To statesmen would you give a wipe You print it in Italick type: When letters are in vulgar shapes, 'Tis ten to one the wit escapes. Swift. WIPE, a town and river of Prussia, in Samland. WIRE, n. 5. French river, to draw round.-Skinner. Metal

WIRE DRAW, v. a.

drawn into slender WIRE DRAWER, n.s. threads to spin into wire; draw out into length literally or metaphorically.

Thou shalt be whipt with uire, and stewed in brine, Smarting in lingering pickle. Shakspeare.

Hier veil and mantle pluckt they off by force, And bound her tender arms in twisted uire. Fairfax. And the cherubick host, in thousand quires, Touch their immortal harps of golden wires. Milton. Those who have need of unmixed silver, as gilders and wiredrawers, must, beside an equal weight of silver mixed with other metals, give an overplus to reward

WIRE, a piece of metal drawn successively through a number of iron plate holes into a thread, of a fineness answerable to the last hole it passed through. See GOLD WIRE, and WIRE-DRAWING. WIRE, one of the small Orkney Islands, separated from Rousay by a strait one mile broad.

WIRE DRAWING. Wires are frequently drawn so fine as to be wrought along with other threads of silk, wool, flax, &c. The metals most commonly drawn into wire are gold, silver, copper, and iron. Gold wire is made of cylindrical ingots of silver covered over with gold, and thus drawn successively through a vast number of holes, each smaller and smaller, till at last it is brought to a fineness exceeding that of a hair. Before it be reduced to this excessive fineness, it is drawn through above 140 different holes; and is every time rubbed over with wax, both to facilitate its passage, and to prevent the gold from being rubbed off. That admirable ductility which is one of the distinguishing characters of gold is no where more conspicuous than in gilt wire. A cylinder of forty-eight ounces of silver, with a coat of gold

only weighing one ounce, as Dr. Halley informs us, is usually drawn into a wire two yards of which weigh no more than forty-nine grains, and one single grain of gold covers the ninety-eight yards; so that the 10,000th part of a grain is above oneeighth of an inch long.

WIRKSWORTH, a market town and parish in the hundred of the same name, Derbyshire, twelve miles N. N. W. of Derby, and 139 north-west by north of London.

WIRLEY (William), rouge-croix poursuivant of arms, published The True Use of Arms showed by History, and plainly proved by Example, 4to. He died in 1618.

WIRTEMBERG, a state of South West Germany, which, since 1806, has borne the title of kingdom. It forms part of the old circle of Suabia, having Bavaria on the east, and the long narrow territory of Baden on the west. It extends from long. 8° 7' to 10° 30′ E., lat. 45° 36′ to 49° 45′ N. Its oblong form, extending from north to south, is similar to that of the principality of Wales; and its area, about 8000 square miles, is not much greater; but its soil is far more fertile, and its population is at present (1822) not under 1,400,000.

Its territorial division is into the four circles of the Jaxt, the Neckar, the Black Forest, and the Danube. These are farther divided into twelve small counties, each of which is subdivided into bailiwics. The foundation of this state was the old duchy of Wirtemberg, augmented, since 1801, by various towns of the empire acquired, and abbeys, priories, and other ecclesiastical possessions secularised in the present age. The towns of Wirtemberg are thinly scattered; the principal are Stutgard, the capital, containing 22,000 inhabitants; Ulm 15,600; Tubingen 5700; Hall 5500; Ludwigsburg 5500; Biberach 4400; Kirchheim 4100; Schorndorf 3500; Calw 3400; Creilsheim 3100.

The great natural features of this country are masses or ranges of mountains; one called the Black Forest extending along the western frontier, in a line nearly parallel to the course of the Rhine; the other, less known out of Germany, called the Alp, or Alb, an insulated range of rocky hills, destitute of wood, and, in some measure, of verdure, which begins near the small town of Rotweil, and traverses the kingdom in a north-east direction. On these lofty tracts the climate is cold and bleak, but the rest of the country is covered with eminences or hills of moderate clevation, intersected by pleasant valleys, which enjoy a climate fully as mild and steady as similar parallels of latitude in the north of France, viz. Champagne, Picardy, and Normandy. The two principal rivers are the Danube and Neckar. The other rivers are the Enz, the Muhr, the Kocker, the Jaxt, and the Tauber; the lake of Constance borders an angle of the southern extremity of the kingdom.

