vins de graves; but in general they are drier than the French white wines, and are characterized by a delicate flavour and aroma, called in the country gäre, which is quite peculiar to them, and of which it would, therefore, be in vain to attempt the description. A notion prevails that they are naturally acid; and the inferior kinds no doubt are so: but this is not the constant character of the Rhine wines, which in good years have not any perceptible acidity to the taste, at least not more than is common to them with the growths of warmer regions. But their chief distinction is their extreme durability, in which they are not surpassed by any species of wine,

The Rhine wines often possess the valuable quality of durability when they have little else to recommend them. As they are capable of almost indefinite duration, and as their flavour and aroma are always improved by long keeping, it becomes of essential importance to determine the respective characters of the different vintages for a more extended period than is necessary in the case of most other wines. In favourable seasons the growths of the Rhine are free from acidity, but in bad seasons they contain an excess of what is called malic acid, and are, consequently, liable to the imperfections attendant upon the presence of that ingredient; and as the moisture of a northern Autumn often obliges the grower to gather his grapes before they have attained their full maturity, it is evident that a large proportion of the vintages must be of this description. Hence the wines which have been made in warm and dry years, such as that of 1811, or the year of the comet as it is sometimes called, are always in great demand, and fetch exorbitant prices. Of preceding vintages, those of 1802, 1800, 1783, 1779, 1766, 1748, and 1726, are reckoned among the best, and among them that of 1783 is the most highly esteemed,

Of the Johannesberg wine, the choicest produce is

that called Schoss-Johannesberger, which is indebted for its celebrity to its high flavour, and the almost total absence of acidity from it. In former days, when the domain was the property of the Bishop of Fulda, this precious wine was very rare, and it was only by favour that a few bottles of the prime vintages could be obtained from his lordship's cellars. During the changes which occurred in the early part of the present century, a considerable quantity of the wine found its way into the market. A portion of that which grows at the foot of the hill is always to be had; even this is said to be preferable in point of flavour to most of the other Rhine wines, and bears a high price.

Next to the Johannesberger may be ranked the produce of the Steinberg vineyard, which belonged to the suppressed monastery of Eberbach, and is now the property of the Duke of Nassau. It is the strongest of all the Rhine wines, and in favourable years has much sweetness and delicacy of flavour; the vintage of 1811 has been sold on the spot at as high

a price as five florins and a half, or half-a-guinea the bottle. The whole quantity made is about 300 hogsheads, of which 60 are of first-rate quality. Some persons, however, dispute the claim of the Steinberg to rank second among the wines of the Rheingau, placing before it the Rüdesheimer wine, which grows on a hill opposite to Bingen, whose acclivity is so steep, that its face has been, to a great extent, formed into terraces, to which the requisite quantity of vegetable mould and manure is carried up in baskets. The Orleans grape is that chiefly cultivated, yielding

a wine which combines a high flavour with much body, and is freer from acidity than most of the other growths of the Rhine. This is partly attributed

The graves are wines grown upon the gravelly lands to the south-east and south-west of Bordeaux; they are so called from the nature of the soil.

to the favourable exposure, which allows the grapes to ripen fully, and also to the lateness of the vintage, which seldom commences till the end of October or the beginning of November.

The vineyard of Grafenberg, which formerly belonged, as well as the Steinberg, to the wealthy convent of Eberbach, but is of much less extent than that, is still distinguished for the choiceness of its growths. The produce of Markebrunne, in the same neighbourhood, and that of Rothenberg, near Geisenheim, are All these wines are white. The only red wine worthy highly prized for softness and delicacy of flavour. of notice among the wines of the Rhinegau is grown at Asmanshausen, a little below Rüdesheim; in good years it is scarcely inferior to some of the better small, and inferior wines are often substituted under sorts of Burgundy; but the quantity produced is its name. The grapes from which it is made are small, and of a blue colour; Charlemagne is said to have brought the first vines bearing it from Burgundy.

In speaking of the Rhine wines, it is necessary to mention those of Hochheim, which, though obtained from vineyards lying on the banks of the Maine, are usually classed with the Rhine wines, as being of like nature, and nearly of the same excellence. Indeed all the best sorts of the Rhine wines have long been confounded in our country under the general name of Hock, and Rhenish has become the distinguishing heimer," says Dr. Henderson," is, strictly speaking, term of disrepute for inferior growths. "The Hocha Maine wine; but a corruption of its name has long furnished the appellation by which the first growths of the Rhine are ususally designated in this country." Hock is a contraction of Hockamore, which again is evidently an English corruption of Hochheimer.

