The Trials of Cider-making Plant at Glastonbury. 767 
Power Plant. 
Dening's Power Plant came first to trial in the forenoon of 
October 1 5, the mill receiving fifteen bags, or 2,250 lb., of apples, 
and starting to grind at 10.24 a.m. After working 25 minutes, 
a small piece of limestone, entering with the apples, locked the 
feed-rollers and caused the breakage of two teeth in one of the 
gear wheels driving the crushing rolls, thus putting the mill 
hors cle combat. Eighteen hundred pounds of apples had already 
been crushed when the accident occurred, at the rate of 100 lb. 
per 1*4 minutes, but the work was not well done, many pips 
escaping whole from the mill in consequence of the springs 
(which, as in roller mills generally, are provided to allow of the 
harmless passage of hard foreign substances through the rolls) 
being too weak. 
Great stress is laid by cider-makers on the question of crush- 
ing the apple pips, since when this is properly accomplished the 
ratafia-like essence contained in the seeds diffuses itself through- 
out the mass of apple-pulp, and gives highly-valued flavour to 
the subsequent brew. 
Dening's crushing rolls are of granite, 15 in. diameter, 
by 15 in. long, and ran, during the trial, at differential speeds 
of 65 and 130 revolutions per minute respectively. It was 
found impossible to measure accurately, by means of the indicator, 
the absolute amount of energy consumed either in this or any of 
the other mills. In some cases, it was too small, in others, too 
irregular ; the fly wheel of the engine, in the latter case, being 
as often driver as driven. But enough was learned to enable the 
Judges accurately to grade all the competitors, although they 
are not in a position to state the consumption of energy in units 
of power. 
The feed of Dening's mill consists of a pair of deeply and 
sharply fluted rollers, which first break up and then deliver the 
apples to the crushing rolls. They ran, during the trial, at 85 
revolutions per minute, and were fairly effective in action, but 
became locked, as before stated, by the entry of a piece of stone 
(a common occurrence in practice) causing a fracture in the roller 
gearing. The latter, it must be remarked, was often much too 
shallow in gear, the consequence of using relieving springs of 
insufficient strength, and it may well be that the teeth, which 
appeared amply strong for their work, were thus caught at a 
disadvantage at the moment when the mishap occurred. 
While one man fed, another man removed the pulp from 
the mill to the press, where other two men built it into a 
" cheese." This process is eminently characteristic of Somerset- 