On the whole this is one of the most fertile tracts in Germany. In the level districts of the north, corn of all kinds succeeds extremely well; but the rugged surface of the Black forest is fit only for the pasture of cattle; that of the Alb for sheep. Potatoes, hemp, and flax, are cultivated in various parts, particularly in the grounds of medium elevation. Fruits of various kinds abound throughout the country; and complete woods of apple and pear trees are to be seen in different places. The climate has sufficient warmth for the cultivation of

the grape; and the native vines have been improved by the introduction of shoots from France, the north of Italy, Hungary, and even from islands in the Mediterranean. The best qualities of the Wirtemberg wine are known in England under the name of Neckar wine. The Black Forest produces abundance of pine and fir, of which considerable quantities are exported. The mineral products of the mountains are iron, silver, copper, coal, and porcelain; but the quantity as yet extracted from the mines is small, except in the case of iron. The manufactures consist of linen and woollen; there are also iron-works, but on a small scale.

The king of Wirtemberg is a member of the Germanic confederation, and holds the sixth place in the diet. The order of succession to the throne, the regulations in the event of a minority, and other fundamental provisions, were determined by a royal ordinance of January 1st, 1808; but a much longer time and more animated discussions were necessary to define the relative power of the sovereign and his nobility. Matters remained in an unsettled state until 1819, when a mutual compromise took place, and a new constitution was agreed on, essentially free in its principles. The executive power is vested in the monarch, controlled by a representative body. The titled classes are numerous, and still possess extensive privileges; those who had formerly local sovereignty retaining a share of judicial power, which renders necessary here the same system of appeal as in other parts of Germany. The aggregate revenue is £700,000. The dukes of Wirtemberg were Protestant until 1772, when the reigning prince became a Catholic; giving, however, to his representative body the most solemn pledges that no change should be introduced into the religious establishment. In the wars of the French revolution, Wirtemberg was repeatedly traversed by the hostile armies; its territory was in 1796 the ground chosen for conflicts in the advance, as well as in the celebrated retreat, of Moreau; in 1799 it was the scene of the defeat of the French under Jourdan; iu 1800 of their renewed success under Moreau. The treaty of Luneville (February 1801) was followed next year by a treaty of indemnity, when it suited the politics of France to secure to the duke of Wirtemberg an acquisition of territory, and the rank of elector in the German empire. A similar policy led to a farther extension of his dominions, on the peace of Presburg in December 1805; and, on joining the confederation of the Rhine in 1806, the royal title, with some additional territory, was conferred on him. These honors and acquisitions were necessarily followed by an implicit obedience to the French government; and the Wirtembergers, like their Bavarian neighbours, were doomed to lose the flower of their troops in Russia in 1812. In the following year the remainder of the forces fought under the French banners until the evacuation of Germany, when the allies, having engaged to serve the king in his various acquisitions, received his support in the invasion of France.

There be fools alive, I wis, Silvered o'er, and so was this.

Shakspeare. WISBEACH, a sea-port and market-town in the Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, situated on the river Nen or Nene, over which is a stone bridge, eight miles north of March, and ninety north by east of London. The church is a singularly constructed building, having two naves and two aisles. The different religious denominations have here places of worship; and in the town is a free and other schools, for the education of youth. Here are also a theatre, a ball and assembly rooms, excellent market cross, and a custom house. The principal trade of Wisbeach is in coals, corn, timber, and wine; a canal which opens a communication with Norfolk and Suffolk, and the western counties, has very considerably promoted its prosperity. Sheep and oxen are fattened in great numbers in the neighbourhood, and sent to London. It is governed by ten burgesses, and has six annual fairs. Here was formerly a castle, a residence of the bishop of Ely; but the whole property and gardens have been lately purchased and converted into streets.