The little town (says the Author of An Autumn near the Rhine), is surrounded by vineyards, with scarcely a tree to place, which every alderman flatters himself he drinks, is obstruct a single ray of sun; but the choice wine of the produced on a little hill of about eight acres, behind the ancient deanery, which seems formed to court the sun, and is protected by the town from the north winds. Each acre contains about 4000 vine-plants, valued at a ducat each; large casks of wine, each of which sometimes sells for and the little hill produces, in a good year, about twelve 1500 florins. (nearly 1507.) Hochheim was presented by Buonaparte to General Kellerman.

According to Dr. Henderson there are two vineyards at Hochheim, which yield the first-rate wine; they were both in former times the property of the deans of Mentz. Their united extent does not exceed

twenty five or thirty acres; but the surrounding lands yield an abundant produce, which, as in the case of other wines, often passes for the first-rate. The soils are composed of.a white or brown marle, mixed with fine gravel, and reposing in some places said to impart a particular flavour to the wine. on strata of coal, which in hot and dry seasons is

Some of the Rhine wines fetch exorbitant prices,

especially those of celebrated vintages. The Baron containing eight ohms, or 328 gallons, particularly of von Gerning says, that a cask of Johannesberg wine, the vintage of the "comet year," 1811, often sells

for from 3000 to 4000 florins, or from 3331. to 4447. sterling, which is at the medium rate of nearly 24s. per gallon. Among the prices of some of the principal Rhine wines, quoted by Dr. Henderson, are 21. per gallon; there are some even running as high some reaching the amount of 38s., and upwards of

as 18s. the bottle.

Dr. Henderson observes, that the same causes which have led to the degeneracy of some of the most celebrated French wines, have operated equally on those of the Rhine. The health of the vine, and

the quality of its fruit, are liable to be affected by a variety of delicate circumstances; a single year of slovenly culture, an injudicious mode of pruning, or the substitution of new plants for old, may ruin the reputation of a vineyard for ever.

For a long time the choicest growths, not only in France but in other countries, were raised on lands belonging to the church; the vinum theologicum was justly held to be superior to all other wines. The rich chapters and monasteries were always more studious of the quality than of the quantity of their vintages; their grounds were tilled with the greatest care, and their vines were managed in the most judicious manner; nor did they reject a plant that bore but sparingly, provided there was no falling off in the goodness of the liquor which it supplied. Moreover, in the middle ages, it is well known that the clergy were almost the sole depositaries of learning; and the continued opportunities of observation and study which their retired pursuits afforded them, had probably brought them acquainted, at a very early period, with the best methods of directing the fermentation of the grape and meliorating the produce. When the domains passed into the hands of laymen, the same assiduity and skill were seldom shown in the culture of the vines, or treatment of the vintage; and, in many instances, the old plants, which yielded the most valued wines, were rooted out to make room for others that gave a more abundant supply, but of inferior character.

There is, however, another circumstance to be urged in explanation of the fact, that the choicest wines, in the middle ages, were raised on lands belonging to the church.

The monks (observes a writer in the Quarterly Review,) were not only, as depositaries of all the learning of the times, themselves most skilled in the culture of the vine, and the manufacture of its juice; but they were also, in every respect, the best landlords, and maintained the happiest dependants. Respect for the church generally saved their land from devastation in feudal broils; there was more security in their cultivation, and they would naturally communicate some of the results of study and experience in rural economy to their vassals.

At no time, however, can the cultivation of the vine on the banks of the Rhine have been attended with much gain and happiness to the labourer. It is true that some countries support a numerous population, but the poverty and misery of the peasantry in them has been long proverbial. Nearly half a century ago, Dr. Cogan spoke of the axiom, "that poverty is most prevalent where the vine is most cultivated," as being well founded. He said that numerous vineyards, such as those on the banks of the Rhine, notwithstanding the picturesque scenes which they presented to the eye, or "the pleasant ideas of luxurious conviviality" which they excited, were, by no means the primary blessings of a country.

Bacchus, whatever, joviality he may occasion, has not the benevolence of Ceres; although, by exhilarating the spirits, he may for a season conceal the distress he occasions. Wine is a luxury which cannot furnish either food or raiment to the peasant, and the real necessaries of life are always the dearest where this superfluity becomes the chief article of attention and of commerce; they are purchased as foreign commodities, and consequently at an advanced price.

