HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL. 335 



feet decree of maturity. This is not the only advantage derived from keep- 

 ing each sort separate, for by adopting this plan we can mix any sort in 

 proper proportions so as to obtain cider of the be3t quality. Those well 

 acquainted with cider-making know, by experience, that if a certain sort of 

 Apple were employed by itself, it would produce a sour, pale cider; and, on 

 the other hand, that another sort would yield thick, syrupy juice, which 

 would clarify with difficulty, or would even become dark by the action of 

 the air ; but by mixing these two sorts of Apples, a cider of very good 

 quality is obtained. It would be difficult to generalise the principles on 

 which we should make mixtures of the varieties of Apples with the view of 

 improving the quality of the cider, because the nature of the soil, the aspect, 

 and the age of the trees? greatly the quality of the juices of fruits, and also 

 because it is almost impossible to know the identity of varieties, the names 

 of which vary according to the locality. 



This important part of cider making cannot therefore have any light 

 thrown on ? without repeated experiments made by good practical observers. 

 We know that intelligent cultivators manage well in this respect, but no one 

 has yet thought of assisting his brethren by publishing those modes of pro- 

 ceeding which are the results of his own experience ; and this is much to be 

 regretted. The action of frost also injures the quality of cider, and late 

 Apples are nearly always kept, if not out of doors, at least in buildings 

 readily penetrated by cold. In this case we can easily prevent the frost 

 from affecting the Apple, by covering the heap with a layer of straw from 

 eight to ten inches in thickness, which is again covered with damp cloths, 

 such as waggon tilts, &c. This simple and easy protection is neither new 

 nor unknown, but it is too seldom made U3e of. 



We will not continue further our strictures on the neglect and bad treat- 

 ment of which the Apple trees are too generally victims. Although this 

 enumeration is far from being complete, we think that we have said enough 

 to show the advantage there would be in taking better care of this tree, which 5 

 is in Normandy what the Vine is in the countries more favoured in point of 

 climate. To manage better than is generally the case is neither attended 1 

 with more difficulty nor with greater expense, as we shall endeavor to show 

 in the following part of this manual. , 



(To be continued.) 



