HOW TO GROW GOOD ORCHARDS. 347 



Most of the travelling portable machines in Herefordshire have 

 two presses with each mill, and are worked by two horses, making 

 1,0U0 to 1,500 gallons in a day; sometimes they are worked by a 

 small portable steam-engine. They ai'e very expeditious, and do 

 very well for a second-class cider, but if you would have the best, 

 they are very objectionable, because the different sorts of fruit very 

 rarely get ripe at once in sufficient quantities to enable you to make 

 much at a time. Much cider is therefore spoiled, the fruit being 

 ground when too green, by those who are impatient to finish the 

 process. I think that each farm or holding should have a mill of its 

 own, even if it be only a small hand-mill. 



There are several other rude plans of grinding, such as nut-mills, 

 graters, scratchers, &c, but they are so objectionable that they 

 hardly deserve notice. 



All metallic substances should be kept from contact with the pulp, 

 as chemical combinations immediately take place on contact ; for 

 instance, if you take a clean knife and cut an apple thi'ough, the 

 knife quickly becomes black, as well as the apple. For this reason 

 I think the iron teeth and cast-iron in the rollers are objectionable ; 

 as also the steel ones, although perhaps not to the same extent. I 

 should recommend that this iron be removed, and fluted rollers of 

 larger diameter be made of some hard wood, such as yew-tree, or 

 American iron-wood. No doubt more power would then be required 

 to work the mills, but this would be of little consequence if the 

 produce was first-class cider. 



When this new mode of grinding was first tried, there was great 

 complaint amongst the labourers that the cider did not agree with 

 them, and this was generally attributed to the iron ; but in my 

 opinion, the green state of the fruit when ground made the juice 

 harsh, and caused irritation in the system. — Journal R. A. S., vol. 

 xxv. page 1. 



The next point for consideration is the pressing 

 out of the juice. This has been done with screw- 

 presses of various kinds, either wood or iron, with 

 single or double screws. 



Hydraulic presses are now coming into fashion, and 

 one advantage which they possess is, that of easily 



