122 



THE farmers' CAEIXET. 



VOL. 'I 



for saving oats, and the plan being a new 

 one to me, I hope you will accept of this as 

 an apology for troubling you with this long 

 letter. — lb. 



Citlcr. 



[Isaac Mulford, of Cumberland county, 

 in a letter to the publisher of the Cabinet, 

 says : " This, with us, is a season of an 

 uncommon quantity of good fruit, especially 

 apples." He requests us to communicate to 

 the public the best method of preserving 

 apples through the winter, and also of re- 

 Jining cider. The following articles, the 

 first a receipt furnished by a practical farmer, 

 the second, extracted from one of our city 

 journals, will afford some information on the 

 subject.] 



For the Farniprs' Cabinet. 



Receipt for Refining Cider, 



BY ANDREW C. RIDGEWAY. 



One pound of Russia Isinglass to four hogs- 

 heads of cider, dissolved in the following 

 manner. Put the isinglass into a barrel, and 

 add to it one gallon of old hard cider ; stir it 

 frequently during the day ; the next day add 

 more cider and stir it as before, and so con- 

 tinue until the isinglass is dissolved, and the 

 mixture becomes about as thick as West In- 

 dia molasses. Then strain it through a fine 

 hair sieve, and it is fit for use. The cider 

 should be made of sound apples, put into 

 clean casks, and stand until it ferments, and 

 the pomace rises on the top ; then rack it off 

 into other casks, and put in one half of the 

 above mixture when the casks are about half 

 full, and stir it well with a stick at the bung ; 

 then fill up the cask and let it stand from 

 six to ten days with the bung out, when it is 

 to be racked off again, (great care being ta- 

 ken to leave all the sediment behind,) and 

 the remainder of the refining mixture is then 

 to be added as before. After standing awhile 

 it is fit for bottling. -XT^The greatest care 

 is to be observed in the whole process. 



The editor of the Saturday Courier fur 

 Tiishes the following in answer to a similar 

 proposition from a correspondent. He says, 

 " our city refiners are generally very tenacious 

 of any particular advantage they may possess 

 in the way of improving and preserving 

 liquors, and place so high an estimate on the 

 value of their particular ' art and mystery,' 

 that the first cider monger, to whom we made 

 application, actually had the modesty to ask 

 us five hundred dollars for such information 

 as we asked for. [It was the same generous 

 individual, we presume, who asked us only 

 two thousand dollars for the receipt!] Our 

 friend Kerrison, however, whose bottling es-i 

 jtablishment at the Exchange has long been] 



celebrated for cider of peculiar soundness 

 and exquisite flavor, has in a spirit of liber- 

 ality, for which our country friends will no 

 doubt feel greatly indebted to him, furnished 

 us with the following receipt, in reply to our 

 correspondent. 



In addition, we take the liberty of adding 

 a few suggestions which may be of service. 

 An experienced writer insists that the apples 

 should always be picked by hand, and thoe 

 that are unsound should be thrown out, as 

 well as those that have lain so long on the 

 ground as to acquire an earthy taste, which 

 is otherwise invariably imputed to the cider. 

 The bruised and inferior apples should be 

 placed in a heap by themselves for making 

 an inferior cider for vinegar. In pressing the 

 pummice, hair-cloth should be used instead 

 of straw, as the straw, when heated, gives a 

 disagreeable taste to the cider, and in running 

 from the press, the cider should pass through 

 a hair sieve. 



KerrisonN Receipt for Cider. 



The following rules for preserving cider, 

 will apply to good cider only, for you cannot 

 preserve bad cider. Let it be made of good 

 sound winter apples, in cool weather, in the 

 month of November or December, and let no 

 water he mixed with it. Put it into clean 

 hogsheads, (whiskey hogsheads lately emp- 

 tied are best,) and keep ii in a place inva- 

 riably cool. Fermentation carries off the 

 strength of the cider; therefore prevent it 

 from fermenting as much as possible. When 

 it exhibits a violent degree of fermentation, 

 put in a half gallon of fourth proof rectified 

 apple whiskey; if this does not stop it, pu'- 

 in another half gallon; the same quantity 

 of pure French brandy will answer where 

 it can be had. As soon as the fermentatbn 

 has subsided and the crude particles settled 

 down, rack it off into a clean hogsheat. — 

 After this, the cider will undergo a p?rtial 

 fermentation ; when it is observed to fernent, 

 and after it has subsided, rack it off agiin as 

 before. If the crude particles are aLowed 

 to remain in the hogshead, they will wo:k 

 up among the cider during every fermeaa- 

 tion, and injure it. When it is being racled 

 off, it should be allowed to run with free 

 into a large tub, and pumped from thftub 

 into the hogshead ; this serves to brea' the 

 cider, and is highly beneficial during ih first 

 and second racking. Every time it is r«ked, 

 it must be bunged up tight, and ihe hoishead 

 kept full ; but during the fermentati>n, the 

 bung should be left out. There ar other 

 methods of refining and preservin; cider, 

 which are shorter and more certain, but can- 

 not be pursued by farmers with a<vantage. 

 Tiie above method will be found o answer 

 all domestic purposes." 



