6o CIDER MAKING IN HEREFORDSHIRE. 



to the top, and when this begins to dry on the surface, the clear 

 Hquor should be racked into a fresh cask. When this is quite bright, 

 which it generally is by February, fill the cask full, place a piece ot 

 brown paper, with a brick on it, on the bunghole for a few days, 

 before bunging it up tightly for good." 



Mr. John IVaikiiis, Pomona Far/n, WitJmigton, Hereford.^ 

 " The best Apples should be selected, and every variety kept separate 

 as far as possible when gathered. They should be placed in heaps 

 from 12 to 1 8 inches thick on gently sloping grounds, that any rain 

 may drain away at once. They would be better protected from rain 

 where circumstances admit of it, which is seldom the case in large 

 orchards. Each variety should be ground separately when quite 

 •mellow, rejecting all rotten fruit. It is easier to mix the juices of 

 the several varieties after grinding, so as to determine the right 

 proportions of each in blending them to obtain the highest character 

 and flavour in the Cider. The pulp should be allowed to lie from 

 12 to 24 hours before being pressed. After being pressed the 

 juice should be put into casks and allowed to remain until the 

 the first fermentation has taken place. The clear hquor should 

 then be carefully racked, and the sediment passed through bags of 

 forfar until quite fine, when it is added to the rest. If secondary 

 fermentation sets in, the liquor must again be racked ; and if 

 necessary the same process repeated until it has become quite fine 

 and quiet. If it should not then be perfectly bright and clear, a 

 little dissolved isinglass should be added; but the Cider that fines 

 itself without artificial aid is best. It is then tightly bunged and 

 kept in a cool cellar until required for use. 



Cider of the best quality, or for bottling purposes, should 

 always be made without the addition of any water. The cake 

 taken from the cloths after the first pressure, is however allowed to 

 soak, with a little water added, in a vat for 24 hours, and then 

 passed through another mill, pressed again and fermented. It 

 then makes a mild and pleasant Cider for immediate use, or for 

 sale at a cheap rate. 



Cider is not injured by being frozen. One of the best casks I 

 ever made was frozen for several weeks before it could be racked. 

 The second prize at the Royal Agricultural Society's Exhibition, 

 at Kilburn, in 1879, was afterwards awarded to it. 



The great secrets for making good Cider are to obtain good 

 fruit ; use it when quite ripe and sound ; leave the crushed pulp 

 exposed to the air for some time before pressing it; watch the 

 fermentation throughout carefully ; avoid all possible contact with 

 metal, whether iron, which is most common, or lead, which is by 

 far the most dangerous ; and to use the most scrupulous cleanhness 

 from beginning to end." 



