OF FRUIT TREES. 143 



its great acidity, to rise too high in fermentation, 

 than that of any apple known here. Were there 

 no other advantages, this simple one would render 

 it exceedingly valuable to the common farmer, who 

 will be hardly brought to pay attention to the nice 

 operation of fermenting the sweeter fruits ; but it 

 has almost every other good property of a cider apple. 

 The trees bear abundantly, the fruit ripens late, and 

 is free from rot of any kind ; the fruit is small and 

 hard, and therefore bears the fall from the tree 

 \yithout bruising. It grinds small, and the pulp is 

 remarkably tough, yet parts with its juice readily ; 

 hence the must runs from the press very fine. It 

 would be going beyond my present object, to say 

 much more of this apple ; yet I cannot forbear ob- 

 serving, that being acid, it will bear to stand in the 

 pumice longer than any sweeter apple. This fact 

 deserves more attention than is commonly given to 

 it; and if the time and occasion would admit, I should 

 indulge myself in speaking largely on it.' 



" As the inquiry is how to make the best cider, 

 there need not any thing be said of imperfect fruit, 

 or that which falls from the tree early in the sea- 

 son, as they cannot be applied to this purpose ; the 

 September gale beating down such great quantities 

 of apples, tempts the farmer to use them with those 

 that continued longer on the tree. But where this 

 gale happens early, the effects are fatal to the ci- 

 der : for, if they are made up immediately, the fer- 

 mentation rises too high, in consequence of the too 

 great degree of heat in the air; and this evil is in- 

 creased by the imperfect and great quantity of juice 

 contained' in the fruit; if they remain unground. 

 they become insipid, especially those which lay on 

 the ground under the trees ; and if gathered ia 

 heaps, they are disposed to rot. To make the best 

 cider, you must have sound fruit, gathered late in 

 the season, in dry weather, after the middle of Oc- 

 tober, if possible. They should lay in large heaps. 





