930 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



Laws (Federal, State, and Territorial) relating to contagious and infectious 

 diseases of animals ( I'. S. Ihpl. Agr., Bureau of Aninuil Industry Bui. 54, pp. 46). — 

 Thi8 })nlletin is of the nature t)f a contin nation of Bulletin 43 of the Bureau of Animal 

 Industry, and contains copies of Federal, State, and Territorial laws relating to con- 

 tagious and infectious diseases of animals enacted during the years 1902 and 1903. 



TECHNOLOGY. 



Report on the results of investigations into cider making, F. J. Lloyd 

 {London: Bd. Agr. and Fixlierie.^i, 190S, pp. 14-i>, figs. 17). — A report is here given of 

 investigations made by the author under the auspices of the Bath and West and 

 Southern Counties Society of England for the 10 years ended 1902 on problems in 

 cider making in England. Some methods of detecting cider preservatives are given 

 and tables showing the composition of the juice of various apples from different local- 

 ities and in different years. The composition of apple juice has been found to vary 

 with the season, the locality from which it was obtained, the variety, size of the 

 apple, etc. 



The amount of juice in an apple apparently does not depend upon size, as some- 

 times small apples gave a large and at other times a small proportion of juice. Gen- 

 erally, however, the specific gravity of the juice appears to increase as the size of the 

 apple decreases. Tables of analyses are given, which show that dessert varieties of 

 apples contain, as a rule, far more acid than the cider varieties. It is believed that 

 this accounts for the difficulty experienced in making good cider from table fruit. 

 Practically no difference w-as found in the analyses of frosted apples and apples of the 

 same variety which had not been frosted. No reason could therefore be assigned. 

 why frosted apples are less suitable for cider making, as some believe, than unfrozen 

 apples. 



Apples for cider should be gathered by hand or shaken off on a cloth or large net 

 spread under the tree. In one experiment cider made from apples which had Ijeen 

 store<l on the ground had a strong earthy flavor. Decay sets in rapidly in apples 

 which are bruised. Analyses of the juice of apples which had been kept in a clean 

 place but allowed to rot, showed the following composition: Acid 0.18, sugar 12.19, 

 tannin 0.168, and solids 13.42 per cent. Juice from sound apples of the same varie- 

 ties contained 0.23 per cent acid, 12.5 per cent sugar, 0.54 per cent tannin, and 13.7 

 per cent solids. These figures indicated that in rotting two distinct changes take 

 place. The tannin is precipitated in large part and so does not enter the juice, and 

 the acid is slightly diminished. There is also a loss of sugar. The apples used in 

 this experiment were affected with " browai " rot. 



The juice from the rotten apples was of a much darker color than that from the 

 sound apples, and cleared much more rapidly when preserved in bottles. These 

 experiments are believed to clearly show that the effects produced Ijy allowing the 

 apples to fall and rot on the ground are detrimental to the manufacture of good cider. 

 This is especially true if the apples are exposed to rain. The author's experiments 

 show that apples for cider should be picked when they have attained maximum size, 

 but before they have commenced to ripen. They should then be stored in a dry, 

 well ventilated room. The best cider is made in cool weather, therefore cider 

 making should be delayed as long in the fall as possible. 



It is recommended that apples be washed when they are dirty. The specific 

 gravity of the juice of unwashed apples in one expei'iment was found to be 1.057, 

 and of washed apples 1.056, thus showing the loss of solid matter in the juice due to 

 washing to be scarcely perceptible. As regards fermentation, this proceeded more 

 regularly and only slightly less rapidly in the juice from the washed apples than in 

 that from the unwashed apples. The flavor of the cider made from the washed 

 apples was considered superior to that of the unwashed fruit. 