Ir is not the business of virtue to extirpate the affections of the mind, but to regulate them. It may moderate and restrain, but was not designed to banish gladness from the heart of man. Religion contracts the circle of our pleasures,

but leaves it wide enough for her votaries to expatiate in. The contemplation of the Divine Being, and the exercise of virtue, are in their own nature so far from excluding all

gladness of heart, that they are perpetual sources of it. In a word, the true spirit of religion cheers as well as composes the soul: it banishes indeed all levity of behaviour, all vicious and dissolute mirth, but in exchange, fills the mind with a perpetual serenity, uninterrupted cheerfulness, and an habitual inclination to please others, as well as to be pleased in itself.-ADDISON.

THE WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE.

No. III.

THE MANUFACTURE OF SHORT OR CLOTH WOOL. THE first operation to which the short wool is subjected when received by the manufacturer, is that of opening or disentangling its fibres; for this purpose a machine called a wool-mill, willy, or willow, is em ployed. It may be described as a cylindrical or conical drum, about three feet long, and two and a half in diameter, thickly covered with sharp pointed teeth, or spikes. This cylinder works upon a strong axis, and is enclosed in a wooden frame or box, two ends of which can be opened, being fixed on hinges; the bottom of the box is not solid, but formed of slips of wood with intervals between them, to allow any dust which may be disengaged in the process to fall through. Over the cylinder, its axis being horizontal, are five smaller rollers or cylinders, also furnished with teeth, and turning on their own axes. The teeth of the rollers and those of the drum, intersect each other during the rotation, as do also the teeth of the rollers themselves. The front door being turned down on its hinges, a quantity of raw wool is laid on it; the door is then closed, and the wool by that means brought within reach of the teeth of the large drum, which carries it upwards so as to work it between its own teeth and those of the smaller cylinders; as the motion is very rapid, the fibres of wool are separated and pulled about in all directions. operations, the door on the other side of the case After being submitted for a certain time to these that encloses the drum is opened, and the wool thrown out by the centrifugal force of the cylinder. The front door is then opened, a fresh supply of wool is introduced and again thrown out, and so on. This process is repeated several times according to the nature of the wool, or the purpose for which it is designed; if the wool is dyed, it undergoes the same operation after the dying.

The scribbling machine is next employed; this, in principle and construction resembles the last, but instead of the cylinders being covered with strong teeth like spikes, their surfaces are furnished with cards like those used in the manufacture of cotton*; by means of this machine the fibres of the wool are more equally distributed, and the wool passes through this machine three times. It now is removed to the carding-engine.

The carding-engine consists of a number of smaller cylinders, A B C D E F G, covered with card-cloth, revolving round a larger cylinder H, covered in the same manner. The large cylinder is about thirtysix inches in diameter, and thirty-two inches in length. I is an endless apron on which the wool is spread equally by hand; this apron is carried slowly onwards towards the two feeding-rollers K, by which it is seized and conveyed to the small cylinder G; from this it is transferred to the large cylinder H. The three largest of the first six small cylinders are called workers, and the three smaller, cleaners; the wool, in the first instance applied to the large cylinder or drum, is taken off by the first worker, which is in it to the drum; it is taken up again by the second its turn rubbed by the first cleaner, this last returns worker, and again removed by the second cleaner, and so on, until it reaches the cylinder A, called the stripping-cylinder or doffer, which is much larger and turns slowly. The cards on the doffer do not entirely cover its surface, but are placed on in stripes, fig. 2. The wool falls off the doffer in fleeces about four inches in breadth, and twenty-seven or twenty-eight in length, * See Saturday Magazine, Vol. V., p. 100.

THE WOOL-CARDING ENGINE.

and is received in a cylindrical box L, in the centre of which a fluted cylinder revolves, which gives the fleeces a spiral form, the first element of the thread.

The next operation is performed by the slubbingbilly. It reduces the cardings by drawing them out in lengths, joins them in a continuous spongy cord, giving them at the same time a slight twist to prevent their breaking. The wool is now in the state of a soft thread, similar to a roving in the cotton manufacture, and is called a slubbing; it is now ready to be spun into a thread of a harder texture. The operation of slubbing and spinning in worsted so nearly agree with the same processes in the cotton manufacture, that it would be unnecessary again to enter upon the subject. When the cloth first comes from the weaver, it is in a very rough unsightly state, and contains a quantity of oil, with which it has become combined during the several processes it has undergone. The next operation is scouring, which is performed in the fulling-mill, the cloth being soaked in an alkaline ley, and beaten by machinery; it is then well rinced with pure water and hung on the tenter-frames to dry. When dry, it is taken down and examined carefully, the knots picked out, and any rents or cuts it may have received, repaired by introducing fresh threads; this is called burling. The cloth has now to be thoroughly cleaned in the fulling-mill, by means of soap and water

