CIDER AND PERRY FRUIT. 



569 



rapid. The natural type of cider produced is therefore a thin, sharp 

 beverage, lacking sweetness, and deficient in body and keeping qualities. 



In some quarters there has been a tendency to advocate the cultiva- 

 tion of market varieties to the exclusion of vintage varieties, with a view 

 to the utilization of the small, unsaleable, and damaged culinary and 

 dessert apples for cider-making instead of true vintage ones, it being 

 asserted that the latter are not so profitable to grow. It is difficult to 

 obtain any satisfactory statistics which bear on that point ; but it is 

 very problematical which is the better-paying crop. It may be safely 

 asserted, however, that the cultivation of vintage fruit yields very satis- 

 factory returns with proper treatment, and that there are few crops 

 which can show equally good profits when the small amount of 

 labour and trouble entailed are taken into consideration. 



