neck
of
the
still
by
means
of
iron nippers,
similar
to
those
made
use
of
in
the
improved
apparatus
of
Adam
and
Berard,
which
will
be
spoken
of
hereafter.
The
cover
b
bears
a
curved
tube
C
D,
which
carries
off
the
steam
;
the
extremity
d
of
this
tube
is
furnished
with
u
collar,
by
which
means
it
may
be
screwed
to
any
other