Cider and Cider- JMajiiifacture. 333 



much as the fermented juice of currants, raspberries, and other fruits, that 

 we dignify with this name. To be more particular, no good cider can be 

 made from unripe fruit. We should laugh at the man who should under- 

 take to make wine from green grapes. It is just as foolish to make cider 

 from green apples. Sugar is essential in all fermentation. As fruit ma- 

 tures, the starch is converted into sugar ; and only when mature is the fruit 

 fit for eating, or conversion into wine. Providence has made all unripe 

 fruit unpalatable, so that neither man nor beast should be tempted to eat 

 it in its green state. la unpropitious seasons, the vintager adds sugar to 

 the expressed juice of his grapes in order to supply the deficiency of sac- 

 charine matter and perfect the fermentation ; and few if any of the grapes 

 of New England contain enough sugar to make good wine without this 

 addition. Cane-sugar, however, never g.ives a flavor equal to that natu- 

 rally produced in the fruit. The nearer to perfect ripeness, therefore, we 

 can bring our apples, the better will be our cider. We have tried adding 

 sugar to the juice of apples, and find that it improves the quality of the 

 cider as much as it does wine. If sugar is added to the juice of any fruit, 

 it should be of the purest kind. It is a common mistake to suppose that 

 the flavor of Muscovado sugar will work off during the vinous fermenta- 

 tion : it is continued even into the acetous fermentation, and deteriorates 

 the quality of the vinegar. 



As a second rule, no rotten apples, ivor bitter leaves, nor stems, nor filth 

 of any kind, should be ground for cider. The wine-niaker who seeks a 

 reputation for a superior article looks well to the condition of his grapes 

 before he allows the juice to be expressed- We do not like to eat rotten 

 apples ; and they are no better for drink than for food. No wonder that a 

 prejudice should exist against cider in the minds of those who have seen 

 the careless way in which it is sometimes made. We have heard it called, 

 and not inaptly, the expressed juice of worms and rotten apples. Per- 

 haps, if we could see the process of manufacturing cheap wines, our preju- 

 dices against them would be equally strong. There is no economy in such 

 carelessness. If cider is worth milking, it is worth making well ; and 

 then, w ith a good conscience, we can ask a good price, and be sure of get- 

 ting it too ; for a good article is always in better demand than a poor one. 



Much cider is injured by being pressed with musty straw. In this re- 



