NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



77 



out an enemy vvho is only on rest to recom- 

 mence commotion. 



As to refining cider with matter, it may be 

 given as a rule, that if while on the lee?, or 

 %vhcn drawn ofl", the liquor is tran(|uil, pleasant, 

 p ercing, and yet free from asperity, it may he 

 left to itself; or, as is more fit for turbulent, 

 acrimonious ;uid insipid bodies, a little tasteless 

 mucilaarinous matter of any sort, as isinglass, 

 calves teet jelly, the whiles of eggs, or dissol- 

 ved glue, may he infused to accelerate the 

 precipitation of the particles suspended in the 

 liijHor. 



The addition of spirit to the expressed juice 

 is a practice condemned by rninona^s Bard — 

 ^^ \Vitl\ fhi-ir n:\tive strength. 

 Thy vviiu's sulficiPnt." 



A sensible observer, too, of our own, has ex- 

 pressed the same censure. But tlie subject has 

 its qualifications. The treatment which is some- 

 times necessary to give a saving soundness to 

 wine, decides against these opinions. Drandy 

 is re-mixcd with wine to give it solidity; and 

 grapes of the greatest saccharine richness, af- 

 fording a juice of nearly the consistency of 

 honey, and easily convertible into spirit, are 

 used to exalt inferior clusters into wine of a 

 high quality.* In truth, it is on this point that 

 intelligent observation must direct. Seasons of 

 luxuriant vegetation produce a more aqueous 

 apple than seasons of sterility. The eft'ect of 

 these diU'ercnt seasons on the quality of cider 

 cannot have escaped notice. In the dry sum- 

 mers of 1G05 &. C. a spiritous ascendancy in the 

 fruit generally triunii>hed, in cider, over mis- 

 m=inagement in its making — on the contrary, m 

 seasons of great abundance, and when the Iruit 

 is distended to a great size by the watery ele- 

 ment, the sjiirit of cider is reduced to so pre- 

 carious a standard, that the skiltul and vigilant 

 oii'y may boast of its possession in power and 

 piir.ly. In these facts, which a moment's re- 

 flection must cotifirm, we have the instruction 

 we need — if tho '■ native strength" of the juice 

 is surticient, an alliance should be rejected — if 

 insuthcient, an auxiliary may be received, and 

 as the fitest \i that nearest in affinity, Cider 

 Brandy is the most suitable assistant. 



From these remarks, they result as general 

 rules in the making of Cider, that apples should 

 be ripe when gathered — that they should be 

 housed to mellow — that they should be separ- 

 ated, before grinding, from the rotten and im- 

 ripe, and from all uncleanness — that they should 

 be mashed fine in a covered mill, and lay in 

 must before laying up, a longer or shorter time 

 according to the temperature of the weather, 

 avoiding, while in that state, the least appear- 

 ance of fermentation, which then almost imme- 

 diately produces acidity- — that the juice be pu- 

 rified of pulp and impurities, by passing several 



* Otlicr, and less notorious secrets in the trnde of 

 wine, give the same evidence. Currants, in the pro- 

 portion often gallons to a barrel, will bring ou a fer- 

 mentation in cider v.'hich terminates in a n<at and 

 pleasant wine. It is the predominant spirit of the cur- 

 rants which effects the severe transformation. 



A Senator in Congress, profoundly instructed in the 

 arcana of commerce, asserted in a speech, that a com- 

 position passing any where for Madeira wine, may be 

 formed often gallons of that article pure, with ten gal- 

 lons of Malaga wine, thirty of Sherry, and the same 

 quantity of Cider. An analysis of the component parts 

 will shew, that the brandy in the sherry wine is the 

 preservation of the cider in its assimilation to tlie first 

 naiBed ingredient. 



iillrations, and be undiluted by a drop of water 

 — that it be placed in cellars, or in colder situ- 

 ations, and left to its own native vigor, or aided 

 by a friendly association, according to circum- 

 stances — that it be left " to feed awhile on its 

 own latness,"" or be drawn ofl" once or oftener, 

 as good judgment shall guide. With these pre- 

 cautions, a cider incomparably better than is 

 made with the usual inattention, may be ob- 

 tained, and its consumption enjoyed. 



So far I have treated the subject with a view 

 to general use, and in this view, a leading prin- 

 ciple may be given in a word, alike important 

 to the connoisseur and the unlettered tillager — 

 it is, that nature cannot be assisted in any other 

 way than according to her own laws. 



There are some distinctions remaining, which 

 are no other than obvious refinements of the 

 same principle. 



The exact matiiritij of the fniit, is the first ob- 

 ject of attention in leaving general rules and 

 advancing to a cider than 



" Wine more priz'd, or laudable of taste." 

 The point of perfection in the maturity of fruit 

 can scarcely be said to be stationary tor a day ; 

 a declension from that point is as detrimental as 

 a deficiency in its attainment ; the juice loses 

 it< activity, and 



" From sprightly, 'twill to sharp or vapid change." 



Some apples do not mature until late in win- 

 ter — others, not until the ensuing spring. Of 

 these, a cider might he made exquisitely fine. 

