SOCIETY OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS. 257 



is that it changes to some extent the flavor of the cider, and when 

 opened for use it undergoes the ordinary process of fermentation, 

 precisely as will canned fruit when exposed to the air. 



The other methods of preserving cider are to make it as late in 

 the season as possible, and then to destroy these fermenting spores, 

 or hold them in a dormant condition by the addition of some anti- 

 septic, of which there are many advertised in the cider journals. 

 All of them, or nearly so, have as their active ingredient, either sul- 

 phur or salicylic acid, the latter being the most used. One ounce of 

 the acid to thirty-two gallons of cider being the rule. 



CIDER VINEGAR. 



The business of making vinegar was at one time very profitable 

 to the horticulturist, but the law of Congress enacted in 1879 has 

 completely, or nearly so, rendered the business unprofitable, and all 

 the prominent cider-makers have ceased its manufacture altogether. 

 The law referred to removed the tax from alcohol made for the pur- 

 pose of vinegar manufacture, and this has so cheapened the price of 

 vinegar that that made from apples — which on account of its nature 

 cannot be made so cheaply — is driven off the market. 



However, every farmer, at least, should make his own vinegar, 

 and the cider-maker can, I believe (at least, I have done so), make 

 his early fruit into vinegar at a profit. 



I have been through the whole experience of the testing of 

 methods for the making of vinegar, and the mere mention of the 

 processes which have been tried and found wanting, will touch a 

 tender spot in the memory of every vinegar-maker present. I Avill 

 mention among others the racking-off process, wherein the operator 

 drew oft" a gallon from each barrel and transferred it to its neighbor 

 as often as once each day; the Beach-shaving process with its mouldy 

 shavings and inoperative supply tub; the groved-shelf process, with 

 its slimy " mother " and numerous gnats; the open generators, where 

 cider fell three feet through a closed, heated-air space, etc., etc. 



All have proved a source of vexation and disappointment, and 

 one after another was laid aside as useless or inexpedient. I have gone 

 back to the slow process of barrel manufacture, but have been able 

 to decrease the length of time over the old process in a very simple 

 manner. After the cider that is intended for vinegar is niade and 

 barreled, the barrels are elevated into an upper story, and on the ap- 

 proach of winter one-third of the contents of each barrel is removed 

 and placed in other casks, leaving the barrels two-thirds full. Then 

 I leave the barrels and their contents in this upper story and allow 

 the frost to do its work. The barrels will not burst, as they are not 

 full and there is room for expansion. In the spring, when thawed out, 

 the barrels are rolled over in order that the contents may again ])e 

 intermingled, and then allowed to stand. By May or .June, almost 

 every barrel so treated is excellent vinegar, while if they had been 



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