The next process is milling, or felting. In the state in which the cloth is received from the tenter-field, the naked threads are very perceptible, and the operation of milling is to swell the threads, and felt them so as to allow of the cloth afterwards receiving that fine smooth and polished surface, which is the great beauty of fine cloth, and which renders it also more impervious to wet. Commonly, a piece of cloth of sixty-two yards, requires six pounds of soap, which is dissolved in water, and about a handful spread upon each yard in length; the piece is then put into a trough and worked for three hours in the fullingmill. After twelve hours milling, the cloth is reduced in breadth about two-fifths, and in length one-third; it is now again strained on the tenter-frame, by which it is stretched about one-twentieth, or two yards in forty, but it is very little extended in breadth. The property of felting is only possessed by the short wool, and it is of so singular a nature, that it deserves particular notice.

If an ear of bearded corn is introduced between the wristband and the wrist, the stalk being placed towards the shoulder, the common motions of the arm will cause the ear of corn to move upwards until it reaches the shoulder, and this occurs whether the arm is thrust out of the sleeve or drawn back; this motion takes place by means of the jagged ends

of the grains of corn. The thrusting of the arm outwards would naturally tend to thrust forwards the ear, but the sharp angles of the grain fixing themselves firmly into the shirt-sleeve, maintain the ear in its situation; if the arm is drawn in, the same cause enables the ear to catch hold of the skin and to be drawn upwards, and this is repeated every time the arm is drawn inwards or forced outwards.

Now the construction of the hair of the sheep and the ear of corn is somewhat similar, and the magnified view of three kinds of wool, fig. 3, will show the reason why one sort will felt and the other will not. The long English wool A, it will be seen, is much less notched on its surface than the Saxon B, or the original Spanish c, and therefore resembles less the ear of corn, and will not be acted on in the same manner. The fibres of the cloth made of short wool on being subjected to the operation of fulling, shrink considerably in their length, and close in, as it were, upon each other. The jagged ends of this wool now become entangled, and any attempt to stretch the cloth again to its original length and width would be useless; the more frequently this operation of fulling is repeated, the thicker the texture of the cloth becomes, and it is then said to be double milled. We know that if common woollen cloth, when made up into a garment, should get wet, it shrinks considerably, much to the annoyance of the wearer, who, in this manner, has it milled upon his own person. The felting of wool in the manufacture of hat bodies, is effected by acting on the same principles, but the process is more frequently repeated, so as to cause the fibres of the wool to be completely matted together.

After the milled cloth has been properly dried, it has to be dressed; this was formerly done by means of the seed-vessels of the fuller's teasle, formed into a kind of hand card, but latterly it has been effected by machinery, and in some cases by means of very fine wire cards. The dressing is the process by which the nap is raised.

The last operation the cloth has to undergo is called shearing, or cropping; the wool, by the operation of dressing, covers the surface of the cloth like loose fur, which must be removed before it is fit for the market; this was formerly effected by hand with a large pair of shears, but of late years this part of the manufacture has also been performed by the aid of machinery. The cutting instruments resemble the blades of the hand shears, one blade is fixed in an oblique direction, while a revolving cylinder is furnished with several moving blades, which act in succession against the fixed blade, in the same manner as if a pair of shears were worked by hand. The cloth itself is stretched over a metal bed to prevent its lying in creases. The list being thicker than the

rest of the fabric is left unsheared, the blades of the cutters not being of a sufficient width to cut the nap with which it is covered, and as the list is thicker than any other parts of the cloth, grooves are contrived for its reception, and to allow the shears to clip close.

Some of the common woollen cloths are hotpressed to give them a face, and as this smoothness should only appear on one side, the other is made rough again by means of a sponge and water; this kind of cloth is also dyed after weaving, and the list is sewn on to give it the appearance of having been dyed ingrain.

ON EMPLOYMENTS WHICH INJURE THE
EYE-SIGHT. No. IV.

EFFECTS OF THE EXPOSURE OF THE EYE
TO ACRID FUMES.

(4.) WE need not offer more than one illustration to this class, inasmuch as others will be readily suggested to the reader's own mind when we state that many fumes, vapours, gases, such as those afforded by ammonia, muriatic acid, &c., so affect the sentient apparatus of the eye as to cause a general irritability which the eye itself tends to remove by exciting a flow of tears. This power, however, is lost in time: inflammation comes as a prelude to disease of a permanent and more lasting character.

