Farming of Hercjurdsldre. 



447 



perry is a man-kisli sweetness ; this is owing to deficient fer- 

 mentation, and might be remedied if that important process be 

 properly attended to. The squash pear is usually esteemed the 

 best pear for producins: perry, and the stere apple certainly pro- 

 duces the strongest and probably the finest flavoured cider. 



Pears and apples have been examined bv Berard, without, 

 however, having entered upon manv interesting- points, such as 

 the rapid conversion of lignine. ^:c.. into sugar when the fruit is 

 allowed to remain to mature or ripen after being taken oft" the 

 tree. The following are the results which he obtained from 

 Beurre pears examined in three states, namely. 1. ripe and fresh : 

 '2, kept until mellow : 3. kept till brown or beginning to rot, and 

 having" lost 23T5 per cent, of water, .^cc. : — ■ 





1. 



2. 



3. 



EesinC'uS gitc-n colouring niaiter . 



f 1 • i;>5 



0-01 



0-04 



Sugar . . . . . 



6 ■■15 



ll-c2 



8-77 



Gum ..... 



8-17 



2-07 



2-62 



Li2;nine ..... 



3-SO 



2-19 



1-85 



Albumine .... 



0-08 



0-21 



0-23 



j-Ialic acid .... 



0-11 



0-os 



0-61 



Lime . . . . . 



0-03 



0-04 



trace 



AYater 



86-23 



83-83 



62-72 



Apples contain the same ingredients as pears, but in different 

 proportions, the former usually containing more of the malic 

 acid and less sugar, also more tannin than pears : the latter cir- 

 cumstance is the reason why perry is so much more liable to be- 

 come ropy than cider: the remedy has been already indicated. 



The above tables are exceedingly instructive in a practical 

 point of view, as establishing the soundness of the system which 

 permits the fruit to fully mellow before it is sent to the press, 

 but not to allow it to proceed to decay : in which case not onlv 

 will the flavour of the liquor be impaired, but a loss of sac- 

 charine matter will be incurred. Having novr gone over the 

 principal points connected vrith the manufacture of cider and 

 perry, one subject has been reserved for the last, which, in a 

 commercial point of view, can scarcelv be over estimated. It is 

 well known that pears and apples possess, not only diiierent 

 liavours, but also different varieties of the same species of fruit 

 have aromas and flavours ot a distinctive character. These hare 

 been usually overlooked in chemical analvsis. as of too refined a 

 character for the present state of that science. 1 et it is, in a 

 gTeat measure, upon the production of these peculiar aromas and 

 flavours to which we must look forward as the last step in im- 

 proving the character of our home-made yinous liquors made 

 from the apple and the pear, so that they may rival the pro- 

 ductions of continental vinevards. It has been supposed bv 

 Liebig, that the superior aroma found to obtain amongst the 



