e, on almost every farm in
our country.

The professed chymist, and profound theorist may smile at my ideas, but
should any one of them ever venture to soil a finger in the practical
part of distilling, I venture to say, he would find more difficulty in
producing good yeast, than in the process of creating oxygen or hydrogen
gas. Scientific men generally look down on us, and that is principally
owing to the circumstance of so many knaves, blockheads and conceited
characters being engaged in the business.--If then, the subject could be
improved, I fancy our country would yield all the necessary liquors,
and in a state of perfection, to gratify the opulent, and please the
epicure.

I had no difficulty in finding out a reputed great distiller, whose
directions I followed in procuring every necessary ingredient and
material for distilling, &c. He was industrious and attentive, and
produced tolerable yield, but I soon found the quantity of the runs to
vary, and the yield scarcely two days alike. I enquired into the cause,
of him, but his answers were, he could not tell; I also enquired of
other distillers, and could procure no more satisfactory answer--some
attributed it to the water, others to witchcraft, &c. &c.

I found them all ignorant--I was equally so, and wandered in the dark;
but having commenced the business, I determined to have light on the
subject; I thought there must be books containing instructions, but to
my surprise, after a diligent search of all the book-stores and
catalogues in Pennsylvania, I found there was no American work extant,
treating on this science--and those of foreign production, so at
variance with our habits, customs, and mode of economy, that I was
compelled to abandon all hope of scientific or systematic aid, and move
on under the instructions of those distillers of our neighborhood, who
were little better informed than myself, but who cheerfully informed me
of their experiments, and the results, and freely communicated their
opinions and obligingly gave me their receipts. In the course of my
progress, I purchased many receipts, and hesitated not to procure
information of all who appeared to possess it, and sometimes at a heavy
expense, and duly noted down all such discoveries and communications--made
my experiments from time to time, and in various seasons, carefully
noting down the results. Having made the business my constant and only
study, carefully attending to the important bran