lo June, 1909.] Cider Making. 349 



Apples Suitable. 



All apples are not equal in quality for cider making purposes; to say 

 that cider cannot be made from all, may not be strictly correct, but it is 

 to a large extent. What is required to make a good drinkable and keeping 

 cider, is an apple containing various constituents, such as sugar, acids, &c., 

 in such quantities that when fermentation is completed, the cider will not 

 only be a good palatable article, but have natural keeping qualities as 

 well. 



The tendency in Great Britain and elsewhere is, however, to produce 

 a cider which can be regarded as a semi-temperance drink, having a low 

 percentage of alcohol, even below that of any of the cordials now recog- 

 nised by temperance advocates, but this requires special treatment and ap- 

 pliances. No doubt it is a step in the right direction, and the object of 

 producers should be to cater for the public taste. 



Cider drinkers, as a rule, are wedded to hard or dry cider, which is 

 altogether too tart and harsh for those unaccustomed to it. 



Testing Apples Before Use. 



[n order to avoid disappointment and loss, it would be well to care- 

 fully test the juice of all fruits before entering upon cider making. The 

 method is simple and may be practised by any one with ordinary intelli- 

 gence. 



Secure a few (two or three) apples, a fair sample of those to be 

 treated. Crush them in some small vessel or grate with a bread grater 

 made of ordinary tin ; place the pulp in a clean, strong, open cloth, and 

 press out the juice into some dry vessel, which should ibe narrow and deep. 

 In the absence of a test glass, an ordinary lamp glass with the bottom end 

 stopped up with a cork, so as to avoid leakage, answers well. In this, 

 place a cider maker's saccharometer which will register the amount of solids 

 which the juice contains. The solids are regarded as sugar with a small 

 percentage of about i per cent, of other matter, and it is from this that 

 the strength of the cider is made. The greater the percentage of sugar, 

 the greater will be the percentage of alcohol. 



The list previously given shows how this generallv runs. In taking this 

 registration, care should be exercised to see that the temperature is about 

 normal. Instruments of this class are generally made to register at a 

 temperature of 60 degrees. It is important that all the tests should be 

 made as near that point as possible, or the readings will not be correct. 



Saccharometers. 



There are many of these instruments on the market, and they are made 

 for different purposes, and the scale of each varies. It is ad^'isable 

 u hen going into cider making that a proper cider maker's saccharometer 

 should be procured. The one recommended is " Lumley's," which gives 

 the specific gravity, also a scale .showing the amount of alcohol that it is 

 possible to get from that, and at the same time classify the cider from 

 its alcoholic strength. The instruments are inexpensive, and should be in 

 the hands of every one dealing with apples, as it is of the utmost impor- 

 tance to know what is the strength of the juice before being dealt with. 



So far this deals with the test of solids or sugar only, with a view of 

 ascertaining the possiible strength of alcohol, but there remains another test 

 which is equally important in choosing apples for blending, and that is 

 as to the right proportions of acid to give flavour and bouquet. Apples 



