* ORCHARDS. 215 



any farther fermentation, put in about a gill of finely pow- 

 dered charcoal to every barrel. 



If, upon examination, a scum collects on the surface, and 

 the fermentation seems inclined to proceed further, it must 

 be immediately racked again. The vent spile may now be 

 driven in tight; but examined occasionally. About the 1st 

 of March a final racking should take place, and the dissolved 

 isinglass, as has already been recommended, should be put in 

 each cask, which will render it perfectly clear. It may be 

 bottled now, or any time before the blossoming of the apple, 

 or afterwards, even late in May. 



When bottling,' fill the bottles within an inch of the bottom 

 of the cork, and allow^ the bottles to stand an hour before the 

 corks are driven in. They should then be sealed, and kept 

 in a cool, dry cellar, with clean, dry sand up to their necks, 

 or laid on their sides in boxes with sand between each layer. 



A friend directs the cider to be bottled in July; to fill the 

 bottles within two inches of the top, letting them stand twelve 

 hours open before corking. Use strong porter bottles, and 

 the best velvet corks. The bottling should always be done 

 in clear weather. 



Cider is a cooling, pleasant, and wholesome liquor during 

 the heat of Summer, and at any time, if it has been prepared 

 without foreign ingredients, and properly fermented. On the 

 contrary, when it is too new, or tart, or has, perhaps, been 

 kept in leaden vessels, it cannot be recommended as a salu- 

 brious beverage; because that poisonous metal is easily dis- 

 solved by acid. Good cider is the wine of America.* 



The domestic manufacture of cider is worse managed than 

 any in our country ; perhaps the better way to correct errors 

 is to point out some of the principal ones, and then to recom- 

 mend better plans — and we are continuing this subject with 

 these objects in view. 



Apples are commonly collected when wet^ and thrown in 

 a heap, exposed to the sun and rain, until a sourness pervades 



*Dr. H. Teter, an eminent physician, of Ohio, remarks: " Cider made of ripe apples, 

 properly fermented, and racked or purified, is of all fermented liquors the most inno- 

 cent and the best." But too little pains is taken with cider. It may be made, by care 

 and proper management, as fine flavored and as clear as wine. 



