FRUITS. 255 



ties excepted ; and as this estimate is based on their least 

 valuable use, an increased profit may be anticipated from 

 their conversion to other purposes. Good apples are rarely 

 worth less than twenty-five cents a bushel ; often three or 

 four times that amount. The presence of swine among any 

 kind of fruit trees, greatly conduces to their thrift. Besides 

 the support of the swine derived from the fruit, their con- 

 sumption of windfalls secures the destruction of such insects 

 as are injurious to the trees or fruit, and the manure they 

 drop, together with the loosening of the earth, resulting 

 from constant rooting and the tread of their sharp hoofs, is 

 of esential advantage to the growth and healthfulness of 

 the trees. Sheep, turkeys, ducks and chickens answer the 

 same purpose in a considerable degree, when suffered to fre- 

 quent the orchards in sufficient numbers. 



Making cider. Good fruit is indispensable to the making 

 of good cider. The suitable time for grinding is in October 

 and November, and apples designed to be thus appropriated 

 should ripen in these months. Such as are slightly acid are 

 preferable for this purpose. As far as practicable, the fruit 

 should be of one kind, fully ripe, but sound and undecayed. 

 The mill must be thoroughly cleansed with hot water, and 

 capable of grinding the pomace fine. This should lie in the 

 vat at least forty-eight hours after grinding, and be turned 

 once or twice before its removal into / the cheese. Pomace 

 so exposed, absorbs large quantities of oxygen, thus under- 

 going a necessary preparation for its conversion into good 

 cider. All fruits are subject to this change, to a certain 

 extent, just before ripening. When their juices are express- 

 ed or the pulp broken and exposed to the air, this effect is 

 increased, and constitutes the saccharine fermentation. In 

 both cases, the result is-to increase the palatable and nutri- 

 tive properties of the fruit, by converting their starch, gum 

 and other vegetable matters into sugar. 



When the pomace has been sufficiently pressed, it may be 

 fed to cattle, sheep or swine, and the liquor put into barrels 

 under cover, and allowed to remain till the pulp or fecu- 

 lant matter has been thrown out at the bung ; and to aid its 

 removal the barrel should be kept full. The second fermen- 

 tation is the vinous, and by it a portion of alcohol is 

 developed. This fermentation is slowly continued afterwards 

 in the enclosed cask, until it reaches from six to nine per 

 cent. When fermentation apparently subsides, take a clean 

 cask, in which a small quantity of sulphur ha? been burned, 