WISCHEART (George), D. D., born in 1609 and educated at Edinburgh. He entered into episcopal orders, and became chaplain to the great marquis of Montrose, whom he attended in his last expedition, was taken prisoner, and narrowly escaped death. In 1660 he was made bishop of Edinburgh. He wrote a very curious History of the Wars in Scotland, and of the Marquis of Montrose, in 1 vol. 8vo. He died at Edinburgh ìn 1669.

That which moveth God to work is goodness, and that which ordereth his work is wisdom, and that which perfecteth his work is power. Hooker.

As from senses reason's work doth spring,
So many reasons understanding gain,
And many understandings knowledge bring,
And by much knowledge wisdom we obtain. Davies.
He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valour
To act in safety.
Shakspeare.
There was an old fat woman even now with me.

-Pray, was 't not the rise woman of Brainford? Id.
It must be a wise Being that is the cause of those
wise effects.
Wilkins.
Heaven is for thee too high; be lowly wise. Milton.
Doubt not but God
Hath wiselier armed his vengeful ire.
Wisdom is that which makes men judge what are the
best ends, and what the best means to attain them.
Temple.

Id.

WINDWARD PASSAGE, a name given to a course from the south-east angle of the island of Jamaica, in the West Indies, and extending from 150 leagues to the north side of Crooked Island, in the Bahamas. Ships have often sailed through this channel, from the north part of it to the island of Cuba, or the gulf of Mexico, notwithstanding the common opinion, on account of the current which is against it, that they keep the Bahama shore on board, and that they meet with the wind in summer for the most part of the channel easterly, which, with a counter current on shore, pushes them easily through it. WINE, n. s. Sax. pin; Belg. rinn; Gothic WIN', adj. S and Swed. win. The fermented juice of the grape winy, partaking of the qualities of wine.

The increase of the vineyards for the wine cellars. Chronicles.

Be not amongst wine-bibbers, amongst riotous eaters. Proverbs.

His troops on my strong youth like torrents rusht: As in a wine-press Judah's daughter crusht. Sandys. The wine of life is drawn, and the meer lees Is lett this vault to brag of. Where the wine-press is hard wrought, it yields a harsh wine that tastes of the grape-stone. Висон.

Shakspeare.

Set cucumbers among muskmelons, and see whether the melons will not be more wing, and better tasted. Id.

With large wine-offerings pour'd, and sacred feast.

Milton.

A very

The firstlings of the flock are doomed to die; Rich fragrant wines the cheering bowl supply. Pope. WINE is an agreeable spirituous liquor, produced by fermentation from those vegetable substances that contain saccharine matter. great number of vegetable substances may be made to afford wine, as grapes, currants, mulberries, elder, cherries, apples, pulse, beans, pease, turnips, radishes, and even grass itself. Hence under the class of wines, or vinous liquors, come not only wines, alsolutely so called, but also ale, cyder, &c. But the term wine is more particularly appropriated to the liquor drawn from the fruit of the vine.

When the grapes are ripe, and the saccharine principle is developed, they are then pressed, and the juice which flows out is received in vessels of a proper capacity, in which the fermentation appears, and proceeds in the following manner:-At the end of several days, and frequently after a few. hours, according to the heat of the atmosphere, the nature of the grapes, the quantity of the liquid, and the temperature of the place in which the operation is performed, a movement is produced in the liquor, which continually increases; the volume of the fluid increases; it becomes turbid and oily; carbonic acid is disengaged, which fills all the unoccupied part of the vessel; and the temperature rises to 725. At the end of several days these tumultuous motions subside, the mass falls, the liquor becomes clearer, and is found to be less saccharine, more odorant, and of a red color, from the re-action of the ardent spirit upon the coloring matter of the pellicle of the grape. The wine is usually taken out of the fermenting vessels at the period when all the phenomena of fermentation have subsided. When the mass is settled, the color of the liquor is well developed; when it has become clear, and its beat has disappeared, it is put into casks, where, by a second insensible fermentation, the wine is clarified, its principles combine moie

