332 



The Fruit and Cider Institute. [sept., 



the sweetness due to the sugar disappears in the course of 

 fermentation, while others for the same reason increasingly 

 deteriorate as the extent of sweetness is reduced below a 

 certain point. Thus the former class is suitable for the pro- 

 duction of a dry cider, and the latter of a sweet cider only. 



It will be observe 1 that a study of these facts makes it clear 

 that cider is not a product of uniform character and behaviour, 

 and that, in reality, under that name are included many distinct 

 types. It follows that what is the right method of treatment 

 for one type is not necessarily that most suited for other types. 

 It is, therefore, a matter of importance for each individual cider- 

 maker to make himself acquainted with the characters of the 

 fruit which he uses, to divide it according to the types of cider 

 it is most fitted to produce, and then to adopt the best methods 

 of treatment for the production of those types. The number of 

 different varieties of apples used for cider-making is so great,, 

 and the conditions under which they are grown so diverse, that 

 it is impossible in the experimental work at a central Institute 

 to investigate each in detail or to do more than to endeavour 

 to elucidate general principles. 



Side by side with the experimental work on a practical scale 

 at the Institute, investigations on various problems are proceeding 

 in the laboratory. Among the lines of work receiving special 

 attention is the influence of the different organisms of fermen- 

 tation on the nature of the cider. It has for some time been 

 recognised that special kinds or varieties of yeasts give special 

 characters of flavour to the liquid which they ferment. Over 

 one hundred different kinds of yeasts have been isolated from 

 ciders made in different districts. They have been cultivated 

 separately and their qualities studied. Thirty of the most 

 promising forms were selected for experiments with ciders. 

 These were added to thirty lots of juice of the same kind, taken 

 as it ran fresh from the press in the cider house, in quantities 

 sufficient to dominate the character of the subsequent fermen- 

 tation, one kind only of yeast to each lot of juice. At the proper 

 period each lot of cider was bottled off and allowed to mature. 

 Later the bottled samples were examined, when it was found 

 that each sort possessed distinctive characters of its own, in 

 addition to the flavour common to all and due to the kind of 



