THE APPLE 



" Some people give perry and call it champagne, 



Not so gives of Petworth the rector; 

 'Tis cider he tells us his vessels contain, 

 But on tasting it proves to be Nectar." 



Snobbery, which has abolished "supper" and many 

 another good thing, is responsible for a good deal of 

 the neglect which has fallen on cider, but carelessness 

 and ignorance in its extraction and preparation are also 

 responsible for much. There are times and seasons for 

 gathering the fruits, and there is " a true and right 

 method of Grinding, Pressing, or Extracting their Juices, 

 and fermenting, preparing and preserving the same when 

 extracted," and these times and this method are very 

 different from the times selected and methods adopted 

 by the bulk of small cider makers to-day. It is largely 

 owing to the thin, sour, musty, bodiless liquid which 

 so often goes by the name of cider, that, even in the 

 agricultural districts of the best cider counties, its use 

 as. a popular beverage has almost atrophied. Not for 

 terrible stuff with such vinegar aspect would I plead, 

 but for that pale amber liquid, limpid, bright, and pos- 

 sessed of the most wonderful fragrance and flavour, 

 "as if the fruit had been packed in flowers and spices," 

 which alone deserves the name of cider. Good cider 

 should be tart and smart, yet neither sour nor harsh; 

 and fruity and smooth, yet not sweet or sickly. If he 

 but exercise care and common sense, anyone may, with 

 little trouble, manufacture such excellent wine for 

 cider is as much a wine as are the wines of Bordeaux or 

 the Rhine. At present most of the best cider is made 

 by commercial firms such as Messrs Bulmer, of Hereford, 

 Mr Radcliffe Cooke, of Hellens, and a few others, to 

 whom Englishmen owe much for their efforts to restore 

 character to one of England's greatest achievements. 



Strolling one day along one of the many shady 

 lanes in that most beautiful of all the beautiful districts 



