Various accounts have been given of the alcoholic strength of wines by Mr Brande, Julia-Fontenelle, and others. The author has been engaged for some time in experiments for determining the proportion of alcohol contained in various wines of commerce, and also the circumstances which occasion a variety in this respect. The present paper is an interim notice of the results.

The method of analysis consisted in the mode by distillation, which was applied with such contrivances for accuracy that nearly the whole spirit and water were distilled over without a trace of empyreuma, and without the loss of more than between 2 and 6 grains in 2000. From the quantity and density of the spirit, the weight of absolute alcohol of the density 793.9, as well as the volume of proof spirit of the density 920, was calculated from the tables of Richter founded on those of Gilpin.