 Laid in chambers through autumn, and in dry 

 places in the cellar through the winter, expos- 

 ed to the action of the air, they become enrich- 

 ed by the evaporation of their watery parts — 

 but at neither of these periods is there so 

 friendly a concurrence of the atmosphere for 

 the making of cider as in the last month of 

 aututnn. 



Assorting the apples, (for I have yet supposed 

 them used promiscuously) is the second parti- 

 cular in the progress to perfection. Phillips 

 observes, that 



" Some ciders have by art or age uuleaniM 

 Their genuine relish, and oi sundrij wines 

 AssumM the flavor." 



It is not possible that a commixture of vari- 

 ous sorts could give one distinct percejition to 

 tho palate. So invariably does nature preserve 

 each kind by itself, that no two sorts can be 

 drawn into union on the same stock. The dis- 

 agreeirient in the juices of fruit is more or less 

 inveterate when mixed, as they depart from 

 sweet to sour. The mixture of an extremely 

 sharp acid yvith a luscious sweet, produces an 

 activity of opposition approaching- to efferves- 

 cence, nor does it cease but yvith the complete 

 subjection of the mass to the acrimonious ad- 

 versary. These facts suggest the propriety and 

 necessity of keeping each kind of fruit in its 

 oyvn distinctness. The conclusion 1 should con- 

 sider as securely propped in its own reasonable- 

 ness, had it never been intimated by nature nor 

 tested by experience, that apples of the same 

 kind, can make the most perfect cider. In this 

 persuasion I can anticipate the time yvhcn cider 

 will be designated by the name of its oyvn apple, 

 and the nomenclature of the orchard be as fa- 

 miliar in our markets as any distinctions in use. 

 The most perfect cider, then, can alone be 

 made by an attention to these additions to the 

 genera! rules. 



Of bottling, the advantages are !?o yvell un- 

 derstood, that I have no occasion to say any 

 thing in their recommendation; but I should 

 not conduct the cidoi-inaker lo the most finish- 

 ed point, were I to omit the observation, that a 

 perfect fineness of his liquor, and an ascendancy 

 in it of a spirit yvhich shall repress its impa- 

 tience in a close confinement, are as indispen- 

 sably necessary to tho preservation of his bot- 

 tles as to the perfection of his drink. 



Cider is to rise to more than an equality of 

 fame yvith the most celebrateil drinks of other 

 climes, and the competition which yvill ensue 

 in the market will give celebrity to the section 

 of our country yvhicii shall be most successful 

 in its manufacture. Already has this preference 

 of place appeared, and our HcrefunUhires and 

 Deyonshires are in Rhode Island and N. Jersey. 

 But it is comparative more than intrinsic excel- 

 lence yvhich may be claimed for the ciders of 

 the Narragan^et and of Newark. If the banks 

 of the Connecticut, and the rich vales and pro- 

 pitious southern declivities of Massachusetts 

 shall not bear ayvay the palm, the fault yvill 

 not be in our soil but in our sons. 



•' Delightful beverage ! to the utmost bounds of this 



Wide universe, Columbian Cider borne, 



Shall please all tastes, ajid triumph o\r Ikt rine."' 



POMONA. 



FOR THE KEW F.XGI.AND FARMER. 



The answer of "• Plv.motheus'' in the Old 

 Colony Memorial, to some remarks made by 

 me on the deficiency in the description of the 

 worm, whose ravages have been so fatal, this 

 season, in some parts of the county of Plymouth, 

 is highly satisfactory. It Ls by such clear, and 

 distinct statements, alone, that any correct 

 knoivledge can be obtained. Loose and general 

 remarks are of little value. It is not, to be 

 sure, certain that yve can cure these natural 

 evils by ascertaining accurately their causes, 

 but it is absolutely certain, that yve cannot cure 

 them ^vilhovt such information. 



When Mr. Peck, (the first and ablest of our 

 naturalists, at the period, yvhen he first became 

 known, and inferior to none even at this day.) 

 gave a scientific history of the Canker yvorm, 

 he afforded us the opportunity of checking its 

 ravages, if yve had followed up his suggestions. 

 Asriculture was then in its infancy, but if at 

 the present day, that scourge should reappear 

 and threaten to lay yvaste our orchards, I am 

 fully convinced, that the accurate and perfect 

 account given by him of the habits of that in- 

 sect, yvill enable us to destroy it, or to diminish 

 exceedingly its destructive powers. The same 

 remark may be made as to the Slug yvorm yvhich 

 affects the pear and cherry trees — many hun- 

 dreds of which it finally destroyed. The know- 

 ledge with yvhich ftlr. Peck has furnished us, of 

 its first appearance, 'its duration, its second ap- 

 pearance, the depth to which the chrysalis de- 

 scends, yvill enable all of us to provide a reme- 

 dy against its ravages. I have done it most ef- 

 fectually, and 1 haye no fears of its future mis- 

 chievous efiects. At present our country is 

 nearly free from them, and of course any re- 

 marks about their extermination yvould be read 

 without interest. 



.\% to the insect, still more fatal, which at- 

 tacks the grass and corn, and of yvhich " Ply- 

 raotheus" has given a very satisfactory account, 



