20 MAY 1865, Page 20

Wines and Other Fermented Liquors. By James Richmond Sheen. (Robert

Hardwick° )--A. very pleasant little book, but not free from the vice of book-making. The historical account of the wines of the ancients, the early history of the vine, and the chapter on authors who have written on wino, savour strongly of the encyclopedia. It is very strange that so many people imagine that if they write on any subject they must say something on every aspect of it—even those of which they know nothing and about which they can therefore only repeat what has been better said a dozen times before. Mr. Sheen is also rather addicted to fine writing—calling wine, for instance, "vinous liquor." But on the practical part of his subject, especially cellars, and bins, and decanting, he gives excellent advice. His review of the wines of the various wino-growing countries is also good, but we wish he could have given us more information respecting the Hungarian and American wines, of which report speaks highly. He, however, seems to hope leas from Hungary than from Austria proper.