Book II. CIDER UTENSILS. 607 



The bed of the mill is formed, and the trough partly hollowed, at the quarry ; leaving a" few inches at the 

 edge of each stone uncut out, as a bond to prevent its breaking in carriage. Much depends on the quality 

 of the stone. It ought not to be calcareous, in whole or in part, as the acid of the liquor would corrode it. 

 Some of the Herefordshire stones have calcareous pebbles in them, which being of course dissolved, leave 

 holes in the stone. Nor should it be such as will communicate a disagreeable tinge to the liquor. A clean- 

 grained grindstone grit is the fittest for this purpose. 



Mil., The runner, as has been seen(^>.463.), is moved by means of an axle passing through the centre, with 

 a long arm, reaching without the bed of the mill,lfor a horse to draw by ; and with a short one passing to an 

 upright swivel, turning upon a pivot, in the centre of the stone, and steadied at the top, by entering a 

 bearing of the floor above. An iron bolt, with a large head, passes through an eye in the lower part of the 

 swivel, into the end of the inner arm of the axis. Thus the requisite double motion is obtained, and the 

 stone kept perfectly upright (which it ought to be) with great simplicity, and without stress to any part of 

 the machine. This is the ordinary method of hanging the runner. There is a more complex way of doing 

 it, but Marshal says, he sees no advantage arising from it. There are some mills, it seems, with two runners, 

 one opposite the other. On the inner arm of the axis, about a foot from the runner, is fixed (or ought to 

 be, though it is frequently wanting) a cogged wheel working in a circle of cogs, fixed upon the bed of 

 the mill. 



3828. The diameter of the wheel is determined by the height of the axis above the bed of the mill. The 

 diameter of the ring of cogs, by the distance of the wheel from the centre of motion. The use of these 

 wheels is to prevent the runner from sliding, to which it is liable when the mill is full ; the matter, when 

 nearly ground, rising up in a body before the stone. Besides, by assisting the rotatory motion of the stone, 

 it renders the work more easy to the horse. These wheels require to be made with great exactness : and 

 in a country where carpenters are unaccustomed to them, a milUwright should be employed in fixing 

 them. The situation of the mill is such as to leave a horse-path, about three feet wide, between the bed 

 and the walls'; so that a moderately sized mill, with its fiorse-path, takes up a space of fourteen or fifteen 

 feet every way. 



S829. A cider mill in use in the south of France {Jig. 464.), is worked on a circular 

 platform of boards, and instead of stone the wheel or conical roller {a) is of cast-iron. 

 The fruit is spread thinly over the platform, 

 and the roller moved round by one man or 

 a woman. From the rollers covering more 

 breadth than the narrow bark wheels in use in 

 England, more fruit is crushed in a short time 

 by this sort of mill, than would at first sight 

 be supposed. 



3830. An eligible description of mill, where 

 cider is only made for private use, consists of 

 a pair of fluted rollers working into each 

 other. These rollers are of cast-iron, hollow, 

 about nine inches diameter, with flutes or teeth, about an inch wide, and nearly as much 

 deep. In general they are worked by hand, two men working against each other. 

 Between these the fruit passes twice ; the rollers being first set wide, to break it into 

 fragments, and afterwards closer to reduce the fragments, and the seeds ; the bruising of 

 the latter, being of essential use in making high-flavored cider. 



3831. The cider press is made on the principle of the common packing press, and 

 therefore requires no particular description. On a small scale the cheese-press will 

 answer every purpose. 



3832. Cider cloths are used for containing the pommage in order to its being pressed. They are usually 

 made of common hair-cloth ; but such as is rather close in its texture is the best. The size is generally 

 about four feet square ; and they hold about two or three bushels, or as much as the mill can grind at once : 

 and these are heaped over each other till the press is full. The larger presses will hold from eight to fifteen 

 bags, which yield from one to two hundred gallons of liquor, according to the largeness of what is termed 

 the cheese. To perform the work neatly, it is necessary to have two sets of these bags ; for they clog and 

 fur in pressing, and consequently become unfit for use till they have been washed and dried ; so that, 

 while this is doing, either the press must stand still, or another set be ready to employ it. But some, 

 instead of hair bags, lay long straw under the pommage, the ends of which they turn up over it ; then 

 cover the pommage entirely with fresh clean straw, upon which they spread another layer of pommage : 

 and so on, alternately, till the press is full. Either of the methods will do ; but those who are desirous of 

 doing the work in the neatest and best manner, generally use bags. 



3833. The cider-vat is a vessel made for the purpose of receiving the pommage, or 

 the cider before it is racked off into the cask. Vessels of this kind should be made of 

 wood, as where lead is employed, it is liable to be corroded by the malic acid. 



3834. Cider casks are the vessels employed for the keeping of the liquor. The choice of proper vessels 

 to keep the cider in after it has fermented is very material, no liquor being so apt as this to take the taste 

 or twang of the cask. New vessels, though the wood be ever so well seasoned, are apt to give a disagree- 

 able relish to all liquors, and remarkably so to cider, unless due caution be used beforehand. Frequent 

 scalding with hot water, into which some handsfull of salt have been first thrown, or with water in which 

 some of the pommage has been boiled, and-washing afterwards with cider, are the usual remedies against 

 this evil, and seldom fail of removing it effectually. Of old casks, beer-vessels are the worst, as they 

 always spoil cider; and, in return, cider-casks infallibly spoil beer. Wine and brandy casks do very well, 

 provided the tartar adhering to their sides be carefully scraped off, and they are well scalded. 



