AND WINE MAKING. 199 



kind of a cider press. One will press about a barrel at 

 a time, and twenty barrels can be worked off in a day. 



2nd. THE MILL. For mashing grapes, a simple pair 

 of wooden rollers, connected by cog wheels, and running 

 against each other, so arranged that they can be set by 

 screws to any desired distance apart, will do the work 

 better than anything else, and a boy of ten years can turn 

 them. The rollers are in a frame which can be set over 

 the vat ; a hopper on top to receive the grapes, completes 

 the arrangement. The rollers can be either plain or 

 grooved, as desired, and the whole will cost from $12 to $15. 

 Small quantities may be mashed with a wooden pestle in 

 a tub. The rollers should be so set as to break the skins 

 of the berries, but not to crush the seeds or stems. 



3d. FERMENTING VATS. These are best made of pop- 

 lar wood, and may be of any suitable size, with a capacity 

 of from 100 to 500 gallons. For a larger establishment 

 I would prefer them about 5 feet diameter by 5 feet high, 

 and somewhat narrower at the top than at bottom. They 

 should be well hooped and strong, maie of r/ 2 -inch lum- 

 ber, and worked smoothly inside, so that they can be 

 easily cleaned, with a spigot hole near the botton to draw 

 oif the must. Their probable cost is about five to six 

 cents per gallon. 



4th. CASKS. These are wanted, of course, of all di- 

 mensions. Large casks save room, and are proportionally 

 cheaper ; fermentation progresses rapidly in them, but it 

 takes longer for the wine to fine and clear after fermen- 

 tation is over, than in small casks. They should be of 

 good, well seasoned white oak wood ; if steamed before 

 using, so that the tannin is drawn out, so much the 

 better. Larger casks should also have a so-called "man- 

 hole," so that a man or boy can slip in and thoroughly 

 clean them when used. I do not advise larger casks than 

 500 gallons, as it takes too long to fill them, and they are, 



