198 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Mr. Radcliffe Cooke said the question 'of " tied " houses 

 was one he had considered. He had been informed that certain 

 brewers were going to take up the trade and sell cider as well as 

 beer. 



Mr. Dean : Not their own manufacture ? 



Mr. Radcliffe Cooke replied that he hoped not. He added 

 that the middleman derived too great a benefit from the cider trade 

 at the expense of the farmer. At a certain hotel in London he 

 had to pay 2s. a quart for cider, i.e., 8s. a gallon ! He wrote to 

 the directors, who said that a mistake had been made — it had 

 been going on for some years — and the price was reduced to 

 one-half. In Ross, where they ought to know better, he had 

 been charged Is. 6cZ. a quart ; and in another town he had to 

 pay for American cider at the rate of 5s. Sd. a gallon, although 

 it was sold to dealers in this country at from Sd. to lOd. a gallon, 

 and in large quantities at still lower prices. 



The Chairman, in proposing a vote of thanks to Mr. Radcliffe 

 Cooke, said they were all indebted to that gentleman for the 

 energetic action he was taking to raise the industry. He was 

 glad to see that Mr. Radcliffe Cooke was going in for a really 

 good article, for, as had been said, there were some sorts of cider 

 that should only be approached with prayer and meditation. 

 He hoped a taste would be revived for a good, wholesome liquor 

 from which both the health and the pocket of the community 

 would mutually benefit. 



The vote was carried enthusiastically, and the Conference 

 adjourned. 