perfectly together, and its taste and smell become more and more developed. Those who import wine in large quantities should attend to the following directions about the treatment of it after it arrives. On landing, the less they are exposed the better; for they are affected by the seasons, and more or less by climate. March and April are the proper times for shipping wines from France, and they will be landed in England and Ireland in the same degree of temperature. The great art in keeping wines is to prevent their fretting, which is done by keeping them in the same degree of heat. In spring and fall the wines in Bourdeaux are subject to changes that may be destructive if not prevented by necessary rackings: these changes are solely the effect of the seasons. If wines are chilled, and of course turn foul, from being shipped and landed in cold weather, they will soon recover by putting them in a warm vault, well covered with saw-dust. As soon as they are in the vault they ought to be covered up. But if shipped and landed in summer, if the smallest degree of fermentation be found on them, it will be requisite to dip the bung cloths in brandy, and leave the bungs loose for some days, to give it time to cool; and if in a fortnight or three weeks the fermentation do not cease, and the wine become bright, it will be proper to rack it (matching the hogsheads well with brimstone), and force it with the whites of eight eggs. If it then become fine, bung it tight, and let it remain so until it is bottled. If wines new landed are wanted soon for the bottle, it will be necessary to force them immediately, and let them remain bunged close for at least a month, to recover from the forcing, or if two months the better; for wines bottled in high order come much sooner into drinking than if bottled when flat, which all wines are after forcing.

:

Wine must never be bottled the least foul, which produces a tendency to fret; and, if bottled in this State, will never come in order, but may possibly be lost for this there is no remedy but repeated rackings; and care must be taken (after rinsing the hogsheads well and drawing them) to burn a good piece of match in them. This cools the wine, and there is no danger of hurting the color; for it recovers it in a little time; but, if it did, it is absolutely necessary; for, if wine is suffered to continue on the fret, it will wear itself to nothing. It sometimes happens that wines scuddy and stubborn will not fall with one or even two forcings. It will then be proper to give them five or six gallons of good strong wine, and force them with the whites of a dozen eggs, with a tea-spoonful of sand produced from sawing marble, or a small spoonful of fine salt. Bottled wine in winter should be well covered with saw-dust, and, if the vaults are cold and damp, strew it deep on the floor; if sawdust is thrown upon the hogsheads, and their sides are bedded some inches thick, it will keep them from the fret. The same treatment is to be regarded with white wines, except that they require to be higher matched, particularly Muscat wines, such as Frontignac, Beziers. &c., which, being often. sweetened with honey, are very subject to fret; and these only frequent rackings, with a great deal of brimstone, can cool. Hermitage, from not being sufficiently dried, and possessing more richness thin claret, is also very liable to come on the fret, and will require much the same treatment as the Muscat wines. Attention should be had to bottle in fine weather, when the wind is north; but co

avoid cold or frosty weather. The months of April and October are favorable. The best time to bottle port wine is four years after the vintage, and to keep them two years in bottle before you begin to use them. When wines are racked, and the lees immediately passed through flannel bags into closenecked jars, and directly bottled, there will be very little lost by rackings, as the wine when fine may serve for filling up. When wines are destined for warm climates, it may be proper to rinse the hogs. heads with brandy; and in bottling many rinse the bottles and corks with it. Wines that have remained a certain time (three or four months) in a vault, and made less or more lee, ought never to be sent into the country without first racking them, otherwise they may be liable to fret, and if bottled in that state, may risk being lost. Wines which may be ordered for immediate drinking will be forced on the shipping, and in a few weeks after they are landed will be fit for the bottle. The forcings proper for claret are the whites of a dozen eggs, beaten up with a tea-spoonful of fine salt, and well worked with a forcing-rod. No bad egg must be used. This is for one hogshead. The forcing for white wine is singlass dissolved in wine. One ounce is sufficient for two hogsheads. No salt is to be used in forcing the white wines.

Let us now direct our attention to the chemical character of wines. All those nutritive, vegetable, and animal matters which contain sugar ready formed, are susceptible of the spirituous fermentation. Thus wine may be made of all the juices of plants, the sap of trees, the infusions and decoctions of farinaceous vegetables, the milk of frugiverous animals; and lastly, it may be made of all ripe succulent fruits: but all these substances are not equally proper to be changed into a good and generous wine.

