THE FARMER'S MANUAL. y? 



clean sand, after the manner of a leach, and place a 

 large strainer, or sheet, or table-cloth over the hogs- 

 head, to strain out the pumice,) where it remains 

 about two days, according to the state of the weather, 

 and the nature of the apple, (the longest when frosty, 

 or cool weather,) till a thick head, or scum, rises upon 

 it. Then I draw off a little into a glass to see if it 

 is fine, and as soon as I catch it so, I rack it off with- 

 out delay into open vats, or into hogsheads. If the 

 juice is racked into vessels larger at top, than the bot- 

 tom, and I rack it off as soon as fine, 1 need not take 

 off the head, or scum, it will not mix with the cider; 

 but if -the cask is straight, or I have neglected to draw 

 off until the cider begins to become foul again, I find 

 I do best to take off the head with a wooden skim- 

 mer, and then draw off as soon as possible. When- 

 ever the brown head begins to open in the middle, or 

 elsewhere, and a whiteness appears at the openings, 

 1 am certain it is time to begin to draw off; but I 

 find from experience, that the- surest token is to ob- 

 serve its state by what is drawn off in a glass, and 

 this method should be closely attended to. I have 

 drawn a glass of cider out of a vat at 8 o'clock, foul ; 

 another at 10, fine, almost candle bright, without any 

 appearance of the heads opening, as above observ- 

 ed : at 11, it was growing foul fast, without high 

 winds, or any extraordinary event that [ could per- 

 ceive, to occasion it. If then drawn oft' into open 

 vessels, a fresh head may arise in 24 hours, then it 

 may be racked into a close hogshead, or other receiv- 

 er, where it will begin to ferment after a day or two, 

 according to circumstances ; I then permit it to fer- 

 ment 3 or 4 days, (never exceeding a week, for the 

 hardest fruit,) then I fumigate a clean sweet hogs- 

 head, with matches of coarse cloth, dipped in mehed 

 brimstone, and rack off my cider into the cask as 

 quick as possible. If the fermentation still goes on, 

 I give it one more racking in this way, and cover the 

 bung with a tile, until I am sure the fermentation has 



