There are some other striking figures which are well
worth referring to. The city of Paris alone requires
nearly 300,000 gallons of wine daily. Now, the total
yearly wine production of the whole of Australia is
but a little over three million gallons. It will follow
from the preceding, then, that the single city of
Paris itself would consume in 12 days all the wine
which the whole of Australia takes 12 months to make.
The future prosperity of Australia, at least to a
very great extent, is wrapped up in her wine in-
dustry ; for its development means much more than
XIV PRE FACE.
a large export trade to other countries. It means, in
fact, the use of Australian wine as a national and
every-day wholesome beverage ; it means the covering
of the land with smiling vineyards ; it means em-
ployment and a healthy calling literally to thousands
upon thousands ; and, lastly, it means settlement upon
the land, and a more diffused distribution of the popu-
lation throughout Australia.
It must be remembered that the nervous system is
far more susceptible to the effects of alcohol in a
warm than in a cooler climate. It is said that in
Southern Europe there are very few water drinkei's,
but that, on the other hand, there are very few who
indulge in strong drink. The system does not feel
to want the strong alcohol, so to speak, A weaker
wine in a warm climate produces the same feeling of
exhilaration that one of greater alcoholic strength
does in colder countries. We shall not go far wrong
in Australia if we stick to our own natural wines.
As it will be found in the chapter on Australian wine,
the every-day wine for Australian use is a wine of low
alcoholic strength ; a wine of which a tumblerful may
be taken with benefit ; a wine, indeed, which is bene-
ficial, cheering, hygienic, restorative, and wholesome.
By reason of his semi-tropical climate the Australian
is bathed in an atmosphere of sunshine. This has a
distinct effect upon the blood, for the action of sun-
light upon this fluid is to redden it — a fact which has
PREFACE ^^-^^^ XV
for ages been dwelt upon by the poets. But for a
scientific explanation of this effect of sunlight in red-
dening the blood we must turn to the spectrum
analysis. The visible solar spectrum as shown
through a prism by the ordinary sunbeam is made
up of the seven different colours, namely, red, orange,
yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Instead of
consisting simply of white light as a whole, it is now
uni^rsally accepted that in this spectrum different
properties belong to different parts. Light or lumi-
nous power to one portion ; heat or calorific power to
another ; and chemical power or actinism to a third.
The visible solar or Newtonian luminous spectrum,
resulting from the decomposition of white light by a
prism, is only the middle portion of the whole solar
spectrum. Beyond the red end there are rays pos-
sessing still greater heating effect ; and beyond the
violet extremity there are rays endowed with far
more powerful chemical action. The violet, and
especially these latter ultra-violet rays, redden the life
stream by increasing the hsemoglobin — that crystal-
lizable body which forms so large a portion of the
coloured corpuscles of the blood.
Page 8
Presented as published in 1893. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
There are some other striking figures which are well worth referring to. The city of Paris alone requires nearly 300,000 gallons of wine daily. Now, the total yearly wine production of the whole of Australia is but a little over three million gallons. It will follow from the preceding, then, that the single city of Paris itself would consume in 12 days all the wine which the whole of Australia takes 12 months to make.
The future prosperity of Australia, at least to a very great extent, is wrapped up in her wine industry ; for its development means much more than
XIV PRE FACE.
a large export trade to other countries. It means, in fact, the use of Australian wine as a national and every-day wholesome beverage ; it means the covering of the land with smiling vineyards ; it means employment and a healthy calling literally to thousands upon thousands ; and, lastly, it means settlement upon the land, and a more diffused distribution of the population throughout Australia.
It must be remembered that the nervous system is far more susceptible to the effects of alcohol in a warm than in a cooler climate. It is said that in Southern Europe there are very few water drinkei's, but that, on the other hand, there are very few who indulge in strong drink. The system does not feel to want the strong alcohol, so to speak, A weaker wine in a warm climate produces the same feeling of exhilaration that one of greater alcoholic strength does in colder countries. We shall not go far wrong in Australia if we stick to our own natural wines. As it will be found in the chapter on Australian wine, the every-day wine for Australian use is a wine of low alcoholic strength ; a wine of which a tumblerful may be taken with benefit ; a wine, indeed, which is beneficial, cheering, hygienic, restorative, and wholesome.
By reason of his semi-tropical climate the Australian is bathed in an atmosphere of sunshine. This has a distinct effect upon the blood, for the action of sunlight upon this fluid is to redden it — a fact which has
PREFACE XV
for ages been dwelt upon by the poets. But for a scientific explanation of this effect of sunlight in reddening the blood we must turn to the spectrum analysis. The visible solar spectrum as shown through a prism by the ordinary sunbeam is made up of the seven different colours, namely, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Instead of consisting simply of white light as a whole, it is now universally accepted that in this spectrum different properties belong to different parts. Light or luminous power to one portion ; heat or calorific power to another ; and chemical power or actinism to a third.
The visible solar or Newtonian luminous spectrum, resulting from the decomposition of white light by a prism, is only the middle portion of the whole solar spectrum. Beyond the red end there are rays possessing still greater heating effect ; and beyond the violet extremity there are rays endowed with far more powerful chemical action. The violet, and especially these latter ultra-violet rays, redden the life stream by increasing the haemoglobin — that crystallizable body which forms so large a portion of the coloured corpuscles of the blood.