Cider Factories in France. 



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must from the fresh pulp in the vats and cistern is united in the 

 great casks of the fermentation room as pure juice. This is 

 destined for the highest grade cider. 



After eight to twelve hours' maceration the pomace is again 

 subjected to pressure on a different press from that used for pure 

 juice, and the must is received in another cistern near by and 

 pumped into another set of casks. This must is used to make 

 a second grade of cider, the boisson of the labourers. But this 

 does not complete the operation. Again the pomace undergoes 

 maceration with water or weak must, being then pressed a third 

 time. The must from this pressing is very weak, its specific 

 gravity being ioio to i*oi6. This must is used to macerate the 

 pomace after the first pressure, thus adding very materially to 

 the quality of the must derived from the second pressing. 



The pomace is no longer of any value for cider purposes. It 

 may, therefore, be discharged by running the car outside the 

 factory, or it may be ground anew and washed to separate the 

 seeds, which return no small income, as they are in great 

 demand by nurserymen for growing stocks. These seeds are 

 known to commerce in the United States as French " crab 

 seed," but they are really seeds of the cultivated apple and not 

 of crabs. 



A second method of extracting the juice from the apple pulp 

 is also employed in this factory, viz., diffusion. The diffusion 

 battery is located at the extreme left of the main operating 

 room. It consists of six tanks about 3^ to 4 ft. high, mounted 

 on a turntable. Immediately at one side, and just above the 

 level of the tanks is a reservoir for water. This may be supplied 

 warm or cold. 



To put this apparatus into operation, five of the tanks are 

 filled with cut or pulped fruit. These are so connected that 

 the fluid will circulate from one tank to another by means of a 

 tube connected at the bottom of the first and delivering the 

 flow near the top of the second, and so on around the circle. 

 By the time the fluid flows out from the bottom of the fifth tub 

 it is well charged with the soluble matters contained in the 

 fruit, i.e., sugars, acid, tannin, mucilage, &c. But it can never 

 be made to equal in richness the product of the first pressing 

 from the same fruit. 



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