CIDER. 57 



tnay be had not only earlier, but of the finest and lar- 

 gest kind. A little more labor is all the difference 

 between this and the common careless mode, but 

 the difference in the number and size and flavor of 

 the melons will be great, and will amply compensate 

 the cultivator. 



ON MAKING CIDER. 



When you wish to make your cider to put away 

 for Winter, you should cull your apples and have 

 them all sound and all of one kind. The trough that 

 you grind your apples in should be scrupulously 

 clean, and the cask which is to receive your cider 

 should be \vell scalded and then rinsed with cold wa- 

 ter. Have the straw clran through which your cider 

 runs. Strain the cider through straw, and then through 

 flannel. Then pour it into your hogshead or cask, 

 which should be put in the cellar. Put into each 

 hogshead about three pounds of lard or about five 

 pounds of fat pork, stop the bung, and clay it over 

 closely. Your cider manufactured in this manner, 

 will keep sweet until the next harvest. Never suffer 

 any water to be put in your cider, as it will render it 

 flat and stale. 



Inattentive farmers frequently collect their apples 

 when wet, and throw them in a pile, exposed to the 



