Q. What is then done with the grain? A. It is placed in a kiln made hot enough to prevent its growing any more. It thus becomes crisp, and forms the substance called malt. Q. Is it used while it is crisp? A. No; it is exposed to the air, and allowed to become soft. Q. What is wort? A. A liquor produced by boiling bruised malt in hot water. Q. What is ale? A. A liquor produced by the fermentation of wort, flavoured with hops. Q. What is fermentation? A. A sensible motion which takes place spontaneously in animal and vegetable substances under certain circumstances, and which produces either a vinous liquor, an acid liquor, or a putrid smell. Q. What is necessary to produce fermentation ? A. A certain degree of moisture and a certain degree of heat. Very dry bodies cannot be made to undergo fermentation, nor will it take place at a very low or a very high temperature. Q. What are hops? A. They are the leaves of the flower of a plant which grows round poles. Q. Where are they now chiefly cultivated? A. In Kent, Sussex, and Herefordshire. Q. When, and from whence, were hops introduced into this country? A. They were brought into this country in the year 1509, from the Netherlands, from whence all vegetables used for domestic purposes were then obtained. Q. What is porter? A. A malt liquor, which differs from ale in being made with high-dried malt. Q. Are not ales of different colours? A. Yes; the lighter ales are made from malt slightly dried, and the darker ales from malt more dried or roasted. Q. Is ale a beverage which has been made only in recent times? A. No; for Herodotus, a Greek historian, who wrote about 445 years B.C., tells us, that in consequence of the want of wine, the Egyptians drank a liquor fermented from barley. Q. Was it early introduced into England? A. Yes; it is mentioned in the laws of Ina, King of Wessex. Q. What is cider? A. A fermented liquor, made from the juice of apples. Q. What counties are celebrated for it? Q. What is perry ? A. A fermented liquor, made from the juice of pears. Q. What counties are celebrated for it? A. The fermented juice of grapes. Q. Which are the wines now principally used, and where do they come from? A. Port, which comes from Portugal; sherry, from Spain; claret and champagne, from France; Madeira, from the island of that name; hock, from Germany; and marsala, from Sicily. Q. What is rum? A. A spirit distilled from molasses. A. A spirit, distilled generally from barley, but sometimes from wheat, rye, and other vegetable substances. Q. What is gin? A. A spirit, distilled from grain or malt, flavoured with juniper berries. Q. What is brandy? A. A strong spirit, distilled from wine. A. Distillation is the conversion of a liquor into vapour, by heat, and the subsequent condensation of the vapour into liquid. METALS. Q. What are the principal metals ? A. Gold, platina, silver, iron, copper, lead, tin, zinc, and mercury. Q. From whence do we obtain gold? A. Gold, the most precious of the metals, is usually obtained from the wash ings of rivers. It is found principally in the Ural Mountains, on the western coast of Africa, in California, and in the southeastern part of Australia. Q. When was gold discovered in California? A. In 1848. Q. When was gold discovered in Australia ? A. In 1851. Q. Where is silver principally found? A. Silver is principally found in Mexico and South America, particularly among the Andes. Q. Where is platina found? A. In South America, the island of St. Domingo, and the Ural Mountains. Q. Where is iron found? A. In all countries; but Great Britain and France contain the most extensive mines in the world. Q. Where is copper found? A. It is found in many parts of the world. England has some extensive mines of copper, and produces more than all the rest of Europe. |