Note F — § II. Description of my Rooms set apart for carrying on the Process on a large Scale.[E]

The reason why it is necessary that large boilers should be furnished with wide cocks is, that it would take up too much time to let so large a body of water, always placed over a heated stove, remain till it became cool; and that, on the other hand, it would do great injury to those substances to let them remain too long exposed to the heat. Without inconvenience, therefore, in private families, any cauldron or earthen vessel may be taken for a water-bath, provided the water rises to the rim of the bottle. In case there should be no vessel sufficiently high, the bottles may be laid down in the water-bath, care being taken to pack them well together, lest they should be broken. Many operations have succeeded well with me this way. The corks are somewhat more liable to burst outwards; but if the bottles are well corked, there is nothing to be feared. For instance, it would not be advisable to lay on their sides, bottles, or other vessels stopped up with stoppers consisting of different pieces of any substance, because the action of the fire upon this kind of stopper is stronger; and however well the vessel might be corked, it would not be advisable to incur the risque.

Small water-baths are the more convenient, because they may be placed any where, and removed at will. They soon become cold. The bottles are taken out when the water is sufficiently cool to allow of the finger being put in, and thus the operation is terminated.