250 



THE POMOLOGIST AJSTD GARDENER. 



1871 



Abont Pluins>-Siultb'B Orleans. 



By S. D. Ebdfield, Vintoh, Iowa. 



Ed. Pomoloqist and Gabdenek : — When Doctors 

 disagree who shall decide? I took some plums to 

 the State Pair for you according to my engagement, 

 but you not being present on that day, I placed them 

 in the care of Mr. Budd, Superintendent of the 

 Horticultural department, to hand you if you were 

 present during the fair, that you (and the commit- 

 tee on fruits) would give them a name. Mr. Budd 

 and several other Horticulturists called them the 

 Lombard Plum, I did not agree with them, as I 

 could see very little resemblance, the Lombard 

 being only a medium plum in size. 



On my return I examined my Horticultural books 

 and I find that Barry gives a tru^ description of them 

 in his fruit book, on page 3.39, No. 39, " Smith's Or- 

 leans,'' " A very large and excellent variety, oval, 

 reddish purple with a thick coat of bloom ; flesh 

 yellow, firm, juicy and rich ; tree vigorous and very 

 productive— last of August." It is the most vigor- 

 ous and hardy plum tree I ever saw, it is more 

 hardy than the native or wild plum. 



I have some wild plums growing within ten feet, 

 that blossomed full, and were all killed by the frost 

 in April, while " Smith's Orleans " escaped. I graft 

 them on wild stocks, and gash the stocks and they 

 expand with the growth of the graft 



I cut some grafts back in the spring and the limbs 

 have grown five feet and are still growing. When 

 we can raise plums of the first quality in three 

 years from the graft that will measure five inches in 

 circumference, the question is settled in regard to 

 plums in Iowa. 



I must confess t hat I was very much disappoint- 

 ed in the Minor Plum that I saw at the State Pair, 

 after so much has been written in regard to them. 

 I am well aware that peop e difl'er in regard to 

 taste ; in my opinion we have wild plums growing 

 here equal to them in every respect. 



RBitiARKS. — We regret that we did not have an 

 opportunity of seeing the plums. 



Making Cider Vinegar. 



In answer to inquiries, a New Jersey correspond- 

 ent of the American Institute Farmers' Club, fur- 

 nishes the following information how to make ci- 

 der vinegar : 



" The apple in its natural, and also in its cultiva- 

 ted state, from which cider is made, contains among 

 other things, the germs of alcoholic and acetic fer- 

 mentation. Cider, when first pressed from the pulp 

 of the apple, contains among other things, acetic 

 acid and sugar, or saccharine matter. Immediately 

 after being reduced to pulp by the process of mash- 



ing or grating, as is the process in cider making, if 

 exposed to the air and a certain amount of heat 

 the alcoholic or vinous fermentation commences] 

 Simultaneously with this commences the acetic fer- 

 mentation, the result of which is vinegar, and this 

 is rapid or slow, according to certain conditions of 

 air and heat and light. 



No cider or alcoholic liquid will turn to vinegar, 

 without the presence of oxygen. It is the union of 

 oxygen with the alcohol that forms cider vinegar 

 To effect this is the art of vinegar making, as I un- 

 derstand it, to accomplish which different practices 

 are used. I state mine only, as it includes the whole 

 process from the planting of the trees on which the 

 apples grow, down to vinegar making. 



I aim in my selection of the fruit to grow those 

 which in my opinion, have the most acetic acid in- 

 herent in them, and those that have the greatest 

 amount of saccharine matter. I aim to gather them 

 when fully ripe, keep them clean, grate very fine, 

 and press the cider out without the addition of any 

 water. 



Put the cider in perfectly clean, well bound, 

 white oak casks or barrels, fill full to the bung, let 

 them remain in the open air until after the alcohol- 

 ic fermentation is completed ; then rack off the clear 

 liquid being careful not to allow any of the pomace 

 to run out with the pure cider ; then empty out the 

 settling, and wash out the casks, and put the cider 

 back to ripen ; remove the casks to a dry, warm, 

 airy place ; let them remain a few days, then pro- 

 cure another cask as before stated, made of the 

 same material, clean, and well bound, and place it 

 beside the full one, and commence by drawing out 

 daily ono gallon from a faucet in the head, and let 

 it fall as far through the air as can conveniently be 

 done, into a wooden vessel, and pour from as high 

 an elevation as can conveniently be done, into the 

 other barrel ; continue this process daily until all 

 the pure, clear cider is drawn out. Cleanse as be- 

 fore if necessary, and commence putting back in 

 the first cask, and this alternately until vinegar is 

 attained. 



limine Crowing. 



The term irine growing has become so common 

 that one can seldom take up an agricultural paper 

 without seeing it ; as though it was a legitimate 

 term, and wine making an agricultural avocation ! 

 Should the farmer who raises barley be called a la- 

 ger beer grower, or the one who sows rye be a whis- 

 key grower, there might be some consistency in the 

 term " wine growing." As it is, we can only re- 

 gard it as one of the " tricks that are vain," to art' 

 fully give a tone of respectability to a nestling of 

 the serpent family. 



The wine business may be a very profitable one 



