85 THE FARMER AT HOME. 



churns. A great variety of churns are in use ; but, in general, their 

 formation evinces more ingenuity than practical knowledge. Perhaps 

 the horizontal churns, and also the upright ones, operated with a crank 

 by hand, are an exception to this remark ; and, where there is a large 

 number of cows, whether the entire milk or the cream only is to be 

 churned, what is called the dog-power applied to the churn, is an 

 important saving of manual labor. And there has recently been in- 

 vented, by F. G. Simpson, of New Jersey, a churn to be operated by 

 machinery with a weight applied, similar to the running of a clock. 

 Nothing is required but to put the milk or cream into the churn, arid 

 then wind up the machinery, when the moderate and uniform agita- 

 tion of the liquid is begun and continued till butter is produced, with- 

 out the aid of any other power. Thus far this invention works well ; 

 and if no difficulty hereafter arises in its use, it will be generally 

 adopted wherever the labor heretofore required in churning has been 

 found a great burden. 



DOG-POWER CHURN. 



CIDER. This is the expressed and fermented juice of apples. 

 To produce good cider, it is necessary that the fruit should be ripe, 

 that it should be sound, that it should be all of one kind, and that 

 there should be a perfect grinding of the apples. If the apples are 

 not ripe, the saccharine matter necessary to make a good fermented 

 liquor is not developed ; rotten apples impart an unpleasant flavor to 

 the liquor ; and different kinds of apples afford a liquor that will not 

 ferment equally or perfectly. When the liquor is pressed from the 

 pomace, it should be put in sweet, clean barrels, allowed to ferment, 

 arid filled up occasionally, that all the feculent matter may escape. 

 It may be fined by isinglass, or drawn off for bottling. Where mak- 

 ing good cider is an object with the farmer, it is usually racked off 

 after the fermentation is closed, and time allowed for all sediments to 