The case we have selected is a remarkable one, illustrating the noxious effects resulting from exposure of the person to acrid fumes. A class of persons employed in cleansing the immense sewers of the city of Paris are subject to a disease which is called in one case la mitte, in the other case le plomb. The former is caused by ammoniacal vapours, and is announced by a smarting in the eyes, and the eye-ball and pupil soon become red, accompanied with other pains, chiefly about the head. Blindness often results, which lasts for a day or two. The patients endure much pain, and get no relief until tears begin to flow. In slight attacks exposure to the open air and shading the eyes is a sufficient remedy: if the attack is strong the men are accustomed to wash their eyes in cold water, to tie a wet bandage over them, and to remain in the dark.

Le plomb is also due to gaseous exhalations, chiefly sulphuretted hydrogen and ammoniacal gases, producing convulsions and other alarming symptoms. The danger to these workmen is now entirely removed by the copious use of chlorine in combination with lime or soda, as chlorine possesses the valuable property of entirely destroying and neutralizing these effluviæ.

It is perhaps in this place that we may mention a train of effects resulting from narcotics taken inwardly. The effects produced do not certainly come under the denomination of fumes as ordinarily considered; but, be that as it may, the subject is one of much importance, and we do not wish to pass it over unnoticed.

Amaurosis is caused by the use of narcotic substances which have been supposed to act specifically in depressing the energy of the nervous system in general. The symptoms of amaurosis, however, by no means support the opinion that they have a direct sedative operation: the loss of sensibility, as well as the dilatation of the pupil, may be the effect of increased excitement, or a full state of the vessels; for besides considerable external turgescence, sensibility of the pupil almost invariably returns on having recourse to bleeding. The principal substances of this class are opium in large doses, hyosciamus,

stramonium, and bella donna. The well-known effect which these substances possess of dilating the pupil when applied to the surface of the eye, or of the neighbouring parts, differs only in degree from what follows their being taken into the stomach; but instead of effecting a loss of power or paralysis of the iris, they seem rather to act as stimuli on the antagonist fibres which compose the greater ring of the iris, and thus overcome its normal or regular obedience to the stimulus of light, analogous to those involuntary and spasmodic actions which they occasion when taken internally. See VETCH on Diseases of the Eye. CHRISTISON also in his Treatise on Poisons, cites numerous interesting cases of the effect of narcotic poisons on the pupil of the eye.

LAVA. MOUNT VESUVIUS.

Ir was in the month of February (1793) that I went with a party to the source of the lava, for the first time, to ascertain the real state in which the lava proceeded from the volcano that created it. I found the crater in a very active state, throwing out vollies of immense stones, transparent with vitrification, and such showers of ashes involved in thick sulphurous clouds, as rendered any approach to it extremely dangerous. We ascended as near as possible, and then, crossing over to the lava, attempted to coast it up to its source. This we soon found was impossible, for an unfortunate wind blew all the smoke of the lava hot upon us, attended at the same time with such a thick mist of minute ashes from the crater, and such fumes of sulphur, that we were in danger of being suffocated. In this perplexity I proposed immediately crossing the current of liquid lava, to gain the windward side of it, but felt some fears, owing to the very liquid appearance the lava there had so near its source. All my companions were against the scheme, and while we stood deliberating, immense fragments of stone and huge volcanic bombs, that had been cast out by the crater, but which the smoke had pre vented us from observing, fell thick about us, and rolled by us with a velocity that would have crushed any of us, had we been in their way. I found we must either leave our present spot, or expect instant death therefore, covering my face with my hat, I rushed upon the lava, and crossed over safely to the other side, having my boots only a little burnt, and my hands scorched. Not one of my companions, however, would stir; nor could any persuasion of mine avail in getting a single guide over to me. I then saw clearly the whole of the scene, and expected my friends would every moment be sacrificed to their own imprudence and want of courage, as the stones from the crater fell continually around them, and vast rocks of lava bounded by them with great force. At last I had the satisfaction of seeing them retire, leaving me entirely alone. I begged hard for a torch to be thrown over to me, that I might not be lost when the night should come on. It was then that André, one of the cicerones of Resina, afer being promised a bribe, ran over to me, and brought with him a bottle of wine and a torch. We had coasted the lava ascending for some time, when looking back I perceived my companions endeavoring to cross the lava lower down, where the stream was narrower, In doing this they found themselves insulated, as it were, and surrounded by two different rivers of liquid fire. They immediately pressed forward, being ter ribly scorched by the combined heat of both the cur rents, and ran to the side where I was; in doing which one of the guides fell into the middle of the

: