ice of grapes, apples, or other fruit is
allowed to stand in a warm place it "works," or ferments, and thus
produces alcohol. Wine is fermented grape-juice; hard cider is fermented
apple-juice.

~11.~ Beer, ale, and similar drinks are made from grains. The grain is
first moistened and allowed to sprout. In sprouting, the starch of the
grain is changed to sugar. The grain is next dried and ground, and is
then boiled with water. The water dissolves the sugar. The sweet liquid
thus obtained is separated from the grain, and yeast is added to it.
This causes it to ferment, which changes the sugar to alcohol. Thus we
see that the grain does not contain alcohol in the first place, but that
it is produced by fermentation.

~12.~ All fermented liquids contain more or less alcohol, mixed with
water and a good many other things. Rum, brandy, gin, whiskey, and pure
alcohol are made by separating the alcohol from the other substances.
This is done by means of a still, and is called _distillation_.

[Illustration: DISTILLATION.]

~13.~ You can learn how a still separates the alcohol by a little
experiment. When a tea-pot is boiling on the stove and the steam is
coming out at the nozzle, hold up to the nozzle a common drinking-glass
filled with iced water, first taking care to wipe the outside of the
glass perfectly dry. Little drops of water will soon gather upon the
side of the glass. If you touch these to the tongue you will observe
that they taste of the tea. It is because a little of the tea has
escaped with the steam and condensed upon the glass. This is
distillation.

~14.~ If the tea-pot had contained wine, or beer, or hard cider, the
distilled water would have contained alcohol instead of tea. By
distilling the liquid several times the alcohol may be obtained almost
pure.

~15. Alcohol kills Animals and Plants.~--Strong alcohol has a deadly
effect upon all living things. Once a man gave a dog a few
tablespoonfuls of alcohol, and in a little while the dog was dead. If
you should pour alcohol upon a plant it would die very soon.

~16.~ A man once made a cruel experiment. He put some minnows into a jar
of water and then poured in a few teaspoonfuls of alcohol. The minnows
tried very hard to get out, but they could not, and in a little while
they were all dead, poisoned by the alcohol. A Frenchman once gave
alcohol to some pigs with their food. They soon became sick and died.

~17. Alcohol not a Food.~--There are some p