446 



Farming of Herefordshire. 



local consumption) nor a too sweet liquor should be made. A 

 metropolitan palate, accustomed to the use of sweet cider, would 

 consider the rough cider of the farm-house a mixture of vinegar 

 and water. It is one of the evils attendant on the present some- 

 what careless mode of making dry cider that a considerable quan- 

 tity of acetic acid, or vinegar, is formed, to the great detriment 

 of the strength of the liquor ; for every particle of vinegar pro- 

 duced is obtained at the expense of an equivalent amount of 

 alcohol, or spirit. A well-made dry cider ought to be almost free 

 from acid, devoid of sweetness, non-effervescent, with a flavour 

 and taste not greatly dissimilar from Rhenish or Moselle wines. 

 Perry, by careful management, can be made to resemble cham- 

 pagne, and of a quality decidedly superior to much that is sold 

 under that title. Careful attention is requisite to accomplish 

 these ends, such as can only be repaid by the construction of 

 large establishments, superintended by persons skilled in the 

 management of vinous liquors, or, at all events, versed in those 

 sciences which are connected with the alterations caused through 

 the effects of temperature, fermentation, &c. 



That such establishments are likely to be founded is not at all 

 probable ; in order, however, to induce improvement, it is requi- 

 site to point out the modus operandi. As the county of Hereford 

 contains a more than usual number of resident well-to-do pro- 

 prietors, possessing orchards, it may happen that these observa- 

 tions may meet with attention from some party so circumstanced, 

 who, by instituting a careful series of experiments, will find 

 amusement and employment ; the results of which will, no doubt, 

 be not only remunerative, but also calculated to promote the 

 public welfare, by enhancing the value of a species of agricultural 

 property which has hitherto been much neglected, and has far 

 from kept pace with the growing intelligence of the age. There 

 can scarcely exist a doubt but, if perfectly well made dry cider 

 and sound perry were manufactured on a large scale, a demand of 

 a most extensive character would arise for them greatly beyond 

 the limits to which their consumption is now confined. 



Pears yield more juice than apples, and some species of apples 

 more than others ; 2 hogsheads of pears will yield 1 of expressed 

 juice ; but some sort of apples, as the " stere " and " Haglor 

 crab," in very dry seasons will only yield 1 hogshead of juice to 

 3 of fruit. The adjoining county of Worcester is rather more 

 celebrated for the manufacture of perry than Hereford ; the 

 latter, however, is justly celebrated for its Barland perry, pro- 

 duced, it is said, originally from fields in the parish of Bosbury, 

 called Bar-lands or Ban-lands. A dry sharpness is the charac- 

 teristic of the Barland perry, rather than the mellifluous richness 

 which we identify with champagne. The usual fault in English 



