THE APPLE. 



69 



salt-works, is the principal feature of novelty in this house. But while 

 upon a large scale these fruit -houses are found of value, their adoption 

 involves too much of expense in their first construction, and too great 

 care, to meet the wants of the general fruit-gi'ower. When a fruit- 

 house or room is to be constructed, aside from the cellar, under the barn 

 or dwelling, select a location where complete drainage can be had. Ex- 

 cavate so as that the lower fruit-room will be about two-thirds of its 

 height under ground ; lay the outside wall, and then, leaving a space of 

 four inches, lay another inside cement wall. Construct windows so as 

 to give free cii'culation, and yet keep the room dark by ha\'ing blinds 

 on the outer side, and sash opening on the inner wall. For winter, 

 double sash will be required. For the upper room, the same principle 

 of forming a double wall, leaving a space of at least four inches, is to be 

 continued, and the arrangement of shelves or drawers through the cen- 

 tre, keeping a passage open all around, may be made to meet the wants 

 for which the room is to be used. 



When apples are exported, each fruit in the barrel should be wi-apped 

 in clean soft paper, and the barrels should be placed in a dry, airy place 

 between decks. 



CIDER. 



To make the finest cider. Apples should be chosen which are espe- 

 cially suited to this purpose. The fruit should be gathered about the 

 first of November, and coarse cloths or straw should be laid under the 

 tree, to secure them against bruising when they are shaken from the tree. 

 If the weather is fine the fruit is allowed to lie in heaps in the open air, 

 or in airy sheds or lofts for some time, till it is thoroughly rij^ened. All 

 immature and rotten fruit should then be rejected, and the remainder 

 ground in the mill as nearly as possible to a uniform mass. This pulp 

 should now remain in the vat from 24 to 48 hours, or even longer if the 

 weather is cool, in order to heighten the color and increase the saccharine 

 principle. It is then put into the press (^^'ithout wetting the straw), from 

 whence the liquor is strained, through hair-cloth or sieves, into perfectly 

 clean, sweet, sound casks. The casks, with the bung out, are then placed 

 in a cool cellar, or in a sheltered place in the open air. Here the fermen- 

 tation commences, and as the pomace and froth work out of the bung- 

 hole, the casks must be filled up every day with some of the same press- 

 ing, kept in a cask for this purpose. In two or three weeks this rising will 

 cease, when the first fermentation is over, and the bung should at first be 

 put in loosely — then in a day or two driven in tight — leaving a small vent- 

 hole near it, which may also be stopped in a few days after. If the casks 

 are in a cool airy cellar the fermentation will cease in a day or two, and 

 this state may be known by the liquor becoming clear and bright, by the 

 cessation of the discharge of fixed air, and by the thick crust which has 

 collected on the surface. The clear cider should now be drawn off and 

 placed in a clean cask. If the cider, which must be carefully watched in 

 this state, to prevent the fermentation going too far, remains quiet, it may 

 be allowed to stand till spring, and the addition at first of about a gill of ^ 

 finely powdered charcoal to a barrel will secure this end ; but if a scum 

 collects on the surface, and the fermentation seems inclined to proceed 

 further, it must be immediately racked again. The vent-spile may now 

 be driven tight, but examined occasionally. In the beginning of March 



