THE ANALYST. 89 C I D E R V I N E G A R . BY GEORGE S. Cox. IN connection with the enforcement of the Wisconsin vinegar laws (which require the presence of 4 per cent. of acetic acid and of 2 per cent. of solids in cider vinegar), the writer has spent some little time in the examination of these lines. In THE ANALYST for 1891 (p. 41) Mr. G. Embrey presents a paper devoted mainly to the consideration of the percentage of ash in cider. Upon reviewing some of the work done in the State laboratory the past summer I find some figures that may be of in,terestl to your readers, taken in connection with Mr. Embrey’s paper. Mr. Embrey finds the ash to range from 0.25 per cent. to 0.35 per cent., a figure lower than 0.25 per cent. carrying the assumption of added water ; but in regard to a figure higher than 0.35 per cent.no statement is made. On p. 42 is a criticism of R. Kayser’s figures as quoted by Allen in his Commercial Organic Analysis.” Kayser gives the total solids of must as 16.25 per cent. and of cider as 2.36 per cent. The sugar of the former is given as 12.5 per cent. and of the latter as 0.75 per cent. Mr. Embrey says : “ There is evidently some mistake here, as the total solid matter of cider is given as 2.36 per cent.-probably 12.36 per cent,” The fact is here overlooked that the must has a high sugar content that has been removed from the cider by fermen- tation. With the trade in this country, the product of the cider mill and press is called “ juice ” before fermentation and ( ( cider ” after, and from the context of this90 THE ANALYST.paper this same practice seems to obtain in England. In accordance with this, Kayser's figures are certainly more nearly correct that 12.36 per cent. The table here given requires some additional explanation in addition to the remarks. 601, 602, 603, and 607 were samples of vinegar that had been made by the quick process in Gould generators. The other vinegars were made by storing the juice in barrels in a dark warehouss at a moderately warm temperature, and the dates mentioned refer to the time at which barrels were placed in storage. 626, 629, 630, and 631 were samples of juice pressed in 1893 (November), and examined within a few days after their manufacture. 608 to 620 inclusive the writer withdrew from the barrels in which it had been stored.The samples of juice were furnished by the manufacturer of the vinegars, and are just as represented. Sample number. 601 602 603 604 605 606 607 608 609 610 611 612 613 614 615 616 617 618 619 620 626 629 630 631 632 Article examined. ?ercentage of acid as acetic. -- 4.47 4.92 5.45 5-79 7.56 6.09 5.29 7.74 6.19 7.29 8.40 7.86 6.19 2.91 3.78 7.81 5.32 2.28 5.63 8.09 - - - - - Percentage of total solids, 2.4 3.1 4.0 1.64 1.54 2.29 2.43 1.77 2.17 1.34 2.66 2.55 2.23 1.89 3.17 1.43 2.74 2.09 1-55 2-27 14.83 13.36 11.25 9.48 2.54 -- -- Tercentage of ash to total amount. 0.25 0.25 0-26 0.31 0.34 0.36 0.259 0.435 0 -40 0.52 0.39 0.35 0.34 0-33 0.26 0.33 0.43 0.30 0.30 0.40 0.525 0.286 0.331 0.563 0.246 Pt: rcen tag6 of ash to total solids. 10.41 8.06 6.50 18.90 22 *08 15.72 10.65 24-57 18.43 38.80 14.66 13-72 15.24 17.46 8.20 23-07 16.42 14-35 19.29 17-62 3.54 2.14 2.94 5.93 9.68 -- I_L_ Remarks.J. Put away in brls. in J. Put away in brls. but J. Same date. Made from Oct., 1891. a few weeks earlier. snow apples. J. Oct., 1891. Apples. J. Oct., 1891. Port wine brl. Ditto. J. Oct., 1891. Charred Ditto. Ditto. Put in warm storage. Ditto. November apples. 1891. Emptyings of brls, Three November apples. 1892. November apples. Larger Eight years old. Solids dried twelve hours. New York apples ; not very sound. Partly fermented salicylic acid present. Same as 630, but from a, vinegar barrel. Settlings from cider brls. whisky brl. Fall of 1892. years old. bung.THE ANALYST. 91 __- ~ The average ash for the twenty-five samples is 0,3546 per cent.-a trifle higher than Mr.Embrey’s maximum figure-and in only one instance (632) does the figure fall below the minimum; and certainly the settlings cannot be taken as a represen- tative sample. I n samples 626, 629, 630, and 631 the solids were obtained after twelve hours drying on a steam bath. The evaporations were made in flat-bottomed platinum dishes, quite shallow and very thin. The enforcement of this vinegar law has occasioned some very vexatious questions, and the Wisconsin Colnmission has given some little time to its consider- ation. Other points of interest present themselves in addition to the ash figures. Several of these vinegars cannot be sold, under existing statutes, as cider vinegar, while 603 could be watered very considerably and pass our State standard. Mr.Enibrey’s ash figures would prove little, as the ash is practically the same in 601, 602, and 603, yet the ratio maintained between the solids and acid would point to the addition of water. The goods were from the same place, in the same consignment, and were billed as 5 per cent., 4.5 per cent., and 4 per cent, acid strength respec- tively, and were evidently mixed with water in proportion to approximate the desired acidity. 618 and 619 were from the same run of juice, and stood side by side. They were examined eleven months after pressing, and are interesting as exhibiting the marked effect of a slight variation in the air-vent. 604, when received, contained nearly 4 per cent. by volume of alcohol that had not yet been converted, and the sample, in a half-gallon bottle, together with 605 and 606, was placed in the direct sunlight in a warm rooin, where it was allowed to stand for several months. The two other samples had little or no unconverted alcohol, and were practically ~ n - changed, while 604 developed a bouquet and flavour incomparably superior to the. others. Previously they had been stored in the dark and at a lower temperature, and when received were very similar in taste and d o u r , but the sunlight and warmth toward the close of the acetic ferinentation created a difference that cannot be lightly estimated, from the commercial standpoint, at least. Experiments upon this line are now in progress, and should anything of interest Occur I shall be very glad to give you notes regarding it in a future contribution. Wi.sconsin Dairy and Rood Commission, Madison, Wis. , U.S. A .