As the production of alcohol is the result of the spirituous fermentation, that wine may be considered as essentially the best, which contains most alcohol. But, of all substances susceptible of the sp. rituous fermentation, none is capable of being converted into so good wine, as the juice of the grapes of France, or of other countries that are nearly in the same latitude, or in the same temperature. The grapes of hotter countries, and even those of the southern provinces of France, do indeed furnish wines that have a more agreeable, that is, more of a saccharine taste; but these wines, though they are sufficiently strong, are not so spirituous as those of the provinces near the middle of France: at least from these latter wines the best vinegar and brandy are made. As an example, therefore, of spirituous fermentation in general, we shall describe the method of making wine from the juice of the grapes of France. This juice, when newly expressed, and before it has begun to ferment, is called must, and in common language sweet wine. It is turbid, but has an agreeable and very saccharine taste. It is very laxative; and, when drunk too freely, or by persons disposed to diarrhoeas, it is apt to occasion these disorders. Its consistence is somewhat less fluid than that of water, and it becomes almost of a pitchy thickness when dried.

When the must is pressed from the grapes, and put into a proper vessel and place, with a temperature between fifty-five and sixty degrees, very sensible effects are produced in it, in a shorter or longer time, according to the nature of the liquor, and the exposure of the place. It then swells, and

is so rarefied that it frequently overflows the vessel containing it, if this be nearly full. An intestine motion is excited among its parts, accompanied with a small hissing noise and evident ebullition. The bubbles rise to the surface, and at the same time is disengaged a quantity of carbonic acid of such purity, and so subtle and dangerous, that it is capable of killing instantly men and animals exposed to it in a place where the air is not renewed. The skins, stones, and other grosser matters of the grapes, are buoyed up by the particles of disengaged air that adhere to their surface, are variously agitated, and are raised in form of a scum, or soft and spongy crust, that covers the whole liquor. During the fermentation, this crust is frequently raised, and broken by the air disengaged from the liquor which forces its way through it; afterward the crust subsides, and becomes entire as before.

These effects continue while the fermentation is brisk, and at last gradually cease: then the crust, being no longer supported, falls in pieces to the bottom of the liquor. At this time, if we would have a strong and generous wine, all sensible fermentation must be stopped. This is done by putting the wine into close vessels, and carrying these into a cellar or other cool place.

After this first operation, an interval of repose takes place, as is indicated by the cessation of the sensible effects of the spirituous fermentation; and thus enables us to preserve a liquor no less agreeable in its taste, than useful for its reviving and nutritive qualities when drunk moderately. If we examine the wine produced by this first fermentation, we shall find that it differs entirely and essentially from the juice of grapes before fermentation. Its sweet and saccharine taste is changed into one that is very different, though still agreeable, and somewhat spirituous and piquant. It has not the laxative quality of must, but affects the head, and occasions, as is well known, drunkenness. Lastly, if it be distilled, it yields, instead of the insipid water obtained from must by distillation with the heat of boiling water, a volatile, spirituous, and inflammable liquor called spirit of wine or alcohol. This spirit is consequently a new being, produced by the kind of fermentation called the vinous or spirituous. See ALCOHOL.

When any liquor undergoes the spirituous fermentation, all its parts seem not to ferment at the same time, otherwise the fermentation would probably be very quickly completed, and the appearances would be much more striking: hence, in a liquor much disposed to fermentation, this motion is more quick and simultaneous than in another liquor less disposed. Experience has shown that a wine, the fermentation of which is very slow and tedious, is never good or very spirituous; and therefore, when the weather is too cold, the fermentation is usually accelerated by heating the place in which the wine is made. A proposal has been made, by a person very intelligent in economical affairs, to apply a greater than the usual heat to accelerate the fermentation of the wine, in those years in which grapes have not been sufficiently ripened, and when the juice is not sufficiently disposed to fermentation.

A too hasty and violent fermentation is perhaps also hurtful, from the dissipation and loss of some of the spirit; but of this we are not certain. However, we may distinguish, in the ordinary method of making wines of grapes, two periods in the fermentation, the first of which lasts during the appearance