CIDER MAKING IN HEREFORDSHIRE. 59 



well Stirred several times during 12 hours. The liquor is then 

 passed through bags made specially for the purpose. A shooter 

 (as it is commonly called) is placed under the bags to catch the 

 thick liquor which first comes through them ; but as soon as the 

 liquor drops bright (sherry bright) the shooter is removed and the 

 clear liquor is allowed to run into the vat below. The thick liquor 

 from the shooter being pressed again through the bags. The liquor 

 is then racked into a well-prepared hogshead and bunged down, 

 loosely at first, but then tightly. Here it remains until it is wanted 

 in the spring for bottling or draught purposes." 



Mr. Joseph Davies, Venn's Green, Marden, Hereford. — " Great 

 care and attention is required in the selection of the best fruits, 

 and a great deal of practical experience in blending the different 

 varieties. In my opinion a mixture of fruit makes the best and 

 richest Cider for keeping in bottle. The different varieties should 

 be kept separate in heaps, and be allowed to ripen well, before 

 being used. They should be well ground until the kernels are 

 broken, and without the addition of any water. The pulp should 

 be pressed through hairs, or cloths, and the juice put into casks. 

 When it has worked up well through the bunghole, which will take 

 from 5 to 10 days, the clear liquor should be racked into a fresh well 

 cleaned cask, and the sediment bagged again and its clear liquor 

 replaced. The casks should now be kept cool, at a temperature 

 from 40° to 50°, and left for about a week. Then the same process 

 of racking should be repeated into a fresh cask, and 2 oz. of the 

 best staple or 4 oz. of common isinglass (previously dissolved 

 gradually in some of the cold liquor) should be added. If it should 

 be necessary, from continued fermentation, in 10 or 12 days the 

 liquor must be racked again, and isinglass used as before, once or 

 even twice more, if required. Great care should be taken in 

 racking, and if there is any sediment it should be run through a 

 hair or cloth placed in the tunpail. Bung down tightly and it will 

 be ready for use the following April. The best Cider is made 

 from November to Christmas." 



Mr. William Hill, Lower Eggleton, Ledbury. — "The greatest 

 secret in making good Cider is to select the best Apples. They 

 should be gathered every fortnight and placed in separate heaps for 

 two or three weeks, so that each gathering may become mellow at 

 the same time. I use the third picking of well ripened Apples for 

 my bottling Cider, and take care to reject any unkind, unripe or 

 rotten fruit, which are all apt to cause bad fermentation. The Apples 

 should be ground well with the stone rollers of the new mill which 

 can be set close enough to crush the kernels. The pulp is then 

 placed in tubs and allowed to stand until the next day. It is then 

 put into hair cloths for pressing, and the clear liquor put into the 

 hogshead at once. In about a week it will have thrown up a crust 



