570 



JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL TTORTJOUTjTnRAL ROCTETY. 



CIDEE-MAKING. 



By B. T. P. Barker, M.A. 



[Read December 1, 1910.] 



A SURVEY of the principles and practice of cider-making would be 

 incomplete without some preliminary account of the harvesting and 

 storage of the fruit before it is brought to the mill. It should be recog 

 nized that cider-making really begins in the orchard, and that mistakes 

 made in the handling of the fruit prior to pressing cannot afterwards 

 be rectified by any amount of care on the part of the cider-maker. 

 Indeed, it may rightly be claimed that, provided rational methods of 

 management of the juice after pressing are adopted, the quality of the 

 cider is determined by the condition of the fruit at the time of milling. 



The first point of importance in the orchard work, as far as it is j 

 directly concerned with cider-making, is the selection of the right 

 moment for gathering the fruit. Cider fruit should not be gathered 

 until it will fall freely from the tree, when the latter is lightly shaken. 

 It is not good practice to allow it to fall of its own accord, since under 

 those conditions a considerable quantity may lie on the grass beneath 

 the trees for several days before being picked up, and may therefore 

 acquire a serious earthy taint in flavour which it is impossible to get 

 rid of in the cider. The most satisfactory plan is to go round the 

 orchard at regular intervals of a few days, shaking lightly with a 

 wooden crook all trees on which the fruit is approaching complete 

 maturity. As the fruit 'falls on to the grass below, it should at once be 

 gathered up, or it can be collected in a harvest blanket spread beneath 

 the tree to receive it. As far as is practicable, different varieties of 

 apples should not at this stage be mixed together, as it is far better 

 for purposes of blending to store the varieties separately. 



After gathering, the fruit generally requires storage for some time 

 before pressing, the length of time varying according to the variety of 

 apple and the character of the season. This period of storage is highly 

 desirable in order that the juice may develop the maximum degree of 

 richness and quality. Where practicable, storage under cover — p.g. 

 in an apple loft — is to be recommended as being the safest plan ; but, 

 where this accommodation is not available, outdoor storage in hurdle 

 stores gives almost equally good results, provided that the weather is 

 not too wet or frosty, in which cases some form of cover as a protection 

 should be arranged. The fruit ought never to be stored in heaps rest- 

 ing directly on the ground, on account of the risk of an earthy taint m 

 flavour being acquired by the lower layers. Whether stored indoors 

 or out of doors, the depth of the heap should not be more than from 



